Sony HXR-NX5P Camcorder

The first in Sony's line of NXCAM solid-state camcorders, the Sony HXR-NX5P is also the company's first professional-level AVCHD camcorder. And while it may look similar to its HDV predecessor, the HVR-Z5P, in fact this is a very different animal. Its ability to capture HD and SD video in AVCHD and MPEG-2 formats--and save it to solid state media--is only one of its distinctive traits. Full-raster 1920 x 1080 video is another, including the option of recording 720/50p video as well as 50i and 25p. And because the NX5P can capture to media cards plus an optional flash memory unit, you can simultaneously record a different signal to each, whether HD + a backup or HD + SD. The footage is then easily downloaded to a computer or backup drive using USB 2.0.