Thread: Sony Enters the Pocket-Camcorder Ring

Sony Enters the Pocket-Camcorder Ring

Tim Moynihan, PC World
<script type="text/javascript">timestamp(1231373700000,'longDateTime')</script>Jan 7, 2009 6:15 pm

Camcorders Are Red Hot at CES 2009


Sony announced no fewer than 15 new Handycam camcorders at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas today, but the big-name additions were part of a new line of easy-to-use, pocketable, YouTube-friendly camcorders that looks to be Sony's answer to the Flip Mino HD.

The company calls the new models "Webbie HD" camcorders, and two well-priced versions with some nice features will be available in 2009.
The $200 MHS-CM1 Webbie HD (pictured above), available immediately, has a miniature, camcorder-like shape and offers a 5X optical zoom, 5-megapixel stills, a MemoryStick slot, a 2.5-inch LCD screen, and Sony's Picture Motion Browser software embedded in the camcorder for clip management and easy uploads.
The slightly more compact MHS-PM1 Webbie HD ($170, available in March), pictured below, is "about the size of a BlackBerry," according to Sony. It offers a swiveling lens, captures 5-megapixel stills, and has Picture Motion Browser and a MemoryStick slot.

Both Webbie HD camcorders record high-definition MPEG-4 (H.264) video, and are available in silver, orange, and the goes-with-anything eggplant.
Earlier at CES, Kodak also announced a new high-definition pocket camcorder--the Kodak Zx1--and Panasonic announced two standard-definition ultraportable camcorders.

Not bad, not bad. I wonder if the pocket cams are coming with a image stabilizer.