Sony Cybershot Digital Camera Exhibits

Sony Cybershot digital camera exhibits a blend of form and function. Formal elements convey function, and function is communicated via form. The features that the Sony Cybershot shares with pre-digital cameras include all the elements that make a camera what it is: a lens; some kind of viewfinder; and a trigger to take shots. However, the digital camera possess several features that demonstrate the different functions between a digital and film camera. The Sony Cybershot in particular offers user-friendly functions specific to the art, hobby, and science of photography.

Moreover, many of the Sony Cybershot functions are hidden, embedded in the camera's hardware and firmware or simply invisible. For example, image stabilization is a feature the Sony Cybershot boasts. The feature enhances the ability of the digital camera to withstand shaking or any other instability that might affect picture quality. Image stabilization is a function that is not necessarily conveyed through form; the feature is built into the camera's hardware and firmware.

Similarly, many of the camera's features are not apparent functions; the user needs to become familiar with the links between form and function on this particular model. The circular dial is the form used to alert the user to the various photographic functions for the Sony Cybershot. Auto record mode is a function that makes the Sony Cybershot easy to use for novices. The setting is accessed via the mode dial, and auto record essentially transforms the Sony Cybershot into a point-and-shoot camera.

The function of a point-and-shoot is to simplify the act of taking pictures. The user simply turns on the camera, points the lens at the desired object, and "shoots" by pressing what used to be known as a shutter button on a non-digital camera. The regular program mode is also accessible via the mode dial. On the regular program mode, the user has access to the full range of functions that the Sony Cybershot has to offer. All of the programmed functions are embedded into camera firmware or software.

They are not visible and are accessible only via the digital menu. The form that menu takes is projected on the LCD screen. That same screen is used when taking photographs: whatever item is within the camera's lens range is viewable in the LCD monitor. The monitor is the form; its function is to show the viewer what the lens is picking up. As with all cameras, the lens is its eye. Its form is a small piece of convex glass.

When the camera is on, a lens cover is removed and light enters the lens. Its primary function is to let in light and capture visual reality the same way the human eye does. In addition to a lens, the Sony Cybershot also has a built-in microphone. Its form is a tiny, barely noticeable aperture that lets in sound.

Just as the lens is the necessary form for letting in light to accurately capture visual reality, the microphone is the necessary form by which the Sony Cybershot performs the function of audio capture. The audio capture can be used to record simple messages but is also accessed when the user wants to shoot movies. Movie mode is accessible from the camera's main mode dial. The function of movie mode allows users to take short digital videos.

Other functional modes accessible on the Sony Cybershot dial include snow, beach, landscape, twilight, twilight portrait, soft snap, and high sensitivity modes. Snow, beach, landscape, twilight, twilight portrait, and soft snap are each pre-programmed settings. The settings are programmed into the camera software to simplify picture taking; their primary function is to allow novice camera users or those who want simplicity to take the best possible shot without having to enter into the camera's main menu.

On a traditional single lens-reflex (SLR) camera or on manual digital cameras, these functions must be performed manually: such as by adjusting the lens aperture to let in more or less light or by altering shutter speed to adjust the length of exposure. Basic photographic functions like changes to ISO sensitivity are possible with the Sony Cybershot. The high sensitivity mode boosts ISO up to 3200: a useful function for more advanced users. The Sony Cybershot also has a zoom lens, which has a specific function of allowing close-ups.

By pressing a hard button that is accessible on the back of the camera, the user can zoom in or out with the camera's lens. When the lever is pressed toward the symbol of a magnifying glass with a "plus" sign, the user is actually changing the position of the camera lens without touching the lens at all. Thus, the form of zooming consists of the telephoto button, the internal mechanisms that move the lens, and the software and hardware in between.

The form of the zoom hard button is not apparently connected to its function; were it not for the symbol of the magnifying glass the user would not know that the button affected.