Sony touts combination digital video/still camera

Sony today launched a new MiniDV Handycam digital video recorder that also includes a 3.31 megapixel still camera, creating a combination device for digital video and digital still images.

The DCR-PC330 ($1,700, available in October) includes a Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T lens, and an advanced primary color filter, as well as an advanced HADTM CCD imager, Sony said. It includes a manual focus ring with 10x optical zoom and 120x digital zoom features. Digital still photos are captured as JPEG images, and go directly onto a Memory Stick or Memory Stick PRO media. On a 1G-byte Memory Stick PRO card, approximately 890 photos (at 2,016 by 1,512 resolution) can be stored. The device comes with a 16M-byte Memory Stick card.

Other features of the digital camcorder include the Super NightShot infrared system (which lets you shoot video in darkness), and the Super SteadyShot system that helps stabilize images. A 2.5-inch SwivelScreen has a touch panel LCD, and a 3-D user menu. The camera weighs just over one pound, Sony said.

Video can be shot in MPEG Movie EX format, which takes MPEG-1 video clips with audio and records them to the Memory Stick (or PRO) media card. Video can also be put onto a MiniDV tape, and converted to the MPEG format later.