Sony Lures Pros with Three New HDV Products

Sony yesterday announced three new professional HDV products that include two camcorders and one record and playback deck. These new products expand Sony's line-up of HD production technologies, which includes the recently introduced PMW-EX1 XDCAM EX solid-state memory camera and the soon-to-be-available HVR-HD1000U shoulder-mount HDV camcorder.

Both the HVR-Z7U (handheld) and HVR-S270U (shoulder-mount) camcorders use interchangeable lenses and are based on the same 1/3-inch 3 ClearVid CMOS Sensor system enhanced by Exmor technology.

According to Sony, the Exmor technology features a unique column-parallel analog-to-digital conversion technique and dual noise canceling, resulting in high-quality digital signals with extremely low noise, similar to the imaging technology used in the PMW-EX1 camera. This allows the camcorders to better perform in low-light environments. This imaging technology is complemented by Sony's Enhanced Imaging Processor (EIP) system to achieve high resolution, high sensitivity, wide dynamic range, and excellent color reproduction.

"These new tools enhance the versatility of our professional HDV lineup, and open up a world of possibilities for HD digital video production," said Bob Ott, vice president of professional video and audio products for Sony Electronics. "Sony's new HDV camcorders and decks are ideal for documentaries, electronic newsgathering, independent production, music videos, web streaming, and more", he added.

The two cameras are fitted with a 12x optical zoom Carl Zeiss lens with a Vario-Sonnar T* coating to reduce reflections. If you want to go wider, an optional 8x lens is also available. If you happen to own some lenses for the Alpha DSLRs you can also use them with the camcorders, provided that you have the special adaptor.

The HVR-Z7U and HVR-S270U can switch between 1080p, 1080i in the HDV format, DVCAM, and DV recording, and both can down-convert material from HD to SD, and output the video signals through its i.LINK interface and other SD output connectors. The HVR-Z7U also has an HDMI output, but the HVR-S270U is available with HD-SDI or SD-SDI connectivity, and also supports embedded audio and timecode.

The third product announced yesterday is the HVR-M35U record and playback deck, which is compatible with HDV native progressive recording modes and supports HD/SD-SDI output with embedded audio and timecode data. It also has a 60i/50i switchable function, and supports HDV1080i (60i/50i/24p/30p/25p) and DVCAM/DV (60i/50i).

The deck supports standard- and mini-size cassette, and accepts standard cassettes shot on the HVR-S270U or other shoulder-mount DVCAM camcorders. It can play back four-channel audio data in HDV1080i format recorded by the HVR-S270U, and it can also play back four-channel audio data in the DVCAM format.

All three products are scheduled for February, but they don't come cheap. The HVR-S270U has suggested list price of $10,500, while the HVR-Z7U and HVR-M35U deck will be available for $6,850 and $5,540, respectively.

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