Sony has just introduced the Cyber-shot TX5, touted as the “world’s thinnest waterproof camera.” At less than an inch thick (17.7mm, to be exact), it’s a pretty good claim. It doesn’t even look like a ruggedized cam—at least not like the rest of the bunch with obvious rubberized exteriors. The TX5 pretty much borrows its design from the rest of Sony’s stylish T-series cams that come with smooth, clean lines and a solid sliding lens cover, but adds a pretty good degree of toughness with water, shock, dust, and freeze-protection.
First the basics: the TX5 is a 10.2MP point-and-shoot that’s packed with a 4x optical zoom lens with optical image stabilization, 720p video recording, and a large 3-inch touchscreen. The cam’s flipside is completely filled up by the screen and relies entirely on touch controls for setting changes—there are no buttons here, but the interface also supports a few gestures such as flicks for photo previews.
The cam is also optimized for shooting in low light via the back-illuminated Exmor R CMOS sensor with an enhanced sensitivity that’s listed to reduce low-light noise. Sony also included a nifty new software feature called the “Intelligent Sweep Panorama” mode that let’s you “sweep” the camera while pressing the shutter. The cam then automatically stitches up to 100 shots for an instant panoramic shot of the landscape—a nice touch considering how hard aligning multiple photos used to be.
As for the ruggedness, it offers the basics, with a frame that can survive underwater dips down to 10 feet, drops from 5 feet, temperatures as low as 14F, along with dirt and dust protection. The cam uses either a Memory Stick or SDHC cards.
The TX5 is available in 5 colors (black, silver, red, pink and green) and is due out in April for $350.
Tags: Cyber-shot, Digital Cameras, Rugged, Sony
