Sony brings HD to the amateur moviemaker

Sony has launched its new HDR-FX7E Handycam targeting "serious amateur videographers". 

The HDR-FX7E is capable of capturing at the full 1080i HDV standard which gives a frame resolution of 1,920 x 1,080 (or about 2.07 million pixels) with a widescreen aspect ratio of 16:9. Battery life runs to a claimed eight hours.

The device is 40 per cent smaller and 25 per cent lighter than its big brother, the HDR-FX1E, which launched in September 2004.

Sony's camera uses the Sony-developed 3ClearVid CMOS Sensor system which deploys a new pixel distribution system that rotates pixels at a 45 degree angle and uses a prism to direct light onto three independent imagers, one for each primary colour.

The red, green and blue data collected by the three imagers is then processed by the Enhanced Imaging Processor.

The technology is claimed to achieve higher resolution and increased sensitivity (4-lux minimum), while boosting resolution, sensitivity and colour accuracy.

Output from the camcorder is via its HDMI interface, which outputs uncompressed High Definition video and audio signals, and can be used either directly on HD-ready televisions, or captured on standard MiniDV tapes.

The camcorder also has the option to record and playback standard definition DV.

The HDR-FX7E features a Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* lens with 20x optical zoom range equivalent to 37.4 - 748mm (35mm equivalent).

An advanced T* optical multilayer coating minimises undesired reflections on the lens surface, reducing flare and ghosting for even sharper, high quality images. 

The HDR-FX7E HDV Handycam will be available from November.

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