Sony's Tiny Geo-tagger HandyCam HDR-TG5V is Here and Proud of Itself

Sony let loose a bit of a bland followup to its HDR-TG1. The new HandyCam HDR-TG5V has all the same great features as its predecessor. It's a sleek and slim titanium handheld camcorder and is small enough to fit in a pocket. It records video at full 1080p onto its 2.4 megapixel ClearVid Exmor sensor and features an optical stabilization system. Zoom is adequate at 10x optical magnification. It's loaded with 16GBs of internal flash memory and has room for expansion via SD memory cards. The HDR-TG5 has two options for view finding or playback. It has a built in view finder and a 2.7 inch touchscreen LCD. The UI has been enhanced over the older model as well and should be much easier to navigate, manage files and settings. It also ships with a docking station for easy charging and downloading of videos.

The other really new feature is the questionable geotagging option. Geotagging is not quite a rage now but it is catching on. At 1080p it seems a little ridiculous to try and manage video files of that size which are only just barely manageable in newer computers. Adding in GPS data and software as well seems a bit of a long shot. The GPS data is stored in separate files that currently have very little support outside of sony's proprietary software system. Understandably high definition video with intrinsic support of geotagging information hasn't been in demand and therefore simply doesn't exist. The other major stumbling block for this gadget is its price. The HandyCam HDR-TG5V's MSRP is set for $1000; it will ship in May but that's lot to ask when there are other high definition recorders that are smaller, more rugged and one fifth of the price.

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