2007 New Camcorder Roundup

Charles Fulton
April 2007

Now that we've arrived back from the 40th Annual Consumer Electronics Show (held Jan. 8-11, 2007 in Las Vegas, NV), we've had a chance to compile all of the camcorder announcements we saw over the course of the show. The trends we're noticing are:

• The proliferation of 2.7" widescreen LCD viewscreens
• More camcorders that are ready to record from standby with less time needed
• More inexpensive 3-chip camcorders
• A significant amount of camcorders adding optical image stabilization

In what might be a sign of future developments, there were not nearly as many new Mini DV camcorders announced at this year's show as in the past. Those that were announced were at some of the lowest prices we've ever seen.

Canon's Mini DV line gains the ZR800 ($279) which includes a microphone jack and a 35x optical zoom lens. The Canon ZR830 ($299) and ZR850 ($329) forgo the mic jack, but add a Quick Start mode that allows them to start recording from a standby state in less than one second. The ZR850 also adds a built-in video light and upgrades to a 1.07-megapixel CCD. All include a 2.7" widescreen LCD viewscreen.

Canon's DVD-R/-RW camcorder lineup also includes 35x optical zoom lenses, Quick Start and 2.7" widescreen LCD viewscreens. The DC210 ($399) is the baseline model. The DC220 ($449) adds a miniSD memory card slot for still images, along with a USB 2.0 port. The DC230 ($499) further adds a 1.07-megapixel CCD and a wireless remote.

The DVD-burning DC50 ($799) utilizes a 5.39-megapixel CCD and includes optical image stabilization for its 10x optical zoom lens. It also includes a built-in video light and a widescreen LCD. The camcorder is bundled with a version of Roxio MyDVD as well.

Hitachi's DZHS300A ($600) is a DVD-R/-RW/ -RAM/+RW camcorder that also includes a 8GB hard drive. Also included: a 25x optical zoom lens and an SD card slot. The DZH500A ($800) upgrades to a 30GB hard drive and a 30x optical zoom lens.

The DZGX5020A DVD-R/-RW/-RAM/+RW camcorder ($350) features a 2.7" widescreen LCD and a 30x optical zoom. The DZGX5080A ($450) adds a USB 2.0 port and an LED video light.

JVC's Mini DV camcorder line includes 680k-pixel CCDs, 34x optical zoom lenses and 2.7" widescreen LCDs. A video light is present on all models that can automatically activate as needed. The GR-D750 ($250) is the baseline model, while the GR-D770 ($280) adds an SD card slot and the ability to shoot still images while video is being recorded. The GR-D796 ($350) additionally ships with two batteries, each holding enough charge to shoot for a claimed 135 minutes.

JVC's Everio GZ-HD7 3-CCD camcorder with 60GB hard drive ($1,800) is the first consumer camcorder able to record full 1920x1080i images, and is also the first consumer-level camcorder that utilizes an f/1.8 Fujinon lens with 10x optical zoom. Its 1/5" 16:9 CCDs operate in the progressive domain, and each have 570k pixels (effective: 530k pixels). The camcorder can record up to five hours of full 1080i MPEG-2 footage at 30Mbps. Footage can be burned directly to Blu-ray Discs with the provided software, or transferred over the camcorder's USB 2.0, HDMI or FireWire connections.

The remainder of the Everio line includes four models with 30GB hard drives. The GZ-MG130 ($500) features a 1/6", 680k-pixel CCD and a 34x optical zoom lens. The GZ-MG155 ($600) upgrades to a 1.07-megapixel CCD but utilizes a 32x optical zoom lens. The GZ-MG255 ($700) utilizes a 1/3.9" 2.18-megapixel CCD but includes a 10x optical zoom. The GZ-MG555 ($900) upgrades to a 1/2.5", 5.37-megapixel CCD. All models include a 2.7" widescreen LCD and 16:9 recording.

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