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As if the Sony HDR-SR11 and HDR-SR12 camcorders were not enough, Sony now releases the HDR-TG1, a compact machine that is at the lower end of the HD segment and is targeted towards casual videographers with a priority for portability. The main characteristics are as follows:

• Very compact dimensions of 32×119x63 mm and corresponding low weight of 300 gramms. Do not complain if you easily lose or cannot keep your camcorder steady!
• AVCHD codec. Hopefully here quality problems will be resolved as with the HDR-SR12.
• Full HD 1080i recording. With flash based storage it is better to keep things nice and compact don’t you think? Not much place for 1080p here.
• Memory Stick storage with 8 GB included with the camera. With all the Memory Stick flavours out there, be prepared for a headache when you decide to buy more cards.
• 10x Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar optical zoom lens.
• Almost 1 hour of full quality recording at 1980×1080i and 16 Mbps.
• 2.7 inch touch LCD screen, quite convenient for a camcorder of such small dimensions.
• 4 megapixel picture capability.
• BIONZ engine for advanced processing.
• Dolby Digital 5.1 channel sound recording.

The price will be $900 this May, below the $1100+ currently reserved for HD models for more demanding users. It seems to be a great choice for outdoor use where size and weight are all important. If performance is anywhere near the HDR-SR12, it will be a great hit for more than one reason. The link below includes more photos plus video.

Link: Akihabara