Digital Home Thoughts: Sony's DSC-TX5: Slim, Rugged, and Packed With Features

"The Cyber-shot DSC-TX5 is Sony's first waterproof, freezeproof, dustproof and shockproof digital compact camera. The 10 megapixel TX5 features an "Exmor R" back-illuminated CMOS image sensor which promises to greatly improve low-light performance, resulting in cleaner images with less noise."

Ultra-slim digital cameras, with nearly all of their functions buried within a touchscreen menu system, have never been high on my personal list of "must have" devices. But based upon the comprehensive review that Photographyblog.com has done on the new Sony DSC-TX5, I may have to revise that opinion. In less than an inch of depth, this model manages to combine rugged construction with an impressive feature list that includes (among the 36 mentioned by Sony!): 4x optical zoom, 720p movie mode, a special "Panorama Mode," and several designed to improved low-light and/or motion capture photography, including the "Exmor R" image sensor, optical image stabilization, and several functions that combine multiple shots to create a single photograph with superior detail, and reduced noise and blurring. Given that this is not inexpensive - with a list price of $329 (US) - do you think that the feature set is attractive enough to warrant a purchase? Or are there competing models that might offer greater value?