One of the biggest selling points of the current crop of digital video cameras is their small size. Most are about as big as a paperback novel and can be held in one hand. That, in large part, is due to the mini digital video (MiniDV) cassettes used for recording, which are about two-thirds the size of standard audio cassettes.
But MiniDV tapes not only are expensive - $100 for a 60-minute cassette - but are not compatible with other common video formats such as VHS and 8mm.
Enter Sony's new digital video format, Digital8. The audio-video specialist has introduced a trio of Digital8 camcorders which offer the high picture resolution and durability of digital, while using cheaper, albiet bigger 8mm and Hi8 tapes.
The new camcorders, the DCR-TRV110, 210 and 410, will cost between $7,500 and $10,000. This is $2,000 to $3,000 less than Sony's existing line of MiniDV video cameras, and about the same as its analogue, Hi8 camcorders.
The Digital8 camcorders feature CD-quality stereo sound, 20x optical zoom lenses, CCDs (charged coupled devices) which can capture images at resolutions of between 460,000 and 800,000 pixels, and pop-out LCD monitors for easy viewing.
The Digital8 cameras also can view recordings made under both 8mm and Hi8. And when hooked up to a PC via a FireWire cable, a Digital8 camera can convert 8mm and Hi8 analogue recordings into digital video for computer editing.