The company, which claims to now have the largest range of high definition camcorders, said the launch of the new models was in keeping with its ‘Full HD' marketing strategy.

"Full 1080 high definition products are Sony's strategy going forward. We are the only company producing HD products across the whole spectrum; that is, for capture, edit and playback," said Sony's Deputy Managing Director, Carl Rose.

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UX5 HD Handycam

Rose also said that camcorders are Sony's most profitable sector in the electronics category. And with the increasing demand for high definition televisions, consumers will be keen to ‘future-proof' their memories by capturing them in HD.

The new line-up is designed to be compact, portable and easy-to-use – with easy-reach buttons for shooting still images while simultaneously filming.

With the two top-end models you can shoot a 4.6 megapixel still image while filming, or a 6.1 megapixel image when not recording. The lower-end models allow you to shoot a 2.3 megapixel photo in dual mode or 4 megapixel photo when not recording.

The flip out LCD screen is also a touchscreen from which you can choose different shooting modes, shooting guides as well as ‘smooth slow recording' which is Sony's somewhat strange name for slow motion recording.

A major point of differentiation between its competitors is Sony's choice to use its ClearVid CMOS sensor for processing images as opposed to three chip or 3CCD sensors (such as those used in Panasonic's new HD camcorders). Sony's Paul Colley says that while the company knows the advantages of 3CCD technology, and in fact uses it in its larger professional models, they can be too large for the compact range.

He also says the CMOS sensor helps provide smear-free images and a wider dynamic range of colours and lower power

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HDRHC7 HD Handycam

consumption as well.

Also packed into the new handycams is Sony's x.v.Colour technology which expands the usual sRGB standard by approximately 1.8 times. Of course, in order to be able to see all the new colours your camcorder captures, you will need an x.v.Colour screen – which Sony says it will introduce in the future.

Available in DVD and HDV tape models, the new camcorders feature an HDMI terminal, so you can plug the device directly to your HD-compatible TV to watch your home movies. The DVD models which use the AVCHD format can also be played directly on a Blu-ray player (including the upcoming PS3) or a PC.
You can convert the disc to a regular DVD to watch on a DVD player using the latter as well.

The launch of the new high def models also coincides with the release of a range of new standard definition hard disk drive and DVD recorders, if you're looking for a lower price point.

RRP:

HDR-HC7: $2299
HDR-HC5: $1999
HDR-UX7: $2099
HDR-UX5: $1799

See: www.sony.com.au