Travel Light With Sony's New Three-Megapixel Camcorder

Weighing less than a pound and easily fitting into a pocket or purse, the new Sony® DCR-PC350 MiniDV Handycam® camcorder packs advanced technical features and imaging power into a compact, vertical design.

This latest Handycam camcorder's 3.31-megapixel, single CCD gives users the highest quality combination of video and still camera optics. It will be available in September, just in time for the holidays, for about $1,300.

And making it as handy as it is compact, the new unit will come with a Handycam Station -- a tabletop cradle for charging and connecting to a TV or PC.

Superior Video and Picture Quality

Beyond 3-megapixel video and still quality, the DCR-PC350 model's enhanced primary color filter produces video and still images that will satisfy both video enthusiasts and digital photographers. The unit's color filter employs a new image processing technique for converting brightness more naturally, even when taking video and still shots of moving subjects with drastic changes in scenery and color.

To enhance color reproduction, the camcorder processes color density in a similar manner to Sony's leading digital still cameras. This results in vivid images that capture the true, natural colors of their subjects, including life-like skin tones and a dramatic reduction of the yellowing-effect in indoor shots.

The camcorder's efficient CCD imager reduces noise on still pictures resulting in sharp, clean still shots that approach professional quality. Plus you can select from three still image sizes: 640 x 480 for sharing as e-mail attachments, in addition to 1,600 x 1,200, and 2,016 x 1,512 for high quality prints.

All Charged Up and Ready to Go

Like a cell phone or PDA cradle, the accompanying Handycam Station charges the DCR-PC350 camcorder and connects it to a TV or PC, while keeping the camcorder easily accessible. The Handycam Station comes fully loaded with all the necessary inputs, including S-video and an audio/video terminal for connecting the unit to a TV, as well as a USB 1.1 port and an i.LINK® (IEEE-1394) digital interface for connection to compatible PCs.

And when away from home, people can take advantage of both the power and the A/V connections that are built directly into the unit.

New Features Bring Hollywood to Home Video

The DCR-PC350 camcorder's new cinematic effect mode enables users to experience the thrill of recording and playing back film-like scenes on video. This effect automatically engages the unit's progressive and 16:9 wide modes, creating video with Hollywood-like color reproduction while recording at 30 frames per second.

Take Creative Control of Video and Stills

The unit offers the option of precise automatic exposures or the ability to manually adjust for video or stills taken indoors or out. This translates to crisp clear pictures and video even in challenging lighting conditions.

For further control, a videographer can manually initiate a zebra-metering mode to detect overexposed video.

  Additional features include:

   *  2.5-inch Precision SwivelScreen™ Hybrid LCD Display -- Touch screen
      technology transforms the LCD into a convenient control pad, plus it
      provides an additional start/stop record button and zoom control
      directly on its frame for quick response.  Plus, the hybrid system
      provides accurate viewing in bright light virtually eliminating the
      "wash-out" common with traditional LCD screens.

   *  Carl Zeiss® Vario-Sonnar® T* Lens -- Advanced optical multi-layer
      coating within the Carl Zeiss lenses reduces glare, flare and
      increases contrast.  This results in vivid image brilliance,
      true-to-life color saturation, and precise renditions of subtle tones.

   *  Memory Stick PRO Duo™ Media Slot -- To complement its smaller form,
      the DCR-PC350 model accepts Memory Stick PRO Duo flash media, which is
      about one-third the size and half the weight of standard-size Memory
      Stick media.

   *  10X Optical/120X Precision Digital Video Zoom -- Sony's optical video
      zoom not only brings the action closer but the precision digital video
      zoom uses interpolation technology to make digital zooming cleaner,
      with less distortion than conventional digital zooms.

   *  Super NightShot® Plus 0 Lux Recording system -- This feature allows
      you to shoot video in darkness while delivering more natural color to
      the video.

For further information, please contact: Rosemary Flynn of Sony Electronics, +1-858-942-7763, rosemary.flynn@am.sony.com; or Alex Laurelli of Ruder Finn/Switzer, +1-415-249-6760, laurellia@ruderfinnswitzer.com, for Sony Electronics.

SOURCE: Sony Electronics

CONTACT: Rosemary Flynn of Sony Electronics, +1-858-942-7763,
rosemary.flynn@am.sony.com; or Alex Laurelli of Ruder Finn/Switzer,
+1-415-249-6760, laurellia@ruderfinnswitzer.com, for Sony Electronics