Details of new Sony digital cameras hit the Web

IDG News Service - TOKYO -- Sony's new digital still cameras aren't due to be announced until next week, but details of the new lineup appeared on numerous Web sites yesterday.

Apparently leaked from Europe, the information about the cameras is surprisingly thorough. Initial reports provided basic specifications of the cameras, but some later reports carried photographs of pages from what appear to be a catalog Sony used to promote the cameras to dealers in the U.K. The catalog shots are complete with "confidential until February 27" warnings across the top of the listings.

Sony wouldn't confirm any of the specifications.

Among the cameras detailed is the Cybershot G1, a 6-megapixel camera with a 3x optical zoom lens and 3-in. LCD monitor. It has a built-in Wi-Fi adapter -- a feature that's gaining popularity in cameras as a way to send pictures to PCs. The camera is compliant Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) specifications, so it should network with other gadgets more easily than earlier cameras. It has 2GB of internal memory, and it can record MPEG 4 movies. Sony says it can manage about 270 shots on a single battery charge, according to the information that has been leaked.

Also new is the Cybershot T100, according to the published documents. This camera combines an 8.1-megapixel image sensor with 5x optical zoom lens and a Bionz processing engine like the one that sits in the heart of the digital SLR camera that Sony launched last year. Bionz technology supports high-speed, high-quality image processing to create pictures with less image noise, according to the company.

The Cybershot H-series gets two new cameras, the H7 and H9, the reports say. Both maintain that line's distinctive large lens and offer 8-megapixel quality with 15x optical zoom. They also include the Bionz processor and other features like antishake technology and Pictbridge printing. The major difference between the two cameras appears to be in the size of the LCD monitor, which is 2.5 in. on the H7 and 3 in. on the H9.

There are also five new W-series models coming up, according to the reports. They include the Cybershot W200, which offers 12.1-megapixel image sensors. That's higher than many other cameras, especially compact cameras, and is sure to be a key selling point, but its usefulness is limited unless the user wants to enlarge pictures to cover entire walls or do some serious cropping and still be left with a usable picture.

Full details of the new cameras, including price and launch date, are expected next week. Sony has scheduled a news conference to announce new Cybershot cameras in Tokyo on Feb. 28.