As digital cameras continue to gain momentum in replacing film, Sony is targeting the mainstream market with a small, two megapixel digital camera.
The fully automatic DSC-P2 is from Sony's popular Cybershot series. It sports all the features available in the higher-end models such as the recently introduced DSC-P9, four megapixel model.
The entry-level DSC-P2 was expected to compete with Kodak's EasyShare LS420, which was introduced last month. The Kodak camera, which sells for about HK$2,300, is a 2.1 megapixel digital camera without zoom, but features eight megabytes of internal memory as well as a slot to take Secure Digital cards.
Besides still pictures, the P2 takes continuous-motion video limited only by memory size. A 128 MB Memory Stick can store up to 90 minutes of video. Sony has bundled film editing software with the camera, allowing users to edit and insert special effects to still images and film clips. It also has three times optical zoom, USB port and weighs 177 grams.
Sony has also unveiled a series of digital video cameras, including one using Sony proprietary media - Micro MiniVideo.