Sony Cyber-shot TX10, HX7V, WX10 and WX7 drop in with yet more 3D

There are cameras coming at us from all sides today. A point-and-shoot just hit us on the side of the head. It hurt. The newest arrivals flying at us like fire extinguishers at a protest rally are the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX10, DSC-HX7V, DSC-WX10 and DSC-WX7. This being 3D-obessesed Sony, these bad boys are packed with 3D features.

The Cyber-shot HX7V, pictured above, and the WX10, WX7 and rugged TX10 are 16.2-megapixel compact cameras. They each film 1080p movies in AVCHD, with a dedicated video-record button and the option to capture stills while filming, although not when shooting 50p video.

The new cameras boast a bunch of features that combine separate pictures for specific results. One setting takes two pictures, one of focus, then smushes them together for pleasantly blurry backgrounds while the subject stays sharp and in-focus. Another mode combines pictures taken at different sensitivity settings to capture more light in darker conditions, while another combines three shots to boost dynamic range.

3D photos are snapped with just one lens, by snapping two separate pictures at different focus positions to create an image each for the left and right eye. The Fujifilm FinePix Real 3D W1 captures glasses-free 3D snaps, and the Panasonic HDC-SDT750 shoots video with a 3D lens that attaches to a standard camcorder, but this is the first time we've seen 3D stills from a camera with just the one lens.

The cameras also include Sony's 3D sweep panorama feature seen in the Sony NEX-5 and other recent models, which lets you snap a wide image in one smooth motion, then display it in three dizzying dimensions on a 3D-capable Sony Bravia TV.

The prize for most mind-bending feature, however, goes to something called Sweep Multi Angle. We've read the press release four times and we've still got no idea what it does. Apparently it captures 15 images, then displays the results as 'simulated 3D' right there on the camera screen, which you flip back and forth like a hologram sticker from the playgrounds of our yoof.

Click through our gallery to see the TX10, HX7V, WX10 and WX7. They'll be available in a range of colours around March, but full details of pricing are yet to be confirmed.