mitosis skidded: Sony Cyber-shot WX80 packs WiFi, 10 fps shooting, 12,800 ISO in a $199 point-and-shoot (hands-on)

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Sony Cyber-shot WX80 packs WiFi, 10 fps shooting, 12,800 ISO in a $199 point-and-shoot (hands-on)

There's no full-frame sensor or advanced mode dial here, but Sony has managed to line up a compelling set of features for its CES flagship point-and-shoot. At $199, the Cyber-shot WX80 offers a huge jump in performance with only a modest bump in price, making it by far Sony's best value of the show. Granted, we haven't seen sample images or video clips, but boy does this camera pack an impressive spec list. There's a 20.1-megapixel CMOS sensor at the core, paired with a 25mm 8x optical zoom lens with SteadyShot OIS and a new lens-shift algorithm, improved autofocus, a 10 frames-per-second consecutive shooting mode, a top ISO of 12,800, 1080p video, a new intelligent flash for more even coverage and a 2.7-inch LCD.

On the software side, Sony's brought over some features from the mirrorless camera line. There's an improved selection of picture effects, like Toy Photo, Pop Color and four color highlight modes that display either red, green, blue or yellow in color with the rest of the frame in black and white. There's also a "virtual cosmetic surgery" function, which changes skin tone, softens skin, removes shine, widens eyes and whitens teeth automatically with adjustable effect levels. As another Cyber-shot first, Sony's added WiFi to the WX80, along with the same Smart Remote Control and Send to Smartphone features we've used with the company's NEX-6.

The camera housing itself has a plasticky feel, despite the high-end internals -- the WX80 may not look like a sub-$200 camera on paper, but its true colors shine through once you have it in hand. The display is fairly basic, and while it looks alright at a distance, the UI experience doesn't exactly feel high-end. The camera will ship in pink, white and black finishes, and you'll want to opt for the latter flavor if you're after a somewhat-premium look and feel. You'll need to hang tight for a few weeks before you have a chance to evaluate the WX80 yourself, but housing and display aside, Sony seems to have a winner here. Sneak a peek in our gallery below.

Gallery: Sony Cyber-shot WX80 hands-on