Sanyo has announced the HD2, a high definition camcorder that they claim is the smallest and lightest of its kind, measuring 80 x 119 x 36mm and weighing 235g including battery and standard SD memory card.
It builds on the feature set of Sanyo's HD1A, and features an HDMI connection, super-fast start up, image stabilisation, 720p HD video recording at 30fps, 7.1 megapixel still images, 10x optical zoom and 10x digital zoom, a 2.2 inch LCD display, video recording optimisation for personal media players, and 16:9 still shooting.
Its high sensitivity mode allows for filming in low-light conditions, and its digital image stabilisation works across the full shooting range from wide angle to telephoto. It utilises Sanyo's original corrective algorithm, and can distinguish between 'trembling hands' and 'camera work' such as panning and tilting.
The camcorder features an accelerated frame rate of 9Mbps in high definition mode - more than four times faster than earlier digital cameras. This should ensure that camera and subject motion are smooth and natural, without the image lag or distortion that might occur in slower-responding systems.
It allows editing of movies without a computer, and comes with Ulead DVD Movie Writer 5.0 SE.
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