Recording Features
Play, Edit, and Print Functions
Battery Information
Inputs and Outputs
Supplied Software

Recording Features

3.5" LCD Touch Screen: The Sony DSC-T99 digital camera has a 3.0" Clear Photo LCD Plus touch screen. The LCD screen has 230,000 pixels with a resolution or 960 x 240. The LCD touch screen allows you to view an image before taking a picture and replay images that have been stored in memory. The touch screen offers intuitive functions for selecting the focus point, scroll through images with your finger, and one-touch access to the menu.

Recording Media: The DSC-T99 has approximately 32 MB of internal flash memory for recording images when no memory card is inserted. The camera is also compatible with the following recording media:

• Memory Stick: Memory Stick Duo, Memory Stick PRO Duo, Memory Stick PRO Duo (High Speed), Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo (For movies, Mark 2 media)
• SD Card: SD cards, SDHC cards, SDXC cards (For movies, Class 4 or faster)

TransferJet: The DSC-T99 is compatible with TransferJet, a new close-proximity wireless technology that allows you to wirelessly transfer up to ten files between two TransferJet-enabled devices just by touching them together. You can choose single or multiple image transfers in the camera's menu. To enable TransferJet, the camera must be loaded with a Memory Stick with TransferJet (such as MSJ-X8G). Your computer must be connected to the TJS-1 TransferJet Station (via USB) in order to upload your pictures to your computer.

Image Sensor: For optimal image quality, the camera uses a 1/2.3" (7.76mm) Super HAD CCD imaging device with approximately 14.5-million gross pixels and 14.1-million effective pixels.

BIONZ Image Processor: The digital camera's BIONZ image processor delivers high resolution photos and fast still photography performance. The fast processing enables the camera to combine multiple images in less than a second to create wide panoramic images when using the Sweep Panorama feature.

DRO Standard: Dynamic Range Optimizer (DRO) Standard uses a sophisticated algorithm to determine the best exposure and contrast settings for almost any shooting environment. The result is more natural images with clearer details that more closely match what your naked eye sees. DRO is particularly effective when shooting backlit portraits or any scene with a dramatic contrast between background and foreground lighting.

Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar Lens: The Vario-Tessar lens is specially produced for very compact cameras. This specialized design allows quick auto-focus, appealing zoom range while still maintaining a compact design. The lens has a 4x optical zoom and a focal length of 4.43mm to 17.7mm. The 35mm equivalent is 25mm to 100mm for stills, 27mm to 108mm for 16:9 movies, and 33mm-132mm for 4:3 movies. The lens has an aperture range of F3.5 (W) to F4.6 (T).

Smart Digital Zoom: The camera has a Precision Digital Zoom of 2x. Combined with the 4x optical zoom, the maximum total zoom is 8x. The camera's Smart Zoom technology intelligently uses the full CCD to let you zoom into the portion of interest by cropping the image size, thus avoiding the image degradation found in most digital zooms. The maximum zoom scale depends upon the image size:

Optical SteadyShot: The camera has Optical SteadyShot image stabilization to help prevent blurry photos. Optical SteadyShot uses a built-in gyro sensor to detect camera shake and automatically compensates to help prevent blur without sacrificing image quality.

Image Recording Format: The camera records still images in JPEG format. Moving images with stereo audio can be recorded in MPEG-4.

Still Image Size: When recording digital still images, the DSC-T99 allows you to choose from five image sizes. The larger the image you choose, the better the image detail will be, but it also takes a larger amount of data to preserve the image. The image sizes include:

Movies: Besides recording still images, you can also record high definition or standard definition moving images with sound. Moving images are recorded in MPEG4 format at approximately 30 frames per second, in progressive mode, with AAC audio. The following image sizes are available: 1280 x 720 Fine, 1280 x 720 Standard, and VGA (640 x 480).

Sweep Panorama: The Sweep Panorama function lets you take breathtaking panoramic shots in one sweeping motion. Simply press the shutter button and sweep the camera in the desired direction, and the camera continuously shoots at a high speed, then seamlessly stitches the images together with automatic position adjustment to create a stunning panoramic image. There is also an Underwater Sweep Panorama mode for use when the camera is enclosed in a waterproof housing. Options include: 4912 x 1080 (Std/Horiz/182° sweep angle), 3424 x 1920 (Std/Vert/127°), 7152 x 1080 (Wide/Horiz/265°), and 4912 x 1920 (Wide/Vert/182°).

