The Cyber-shot DSC-TX9

Sony has added two more jewels to its Cyber-shot goody bag. And keeping its word of real technology, the latest additions are also sure-fire eye-turners.

2D is passé. Sony has launched two new Cyber-shots with 3D capability. Cyber-shots DSC-TX9 and DSC-WX5 let you capture 3D panorama shots, both at 12.2 megapixels. This announcement comes just a short while after the Japanese media and electronics bigwig released a firmware upgrade to its NEX interchangeable lens digital cameras to enable 3D in DSLRs. Improvising on their former models, the new Cyber-shots feature advanced traits like Superior Auto Mode and 3D Sweep Panorama, the first time in that line of digital still cameras ever.

The Cyber-shot DSC-WX5

Replacing the TX7, the DSC-TX9 looks almost the same as its precedent, with an identical body, LCD touch-screen and lens, but stands apart with its backlit Exmor R CMOS sensor with a resolution bump from 10 to 12 megapixels. The not-too-old WX1 is ousted by the DSC-WX5, which boasts of a higher-resolution sensor and 5X optical zoom, but with some significant photo-capture differences.

Both cameras use BIONZ imaging processors and possess 32MB internal memory as of now. Along with the aforementioned talents, these two candies also feature Sweep Multi Angle and Background Defocus mode, which like it sounds, combines two shots into one where the subject is in focus and the rest is blurred to create an effect of depth. The Soft Skin option digitally airbrushes imperfections of detected faces. Both the cameras also capture video in AVCHD at a 1,920 x 1,080 p resolution.

Reducing the clumsiness and time-consuming nature of photo transfers, Cyber-shots DSC-WX5 and DSC-TX9 are Transfer-Jet powered to enable viewing with or without HDMI connectivity. Good news for swimmers and divers: the TX9 is hydrophilic. So you can bring back your aquatic memories from that dip.

Slated for a September release, Sony has estimated the DSC-WX5 at around $400, while the TX9 will be attainable at $300. Another new model DSC-T99 has also been released in lieu of the TX1, which ditches the Exmor R sensor for a 14-megapixel CCD. Water-friendly like the TX9, the T99 will be offered in September for the lowest-of-the-lot $250.