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American Morning

Cost-Effective Home Videocameras Introduced at National Association of Broadcasters Convention

Aired April 26, 2001 - 11:49   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: In Las Vegas this week, the best and most expensive TV equipment in the world is on display at the National Association of Broadcasters Convention.

LINDA STOUFFER, CNN ANCHOR: Alongside them, though, are some less expensive camcorders. So why did the cheap cameras get invited to this fancy-schmancy party? Because, as CNN technology correspondent Rick Lockridge explains, they earned the right to be there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICK LOCKRIDGE, CNN TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT: Here at the National Association of Broadcasters Convention, we're surrounded by some of the very best TV equipment in the world. This is the gyroscopic camera support system. Over here, we have a $40,000 Betacam sitting on top of a $10,000 tripod.

But you know, there are also camcorders here that are within reach of the average consumer, and some of them are not too far off in quality from that big boy right there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a GL-1. It squarely fits as a professional piece for us. It's at a $2,499 price quote, but it's a three-chip camera, which is exactly what a professional camera would have.

LOCKRIDGE: This new camera from JVC weighs less than 2 pounds and is also in the $2,500 price range. It's well designed for PC owners who want to edit their own home movies. It also takes high resolution digital stills, and here you see it with a wide-angle lens and a slick-looking electronic flash that runs right off the camera's battery.

Panasonic brand-new digital camcorder comes with a high-quality Leica lens and can store 64M worth of still pictures on a thumbnail size chip. The company says chip capacity will eventually reach a gigabyte, meaning you'd be able to store thousands of photos on one of these. This sub-$2,000 camera will be available soon.

(END VIDEO CLIP) Like large news organizations, like CNN, are now sometimes using digital camcorders for the news gatherings.

In fact, here's the proof: This segment is being shot on our well-worn Sony PT-100 camcorder with wide-angle lens.

I'm really thinner in real life, honestly.

We have a $180 tripod and a $35 microphone from RadioShack.

Many professionals don't like the idea of using of what they consider to be consumer gear, but pictures, as they say, are worth a thousand words, and in this case all those words are nyah, nyah, and nyah.

So you soccer moms and dads, go out there and shoot like the pros, and make those of us in the business proud -- and a little nervous.

From NAB, in Las Vegas, I'm Rick Lockridge. Now back to our Atlanta studios.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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