DV Camcorders Get Really Cheap--But Still No HD

Sony and Canon offer smaller models, 16-by-9 shooting modes.

Alan Stafford, PC World.com

LAS VEGAS-- While high-definition video is all over the rest of the Consumer Electronics Show here, it hasn't reached consumer-level digital camcorders. Major vendors, including Sony and Canon, wouldn't say why HD hasn't trickled down to the average buyer, but a Sony representative did say that part of that company's strategy is to bring HD video down to lower-end models eventually.

Sony does have a semiprofessional "comsumer" HD camcorder, the HDR-FX1, which we awarded a 2005 Digital World Innovation award.

So while we wait for high-def movies, we'll have to be happy with falling prices, especially at the low end. Sony's new DCR-TRV280, a Digital8 model, costs $300, but still has image stabilization circuitry. Canon's least expensive model, the new ZR100, costs only $349. Sony has even less expensive analog models (one at $240); Canon stopped making analog models several years ago.

But the new model that really caught my eye was Sony's DCR-PC55, which Sony says is the world's smallest mini-DV camcorder. It weights 12 ounces, and looks to be about the same size or even smaller than the company's earlier micro-DV camcorders. But it still has a 3-inch LCD panel--larger than the average, which is probably somewhere around 2.5 inches. And, the DCR-PC55 comes in four colors--silver, black, white, and a very flashy red. It also comes with a dock, which holds the camera on your desk at such at an angle that, when you fold the LCD to face outward, you can watch slide shows on it. The price: a steep $799 when it goes on sale in February.

Make It Easy

Despite the lack of HD models, here at CES, both Sony and Canon are hyping models with standard-resolution 16-by-9 shooting modes (so at least SD video will fill a widescreen TV screen). All of Canon's new ZR series and Elura series have it; it's scattered among Sony's new models.

Also, both manufacturers have implemented an Easy button on their consumer models. It's supposed to be a simple way to reset the camcorder to full-auto mode quickly (so you don't have to dig into a menu to make sure you're ready to shoot). And as you might expect, camcorders continue to get smaller; all the Canon models look slightly smaller than their predecessors. Canon says all of its camcorders now use smaller batteries, but the batteries have the same capacity as earlier ones.

Quick Hits

Here are some other highlights from the new models from Canon and Sony:

Several (maybe all) of Sony's new models have a built-in lens cover--no more covers tethered to the hand strap. The camcorder itself even tells you when the cover's closed. It's such a simple thing, you'd think all camcorder makers would have implemented it years ago.

Canon's ZR100 has a backlight button that increases the brightness of the LCD by 250 percent so you can see it better in bright sunlight.

Nearly all Sony camcorders now use touch screens--you must use either a stylus or your fingernail to navigate its menus. Personally, I hate touch screens on camcorders, because I find it takes more care to make accurate selections, and it slows me down. But Sony says its customers love them, and it's going to put them on all of its models. Canon's sticking with jog wheels and buttons.

Sony announced five new DVD HandyCams. The DCR-DVD7 is the first DVD-based camcorder in which the disc is oriented facing you, rather than front to back. It's pretty small, especially for something with a disc in it, and it's pretty funky looking. It won't be available until May, and it'll cost $699. Sony says since it introduced DVD camcorders, 20 percent of all camcorders--not just Sony's--are DVD-based models. The new DVD-based models now also work with DVD+R and +RW discs, in addition to-R/RW ones, which the DVD HandyCams have used before.

Sony's DCR-PC1000 has three CMOS sensors instead of CCDs, a first for Sony. I've never heard of any other camcorder vendor using CMOS sensor. The DCR-PC1000 will be available in April for $1300.

The $1000 DCR-DVD403, Sony's most sophisticated new DVD-based camcorder, has a built-in 4-capsule microphone that can record 5.1-channel audio. It's only one microphone, and it has to extrapolate to generate some of those surround channels, but the demo I heard of children in a park seemed to show it worked. At least, I heard a shrieking kid behind me, another one off to the left, and I could hear them moving around me. You can add a $150 surround-sound mike to two lower-end models (the $700 DCR-DVD103 and $800 DCR-DVD203), but if you're interested in surround sound, you might as well get the more expensive model.

Sony's DCR-HC90 is Sony's first camcorder that can take three-megapixel still images. It's $1000.

Canon's Elura 80, Elura 85, and Elura 90 all offer built-in video lights (not just flashes). All of the new ZR and Elura models have Direct Print, which lets you print still images to compatible inkjet printers without having to connect to a computer. The new ZRs range in cost from $349 to $499; the new Eluras range from $549 to $699.

By the way, Canon had no new Optura models--which are more sophisticated than the other two lines. I'd guess that refreshed Opturas will be announced in mid-February at the Photo Marketing Association show.

For more CES coverage, see PC World's CES news page or our CES staff blog.