Sony Electronics announced Wednesday that its new Cyber-shot DSC-P150 digital still camera will be released in September for under US$500. The new camera is a point-and-shoot model that features 7.2 megapixel (MP) resolution, but is small enough to fit in a shirt pocket or handbag. The camera sports circuitry that Sony says ensures fast start-up and shot-to-shot times and speeds up auto focus and auto exposure.
The P150 sports a Carl Zeiss Vario Tessar 3x optical zoom lens and can get about 310 shots per charge out of the InfoLithium battery. It’s also equipped with a 1.8-inch LCD screen. Users can adjust flash and exposure settings manually, and the camera features nine built-in preset scene modes for commonly used settings like landscapes, snow, beach and fireworks. The camera supports PictBridge, a technology which enables users to output images directly to a supported printer without having to use a computer first. It includes a 32MB Memory Stick media card and is also compatible with Sony’s high-capacity Memory Stick Pro cards.
Available separately is the Cyber-shot Marine Pack, which lets the camera operate underwater at depths up to 132 feet. The DSC-P150 also works with optional telephoto and wide-angle conversion lenses. The Cyber-shot Station is a new $80 docking accessory that can connect the camera to a television or transfer files to a Mac or PC using USB, while charging the camera’s battery.