RSSSony introduces world's smallest HD camcorder
by Michael Hatamoto
Sony today unveiled its HDR-TG1 Handycam, claiming it's the smallest and lightest high-definition camcorder currently available.
The portable camcorder market is thriving, with Canon, Vivitar and other companies making cameras smaller with more bells and whistles.
Sony's proprietary memory cards for its cameras and camcorders have drawn ire from consumers, who often want to use cheaper and just as reliable SD or Compact Flash memory cards.
The HDR-TG1 will ship with a $900 MSRP and features a 2.7-inch touch screen LCD, with the ability to adjust focus, color control and flash control. Furthermore, the camcorder identify up to eight faces on the screen, along with the ability to auto focus on individual faces in the shot. Facial recognition is a common feature in most digital cameras these days.
Camcorders accompany Sony's Cyber-shot digital cameras as the largest profit earners for Sony, with the company expected to continue development of even smaller handycams.
Sony also is offering a $100 optional travel kit for the HDR-TG1 that includes a battery, travel charger and pouch. Additionally, a custom-fit case with "brushed metal accents" will be available to customers for $50.
The HDR-TG1 will go on sale in Japan later this month, and international launches will occur soon after.
15 Comments
The CANON camera is NOT "H.D." it is what is known as enhanced definition, with its 720 line image recording. Also, the smal F3.5 to F5.6 lens opening is inferior. Like others, I also wish SONY would get away from the "SONY only" memory usage, and use, or include, other options, such as SD cards! (The AVCH 264 encoding of the video is MUCH more memory efficient than the older MPEG2, and allows the unit to record in 1080 HD for HOURS on an 8G memory card!)--I wonder how long the battery will operate before requiring recharge?-Bob
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*hint*
Read and use the Button that says Post a Reply. The article doesnt mention a dam thing about Canon camera's, but someones post does.
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Looks like the Canon Powershot TX1:
http://www.usa.canon.com...d=144&modelid=14903
The TX1 has been out for over a year and also takes HD movies.
Dimensions (W x H x D)
Canon: 3.50 x 2.36 x 1.14 in.
Sony: 3.00 x 4.70 x 2.50 in.
Hmmm... wait... it's not the smallest.
Canon: 7.76 oz. / 220g (camera body only)
Sony: 10 ounces
And it's not the lightest...
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Ouch. The LCD -is- a touchscreen though and is bigger than Canon's.
Oh, and yeah, Canon's is almost half the price.
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Not 1080p but I would say that camera is FAR better suited for the purpose than the sony option.
Nice spotting AntiochMedia
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"Lawrence01:
Here`s a nickel....call someone who cares
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ummm IMO I think you are missing the point. This is not meant to compete with your professional video cam-recorders. I must admit tho $900 dollars is steep for MSRP.
Note: Flash memory sizes are up to 16Gb nowadays so 1080p is not that bad.
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Don’t see how beta news is missing the point....
Also the largest compatible memory for that camera on sale in Japan right now is 8gb. You can’t just stick any old flash memory in it.
1080p IS quite beefy.
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So, about 3 minutes of 1080P HD - what a DEAL!!
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Up to 5 HOURS of HD recording is possible, due to the improved processing!
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I avoid all Sony products.
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Interesting Sony has started to mimic the designs of the cheap (nasty) camcorders in Japan. Good luck travelling with that thing with the limitations of media cards tho (i'd hate to think how much 1080P would burn that). Think I will stick to my 60gb Victor HD camcorder :)
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Its justified to criticize Sony for using Memory sticks, but to be fair I'm glad that we have reached a time where a 4 gig stick online costs less than $30. The funny thing is that some Sony digital cameras actually use Compact flash.
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No SD or CF slot is a deal breaker. I thought they would finally wake up and listen to consumers but then this is Sony so I don't know what I was thinking.
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Ditto.
I like Sony digital cameras, but have never been a big fan of its stance on forcing customers to use proprietary memory cards.
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It lost interest as soon as I saw the sony badge.
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