Sony is focusing on the selfie once again, with the announcement of a new Cyber-shot digital camera that offers design and features tailor-made to self-loving selfie lovers.
The new model, the Cyber-shot DSC-KW11, was formally launched via Sony's affiliates in Hong Kong and Shanghai.
The absence of a similar announcement in the U.S. or other Sony markets probably indicates that Asia may be the only part of the world that will get this camera for a while.
The new digicam is clearly marketed toward the female of the species. How do we know that? Because the DSC-KW11 looks for all the world to be a perfume bottle, not a camera. It is also cast in pink and other female-oriented color casings. Sony has even incorporated Swarovski crystals into the design. We also know this because Sony has revealed that the camera is targeted toward women in their late teens and 20s.
The camera sports a 3.3-inch OLED display. The top of the "bottle" contains a gold-encased camera lens that visually resembles a spray nozzle, but swivels around 180-degrees from selfie- to outward-view mode. The lens is wide-angle 21-mm unit with a maximum aperture of F2 and a 19.2-megapixel Exmor RS sensor.
This is the first Cyber-shot that uses Sony's stacked CMOS image sensor, which layers the pixel and circuit functions without using a substrate. CMOS, which stands for complementary metal-oxide semiconductor, is used in building integrated circuits.
Sony states that this sensor is ideal for shooting in low light conditions. As covered by Tech Times, the company is also making a concerted effort to ramp up production capacity of CMOS sensors, not only for its own use in the rapidly growing smartphone market, but to offer to other imaging device makers.
The display incorporates a timer that can be activated with the swipe of a thumb.
The ability to share a selfie through social media and the Internet is really the reason why people self-photograph. That's why the DSC-KW11 features both Wi-Fi and near field communication (NFC) connectivity.
Naturally, the camera offers shooting modes including a Beauty Effect that touches up skin tone and smoothness. It also offers other image-manipulation goodies like "eye widening" and "face slimming" options. Of course, these effects do not improve the appearance of faces in real life, just in photographs. Sony may be working on the former, if they know what's good for them.
The DSC-KW11 is available in pink, white, green and violet. It should hit shelves in the Asia region in a couple of months, at a price equivalent to $800.
