Sony DSC-TX5 Rugged Camera is Slim, Slightly Wimpy, But HDR and Panoramic Ready

Welcome to the rugged camera game, Sony. Your TX5 impresses me with its deck-of-cards size Zeiss lens, and 14-degree rating, but at 10 feet of waterproofness and 5 feet of shock resistance, you're a little fragile. Other cameras, like the just released Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS2, are rated to around 30 feet of depth with respectable image quality. And the Casio EX-G1 is practically as small, although not nearly as capable of a camera. Still, I respect Sony point and shoots, and this one could be one of the most street friendly because of its sensor and some neat software. The camera has a 10.2 megapixel "Exmor R" CMOS low light sensor, has optical stabilization (handy in a rugged camera) and 10 fps burst modes. (We suspect it has similar guts to the WX1.) Another neat trick is the Intelligent Sweep Panorama, which can stitch together up to 100 separate captures by face matching and judging motion, adjusting them for lens warp to make a huge single image. There's also built in high dynamic range processing which combined bracketed photos. Ideal for capturing detail in sunny or snowy scenes. And smile capture which triggers the shutter when the camera detects a toothy grin or a timer mode that snaps the shot when heads show up in frame. The camera also captures 720p video at 30 frames per second with a special mode that'll allow for 10 times the lens movement to adjust for shake. Without having used this camera, I'd say it's ideal as a good solid slim point and shoot that can occasionally hit the outdoors. It'll go for $350 this April." sonny Gizmo"