I’m sure you’re already aware that there are like, a million new compact digital cameras being announced right now. Point and Shoots, we call them. I wonder why. Doors, we call doors, not ‘toe finders’ or ‘space openers and closers’ but what the hell.

Sony’s spilled forth with six new W series cameras from the budget conscious W510 to the Vario-Tessar equipped Wx9. They all start between 24 and 26mm wide, and zoom to 100 or 125mm with the exception of the WX10, which zooms to 168mm.

The four pieces which are going to sit along the more budget conscious line are the DSC-W510, DSC-W530, DSC-W560, and DSC-W570.  We’ll break those four down after the break.

The W510 and W530 each have a 4x 26mm zoom lens, and boast similar slim profiles (about 19mm (2 1/8″) thick and around hundred grams (4 oz) each). They have the use of either Memory Stick Duo or better MS formats or Class 2+ SD /SDHC /SDXC technology.

The 2.7″ 230K pixel LCD screens feature the Clear Photo LCD technology. They share the same Intelligent Auto modes, Sweep Panorama modes (a Sony favorite), 480p AVI VGA resolution video recording, Face Detection, and an Easy Mode which walks beginners through the shooting process with a minimum of choices and confusing menus.

Where the W510 and W530 differ are in the sensor and lens construction – The W510 has a modest 12.1 MP Super HAD CCD sensor, and a Sony lens of 4.7-18.8mm, (equivalent to 26-104) f/2.8-5.9. The W530 is equipped with a 14.1 MP Super HAD CCD sensor and a Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar lens of 4.7-18.8mm, (equivalent to 26-104) f/2.8-5.9.

The DSC-W560 and DSC-W570 come on line with 720p HD recording, the same modes and tools, but benefit from some other differences.

The W560 has a 14.1 MP Super HAD CCD Sensor, and a 3″ Clear Photo LCD. The lens is a Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar f/2.7-5.7 25-100mm (35mm equivalent).

The W570 has a 16.4 MP Super HAD CCD Sensor, a 2.7″ Clear Photo LCD, and a Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar 25-125mm (35mm equivalent) f/2.6-6.3 lens.

If you want to use SD /SDHC /SDXC in either the DSC-W560 or the DSC-W570 you’ll need at least Class 4. They also can use Sony’s proprietary Memory Stick technology, though video capability is only available on the Pro Duo Mark 2 or better variety.

We’ll talk about the WX cameras in the next two of my posts.