150 Ampere

Sony has built a new “smile shutter” into its Cyber-shot W-series digital cameras. Using facial recognition technology, the camera detects when the subject of the shot is smiling and takes a picture. The photographer doesn’t even need to press the button. The function can also be keyed to the smiles of children or adults, which represents an evolution in Sony’s facial recognition technology. The camera has two discrete settings for prioritizing smiles according to age, and can analyze up to eight faces in a shot.

The W-series cameras - as in the W120, W130, W150 and W170 - also feature intelligent scene recognition technology, and when active, will enable the camera to choose the best exposure settings given the conditions. The camera can be set to use the manual configuration selected by the user, but if the camera detects that a better picture can be had, it will take a second photograph with its preferred settings, so you can see just how wrong you were when you thought you could take photos.

On the low-end, the W120 and W130 feature 7.0 and 7.2-megapixel chips respectively with a 4x optical zoom and a 2.5-inch LCD view screen. If you want to step up, you can pick up a W150, with an 8.1 megapixel chip, a 5x optical zoom, a wide angle 30mm-150mm lens and a slightly larger 2.7-inch LCD screen with an eye-level view finder. If you want to go all-out, the W170 offers a 10.1-megapixel chip, a 5x optical zoom and a 28-mm-140-mm wide angle lens in addition to the larger LCD view screen and eye-level viewfinder.

The series includes image stabilization, a semi-manual focus along with an improved autofocus system, ISO settings up to 3200, and built in filters to improve picture quality. Sony has also upped the ante a bit by including picture editing and slideshow capabilities within the camera. With a few spare minutes, users can put together professional-looking slideshows. Sony offers an optional HD cable or camera cradle that will enable users to connect the camera to a high-definition television for later playback.

The new W-series Cyber-Shots will be in the stores in February and March, and range in price from about $200 to $300 depending upon the model you choose. The lower end cameras are available in pink, blue, black and silver. The higher end models are sporting the slightly more tasteful champagne, red, black and silver.