Look at most of the products Sony has released this year, not just cameras, and you'll notice that they have built 3D technology into just about every device possible. Their new compacts, the WX5 and the TX9 are no exception, with the press material touting them as "the world's smallest 3D cameras." Rather than opting for a two-lens system like Fujifilm, Sony is using the same 3D Sweep Panorama mode found in their impressive NEX-series interchangeable lens compacts. You simply press the shutter, move the camera in a sweeping motion and it captures enough frames it can stitch together into a 3D panorama that can be viewed in 2D or 3D, assuming you have access to a 3D-ready HDTV. If your living room hasn't made the jump to 3D yet, you can also opt for 3D multi-angle, which stitches together 15 frames into a simulated 3D image you can view on the camera's LCD. The spec sheets for both cameras look fairly similar. Both are equipped with 12.2-megapixel Exmor R back-illuminated CMOS sensors and Sony's new Superior Auto mode, which evaluates a scene and combines up to 6 frames to improve exposures and decrease noise. Both are also capable of pulling down 1920 x 1080 video in AVCHD format. Despite their similarities, there are some noticeable differences, the most tangible of which being form factor. The $400 TX9 opts for Sony's flat-front, ultra-compact body, while the $300 WX5 has a more traditional compact look. The $100 premium on the TX9 also gets you a 3.5-inch, 921k resolution LCD touchscreen, compared to the WX5's 2.8-inch non-touch LCD. Because it has more room to work with, the WX5 actually has the advantage when it comes to its lens, 5x Sony G series glass with a range of 24-120mm and a maximum aperture of f/2.4 at its widest setting. The slimmer TX9 opts for a 4x Carl Zeiss® Vario-Tessar with a range of 25-100mm and a minimum focus distance of just .4-inches. Also included in the announcement is a new budget-oriented compact called the DSC-T99. Priced at $250, it still comes with the sweep panorama mode, but loses the 3D capability. The guts include a 14.1-megapixel CCD sensor and a 3-inch touchscreen and a 4x (25-100mm) Carl Zeiss lens. All three cameras will be available this fall (September) and we'll give you our impressions as soon as they hit our hot little hands. TX9 WX5 T99