Sony DSC-W80/B Sony® Guide to Digital Photography (Spring 2007) - Page 15

Shooting the digital way CAMERA SYSTEMS blur is a good tripod. But when a tripod isn't available, blur can happen under a surprisingly wide range of circumstances. • Low light, including evenings, nights and many indoor shots. • When flash would ruin the mood. You could use flash to get the birthday girl blowing out the candles. But you wouldn't get the glow of the candle-lit scene. • Sports photography. Fast-moving sports can easily blur, especially indoor sports. • Telephoto shots are extremely susceptible, because the narrow angle of view tends to amplify the effect of camera shake. The challenge of power consumption Digital cameras tend to wear out batteries quickly and unpredictably. With its intensive calculations, the image processor is a primary culprit. The BIONZ LSI is the fastest, most powerful processor Sony has ever built into a camera. 26 Sony image processor features BIONZ™ image processor LSI The most powerful processing Sony has ever built into a digital camera. To handle more megapixels and perform ever-more-ambitious feats of calculation, Sony needed a quantum leap in image processing power. That's how the incredible BIONZ™ large scale integrated circuit came into existence. Originally featured in the award-winning a100 Digital SLR, the BIONZ processor is now featured in a wide range of Sony's latest point-and-shoot cameras, where it not only performs the usual image processing functions, but goes far beyond, to a whole new range of image possibilities: • Full HD 1080 output means that you can connect your Cyber-shot camera to an HDTV and enjoy spectacular HD performance. • Face Detection can actually analyze the picture data to identify up to eight faces. Then the camera automatically optimizes flash, focus, exposure and white balance. • Dynamic Range Optimizer (DRO) corrects common exposure problems such as "blown out" highlights and "crushed" shadow detail. • In-camera retouching can automatically apply Red-eye Reduction and exciting special effect filters. • High-speed burst mode. The BIONZ processor supports fast burst-mode shooting of multi-megapixel images. In fact, with the a100 Digital SLR, you can continue to shoot fullresolution images at three frames per second right up to the capacity of recording media! Face Detection Taking advantage of the BIONZ™ integrated circuit, Sony cameras accurately recognize - and optimize - the human face. Even a simple snapshot can trip up the automatic adjustments of a conventional camera. For example, faces can easily become bleached out because the flash was too strong. Faces can be blurry if the camera doesn't know where to focus. And faces can become too dark when sunlight or other light sources are positioned behind the people you're shooting. Sony's BIONZ™ processor solves these problems with Face Detection. As you shoot, the Face Detection function actually analyzes the data that make up your digital picture. In this way, Face Detection can identify and track up to eight faces at a time. Then the camera automatically adjusts for optimum focus, exposure, flash and even white balance on the faces themselves. The result is far more "good" pictures, far fewer rejects and re-takes. In-camera retouching Creative options right in your camera, thanks to the power of the BIONZ™ image processor. Just as the BIONZ processor can optimize the picture at the moment you take it, this remarkable integrated circuit can also upgrade your image after the fact. Selected Cyber-shot® cameras can achieve creative results that might otherwise require painstaking image manipulation in a PC. • Red-eye Reduction filter. Sony's pre-flash system can minimize the ghoulish red that sometimes occurs when a person's retinas reflect light from the camera flash. But if you forget to use this feature, you can still correct pictures after you've shot them with the Red-eye Reduction filter. CAMERA SYSTEMS Sony solves common exposure, focus, flash and white balance problems with Face Detection technology. (Sample photos for illustration purposes.) IN-CAMERA RETOUCHING Red-eye Reduction filter suppresses the ghoulish red even after you've taken the shot. (Sample photos for illustration purposes.) Another tool for highlighting your subject is the Partial Color filter. (Sample photos for illustration purposes.) At Sony, anti-blur isn't a "feature," it's a passion. And it's a comprehensive commitment that extends to three important aspects of camera design: • Super SteadyShot® optical image stabilization directly counteracts the effects of camera shake without sacrificing resolution. • High ISO sensitivity settings help enable handheld shooting in low light. • Clear RAW™ noise reduction enables Sony cameras to pull usable images out of low-light situations where previous cameras would deliver mottled, noise-laden images. Taken together, the Sony approach to antiblur means clean, super-sharp pictures under an impressively wide range of circumstances: in low light, when using telephoto lenses, for sports photography, and when flash would ruin the mood. In this way, Sony cameras get the shots that others don't. Soft Edge filter accentuates your subject. (Sample photos for illustration purposes.) • Soft Edge filter helps accentuate your subject by blurring the background. A hallmark of professional photography, the blurred background can make a dramatic difference in the mood and impact of your pictures. • Partial Color filter is another tool for highlighting your subjects, rendering them in full color while the background appears in black and white. • Fish-eye filter expands the center of the picture creating powerful landscapes and a comic effect for portraits. • Star filter makes nighttime photography come alive by creating beautiful star effects on picture highlights. The Star filter brings new excitement to nighttime photography. (Sample photos for illustration purposes.) Comprehensive anti-blur technologies Razor-sharp pictures, even at full telephoto zoom, even in low light, even with fast action. Super SteadyShot® optical image stabilization Anti-Blur Feature 1: Direct compensation for camera shake yields clear pictures under an amazing range of shooting conditions. The first component of our comprehensive anti-blur strategy is to counteract the camera Continued on page 28. Low light requires long exposures which can transform even slight camera movement into blur. Three Sony anti-blur features, including Super SteadyShot optical image stabilization, reduce blur to a bare minimum. (Sample photos for illustration purposes.) 27