Amid the flurry of confusing new-product announcements recently made by Sony Europe, three hard-disk-based standard-definition camcorders got sidelined, so here's a little catch-up.
The trio, due in September, consists of the DCR-SR30E and DCR-50E, each with a 30GB hard disk, and the range-leading HCR-SR70E with a 60GB hard disk. Likely VAT-inclusive street prices are £480, £550 and £630.
Shooting in the highest possible quality mode (9Mbps), the camcorders are said to offer recording time of seven hours 20 minutes on the 30GB models and 14 hours 40 minutes on the 60GB. In Standard Play (6Mbps), the figures are 10h 50m/21h 40m, while in Long Play (3 Mbps) they're an amazing 20h 50m/41h 50m.
These figures simply relate to the hard-disk capacity and NOT to the recording duration from a single charge of the camcorders' batteries, so don't going thinking that it would be possible to record for close to two days non-stop, unless the camcorders is being powered from the mains.
Each model is said to feature:
* HDD Smart Protection
System
* One Touch DVD Burn for easy archiving
* Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar lens
* A Handycam Station
* One Touch DVD Burn for easy archiving
* Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar lens
* A Handycam Station
Click for larger imageThe bundled Handycam Station is used to connect the camcorder to a PC via USB 2.0 for capturing the recorded footage. There's a One Touch DVD Burn button on the base station that, paired with supplied Windows software, is said to begin a completely automatic download-and-burn process.
Hard disks in the camcorders are said to be protected by the Sony HDD Smart Protection System. This uses shock absorbers along with an acceleration sensor that "instantly" auto-park the heads during a fall or a knock. The company says that if you're filming when the heads auto-park, nothing will be lost - the video stream is buffered and the data written to the hard disk once it is operational again.
Sony gives no clues about the likely recording time of the rechargeable batteries supplied with each camcorder. What it does do, though, is detail the capabilities of an optional InfoLITHIUM battery, the NP-FP90, which is rated at 2460 mAH and sold by Sony for an additional £99. This optional extra is said to allow the SR70E and SR50E to keep recording for six hours, and to offer seven hours' continuous recording with the SR30E.
If you're wondering the reason for the pricing differentials between the three models, you're not alone. We'd love to tell you but Sony has still not provided us with full specs and there's no further info about the newcomes at Sony Europe.
Some further info may be gleaned from Sony's US site but none of the new HDD camcorders detailed stateside carries the same product ID number as the European models. We've, therefore, been been unwilling to jump make any comparative conclusions and suggest that you also take care.
Thoughts? Let's hear 'em in this thread in the HEXUS.lifestyle.news forum.
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