Sony has shown
off its new flagship compact camera, the Cyber-shot DSC-RX100, which features a
large 20.2-megapixel, 1-inch CMOS sensor. The sensor, which measures 13.2 x
8.8mm, is large by compact camera standards and offers the same physical dimensions
as the sensor in Nikon’s 1-series interchangeable-lens bodies.
The camera is built around a Carl
Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* 28-100mm (equivalent) zoom lens, which has a maximum
aperture of f1.8 at the wide-angle end, narrowing to f4.9 at the telephoto
setting.
For manual adjustments it has a control ring around the
lens, which can be used to alter exposure, zoom, creative picture effects and a
variety of other customizable functions. Additionally, frequently used
functions can be assigned to the Fn (function) button, while the Memory Recall
feature can store up to three groups of customised shooting settings.
There’s a choice of auto and manual focus modes, and for
those that prefer focusing manually, MF Assist magnifies images to simplify
fine adjustments. There’s also a video-style ‘peaking’ function, which
highlights sharply-focused areas on screen.
On the back there’s a three-inch 1,229,000-dot LCD which Sony says uses additional white pixels to control brightness. Sony claims its ‘Whitemagic’ display boosts brightness and allows users to see subtle details and tones even when the screen is in bright
sunlight.
The Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 is expected in Australia in July. Pricing will
be announced closer to the release date.