Burst Mode: You can shoot up to 100 images in succession when you press and hold down the shutter button.

Exposure Adjustment: You can adjust the exposure manually in 1/3 EV steps in a range of -2.0 EV to +2.0 EV to correct problems of over- or under-exposure.

Self-Timer: You can set the Self-Timer mode to a 10-second or 2-second delay so you can be in the picture or to help prevent blur. In addition, the self-timer can be used in conjunction with the face detection feature, allowing you to take a self-portrait by yourself or with one other person. When set to Self-portrait, the camera beeps when it detects the specified number of faces, and the shutter operates 2 seconds later.

9-Point Auto Focus: The camera has a 9-area multi-point autofocus. The camera calculates the distance in nine areas in three rows of three points around the center of the frame. This method is helpful when your subject is not centered in the frame. You can also choose Center AF, which focuses only on the subject framed in the AF range finder in the center of the image, or Spot AF, which focuses on an extremely small subject or a narrow area. You can also choose an area in which to set the focus priority by touching the LCD touch screen on the subject.

AF Illuminator: The AF (auto focus) Illuminator briefly provides fill light to focus more easily on a subject in dark surroundings. The camera emits red light to allow it to focus easily when the shutter button is presses halfway, until the focus is locked.

Face Detection: Face Detection technology detects up to eight individual faces and controls flash, focus, exposure, and white balance to deliver accurate, natural skin tones with reduced red-eye. The camera can automatically select the faces to focus on, or you can select the face in a particular area of the frame by touching the screen. It can also give priority to children or adults. The camera's Face Motion Detection adjusts ISO sensitivity and accelerates the shutter speed when facial movement is detected, reducing blur in the subjects face.

Face Memory: Optimizing focus, exposure, and white balance for a specific face is easier now with selectable facial memory, even when the subject leaves the frame. This feature is perfect at weddings and other events where the goal is always to focus on a certain person.

Anti-Blink Function: The Anti-blink function works to help counter blinking and squinting. When the camera is set to Soft Snap, the Anti-blink function captures two images, recording only the photo with less squinting. If a blink is detected in other shooting modes, a warning will be displayed after you take the shot so you can determine whether or not you need to take another shot.

Smile Shutter Mode: The Smile Shutter technology automatically detects and captures a smiling face. Simply activate by pressing the Smile Shutter button and the camera will capture a smile the moment it happens. You can also set the degree of Smile Detection Sensitivity to Slight Smile, Normal Smile or Slight Smile.

Scene Recognition: In Intelligent Auto Adjustment mode, the camera automatically detects shooting conditions, and then takes the shot. When motion is detected, the ISO sensitivity is increased according to the movement to reduce subject blur. You can set the camera for these two Scene Recognition Modes:

• iSCN (Auto): camera detects conditions such as backlight or a night scene and takes the shot using the optimal settings.
• iSCN+ (Advanced): camera shoots one image without using the scene recognition functions and another image using the scene recognition function.

Exposure Modes: The camera features the following shooting modes:

• Easy Shooting Mode: With Easy Shooting Mode, even beginners can take great photos. In Easy Shooting Mode, easy-to-understand basic instructions are displayed on the LCD screen and the camera switches to all automatic settings with iSCN so you can just take the photo without worrying about settings. The menu is also simplified on playback to provide limited but straight forward operating functions for those afraid of choosing wrong settings.
• Intelligent Auto Mode (iAuto): Intelligent Auto (iAuto) mode goes beyond traditional auto settings by recognizing and adjusting to scene conditions and lighting, enhancing natural skin tones, and reducing blur. By incorporating advanced features such as Intelligent Scene Recognition, Face Detection, and Optical SteadyShot, iAuto lets you take advantage of the latest Sony Cyber-shot technology without leaving auto mode.
• Program Auto: This mode allows you to shoot with the exposure (both the shutter speed and aperture value) adjusted automatically while you manually operate other camera settings.
• Scene Selection Modes: You can choose from the following Scene Selection modes:
  • Soft Skin: This mode lets you shoot faces for smoothness
  • Soft Snap: This mode lets you shoot images with a softer atmosphere for portraits and flowers, etc.
  • Landscape: This mode is used for shooting landscapes at a distance.
  • Twilight Portrait: This mode is used for shooting people in the foreground at night.
  • Twilight: This mode is used for shooting a distant subject at night.
  • High Sensitivity: The camera shoots without flash in low light, reducing blur. Any size image available. Sensitivity increased up to ISO 3200.
  • Gourmet: Shoots food arrangements in delicious and bright colors.
  • Pet: This mode allows you to shoot images of your pet with the best settings.
  • Beach: This mode is for shooting at seaside or the lakeside.
  • Snow: This mode shoots whitish scenes brightly.
  • Fireworks: Allows you to shoot fireworks against a dark sky.
  • Underwater: Allows you to shoot underwater in natural colors when using an optional waterproof housing (sold separately).
  • Hi-Speed Shutter: For shooting action shots outdoors or in other bright places.
• Movie Mode: Allows you to record MPEG4 movies with stereo audio.

