Another piece of news we've heard rumours about has today been made official by Sony. Today they announced the 3.34 megapixel DSC-F505V and DSC-F55V. Essentially upgraded versions of their popular Cybershot digicams these cameras now complement their (extensive) range of digicams. DSC-F505V will be available in Japan in June @ 125,000 YEN (US$1100), DSC-F55V will be available in Japan in July @ 88,000 YEN (US$830)

Confusingly they seem to have fallen for interpolation.. using only 2.6 megapixels of the CCD and interpolating up to 3.7 megapixels (DUH??). Their technique is called "SRC (Super Resolution Converter"... Uh oh.

Phil clarifies: Most 3.34 megapixel digicams use 3.24 megapixels for the actual image (2048 x 1536), if you didn't know all digicams use only a portion of the CCD, the unused portions (edges) are used to measure the "black point" of the CCD and noise levels. However, Sony seem to have thrown A LOT of pixels away using only 2.6 megapixels of a 3.34 megapixel sensor (some 700,000 pixels).. The only sensible explanation we've come up with so far is that they've simply slapped the 3.34 megapixel sensor in where the 2.11 megapixel sensor was in the F505K, that has caused the cropping and shortage of pixels.

Sony DSC-F505V	Sony DSC-F55V

Sony DSC-F505V & DSC-F55V specifications

	Sony DSC-F505V	Sony DSC-F55V
CCD	Super HAD 1/1.8" 3.34 megapixels Effective: 2.62 megapixels - ??	Super HAD 1/1.8" 3.34 megapixels Effective: 2.62 megapixels - ??
A/D converter	12 bit	12 bit
Image sizes	2240 x 1680 (interpolated), 1856 x 1392 (native?), 1856 x 1232 (native? 3:2), 1600 x 1200, 1280 x 960, 640 x 480	2240 x 1680 (interpolated), 1856 x 1392 (native?), 1856 x 1232 (native? 3:2), 1600 x 1200, 1280 x 960, 640 x 480
Image modes	JPEG, TIFF, GIF, MPEG1	JPEG, TIFF, GIF, MPEG1
ISO (sensitivity)	Unknown (ISO 100)	Unknown (ISO 100)
Lens	5 x Zoom lens (38 - 190mm, 35mm equiv). F2.8 - F3.3	Fixed lens (37mm, 35mm equiv.) F2.8
Digital Zoom	Yes, 2x	Yes, 2x
Focus types	Auto Focus, Manual (on-screen loupe)	Auto Focus, 4 Presets
Focus range	Normal: 25cm - Infinity Macro: 2cm - 25cm	Normal: 25cm - Infinity Macro: 10cm - 25cm
Shutter speeds	8 s - 1/1000 s (19 steps)	8 s - 1/1000 s (19 steps)
Aperture range	F2.8 - F8.0 (7 steps)	F2.8 - F8.0 (7 steps)
Whitebalance	Auto, Indoor, Outdoor, Hold	Auto, Indoor, Outdoor, Hold
LCD monitor	2.0" TFT Sunlight Hybrid	2.0" TFT Sunlight Hybrid
Storage	MemoryStick (8MB MS supplied)	MemoryStick (8MB MS supplied)
Shooting modes	Program AE, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, Wide Focus Mode, Landscape, Night, Night +	Program AE, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, Wide Focus Mode, Landscape, Night, Night +
Metering modes	Center Weighted, Spot	Center Weighted, Spot
Movie modes	MPEG1 320 x 240 - 15 seconds max MPEG1 160 x 112 - 60 seconds max	MPEG1 320 x 240 - 15 seconds max MPEG1 160 x 112 - 60 seconds max
Exposure compensation	+/-2.0EV in 0.5EV steps	+/-2.0EV in 0.5EV steps
White balance	Full Auto, Preset, 4 settings	Full Auto, Preset, 4 settings
Self-timer	10 secs	10 secs
Flash	Pop-up	Built-in
Flash range	0.3m - 2.5m	0.5m - 4.2m
External flash	Yes, Sony HVL-F1000	No
Flash modes	Auto, On, Off, Anti-Red-Eye, External	Auto, On, Off, Anti-Red-Eye
Lens thread	52mm
Interface	USB	USB
Video output	NTSC/PAL switchable	NTSC/PAL switchable
Power requirements	Sony InfoLithium NP-FS11	Sony InfoLithium NP-FS11
Startup time	2.5 s	2.5 s
Dimensions	107 x 62 x 135 mm	103 x 79 x 48 mm
Weight (no batteries)	424 g	242 g
Est Price	~US$ 1100 (125,000 YEN)	~US$ 800 (88,000 YEN)
Release date	June, 2000 - Japan	July, 2000 - Japan
Infopages	Sony Japan DSC-F505V	Sony Japan DSC-F55V

• Sony Japan main DSC infopage

Why would you want to install a 3.34 megapixel CCD and only use 2.6 megapixels of it? Especially as the label on the side of the camera is "3.3 megapixels"... Does this "only using 2.6 megapixels then interpolating it up to 3.7 megapixels" stuff make any sense to anyone out there??? Answers in the News Discussion Forum please!

UPDATE: Some people are commenting that it may be simply because Sony want to make the most of the Zeiss lens, putting the newer (very slightly larger) CCD in would mean you don't get full frame coverage and thus only 2.6 megapixels... If this is the reason I couldn't recommend ANYONE to get the F505V despite the other feature enhancements. I'm sure most F505K owners were expecting a TRUE 3.34 megapixel version of the F505.. Disappointing.