Sweep Panorama mode, first introduced in Sony's breakthrough Cyber-shot DSC-HX1, DSC-TX1 and DSC-WX1 CMOS models, utilizes a CCD sensor to capture dramatic panoramic scenes.

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The best thing about CMOS is that, unlike CCD, chipmakers have poured billions into shrinking the components on such devices and making them run faster, cooler and smarter.

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The WB250F (and WB200F) boasts outstanding optical performance to make capturing great photos easy, with 18x optical zoom, a 14.2 Megapixel BSI CMOS (WB250F) or CCD (WB200F) sensor and 24mm lens.

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Apart from the arrival of less pricey full-frame digital SLRs, the other recent development that has impressed your correspondent is the way imaging chips are migrating from CCD (charge-coupled device) technology to CMOS (complementary metal-oxide semiconductor), used widely in the computer industry.

ECONOMIST: A die-hard analog photographer goes digital