Metering Modes: You can select Spot, Center-weighted, or Multi-pattern Metering. Spot metering lets you adjust the exposure to the subject, even when the subject is a backlit or when there is strong contrast between the subject and the background. Center-weighted metering measures the center of the image and determines the exposure based on the brightness of the subject. When multi-pattern metering is used, the image is divided into multiple regions and metering is performed in each region. The camera judges the subject position and background brightness, and determines a well-balanced exposure.

High Sensitivity Mode: High ISO allows for faster shutter speed, so you can take photos indoors or in low light without the need for a flash. In addition to High Sensitivity Mode (ISO 3200), you can select up to eight ISO settings (Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200) when shooting in Program Auto Mode to adjust sensitivity to your shooting conditions.

Built-in Flash: The built-in flash has a range of 3-1/4 inches to 9 feet 2-1/4 inches with the zoom set to wide and 1 foot 7-3/4 inches to 7 feet 6-5/8 inches with the zoom set to telephoto. The flash can be set to the following modes: Off (flash does not operate), Auto (the flash automatically strobes when the surroundings are dark), On (flash strobes with every shot), and Slow Synchro (the flash is used regardless of the amount of ambient light, but the shutter speed is slower under dark conditions). In addition, this camera has a "red-eye reduction" setting, which causes the flash to pre-strobe before shooting to reduce the red-eye phenomenon.

White Balance: When the white balance is set to auto, the white balance is set automatically in response to the condition of the subject, and the overall color balance is adjusted. When using flash, you can select the Flash White Balance mode. In addition to Auto and Flash, the white balance can be set to Incandescent, Fluorescent 1 (white fluorescent), Fluorescent 2 (natural white fluorescent), Fluorescent 3 (day white fluorescent), Daylight, Cloudy, One Push (adjust white balance depending on the light source) or One Push Set (memorizes the basic white color which will be used). The unit also features Underwater White Balance when using the camera with an optional underwater housing (sold separately). You can choose from Underwater Auto, Underwater 1 (Blue), Under Water 2 (Green), One Push, and One Push Set.

Grid Lines: The cameras on-screen grid lines make it easy to set a subject's horizontal and vertical position.

Function Guide: An on-screen function guide text/icon display makes it easy to learn the camera functions that give you greater creative freedom to adjust photo settings.

Play, Edit, and Print Functions

Auto Orientation: When the camera is rotated to shoot a portrait (vertical) image, the camera records its position change and displays the image in the portrait position. This function can be turned on or off in the menu, as desired.

Index/Date Mode: In addition to viewing images one-by-one in full screen, you can view multiple images at once in the index or date list mode. The index feature lets you to display a total of up to 12 or 28 images. The date view only displays those images recorded on a particular date. A calendar is displayed so you can select the date.

Slide Show: The Slide Show function lets you play back images one after the other. You can select from the following slide show effects (Simple, Nostalgic, Stylish, or Active). Each effect has a preset music soundtrack, or you can choose from the 4 selections. The interval between the pictures can be adjusted, allowing you to choose 1, 3, 5, and 10 seconds or automatic to suit the selected effect. You can select Folder play (all images in the selected folder), All play (all images on the Memory Stick Duo) or Date (all images from selected date). When repeat is selected, the images are replayed in a continuous loop.

Playback Zoom: You can enlarge a recorded still image up to twice the size of the original image by simply touching the area you want to enlarge. You can also record the enlarged item as a new file. To select the area to be enlarged, you can move the enlargement "frame" up/down/left/right with the arrow buttons, and adjust the zoom with the W/T button. You cannot enlarge movies or images recorded in multi-burst mode.

