Sony W300 Stuffs 13.6MP into a Pocket Cam

Resolution that was once the sole domain of bulky DSLR cameras has been conquered by Sony's new consumer-level Cyber-Shot W300.

Continuing in the trend of packing more and more resolution into pocketable point-and-shoot cameras, Sony broke news Monday of its new Cyber-Shot W300, a slim new digital camera that takes 13.6-megapixel shots.

Like many cameras in Sony’s Cyber-Shot line, the W300 gets a Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar lens, which offers 3x zoom and benefits from Sony’s Super SteadyShot optical image stabilization. It also sports a titanium covering to resist scratches and fingerprints, and manages to fit both a 2.7-inch LCD and viewfinder on its back panel.

Besides offering ultra-high resolution, the W300 also includes an “extra high sensitivity mode” that boosts camera speed to ISO 6400, which Sony says cuts down on blur in low-light situations. A new high-speed burst mode also allows it to capture strings of photos at five frames per second, albeit at a lower 3-megapixel resolution. Three different noise reduction settings also allow users to balance noise versus resolution, and there’s even an automatic “Smile Shutter” option to allow the camera to automatically snap a photo when a subject smiles.

Sony will roll the W300 out into retail stores in May, with a price tag of about $350.