Sony's 5-megapixel ultra-compact camera

Saturday October 25, 2003

The "World's Smallest" title in the world of digital still cameras has a very short shelf life these days, but Sony has staked its claim with the details of the Cyber-shot DSC-T1 ultra-compact camera. At 2cm and 6cm tall, the "Worlds smallest 5-megapixel camera" features advanced auto-focus and auto-exposure options, five megapixel CCD image sensor, shoots full-resolution images in one second intervals and can capture four high-speed burst shots in less than two seconds. The 2.5-inch LCD viewfinder occupies around two-thirds of the camera's back-surface area in an overall that's design no larger than a deck of cards.

Eight different auto shooting modes are incorporated along with a "Magnifying Glass" mode in which subjects that appear on the LCD screen are magnified up to 3.3 times, which allow users to see details that would otherwise be difficult to confirm with the naked eye when framing the shot.

The slim metallic design of the Cyber-shot T1 digital camera is attributed to a new Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar optical lens that enables 3X optical without extending outside the camera.

Other miniaturization efforts include the development of a new rechargeable Infolithium battery system that is roughly the size of a matchbox and a tiny Memory Stick PRO Duo removable media slot.

The USB port, A/V Out and DC jacks have also been relocated to the new camera docking station (bundled accessory) for charging the battery pack or connecting the camera to a TV or computer.

The Cyber-shot T1 camera will be released in the US next January for about US$550.