Five New Camcorders Strengthen Sonys HDD Presence

January 7, 2006 – Sony showed their commitment to the future of the hard disk drive (HDD) camcorder format with the announcement of five new models today at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Three entry and mid-range models, the DCR-SR42, DCR-SR62, and DCR-SR82 employ CCD imagers. Two higher-end models, the DCR-SR200 and DCR-SR300 feature ClearVID CMOS imagers. All five camcorders include a HandyCam base station, MemoryStick Duo ports, one-touch DVD dubbing, and Super NightShot Plus. None of the new HDD camcorders will include a viewfinder.

 

According to industry estimates cited by Sony, HDD camcorders are expected to almost double in market share from 2006 to 2007 (12% in 2006 to 22% in 2007). The same statistics also predict that the DVD market share will fall from 33% to 30% (AVCHD camcorders recording to DVD are not included in this category).

 

"We are in the midst of some transition not only into high definition, but also into new non-linear based formats that only a few years ago were not even available," stated Linda Vuolo, Product Manager for Sony Camcorders U.S. "This means more choices for consumers."

 

The three entry and mid-range models will replace last year’s DCR-SR40, SR60, and SR80, which were released as recently as August 2006. The differences between this year and last may be enough to sway those turned off by last year’s lack of features.

 

Sony DCR-SR42

 

The entry-level model, the DCR-SR42, retails for $600 (MSRP), the same price as its predecessor. It contains the same 1/6”, 680K gross pixel CCD, 2.5” non-widescreen LCD (123K resolution), and 30GB HDD. Still sizes are limited to 640 x 480 VGA quality. Improvements include a 40x optical zoom, a one-touch disc burn, a MemoryStick Duo slot, and compatibility with the new H series Stamina battery, which promises operation time up to 9 hours. There is a remote control jack and a USB port on the DCR-SR42, but the USB is an output signal only.

 

Sony DCR-HC62

 

The DCR-SR62 ($650 MSRP) upgrades the imager to a 1/6” with a 1MP gross pixel count and 1MP still photo resolution. The zoom decreases to 25x, but the LCD increases to 2.7” in the widescreen aspect ratio (the resolution remains the same 123K of the 2.5” version). A hot accessory shoe is added, though the shoe is in the Sony proprietary size, limiting the number of potential accessories. The DCR-SR82 ($750 MSRP) is identical to the SR62 but with an increased 60GB HDD capacity.

 

Sony DCR-SR82

 

All three models feature the Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar lens with a 30mm filter diameter and electronic image stabilization. They are expected to hit the market in March 2007.

 

Last year’s DCR-SR100, which drew a positive review from CamcorderInfo.com, has been replaced by two models, the DCR-SR200 and DCR-SR300. The SR200 ($850 MSRP) is largely an update of the SR100, featuring a 2MP (gross pixels) 1/3” ClearVID CMOS sensor that replaces a similarly sized CCD in its predecessor, and an equivalent 10x optical zoom. This chip is capable of producing 4MP stills. The DCR-SR200 also includes the 2.7” with a higher 211K resolution. Both the SR200 and SR300 have a 30GB HDD, making the next model down the DCR-SR82, the model with the highest capacity. Currently, Sony offers no mail-in program to increase the capacity of their camcorders, though experimental owners have found work-around solutions to this limitation.

 

The DCR-SR300 ($1000 MSRP) is clearly the premiere standard definition HDD camcorder, and it is equipped with a number of beneficial features. Not only does the SR300 include the new 3MP 1/2.9” ClearVID CMOS sensor, but it also offers optical image stabilization, a feature absent from Sony’s consumer line for five years. The larger sensor increases still resolution to 6MP. The CMOS chips also have the additional benefits of the Dual Record function that allows for relatively high-resolution stills to be captured in the course of recording video, and Smooth Slow Record which is a slow motion feature. Smooth Slow Record can capture 240 frames and then plays it back at a 4x reduced speed. The DCR-SR200 has a 2.3MP Dual Record maximum while the DCR-SR300 doubles that to 4.6MP.

 

	Sony DCR-SR300

Both the DCR-SR200 and SR300 come equipped with the improved Carl Zeiss Vario Sonnar T* lens (37mm filter diameter), a hot accessory shoe, and 5.1 channel surround sound from the built-in mic.

 

All of the five new HDD camcorders lack mini plug mic inputs, limiting audio options to the proprietary shoe. They also lack analog inputs or two-way USB data flow. All HDD camcorders will function with the new H. Stamina batteries, despite this, duration decreases as the camcorders improve up the line. The DCR-SR42 has an estimated 9 hour shooting time while the DCR-SR300 should last for only 5 hours.

 

 

All 30GB HDDs hold a maximum of 20 hours and 50 minutes in the lowest quality setting (avg. 3Mbps), 10 hours and 50 minutes in the medium quality setting (avg. 6Mbps), and 7 hours and 20 minutes in the highest quality setting (avg. 8.5Mbps). The 60GB HDD holds 41 hours and 50 minutes, 21 hours and 40 minutes, and 14 hours and 40 minutes, respectively.

 

The DCR-SR200 retails for $850 MSRP and the DCR-SR300 retails for $1000. Both are estimated to ship in March 2007.