Details on Sony HC3 High-Def, Low-cost Camcorder

David Kender reports on the details of what looks to be a new low-end HDV camcorder from Sony: the HC3 is smaller and lacks some of the high-end features of the HC1, but it is also looking likely to be somewhat cheaper: there’s no indication on price yet, but I am hoping that Sony can bring this in at just over $1000: that would be a hugely competitive price that would help push HDV into the mainstream.

 

The camcorder itself is smaller than the HC3, and lacks some of the high-end features: there are no microphone or analog video inputs. But it does have a higher resolution screen (the leaked manual claims a pixel count of 211k pixels, against the 123k of the HC1) which is useful for accurate focusing. The leaked manual also claims it has a HDMI output; useful for connecting the camcorder to a HDTV and getting the best image quality. The HC1 had only a component video output.

 

But some caution is required: there’s no way to tell if the manual is a final version, and it is also for a PAL model of the camcorder, so some features may not be the same on the US version. And, although the user who posted the information claims it is only a couple of months away, there could be other changes.