Sony DSC-F505 "CyberShot"

Click to see a QuickTime tour of the F505

The new Sony DSC-F505 CyberShot is radically different from all the other 2- megapixel digicams with the exception of the Nikon Coolpix 950.   It has a swiveling (+90 to -50 degrees) zoom lens that rotates independantly of the LCD display.  The F505 sports a longer focal length 5X optical zoom lens and the digicam world's first hybrid, 2-inch color LCD display that is viewable even in direct sunlight (more on this below.)

The F505 like the Coolpix 950, is also encased in a highly durable, die-cast magnesium alloy body.  I must say that the "fit and finish" of this camera is excellent, the joints are perfectly matched and all the screws are recessed.  It feels really secure and comfortable in your hand.

The CyberShot F505 stores its still images in 1600 x 1200, 1024 x 768 or 640 x 480 pixel sizes with two different JPEG compression levels.   It has a Programmed AE with 6 modes; Shutter Priority, Aperture Priority, Programmed Automatic, Landscape, Portrait and Night (slow syncro).

It also has MPEG Movie, Voice Memo & E-Mail Modes.

• MPEG Movie mode (160 x 112 or 320 x 240 resolution)
• Voice Memo mode, capture short audio clips to accompany video, stills or to use separately in your PC.
• E-Mail mode automatically reduces file size to simplify transmission of your favorite images.

The CyberShot features a 2-inch LCD which makes it as easy to frame a shot as it is to play it back.  This hybrid LCD uses 122,980 pixels and a backlit design to achieve superb clarity and brightness.   In sunny or bright indoor conditions, turn off the backlighting, save power and use the hybrid light reflective properties for illumination.  Using the large LCD it's easy to access all of the programming functions displayed on the onscreen menus.

There's been a lot of talk about this new, hybrid LCD and how well it works in direct sunlight. This photo shows the LCD screen facing directly into the afternoon Florida sun, backlight turned off and partially blocked so you can see how it goes totally black when there's no sunlight shining on it. This is truly the kind of LCD display that we've been waiting for!

This is the first digicam I have seen that has both a (metal) tripod socket and a guide pin hole.  Sony has paid a lot of attention to even the smallest details on this camera.

That's a speaker on the left for playback of your voice memo notes.

The view from the top, is that a BIG lens or what ?   I think it was designed by the marketing people so they could stick even more labels on this camera :-)

But seriously folks, that's a manual focusing ring out there on the end.

Looking at the F505 from this angle about all you can say is, "Would you like some camera with your lens?"

And speaking of lenses, here is one of the world famous Carl Zeiss, all-glass Vario-Sonar zoom lenses.

• 5x optical
• 10x (digital)
• F2.8 - 3.3
• f=7.1 - 35.5mm (35mm equiv. 38 - 190mm)
• High-speed scan auto focus
• Manual focus ring