CES showcase for 'compass'-equipped Sony Cyber-shot HX5

Sony has unwrapped seven Cyber-shot digital compact cameras at the CES show in Las Vegas, including the new Cyber-shot HX5.

Billed as the world’s first camera to include both GPS and compass functions the 10.2-million-pixel HX5 comes with a 3in Clear Photo LCD screen.

The compass function is designed to indicate which direction the photographer was pointing when a picture was captured.

And, for the first time in a Cyber-shot model, the HX5 includes Backlight Correction HDR [High Dynamic Range].

A UK spokesperson claimed: ‘The HX5 automatically shoots two frames of the same scene in quick succession, with exposure values optimised for highlights and lowlights respectively. Powerful algorithms then combine the two frames, producing a single, detail-packed HDR image with bright, evenly-exposed highlights and deep shadow detail.’

The Exmor R CMOS sensor-equipped model is expected to go on sale in the UK at the end of January at a price yet to be announced.

Sony says its Intelligent Sweep Panorama Mode (which first appeared in last year’s Sony HX1) is now able to detect the presence of moving subjects in the scene and ‘stitch’ around them to create ‘natural looking panoramic images’.

The HX5 sports a Sony G lens and full HD video.

Sony HX5