Sony Offers Tiny 3-D Cameras

NY Times July 19, 2010, 7:01 am By NICK BILTON

http://gadgetwise.blogs.nytimes.com/...techupdateemb1


Sony electronics is really pushing 3-D technology in the home, with its 3-D TVs and 3-D video games and movies. This week it brought more dimensionality into the electronics market by announcing a new crop of 3-D pocket cameras, the DSC-TX9 and DSC-WX5.
Sony calls these cameras the “world’s smallest” in the 3-D space and says they can take three-dimensional panoramic images with a new technology, Sweep Panorama. This allows camera owners to press the shutter button on the camera and move across a panoramic scene to create extensive, captivating photos, Sony says.

But there’s a catch with these cameras; although all the photos can be viewed as normal 2-D images on any traditional surface, you need a 3-D television and the appropriate 3-D glasses to see the images pop off the screen.

The two cameras also have a 12.2 megapixel sensor, can record HD video and offer a range of new technologies, including “background defocus,” which can give the image more depth and “superior auto mode,” which can offer crisper images than other point-and-shoot cameras.

The cameras are both expected to be available by late September, and will cost between $300 and $400.