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New Sony camcorders finally get wide-angle

Edouard Maire
January 7, 2010 5:49 PM

Sony's new range of high-definition (AVCHD) camcorders includes its fair share of hotly-anticipated features, including wide-angle lenses.

It seems that Sony has finally gone the extra mile to solve the last problem that was holding its consumer-level camcorders back: wide-angle lenses, which were until now capped at between 43 and 50 mm as a 35 mm equivalent. And they've pulled it off: the three new high-end camcorders, the HDR-XR550, CX550 and CX305 all start at 29.8 mm as a 35 mm equivalent!

It's a first for Sony in camcorders aimed at the general public. Other new features include the improving of the bitrate for 1920 x 1080 pixel AVCHD to 24 Mbps, catching up with both Canon and JVC. But Sony has also preserved all of the innovations found on its current generation of camcorders, including the Exmor sensor, which works wonders in low light levels and the 'active' image stabilisation system which provides a smooth shot even while walking.

All told, it looks like 2010 is going to be a vintage year …

£1000 and up

The HD-XR550 and the HDR-CX550 are at the top of the HD heap. They share a 1/2.9'' Exmor CMOS sensor with 6.3 Megapixels, a 10x optical zoom, that great 'active' stabilisation, a 5.1 channel microphone, a viewfinder and a 3.5'' touchscreen display. Sony also boasts the slow-motion 'Golf Shot' mode, which offers a framerate of up to 200 fps to capture rapid movements like a golf swing (hence the name). What remains to be seen is whether this mode requires a compromise on resolution, like it does with JVC. European pricing for the XR550 will be 1500 euros and 1400 for the CX550. The difference is due to the 250 GB hard drive in the former, compared to the 64 GB of flash memory in the latter. You can use a Memory Stick Duo Pro or SDHC card to prolong filming with either.

Sony HDR-XR550

Sony HDR-CX550

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£500 - £800

A little more affordable, the HDR-CX305 has many of the advantages of the first two announcements, including active stabilisation, a 29.8 mm wide angle lens, 24 Mbps recording and the Golf Shot feature. Its CMOS Exmor sensor is smaller though, at 1/4'' and just 4.2 Megapixels and it has only 16 GB of flash memory. The LCD screen is also a little less impressive at 2.7'' and there's no microphone input. Price: £800.

The HDR-CX116 is similar to the CX305, but doesn't get the wide-angle, or Golf Shot, and has a mere 8 GB of flash memory. It does have an incredible 25x optical zoom, though, and is now Sony's cheapest camcorder at a price of £520.