Taking great pictures is easier than ever with the DSC-W290 Cyber-shot digital camera. The iAuto mode adjusts the settings for you based on your surroundings, so all you have to do is press a button to capture shots with the right amount of light and beautiful clarity. And with the ingenious Face Detection mode, faces in your photos will look more realistic with natural skin tones and sharp details. Tired of blurry photos? Optical SteadyShot image stabilization minimizes blur for better results. You can also connect your camera to a compatible HDTV and show off your shots on the big screen in high definition.

• 12.1 megapixels Super HAD CCD image sensor
  A powerful 12.1 megapixels 1/2.3" Super HAD CCD image sensor helps you capture gorgeous images with superb contrast and clarity down to the finest detail. With 12.1 megapixels, you can create stunning, photo-quality prints up to A3+ size, or crop your images and still come away with high resolution shots.
• Intelligent Auto mode
  Intelligent Auto (iAuto) mode goes beyond traditional auto settings by recognizing and adjusting to scene conditions and lighting, enhancing natural skin tones, and reducing blur. By incorporating advanced features such as Intelligent Scene Recognition, Face Detection, and Optical SteadyShot, iAuto lets you take advantage of the Sony Cyber-shot technology without leaving auto mode.
• Intelligent Scene Recognition
  Intelligent Scene Recognition (iSCN) mode automatically detects eight different types of scenes conditions and within 1/30th of a second selects the appropriate camera settings. iSCN has 2 modes: auto and advanced. In auto mode, the camera takes a single shot using the optimal settings. In advance mode, the camera takes a photo with the standard automatic settings and, in difficult lighting immediately takes a second photo with optimized setting so you can choose which to keep.
• Face Detection technology
  Face Detection technology detects up to eight individual faces and controls flash, focus, exposure, and white balance to deliver accurate, natural skin tones with reduced red-eye. It can also give priority to children or adults. Added Face Motion Detection adjusts ISO sensitivity and accelerates the shutter speed when facial movement is detected, reducing blur in the subjects face.
• Selected face memory
  Optimizing focus, exposure, and white balance for a specific face is easier now with selectable facial memory, even when the subject leaves the frame. This feature is perfect at weddings and other events the goal is always to focus on a certain person.
• Anti-blink function
  It's frustrating to think you've captured that perfect shot, only to review it later and discover one of your subjects blinked just as you pressed the shutter. The anti-blink function works to help counter blinking and squinting. When the camera is set to portrait, the anti-blink function captures two images, recording only the photo with less squinting. If a blink is detected in other shooting modes, a warning will be displayed after you take the shot.
• Smile Shutter technology
  The popular Smile Shutter technology automatically detects and captures a smiling face. Simply activate by pressing the Smile Shutter button and the camera will capture a smile the moment it happens. You can also select subject priority and indicate the degree of smile detection sensitivity to high, medium or low. Great substitute of self timer, smile once all are ready and the camera will capture the smile.
• High sensitivity mode (ISO 3200)
  High ISO allows for faster shutter speed, so you can take photos indoors or in low light without the need for a flash. In addition to high sensitivity mode (ISO), you can select up to eight ISO settings when shooting in program auto mode to adjust sensitivity to your shooting conditions.
• Dynamic Range Optimizer Standard and Plus
  Dynamic Range Optimizer (DRO) Standard and Plus uses a sophisticated algorithm to determine the best exposure and contrast settings for almost any shooting environment. The result is more natural images with clearer details that more closely match what your naked eye sees. DRO is particularly effective when shooting backlit portraits or any scene with a dramatic contrast between background and foreground lighting.
• Convenient photo modes
  Choose from 13 convenient photo modes to quickly adjust for specific shooting conditions. Photo modes include iAuto, easy, program, and scene selection such as high sensitivity, landscape, soft snap, twilight portrait, twilight, beach, snow, fireworks, underwater and gourmet mode. Gourmet mode lets you capture mouth-watering culinary creations with all the color and clarity of images you see in gourmet magazines.
• 9-point auto focus
  Because an off-centered subject can make your shot more interesting, a 9-point auto focus system measures nine precision focus points, giving you greater creative freedom to compose your images.
• Easy shooting mode
  With easy shooting mode, even beginners can take great photos. In easy shooting mode, easy-to-understand basic instructions are displayed on the LCD screen and the camera switches to all automatic settings with iSCN so you can just take the photo without worrying about settings. The menu is also simplified on playback to provide limited but straight forward operating functions for those afraid of choosing wrong settings.
• 16:9 high resolution mode
  Using the 16:9 high resolution mode, you can record high resolution images in the 16:9 aspect ratio favored by HDTVs. This setting is ideal if you plan to view your images on a compatible HDTV and invite friends and family members under for a slideshow.
• Easy image management
  Easy image management takes the hassle out of sorting through large volumes of image data, so you can quickly select and view your desired photos. Photos can be browsed in four convenient ways: by standard folder view, date view, event view, and favorites showing only user-selected images. You can also harness the power of Face Detection technology to filter by face type.
• Multi-purpose resize function
  The multi-purpose resize function lets you change the aspect ratio of an image right in the camera, so you can adjust images as necessary, whether you want to display them on a compatible HDTV, or e-mail them/upload them to a blog.
• PhotoTV HD
  Bring your photos to life and enjoy highly detailed, high definition images with PhotoTV HD-capable Sony BRAVIA HDTVs. PhotoTV HD fine tunes settings on your HDTV, such as sharpness, gradation, and color to display images that look more like actual printed photos.

Added on April 25, 2009