Sony has released two new digital video (DV) camcorders in its MICROMV Handycam line of products.
The DCR-IP220 (pictured) is a 2.1megapixel CCD camcorder, which offers 530 lines of horizontal video resolution. The DCR-IP55 is a 1.0 megapixel CCD camcorder and offers 520 lines of horizontal video and a still resolution of 1152 by 864 pixels. Both new camcorders are designed for one-handed operation, Sony says.
Both models include a 10x optical and 120x digital zoom lens, include the SteadyShot picture stabilzation and super NightShot infrared system for recording in total darkness. The camcorders use Sony's MICROMV tapes, which are about 70% smaller than a MiniDV tape and provide up to 60 minutes of digital video footage. It also has a memory chip (64K bytes) that lets users perform a multi-search to access different sections of the tape, similar to searching for chapters on a DVD.
The camcorders include an i.LINK (IEEE-1394) interface for high-speed transfer between the camera and the PC. Also included is a 2.5-inch touch-panel LCD display, and MPEG Movie AD mode, which lets users capture MPEG-1 compressed video and audio for up to 60 seconds directly to a MemoryStick storage media. The camcorders can also stream live and recorded video via a USB connection and videoconferencing software such as NetMeeting. They also have Bluetooth features and can connect to the Internet without a PC via Bluetooth through a Bluetooth-enabled cell phone.
The DCR-IP220 will cost about $2,000 and the DCR-IP55 will cost about $1,500. Both models are expected in October, Sony says. Go to Sony's Digital Imaging product Web site for more information.
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