Sony is taking to the trenches against JVC with a total of three new tapeless, hard-drive based digital camcorders. All of these camcorders are standard definition camcorders that will be in direct competition with JVC’s Everio camcorders. Read on for the full specs.
The Sony DCR-SR40 is the first of the bunch. It will be an entry-level camcorder, although the $600 price tag might make some wonder. More than 7 hours of footage can be recorded in the highest quality (9Mbps) mode on the 30GB hard drive. It features the usual touch-screen menu system along with a 2.5″ 4:3 LCD screen and a 20x optical zoom.
The Sony DCR-SR60 features a widescreen 2.7″ LCD, a 12x optical zoom, and a 1-megapixel still shot. The HDD remains at 30GB, but the addition of the Sony accessory shoe and a larger CCD will make the $700 pricetag seem less of a burden.
Finally, the Sony DCR-SR80 has all the same specs as the SR60, but features a huge 60GB hard drive for around 14 hours of video at the highest quality. It will retail for $800 when it is released.
All of these camcorders will be released September of this year.
