Take a look at Sony Cyber-shot DSC-WX9 digital camera

The 16.2-megapixel Sony Cyber-shot WX9 is a dressed up point-and-shoot digital camera. It joins HD video capture, Panorama stitching, and a DSLR-like background blur mode with a thin, attractive frame. Sony has done an effective, if not creative, job of integrating memorable snapshot features throughout the stylish design. The pocketable WX9, however, faces stiff competition in the $200-$220 price range.

The DSC-WX9 has a full arsenal of cutting-edge features that let your creativity run free: a high resolution iSweep Panorama mode for automatically putting together an impressive, ultra wide-angle panorama photo (without using a tripod); backlight correction HDR for turning high contrast problem shots into beautiful images; Background Defocus to give your portraits that subject-in-sharp-focus, background-way-out-of-focus professional look; 3D and 3D Panorama; and Smile Shutter (snaps a picture when it detects a smile), Anti-blink (doesn't take a picture when eyes blinking are detected), and Soft Skin (reduces blemishes and wrinkles) for flattering pictures of friends and family.

Sony keeps shooting options geared toward snapshooters on the WX9, but it's so loaded with automatic modes that it could get very confusing. For those who like to leave it in auto there are three options: Easy, Intelligent Auto, and Superior Auto. Easy mode takes away all options except for image size (large or small) and enlarges onscreen text. Intelligent Auto picks from 10 scene types and turns on face detection, dynamic range optimization, and image stabilization. Superior Auto takes Intelligent Auto and adds three multishot modes--Handheld Twilight, Anti Motion Blur, and Backlight Correction HDR--to shoot photos with the best possible settings.

Review Summary: A small and attractive digital camera with a decent price, a 16-megapixel backlit sensor, and an impressive set of features, the Sony WX9 nonetheless falls down in the imaging department, due to excessive noise suppression and a poor quality lens.

Pros: 25-125mm zoom range; iSweep Panorama; 3D capture modes; Full HD movie modes; Fast autofocus.

Cons: Slow operation in certain modes; Poor print quality; Soft corners; Lens is blurry all across the bottom of the frame.

Key specs
File format (still/video)
JPEG/AVCHD (.MTS); MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 (.MP4)

Highest resolution size (still/video)
4,608x3,456 pixels/ 1,920x1,080 at 60fps (interlaced; 24Mbps)