Sony debuts first waterproof Handycam

Set to debut around late May in Japan, Sony's first waterproof Handycam packs a cavalcade of features that would make nearly any similarly sized shooter blush in comparison.

Despite the small stature, the HDR-GW77V can go up to 16 feet under water (for up to an hour), survive a near 5-foot drop, and resist dust.

As for imaging specifics, the engineers at Sony packed a lot into a very little device, with buzz-worthy features such as 20.4-megapixel resolution, full 1080p (60fps) video capture up to 28Mbps, and 10x optical zoom. Other notable features in the tiny shooter (1.2-inch width and 4.15-inch height) include a pop-out 3-inch touch screen, 16GB internal storage (with option to expand via SDHC or Memory Stick Micro), panoramic photos, and a built-in GPS chip for geotagging photos.

No details about worldwide (or stateside) release for the 70,000-yen ($862) GW77V, but Sony played the similarly shaped HDR-TG5 around the world in 2009, so we may see this elsewhere sometime this year.

Check out this neat video from Japanese gadget blog AV Watch that demonstrates a drop test on the GW77V: