Sony announces new 5-megapixel digital camera

Sony announced today its new Cyber-shot DSC-F717 digital camera, which it claims is the "ultimate camera for professional-level digital picture-taking."

The $1,000 camera (5.02 megapixels) combines point-and-shoot features with other manual photographic controls, Sony says. The camera includes Carl Zeiss optics, ISO sensitivities of 100/200/400/800 and shutter speeds of up to 1/2000 second in auto mode. Sony also says that the camera can start up in just over 1 second, and has rapid capture and processing times.

It has a new five-area multi-point focusing system that lets users focus left, center, right, up or down of their framed shot. It also has a live histogram display to help ensure more accurate exposure. The multi-burst mode can take up to 16 frames at 320 by 240 pixel resolution that adds up to one 1280 by 960 image. It has a maximum image size of 2,560 by 1,920 pixels. The Carl Zeiss Vario Sonnar 5x optical zoom lens contains a F2.0 aperture. Also, the DSC-F717 is Sony's first digital still camera to transfer via USB 2.0, in addition to USB 1.0.

The camera can capture pictures in JPEG and TIFF formats, and also includes a MPEG-HQX video recording capability with full frame playback, up to the limit of the memory card. The camera will ship with a 32M-byte Memory Stick card, an InfoLithium M battery, AC adapter/charger, A/V output cable, USB cable, shoulder strap and lens cap. Sony says the camera will be available in October. For more information, go to Sony's digital camera Web site .