Save for slight variations in storage mediums and capacities, resolution, and lenses, Sony's 13 new Handycam Camcorders aren't radically different from each other.
The ones that matter the most are Sony's XR550 and CX550, which (yes), has everything mentioned below, but either adds to or improves on its underlings' offerings with a either 240 gigs of HDD action or 64 gigs of flash storage, 3.5-inch screen, 12 megapixel stills and full manual controls. It also has a color viewfinder and mic/headphone inputs for those budding auteurs out there. Expect the XR550 to cost $1400 and the CX550 to cost $1300 when they come out in late February.
There's the 150 series, where you can get the 120 gig HDD of the XR150, or the 16 gigs of flash storage on the CX150, but they both shoot in 1080p, with a 25x zoom lens, have a steadyshot mode, take 3.1 megapixel stills and come with a 2.7 inch LCD. Oh yeah, there's also the CX110 that lets you customize the capacity with a memory card (presumably a MemoryStick). The XR150, CX150 and CX110 will hit stores in late January for about $700, $550, and $500, respectively.
Then there's the 350 series, which has everything mentioned above, plus it lets you choose between 160 gigabytes of HDD storage (XR350), or a 32 gigabyte flash capacity (CX350). From there, these cams come equipped with a 30mm wide angle lens with 12x zoom, steadyshot, 7.1 megapixel stills and GPS for geotagging. And for the middle aged male in us all, there's a golf mode, that lets you record your swing to either analyze it frame-by-frame, or create a composite image for that cool, strobe-y effect. Oh, and there's also the CX300, which only has 16 gigs of flash storage (oy oy oy). The XR 350, CX350 and CX300 will cost $1000, $900, and $800, respectively, when the come out in late February.
But Sony didn't forget about those of you still desperately grasping onto the 90s—there's an SD line as well! Sony has 5 of these that have varying capacities maxing out at 120 gigabyes of HDD storage and 16 gigabytes of flash storage, and lenses with 60x zoom, face detection, 2.7-inch touchscreen, and all that other crap old people like. The DCR-SX and SR lines will be available in late January, ranging in price between $270 and $400, and a couple of them will come in colors such as—aw, hell, who cares.


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