Sony DSC-W80/B Sony® Guide to Digital Photography (Spring 2007) - Page 16

Shooting the digital way CAMERA SYSTEMS shake directly. Sony Super SteadyShot optical image stabilization uses separate vertical and horizontal sensors that detect camera shake. As implemented in selected Cyber-shot® cameras, the camera sends an equal-but-opposite correcting signal to a stabilization lens, which moves to compensate for shake at no sacrifice of picture quality. As a digital SLR that accepts interchangeable lenses, the a100 takes a slightly different approach. Instead of moving a lens element to compensate for camera shake, the a100 moves the CCD! A super-smooth, super-fast CCD transport makes it happen. High ISO sensitivity Anti-Blur Feature 2: Higher ISO settings enable you to shoot at faster shutter speeds. The second component of our comprehensive anti-blur strategy is high ISO sensitivity. Doubling the ISO sensitivity means halving the amount of light required for a given exposure. ISO sensitivity is a powerful ally in fighting blur. Consider a low-light situation that calls for an aperture of f2.8 and a shutter speed of 1/8 second at ISO 200. A shutter speed that slow might be susceptible to camera shake, especially with a lens zoomed in to telephoto. In that case, you might be happy to increase the ISO to 400, which enables you to cut the shutter speed to 1/15 second, or choose an ISO of 800 for a shutter speed of 1/30 second. With high ISO sensitivity, you gain the flexibility to get the shot! While some digital cameras can reach ISO 400 or so, most Sony cameras achieve settings up to ISO 1000. Several models can attain ISO 3200, while the DSC-W200 can be switched into a 3 Megapixel mode for an ISO rating of 6400! These operational settings are made possible by Sony's third anti-blur feature: Clear RAW noise reduction. 28 NOISY RAW DATA NOISE REDUCTION NOISE REDUCTION NOISE REDUCED DATA Other noise reduction systems work only after de-mosaicing has spread noise into adjacent pixels. Sony Clear RAW noise reduction operates on the camera's RAW signal - before de-mosaicing! Noise (left) and the result of Clear RAW noise reduction (right). (Sample photos for illustration purposes.) BEFORE AFTER Clear RAW™ noise reduction Anti-Blur Feature 3: More effective processing for minimizing noise. The third and final component of our comprehensive anti-blur strategy is Clear RAW noise reduction. In most cameras, noise from the image sensor is passed directly into the de-mosaicing process, where noise tends to propagate into adjacent pixels, making it harder to control. That's where the Sony Clear RAW system comes in. Instead of trying to suppress noise after it has spread, our Clear RAW system works on the camera's RAW image prior to de-mosaicing. The result is more effective noise reduction, for an image that's substantially cleaner. Clear RAW noise reduction is a big advantage in low light. And it's the final step in our antiblur technology. Real Imaging Processor™ LSI Fast response, reduced picture "noise." The Sony Real Imaging Processor large scale integrated circuit (LSI) delivers fast response and low image noise - the digital equivalent of film grain - an unwanted grit or texture not present in the original scene. And the processor reduces "aliasing" distortions in the file conversion process. All told, you'll see better exposure, better white balance and smoother, more beautiful pictures. For more information on the Real Imaging Processor LSI, please refer to Sony Power Features (page 33). Smart Zoom® function Delivers the benefits of digital zoom without the softness of interpolation processing. Digital zoom takes over where optical zoom leaves off, using a progressively smaller portion of the CCD to crop into the area of interest. Unfortunately, in addition to sacrificing the resolution of the full CCD, CAMERA SYSTEMS most digital zooms soften the image further still through "interpolation," the need to calculate intermediate values "between" pixels. Our Smart Zoom feature overcomes the problem. Smart Zoom modes crop into the CCD image without interpolation, for cleaner, sharper pictures. NOTE: Because it crops into the CCD, Smart Zoom is not available at the highest camera resolution. Optional accessory tripods The ultimate in anti-blur technology. This section describes three Sony technologies to overcome camera shake. However, the ultimate anti-shake technology remains outside the camera body, in the form of optional, accessory tripods. When you stabilize your camera on a tripod, you'll be perfectly set up for tack-sharp pictures on long-exposure nighttime shots and full telephoto shots. The Smart Zoom function allows you to crop the frame to extract just the portion of interest without interpolation. (Sample photos for illustration purposes.) Viewfinder and monitor Digital camera technology offers three devices to help you frame your shots. • Optical viewfinder. Experienced film photographers are well practiced at using an optical viewfinder. Not only do they know how to use the viewfinder to frame their shots, they also know how to "anchor" the camera against the face, locking the elbows against the chest to minimize camera shake. • LCD monitor. While optical viewfinders have their undoubted advantages, digital cameras also enable you to frame the picture on an LCD monitor screen. This is an entirely different experience. For example, looking at the LCD screen, you can hold the camera at arm's length above the heads of the crowd, to shoot a parade. The LCD monitor has the additional advantages of 100% framing, plus a live preview of your exposure and white balance settings. • TTL electronic viewfinder. Combining attributes of both methods is a third alternative: the eye-level, through-thelens (TTL) electronic viewfinder. As with an optical viewfinder, you hold the camera up to your eye and look into a small window. As with the LCD monitor, what you see is a live preview on a miniature LCD screen. Sony viewfinder and monitor features Large LCD monitor Makes digital cameras even more attractive. A digital camera's LCD monitor is your window on the world. Before you take the shot, the monitor shows you control menus and image framing. After you've taken the shot, the monitor is your first opportunity to show off your work. That's why our 2.0, 2.5, and even 3.0-inch LCD monitors are so desirable (viewable area measured diagonally). And Sony now offers the world's largest, highest-resolution LCD monitor on a digital camera (as of June 15, 2007): the 3.5-inch 921K pixel screen of the Sony DSC-G1 (viewable area measured diagonally). Sony consistently builds large monitors because a bigger screen makes a huge difference in enjoying the camera. It means bigger menus. It makes framing easier to see. And it's far more effective when it comes to showing off your results! Transflective LCD monitor Uses sunlight for increased brightness. Some LCD monitors tend to wash out in direct sunlight. But selected Sony cameras aren't afraid of the sun. In darkness, the monitors get transmissive light from inside these cameras. In sunlight, the monitors use both transmissive and reflective light, in our transflective design. Stabilize your camera with a Sony VCT-1500L lightweight tripod. 29