The short time in which the PC110E was Sony's flagship consumer DV camera is over, with its replacement, the PC120E, bringing new features to the top of the single-CCD range.
The most obvious of these new features is an integrated Bluetooth network adapter that allows you to connect to the internet via a Bluetooth-enabled mobile phone or modem. With an internal mail client and browser, this allows you to send digital stills or MPEG-1 clips directly from the camera via email or browse the web on the PC120E's LCD.
However, the display is too small and the cursor control too inefficient for convenient text input, which makes it a poor attempt at consumer network convergence on Sony's part.
The PC120E has a 1.5Megapixel CCD with a new Carl Zeiss T lens (10X optical zoom), which offers 530 lines of video resolution and digital still capture at 1,320 by 1,260 pixels. The flash unit has a built-in laser head that provides pin-sharp auto focus for stills, while its video quality matches up to Sony's usual high standards.
You also get DV In/Out, night vision, MPEG-1 capture to Memory Stick, manual controls and an InfoLithium battery pack. The digital image stabiliser is very effective at reducing camera shake, while the hot shoe supports a wide range of accessories - from infrared emitters to stereo zoom microphones.
As with its predecessor, many of the buttons are small and awkward to use, so the PC120E would benefit from a touch-screen LCD, but the primary controls (record/zoom) are well positioned and effective.
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