Sony high-end pro HDV camcorders

Sony, and the company is back for more with two new high-end 1080p HDV cameras, the $10,500 HVR-S270U (pictured) and the $6,850 HVR-Z7U. Both models feature interchangeable Carl Zeiss lenses, Sony's 1/3-inch ClearVid CMOS sensor that offers 1.5 lux sensitivity, 24p and 30p modes, and support for recording directly to CompactFlash or an optional hard-disk recording attachment. The miniDV-only HVR-Z7U features HDMI output, while the HVR-270U bumps up to HD- or SD-SDI output and can also take full-size DVCAM tapes. Sony also released $5,540 HVR-M35U HDV deck that accepts both miniDV and full-size tapes, and features a 2.7-inch preview LCD. All this gear is expected to hit in February -- just in time for that IMAX happy slapping documentary you've been planning. Pictures of the HVR-Z7U and the HVR-M35U after the break.

Hands-on with Sanyo's Xacti DMX-HD1000

An Employee of japan's sanyo electronic's display's the world's smallest an lightest high defination camcorder "Xacti DMX-HD 1000" in tokyo, Tuesday. Equipped with a 4-million pixel CMOS Sensor and a 6.3-63 mm/F1.8-2.5 Zoom Lens, the device can record upto 43-minutes of full high-defination movies (1,920x1,080-Pixel) On a 4 GB stamp size SD card.