Palm Victor Camera

JVC has chosen 1.3-inch hard drives for three new digital video cameras, since the aim is to be among the smallest in the palmcorder class while still having good optics. Designed to be about 20% lighter than the previous models, the GZ-MG740, 730 and 530 will nestle in your palm and give you 10x optical zoom and about an hour and a half of MPEG2 recording as well as 5-7 megapixel stills of whatever you fancy.

All three have new Konica-Minolta lenses with a 35mm equivalent zoom of 44-440mm, record video in the highest Fine mode at 720 x 480 pixels and have 2.7 inch 122,000 pixel LCD monitors. The ISO1000 mode will appeal to shooters who often find themselves in low light. Somewhat confusingly the blurb tells us that you can also record to microSD(HC) cards, but what the heck: this may be useful to augment the 30GB hard drive on the entry level version (40GB on the upper end). Around 2.7 x 4.7 x 2.7 inches and 0.84 pounds with battery, they will come with a dock and be available first in Japan for between ¥90,000 and ¥100,000, which is about $850 to $950 once they make their way over the Atlantic.