Sony recently announced three hard disk drive for Handycam camcorders that will surely fit the needs of everybody - be it a regular Joe or a frivolous individual. The new contraptions that Sony couldn't shut up about are the new HDD camcorders - the DCR-SR80, DCR-SR60 and DCR-SR40 models that claim to have extraordinary recording times and eliminate the need to manage removable media, such as tapes or discs.

But if you think that Sony is all small talk about these three, well, all of them are backed by features that make the adage "talk is cheap" inapplicable in this situation. The 60GB hard drive of the DCR-SR80 camcorder captures up to 41 hours of video in long-play mode (3Mbps) or up to 14 hours of footage in high quality mode (9Mbps). The DCR-SR60 and the DCR-SR40 models have comparable recording times with 30GB of internal memory - up to 20 hours of footage in long play mode and more than seven hours in high quality mode.

All these babies use the HDD Smart Protection system, which combines physical shock absorbers, G-sensor shock protection and video stream buffering to help prevent data loss if the cameras are dropped or shaken. These new models also feature Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar lenses for maintaining image clarity and color resolution. Sony is hoping that its easy PC connectivity will be beneficial for people who upload and share their videos online-- which has become everybody's favorite pastime nowadays.

The new camcorders will also go with a Handycam Station that will be able to connect the camcorders to a PC television set or DVDirect DVD recorder with the supplied USB, AV and DC-in cables. What is good about the Handycam Station is the fact that it features a One Touch DVD Burn button that automatically burns video to a DVD via a PC.

Sounds good and all, right? Now let's head back to reality and let's talk financial damages. The top-of-the-line 60GB DCR-SR80 and the 30GB DCR-SR60  model have a wide 2.7-inch wide hybrid LCD display with start, stop and zoom buttons, 12x optical zoom, a one-mega pixel CCD imager and an active interface shoe for attaching accessories such as an external microphone or light. Both will be available in September for about $800 and $700, respectively.

As for the more affordable 30GB DCR-SR40 has a 20x optical zoom, six hour battery life, 2.5-inch (4:3 ratio) LCD monitor and touch panel functionality.  It will be available in September for about $600. Pre-ordering will begin on Friday, July 21.