Sony Announces Three HD 1080 Camcorders

Sony today announced three new additions to its groundbreaking high-definition camcorder line: the flash-based HDR-CX7 and the hard disk-based HDR-SR7 and HDR-SR5. All three models record full HD 1080 video (MPEG-4) with Dolby Digital 5.1-channel surround sound, and each has a Carl Zeiss 10X optical-zoom lens as well as optical image stabilization.

"Camcorder users are quickly embracing non-linear camcorder formats, such as hard disk drive and flash media, because they make it easy for anyone to view and access footage quickly," said Linda Vuolo, director of camcorder marketing at Sony Electronics.

The HDR-CX7 uses flash memory, and, at just 15 ounces, it's the world's smallest and lightest HD camcorder, according to Sony. It can record nearly three hours of high-definition content directly to an 8GB Memory Stick Pro Duo media card. The CX7 has a 3.2MP CMOS sensor, and a 2.7-inch wide hybrid touchpanel Clear Photo LCD Plus display that articulates up to 270 degrees.

The two hard-disk models, the SR7 and SR5, offer 60GB and 40GB of storage, respectively, as well as the same 2.7-inch articulating touchpanel display. The SR7 can record more than 22 hours of HD 1080 video, while the SR5 can hold more than 15 hours of footage.

Each model comes with a Handycam Station for burning DVDs or connecting to a compatible HDTV set. High-def content recorded on any of these camcorders can be played back on Blu-ray Disc devices, Playstation 3 game consoles, and on compatible PCs with standard DVD drives.

Sony also added new search functions to these camcorders that take advantage of the 2.7-inch screens. You will be able to browse your footage by viewing thumbnails of your scenes, or access specific scenes using face-index technology.

The HDR-SR5 ($1,100), HDR-CX7 ($1,200), and HDR-SR7 ($1,400) camcorders will ship in June. You can pre-order now at http://www.sonysty … com/handycam .

Copyright 2007 by Ziff Davis Media, Distributed by United Press International