BenQ’s New Pocket-Thin W1220 Digital Camera Shoots Wide to Capture More of the Moment

Shoot Smarter with 5X Optical Zoom, 28mm Wide-Angle Lens, 12MP, ISO 6400

EUROPE, February 8, 2010 - World-renowned provider of visual display innovation, BenQ, debuted today their latest digital lifestyle device – the pocket-thin (18.4mm), 28mm wide-angle lens W1220 12 mega-pixel digital camera with 5X optical zoom focused on capturing more of what brings enjoyment and quality to life. Perfect pictures – from panoramic scenery to spontaneous smiles to “Love-Portrait” – are foolproof with point-and-shoot simplicity made possible by class-leading SONY 1/2.3 inch CCD, high-sensitivity ISO 6400, and professional-style P/Av/Tv/M aperture and shutter control modes. The W1220 is also graced with numerous picture-enhancing BenQ technologies such as Smart Scene, Smart Focus, Face Tracking, Smile Catch, Blink Detector and Love-Portrait Auto Capture that make picture-taking fun, effortless, and as candid as the moment.

Say, “Smart!”
With smart features and built-in automatic correction capabilities, the easy-to-use W1220 allows even first-time photographers to produce professional-looking panoramic pictures. The 28mm wide-angle lens with 5X optical zoom is ideal for immortalizing more of life’s memorable moments in flawless digital perfection: capture more scenery at the national park; include more people at the family reunion. And when lighting matters as much to the moment as the occasion itself (such as a sunset or a candle-light dinner), the W1220 pristinely preserves the mood with its super-sensitive ISO 6400. Pictures in low-light settings come out blur-free, well-defined, and beautifully natural without the glare of artificial flash lighting.
Behind the W1220’s point-and-shoot simplicity are numerous advancements that auto deploy, freeing the user of confusing calibrations and controls and allowing him to focus on and enjoy the occasion at hand:

• Smart Scene automatically detects eight different scene scenarios and selects the best one for the picture: Landscape / Portrait / Backlight / Backlight Portrait / Night Scene / Night Portrait / Macro / Sunset.
• Smart Focus eliminates the hassles of previous generation cameras that required the user to switch to focus mode when the object of interest was too near.
• Smile Catch & Blink Detector help to capture the perfect spontaneous smile by automatically shooting in rapid succession – ideal for candid moments.
• Auto Face Tracking optimizes skin tones and focuses up to 10 faces in a single frame, great for group shots where everyone wants to look their blur-free best.

Picture-taking is made even more fun and effortless with Love-Portrait Auto Capture mode that lets the user to take self pictures without awkwardly holding the camera in order to press the shutter button. Pre-Composition Mode is yet another clever feature, enabling the user take a picture of the background first, then shooting the subject in front of the pre-captured background.

P/Av/TV/M aperture and shutter control modes will have anyone shooting like a professional. Manually set shooting parameters to your preference, choose an aperture value while the camera automatically sets shutter speed according to lighting conditions, or choose shutter speed and let the W1220 automatically select the optimum aperture value. The W1220 also lets users select both aperture and shutter speeds for dramatic photo compositions. For video, the W1220 can continuously record with sound at 30 frames per second.

Despite its hefty list of capabilities and enhancements, the W1220 maintains a slim silhouette at just 18.4mm, making it a handy companion that easily slides in and out of pockets or fanny packs so it’s quickly in hand for spontaneous picture-taking.

For more information about the BenQ W1220, please click here.