Those once unnamed camcorders from Sony have surfaced as the HVR-Z7U and the HVR-S270U models. You will find them as the HVR-Z7E and HVR-S270E in Europe. The Sony HVR-Z7U is a handheld camcorder while the HVR-S270U is designed as a shoulder mounted camcorder. Both camcorders use Sony’s 1/3″ 3-CMOS ClearVid sensor system along with Exmor technology, which “features a unique column-parallel analog-to-digital conversion technique and dual noise canceling, resulting in high-quality digital signals with extremely low noise.” Sony says this will allow the two camcorders to perform well in low-light situations with sensitivities down to 1.5 lux. These features are just the beginning.

Both the HVR-Z7U and HVR-S270U come standard with 12x Carl Zeiss lenses or a specially designed 8x wide-angle lens. Better yet, though, lenses are interchangeable because of the universal 1/3″ bayonet mount system. Even further, by using an adapter users will also be able to attach lenses from α (alpha) series lenses designed for Sony’s SLR digital cameras.

For recording options, the Sony HVR-Z7U and HVR-S270U can record 1080p or 1080i in HDV format, and also feature DVCAM and standard-definition DV recording options. The coveted 24p framerate is supported by both camcorders.

The Sony HVR-Z7U differs from the HVR-S270U in that it offers HDMI output, while the HVR-S270U offers HD-SDI or SD-SDI output with support for embedded audio and timecode.

Now here comes the “wow” factor of both camcorders. The HVR-Z7U and HVR-S270U come with a “memory-recording unit,” which attaches to the camcorder and records to a (are you ready for this?) standard CompactFlash memory card. No weird proprietary Sony formats here, just your run-of-the-mill CompactFlash cards. The only prerequisite is that the cards have a 2GB minimum capacity and 133x minimum speed.

With CF cards already at 16GB and soon to be 32GB, this decision by Sony will be sure to find favor with videographers. Approximately 72 minutes of footage can be recorded to a 16GB CF card.

Plus, the memory card unit is powered by the camcorders themselves, so no extra batteries or even cables are needed.

On top of this capability, the Sony HVR-Z7U accepts miniDV tapes for 60 minutes of recording time. The Sony HVR-S270U can also accept standard-size tapes for more than 4.5 hours of recording.

Both the Sony HVR-Z7U and the Sony HVR-S270U will be available in February. Prices are listed as $6,850 and $10,500 respectively.