Sony has announced two HD camcorders, the HDR-HC1 HDV consumer camcorder, and the HVR-A1U Professional HDV camcorder.

The HDR-HC1 HDV camcorder is a compact device that can record in full HD resolution based on HDV 1080i. This model weighs about 1.5 pounds and uses a Carl Zeiss ® Vario-Sonnar® T* lens with 10x optical zoom. Included is a 2.7″ wide-hybrid touch-panel LCD screen. You can switch between 16×9 and 4×3 aspect ratios (in DV mode) to see what your video will look like on TV. The camera also captures 2.8 megapixel digital still images, which can be stored on the Memory Stick PRO Duo.

The HVR-A1U Professional HDV camcorder has a 1/3″, 3 megapixel CMOS imager accompanied by Sony’s Enhanced Imaging Processor (EIP). The HVR-A1U offers features such as balanced audio, XLR inputs, SMPTE timecode and a Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar® T* Lens.

Link: eCoustics - Sony HVR-A1U Professional HDV Camcorder
Link: eCoustics - Sony HDR-HC1 HDV Camcorder