Sony CyberShot T500 Shoots HD Video

Sony's new super-slim CyberShot T500 camera shoots photos at 10.1 megapixel resolution...or video at 30 frames per second at 720p resolution.

Sony has taken the wraps off its new CyberShot T500 camera: it keeps the slim form factor of the CyberShot line, enables users to snap photos at a 10.1 megapixel resolutions, but adds one big extra: it can shoot 720p video at 30 frames per second in MPEG4 AVC/H.264 format.

“Our research revealed that people like to shoot video with their point-and-shoot cameras, but were very dissatisfied with the video quality and the resulting large files,” said Sony Electronics’ director of digital camera marketing Phil Lubell, in a statement. “Our new T500 fulfills this customer need for a digital camera that delivers high-quality movies in a small form factor.”

The T500 sports a big 3.5-inch LCD screen, a Carl Zeiss lens with 5× optical zoom, and Sony’s Optical SteadyShot image stabilization for smooth snapsots and video—and the camera features a dual photo and video more that lets users snap up to three photos while shooting video, without interrupting the video recording. The camera also sports sensitivity all the way down to ISO 3,200 for low-light images, and can connect to an HD television via HDMI. Sony says the T500 can record up to 10 minutes of video, and can store hours of video clips using Memory Stick media with capacities up to 16 GB.

We wouldn’t expect the video quality from the T500 to rival an HD camcorder or video from a high-end camera (like, say, the new Nikon D90, properly configured) but for point-and-shoot video in a compact form factor, the T500 might be a good device for some folks. Expect to see the T500 at retailers in late September for roughly $400. A black verison will ship first in the U.S., but silver and red versions are already slated for Europe in October.