Stefan Mileschin

Looking for a ruggedized stills shooter for your next trip to the slopes? Sony's Cyber-shot TF1 should have you covered, to 14 degrees Fahrenheit. It'll also do just fine with drops in the snow -- it's shockproof to (solid-surface) drops of up to five feet and waterproof to 33 feet, so you can even haul it along for a soak in the hot tub before you settle in at the lodge. The camera packs a 2.7-inch LCD, a 16.1-megapixel sensor, a 25mm 4x optical zoom lens, a top sensitivity of ISO 3200 and a 1 frame-per-second burst mode. You can also shoot HD footage at 720p, letting you snag some b-roll to complement those helmet-mounted Action Cam clips. The all-weather point-and-shoot offers the typical lineup of Sony software features, including Sweep Panorama, Intelligent Auto shooting and Picture Effects.

We snapped away with a blue version of Sony's TF1 (it'll also ship in pink and black). The camera is lightweight, but it still feels quite solid -- there's no need to worry about roughing it up a bit in the name of capturing POV action shots. The well-protected internal zoom lens extends just above the front of the housing, and offers an aperture range of f/3.6-4.7. The display was sufficient, though not super sharp -- it'll get plenty of use, since there's no optical viewfinder around to help frame shots. We didn't have an opportunity to do any underwater testing during our brief hands-on, but all of the ports and access doors appeared to offer sufficient sealing, and given Sony's record in this space, we'll take the company on its word that this pocketable model is good to go. You can also add some extra padding with one of three carabiner-equipped cases, priced at $13. The TF1 is set to ship within a few weeks for $199, and you can take a closer look at this handsome shooter right now in the gallery just below.

http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/07/s...-tf1-hands-on/