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Sony's latest compact digital camera is the DSC-T2, which is part of Sony's ultra-popular T-series line of cameras. To call this point-and-shoot camera innovative would be an understatement. This camera sports some of the coolest technology to show up in a compact digital camera in a long time.

The DSC-T2 comes equipped with 4 GB of built-in memory. This amount of memory is enough to get 40,000 VGA-quality photos or 1,000 8 megapixel photos. For most people, this is more than enough photo memory. For those who will need even more than 4 GB, this camera also is compatible with Sony's Memory Sticks.

Sony's in-camera album folder feature helps to keep all of the photos nicely organized. Images can be organized in chronological order or in a nice calendar view. You can also view images based upon events such as birthdays, anniversaries, vacations, etc.

A "sharemark" folder in the DSC-T2 allows you to put any images you wish to be shared on sites like Flickr, TouTube, Shutterfly, among others. Once images are placed in this folder, all you need to do is connect the camera to a computer, and it will automatically load the images to the photo-sharing website of your choice.

A great innovation in this camera is its "smile shutter" technology. What this feature does is seek out smiling faces in a photo, and it will automatically take a shot when it "sees" the person smiling. This feature will work with up to six smiling faces per shot. This feature should eliminate all of those portrait shots where you were a fraction of a second too late, and you got a "weird" face instead of a smiling one.

Did I forget to mention that you accomplish all of these awesome features by using the 2.7 inch touch-screen display on the back of the camera? This kind of technology is pretty rare in a camera such as this one. There are very few buttons on the exterior of this camera, which gives it an "uncluttered" look.

The DSC-T2 allows you to hook it up to a high-definition TV to view a slide show of selected photos on the camera. You can even add cool transitions between photos and music to your slide show. Unfortunately, you need to purchase either a HD component cable or HD cradle, and they are both sold separately.

One of the few external controls on this camera is a button called "scapbook". Clicking this button allows you to create a scrapbook with the photos on the camera. You have the option to choose from 16 scrapbooking designs, and a total of 8 special effects features to apply to photos in your scrapbook.

• ISO 3200 capabilities for low-lighting conditions
• 6 body colors to choose from: silver, black, white, blue, green, pink
• Included stylus to use on the touch-screen display
• Carl Zeiss 38mm-114mm lens
• 3x optical zoom and 6x digital zoom
• Shoots video at up to 30 frames per second
• Automatic face detection with 9 face maximum per photo
• 11 scene modes including beach, snow, fireworks, etc.
• Dimensions: 3.4 x 2.2 x 0.8 inches and weighs 4.6 ounces

Sony plans on releasing this camera in December, just in time for the holidays. Sources at Sony say that the introductory price of this camera will be $350.

Sources: DPReview and DCResource

Joe Eitel's Gadget Blog
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