Jan van der Meer, whom I know personally as a trustworthy source, is reporting on Sony's unveiling of the PD170 at IBC going on right now in Europe: see http://www.global-dvc.org/html/PD170.asp.

Based on that report I think many Sony fans will be a little dissapointed as it's not the wondercam they were hoping for.

I agree -- but who knows, they just might have *something else* in the works!

;-)

Huh. Looks like Sony is aiming for cat fanciers. "MEW SONY DSR-PD170"

And keep in mind that the PD170 has a 17P progressive mode!

If this is real, then this is a tragedy for Sony. I knew they were arrogant and out of touch, but jeeeze.

Well the pd150 is still selling out over here in the states. Sony supposedly cut back on the production of them because a slight dip in sales. They then dropped the price by a few hundred and now cannot keep up with the demand.

Regardless if this is any indication of what the pd170 will be then they can expect sales to dip again. The photo on that page does indeed make it look like a proto type. Maybe it's just the lighting but it looks like crap. A hodge podge of the pd150, vx1000 and the viewfinder looks like the one on the dvx100. Honestly I don't believe this thing will see the light of day over here in the states.

I think what most of us would be interested in: True 16:9 chips will not be seen on a prosumer camera (besides the pdx and JVC HD) for another couple of years. Sony probably wants to release a vx3000/pd?/dsr? with 16:9 and HD capabilities which is logical going by their track record. However this will take time because they do not want to canibalize their higher end.

Estimate before we see the real successor to the pd150; 3 years.

Sounds like Chris Hurd might know something that he's not telling us. The two asterisks gave it away. All that is missing is the nod and wink.

There is now official info on the www.sonybiz.net site. It confirms Jan's findings...
Nothing to get excited about.

The moderator of simplydv.com, who posted a story about the 170's arrival on September 8 on the front page of his web site, now says on a thread in his forum page that he was at IBC on September 13 and saw no such animal. Not my bailiwick, but there seems to have been so much discussion here (and even a little animus?) over this that I thought I would mention it.

well i saw it with my own eyes and its real allright!!
interesting new JVC, with hard disc system. The jvc DR-DV5000.
Then there is a new stabilizing system called the DVRigpro. I tried it on and its something between a steadystick, monopod and a true stabilizer like steadycam makes!! check it out for yourselfs at..www.dvtec.tv

www.abcdv.com
The camera looks cool. I'm still all about the DVX100. It is real, and the vx2100 hundred is coming out soon also.

Basically my PD-150's are fantastic for wedding videos. My GL-2 is good, but the Sony's have that lowlight advantage.

When will other camera makers challenge Sony in lowlight arena?

LUX is even lower now at 1, compared to LUX2 on current 150's?
Awesome!

Video and Audio a little bit better?
Great!

Different FPS?
Nice touch

The next Uber-camera?
No, but this is a great improvement for me!

I can sense the Canon and Sony camps about to erupt in Flames against each other.

I am happy to have another choice in cameras.