Sony Unveils Consumer HD Camcorder

With high-definition television becoming more pervasive in American households, it was only a matter of time before affordable consumer high-definition camcorders appeared on the market. Sony announced late Monday a consumer HDTV camera for under $2,000.

"It is a natural progression to want to create personal content in high definition," said Linda Vuolo, director for camcorder products at Sony Electronics. "This introduction is a key step in bringing high-definition video recording to a broad cross-section of consumers. For about $2,000, there is now an easy-to-use solution."

Weighing only 1.5 pounds, the camera is also the smallest consumer HD camera to date. Although the camera and the battery are smaller, through power management enhancements Sony was able to allow for 90 minutes of recording time on a single charge.

Users will be able to select whether they would like to record in either a 4:3 or 16:9 aspect ratio, or switch to still picture mode as the camcorder includes a 2.8-megapixel camera.

The Sony HD camcorder will be available starting in July. The company says a "full line" of accessories including lights, lenses and cases should be available at the time of release.