Sony has announced that their next gen Eye camera will be launched in Europe this summer. Picking up where the EyeToy left off, the new device is custom built for the PS3 and works as an accessory for voice, video chat and online gaming. It’s a pretty slick looking device as well. PlayStation say it’s designed specifically to work with the next generation of social gaming titles and new services being developed for PS3. Key features of the PlayStation Eye include:

• A sophisticated microphone with the ability to reduce background noise and focus on the spoken word for smoother, more accurate speech recognition and transfer
• The ability to capture videos and audio clips directly to your PS3’s hard disk drive
• Engineered to perform well even in low-light conditions
• A range of different capturing modes, including slow motion and time-lapse
• Faster frame rate for improved tracking, responsiveness and smoothness
• Two position zoom lens for close-up and full body options
• A range of eye-catching visual effects to apply to photos and videos
• Bundled with EyeCreate™ editing software, which allows users to save and edit photos, video and audio clips


Here’s some more specific info on the PlayStation Eye

EyeCreate software
EyeCreate editing software, bundled free with PLAYSTATION Eye allows you to save photos, video and audio clips to your PS3 hard disk drive and apply eye-catching visual effects to your images. Different capture modes like time-lapse and slow motion open up a world of possibilities to be explored further in EyeCreate’s editing suite, where you can turn your media into professional looking movies.

New microphone functions
An all-new four microphone array, incorporating multi directional voice location tracking, enhanced echo canceling and background noise suppression allows for clear audio chat in even the most noisy of environments, without the need to hold or wear a headset.

Next-generation camera features
A frame rate of up to 120 frames per second allows for super-smooth video and sophisticated low-light operation means that the room doesn’t have to be brightly lit for the camera to deliver crisp, perfectly exposed video. The adjustable zoom lens features a 56º field of view to capture head and shoulders action for close-in audio-visual chat, and a 75º field of view to capture the whole body for a fully physical gaming experience.

Technical Specifications:
• 4 channel audio input:16 bits/channel, 48kHz, SNR 90db
• 56º to 75º Field of View zoom lens
• 2.1 F-stop, <1% distortion, fixed focus (25cm to 8 at 75º FOV)
• 640 x 480 at 60 frames/second
• 320 x 240 at 120 frames/second
• USB2 high-speed data transfer
• Uncompressed video or optional JPEG compression