Sony Handycam HDR-GW77V pictures

The Sony Handycam HDR-GW77V was announced for Japan in May, but is headed to the U.S. in June. Though indistinguishable from a typical pistol-grip minicamcorder, the GW77V nonetheless is powerful and rugged. It's waterproof down to 16 feet, shockproof from drops up to 5 feet, and dustproof.

One of the main features that sets it apart from smaller pocket video cameras, such as Sony's Bloggie line, is its 10x zoom Sony G lens that starts at a relatively wide-angle 29.8mm focal length for photos and video. It also records in AVCHD at 1080/60p (or 60i) and has built-in GPS letting you view your current location on the LCD map display, automatically geotag your shooting locations, and view the geotagged content using a Map Index function on the camcorder.

Yep, it's got a flash for those times when stuff is just too dark.

Though it's bulkier than your average smartphone, considering its capabilities the device is compact. Small enough to stick in a large pocket or small bag for sure.

Everything's pretty straightforward for controlling the device.

If you're over physical controls, the GW77V has a 3-inch 921K-dot-resolution touch screen that can be used to control everything.

The minicamcorder has 16GB of internal storage and can also record movies and photos directly to Memory Stick Micro (M2) and microSD/SDHC cards. There is a Micro-HDMI port for connecting to a display and a Micro-USB port for charging and connecting to a computer.

In case you wanted proof of the ports and dual-card slot.

Despite the big gasket and promise of 16 feet of waterproofing, I'd have a tough time getting in the water with a $700 camcorder.