I dropped by the Sony Expo 2010 in Midvalley Exhibition Center! It is open from 10am to 10pm, from the 1st to 4th of April 2010.

These are the 3D glasses, and they debuted the Sony 3D Bravias and Playstation 3 units there. I don’t know if the price will be announced anytime soon.

They feel like the recent 3D movies you’ve seen. A benefit is that with a TV you can move closer and get more 3D-ness! They are active electronic 3D glasses which close one window at a time like the ones you use in regular cinemas.

Interestingly, there was a theater which had regular passive polarized 3D glasses showing the same thing. (IMAX 3D uses this.)

They had a service clinic – if you send your out-of-warranty products during the expo, you do not need to pay labour charges! There is also up to 15% discount on spare parts.

There was something rare – the Broadcast & Professional department! I remember Khai having trouble locating one of these…

Here, you have a Sony broadcast camera mounting Fujinon lenses…

…and here, a Canon lens.

There was also one of two Sony 300mm F2.8G SSM lenses on display! The removable polarizer was also shown.

The new Sony Cybershot HX5 – 10x optical zoom in an amazingly small package! If you remember, the HX1 was a chunkier bridge camera… this one however adds GPS, Backlight Correction HDR, Optical SteadyShot and a backlit sensor!

Edited: This is the Sony Cybershot TX5, shockproof, dustproof, backlit sensor, Backlight Correction HDR, and the smallest waterproof camera with a 3.0″ 230K touchscreen yet!

This, and the HX5, are a technical tour de force. However, neither these nor the W380 actually replace my WX1 as the best low-light Cybershot – the WX1 has a 24mm-wide F2.4 lens with backlight sensor.

In comparison, the W380 has the same Sony 24-120mm F2.4-5.9 G lens, but without a backlit sensor. That can only mean the WX2 (or WX5?) will add the new features – I particularly like Backlight Correction HDR, which debuted on the Sony Alpha 550 as Auto HDR!

Sadly, none of the prototype Alphas or lenses were anywhere to be seen. 🙁

Here’s one the WX1 at 24mm wide. Live View is handy and is a given for all point-and-shoots.

All shots from my very pocketable Sony Cybershot WX1.

And now, for some delayed geeking – here’s an analysis of the possible size of the new compact Alpha!

(Adjusted midtones to 2 in Photoshop. Credits to P3 News & Reviews.)

79×53 pixels sensor, 385×204 pixels body
24×16 mm sensor, therefore 116×62 mm body

The Cybershot WX1 is 91x52mm and 20mm thick. I don’t mind it being longer or taller, but the thickness is the main factor to pocketability. If there was a case that holds body and pancake serially that would slip into a pocket that would be awesome.

There is a picture somewhere which shows the tripod screw mount – I can’t find it at the moment, but once found, we can figure out the missing dimension – thickness!

This slide confirms that the compact Alpha has a sensor size of 24x16mm (thus, an aspect ratio of 3:2).

This is a screenshot released by Sony. It proves that it supports RAW, and a separate photo and video folder.

There also seems to be a help mode.

We don’t know how you change “Shoot Mode” though, since this dial is missing on the mocks…

Ah, there it is – probably by hitting Menu then using the directional pad you can select the Shoot Mode.

Changing WB. No implication of Kelvin WB though that would be sweet!

This might be the “Background Defocus” scene mode where you just press the D-pad to make more or less in focus. FH at the top, I presume, means Full HD. We see Face Detect and Smile Shutter, AF-S (meaning you can choose AF-C and AF-A) and we get a battery percentage readout… which my Cybershot WX1 does not do!

In other news, I now know why I seem to like the shape of my head; it is a bit too familiar!