Rotating Images: Recorded images can be rotated 360-degrees in 90-degree increments on the camera's LCD screen.

Retouching Images: The Retouch Menu allows you to make adjustments of a still image or apply special effects. The following effects can be applied to still images:

• Trimming: you can crop images to remove unwanted portions
• Red Eye Correction: removes red-eye effect caused by flash
• Unsharp Masking: sharpens the image within a chosen frame

Paint: For creative and fun photos, the Paint function paints or adds stamps to a still image, and saves it as a new file. Using the supplied Paint Pen (stylus), you can draw on the image right on the touch screen in multiple colors. You can also add frames around your pictures for a festive look.

Music Transfer: You can change the music files that are preset at the factory with your own music, using the Music Transfer program in the supplied CD-ROM.

Deleting/Protecting Images: You can delete a selected image, multiple selected images, or you can delete all the unprotected images at once. In order to avoid accidentally deleting an image, it can be protected.

Print Mark: You can place a print mark on still images recorded with this camera. This mark is convenient when you have images printed at a shop that conforms to the DPOF (Digital Print Order Format) standard.

Exif Print (Exif 2.3): The DSC-T99 conforms to "Exif Print," a worldwide standard. Vital camera settings (such as: exposure mode, white balance, exposure time) and scene data are recorded to the image file when it is captured. Printers compatible with "Exif Print" are able to use this information to produce high quality photographs, exactly the way they were intended at the time of capture. This intelligent communication process also allows the printer to correct for poor lighting or mistakes, resulting in photos that can be even better than the originals.

Battery Information

Battery Information: The DSC-T99 comes with the NP-BN1 Lithium-Ion rechargeable battery and BC-CSNB battery charger. This battery takes approximately 245 minutes to fully charge. It can reach a "practical charge" in approximately 185 minutes. Under normal operating conditions the battery has the following capacity:

Inputs and Outputs

Multi-connector: The Sony DSC-T99 features a single proprietary jack, a Type3 multi-connector, on the bottom of the camera. With the supplied USB/AV cable, you can connect your camera to your computer via USB (2.0 High Speed), or to a TV via composite video and stereo RCA audio jacks.

Optional HD Output Adapter: With an optional VMC-MHC3 Type3-compliant HD Output Adapter Cable, you can connect the camera directly to a High Definition TV. The cable has the proprietary Type3 multi-connector on one end and component video and stereo audio RCA plugs on the other end. The Component Output of the camera can be set to HD (1080i) or SD.

Supplied Software

Software: The DSC-T99 comes with a CD-ROM containing the following:

• Picture Motion Browser (PMB) Ver.5.3: compatible with Windows operating systems only
  • View images saved on your computer
  • View photos organized by date
  • Edit images
  • Display the shooting locations of still images on maps online (Internet connection required)
  • Create a new data disc (CD burner drive or DVD burner drive required)
  • Print or save still images with the date
• Music Transfer: compatible with Windows and Macintosh operating systems
  • Change the music files on the camera and replace them with your own selections; upload MP3s from your computer or music from CDs
• PMB Portable: compatible with Windows and Macintosh operating systems
  • Upload images to a blog or other media service
  • Upload images from a computer connected to the Internet (even when away from home or the office)
  • Register the media services (such as blogs) you use frequently
• Cyber-shot Handbook: a detailed instruction booklet (PDF)
• Product Registration: register your camera online

System Requirements: You can copy images from the DSC-T99 to a Windows PC or a Macintosh computer. The minimum system requirements are:

Windows:

• Operating System: Microsoft Windows XP (SP3), Windows Vista (SP2), Windows7
• CPU: Intel Pentium III 800 MHz or faster
  • For playing/editing high definition movies: Intel Core Duo 1.66 GHz or faster, or Intel Core 2 Duo 1.20 GHz or faster
• Memory: 512 MB or more
  • For playing/editing high definition movies: 1GB or more
• Hard Disk: Disc space required for installation: approximately 500MB
• Display: Screen resolution: 1024 x 768 dots or more

Macintosh:

• Operating System:
  • USB Connection: Mac OS X (v10.3 to 10.6)
  • Music Transfer/PMB Portable: Mac OS X (v10.4 to 10.6)