In an attempt to make taking good pictures even easier, Sony announced five new Cyber-shot cameras (models DSC-T900, DSC-T90, DSC-W290, DSC-W230, and DSC-H20) with intelligent technologies that will sense surrounding conditions and adjust camera settings accordingly.

The T900, T90, W290, and H20 models incorporate intelligent auto mode, which detects scene conditions and adjusts settings to match. Sony combined three key technologies in these cameras to enable them to take better pictures. The Intelligent scene recognition feature in these models can detect up to eight scenes and recognize objects, faces, and lighting conditions. In just one-thirtieth of a second, intelligent scene recognition will change the camera’s settings to get the best shot.

Face detection can sense up to eight faces, and will adjust the camera’s focus, exposure, white balance, and flash to match. This feature can also detect motion and blinking subjects. Sony’s implementation of face detection will take two pictures and save the one in which the subject’s eyes are the least shut. The W290 and H20 cameras also have a feature called selected-face memory, which lets you zero in on the main subject’s face. The next time the camera detects that subject’s face in the frame, it will automatically focus on that person.

The W230’s intelligent scene recognition feature can detect up to five scene conditions. This camera also has face detection with child and adult priority.

All of the new cameras incorporate Sony’s Optical SteadyShot feature and Smile Shutter technology.  Optical SteadyShot is an image stabilization feature that helps prevent blur due to camera shake. Sony’s Smile Shutter technology automatically captures a picture the moment someone smiles.

Another feature that distinguishes these cameras from other digital still cameras is intelligent scene recognition advanced. This feature is especially useful when the scene has difficult lighting conditions such as backlight or low light. In these situations, the camera will take two shots within a fraction of a second using two alternative settings. You can then choose to keep the shot you prefer.

The W230 has 12.1 megapixels, a 4x Carl Zeiss Vario Tessar optical zoom lens, and 3-inch LCD. The similarly equipped W290 adds a 5x wide optical zoom lens.

The T90 has 12.1 megapixels, a 4x Carl Zeiss Vario Tessar optical zoom lens, and 3-inch touch-panel LCD. The T900 adds a larger 3.5-inch Xtra Fine LCD screen that delivers high resolution images (921,600 dots). The T90 and T900 models feature a compact design with thicknesses of 15 millimeters and 16.3 millimeters, respectively.

The H20 model features 10.1 megapixels, a 10x Carl Zeiss optical zoom lens, and a 3-inch LCD.

The W290, H20, T90, and T900 cameras feature wide and full-screen 720p movie recording at 30 frames per second.

The cameras will be available in April. Pricing and colors are as follows: