3 CCD Handycam from Sony

We've been giving Sony a lot of well deserved dings lately with the whole shoulda-done-a-better-MP3-player-in-2001 thing. But Sony, one thing no one can ding you on is your camera chops, so nicely done. The DCR-HC1000 3 CCD Handycam looks pretty fresh:

<>At less than two pounds, the super-compact DCR-HC1000 MiniDV Handycam camcorder features Sony's
three-chip, one-megapixel Advanced HAD progressive scan CCD technology. Each CCD imager is dedicated to a primary
color. They separate light passing through the lens into individual color components for noticeably sharper images
and colors. By giving each lens its own megapixel imager, the camcorder captures the intense detail and color that
expert videographers appreciate.> And for the first time on a 3-CCD camcorder, high-quality Carl Zeiss
Vario-Sonnar T* optics have been incorporated for improved sharpness and resolution, along with higher contrast. The
new DCR-HC1000 model is expected to be available next month for about $1,700.

The 3 CCD camcorder arena is heating up; we just covered another one from Panasonic
last week.