I am back in I4U headquarters after my trip to the Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas and the MacWorld in San Francisco. Traveling and reporting has proofen to be a bit inefficient and I could not keep track of all the interesting technology news that happened last week. I hope still the video reports and photos from the CES 2005 have been interesting. Back to business as usual at I4U. Here for instance is the Sony announcement of new camcorders I missed last week.

Sony introduced the DCR-PC1000 16:9 consumer camcorder with a 16:9 LCD Screen, the DCR-PC55 and the DCR-HC90.

The Sony DCR-PC1000 model is Sony's first consumer camcorder to feature a 3-chip CMOS (complimentary metal oxide semiconductor) sensor technology with an enhanced imaging processor. The DCR-PC1000 has a 2.7-inch wide hybrid SwivelScreen™ touch panel LCD screen, which lets users switch between 16:9 and 4:3 aspect.


Currently available Sony Camcorder.

The Sony DCR-PC55 is rather tiny (slightly larger than a deck of cards), but still features a 3" LCD screen. The new fashion camcorder comes in silver, black, white and red.

The Sony DCR-HC90 camcorder is Sony's first 3 megapixel Mini DV camcorder with a recommended price under $1,000. The camcorder comes with a 2.7-inch Hybrid SwivelScreen Touch Panel LCD display to record and play back in widescreen format. Additionally, it has an intelligent accessory shoe, Super NightShot® Plus, a built-in flash and the advanced multi-layer coating of a Carl Zeiss^® Vario-Sonnar^® T* lens to capture video and pictures that are more vivid and rich, even when taken in low light.

Pricing and availability:

DCR-HC21 includes 20X Optical/800X Digital Zoom, the Super SteadyShot® Image Stabilization. Available in February for about $400.


DCR-HC32 includes the above-mentioned features, Handycam Station and Memory Stick DUO™ Media slot. Available next month for about $500.


DCR-HC42 includes the Handycam Station and Memory Stick DUO™ Media slot as well as enhanced 16:9 Wide Mode and 2.7-inch SwivelScreen hybrid LCD display. Also available next month for about $600.


DCR-PC55 includes a Memory Stick DUO™ Media slot, Handycam Station and a 3-inch SwivelScreen hybrid LCD, Slideshow Plus capability, as well as, an automatic lens cover, and a new intelligent accessory shoe. All four colors will be available in February for about $800.


DCR-HC90 Sports a 3 megapixel CCD for outstanding video and still performance, has a 2.7-inch wide SwivelScreen hybrid LCD, built-in flash, a Carl Zeiss® Vario-Sonnar® T* lens and a new intelligent accessory shoe. Available in February for about $1,000.


DCR-PC1000 includes the new 3-chip CMOS Sensor technology, a Handycam Station, a Carl Zeiss® Vario-Sonnar® T* lens and a 2.7-inch wide Hybrid SwivelScreen LCD. Available in April for about $1,300.

More details in Sony Sony Press-Release