Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W30 and DSC-W50 Digital Cameras Announced

In a prelude to the PMA show at the end of February, Sony has announced two new cameras for their "W" line of cameras.  The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W30 and Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W50 will be available in February and March, respectively.  The W30 will retail for $230 and the W50 will retail for $250.

Sony has designed these cameras in an effort to retain traditional camera styling with a slim form factor.  An optical viewfinder is included on both models and they're significantly more compact than previous W cameras.  A metal-alloy body with "sophisticated etching and details" will satisfy those looking for that stylish Sony factor.

Both cameras have 6 megapixel sensors and 3x optical zoom Zeiss lenses (38-114mm in 35mm terms).  The W50 features a 2.5 inch LCD, while the W30 gets a 2 inch screen. 

Sony has increased the sensitivity that these cameras are capable of in an effort to minimize flash photography.   Both cameras can capture images up to ISO 1000.  With Sony's "True RAW" technology, noise is controlled as the sensitivity is increased.  The cameras will captures MPEG1 movies at a resolution up to 640x480 at 30 frames per second.

Both cameras use a rechargeable lithium-ion battery that is good for 400 shots (in the W30, expect a bit less in the W50 with the larger LCD).  For storage, the cameras have 32MB of internal memory, but you can also use Memory Stick Pro DUO and Memory Stick Duo memory cards.

Don't let the pictures below fool you.  These are pretty tiny cameras.  The W30 is 3-1/2" x 2-5/16" x 7/8" and the W50 is 3-1/2" x 2-1/4" x 7/8".

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W30 and DSC-W50 press release (Word doc)

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W30

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W50