The Jetyo HDV-T900 is notable for being one of the only camcorders for home users to feature an integrated solar panel to make holiday video capture a more environmentally-friendly process.
The camcorder itself is slightly weighed-down by the large solar cell attached to the device above the flip-out LCD viewfinder, but it is a small price to pay if you are truly concerned about the environmental impact of gadget use.
The camcorder captures video directly onto high capacity SD memory cards, although sadly the fixed zoom means that you might have to rely on digital rather than optical image enlargement, which will be a limitation for some.
There is currently no information as to how long the camcorder will take to charge up if you leave it lounging in the sunlight. The energy is used to juice up four standard AA batteries, which is good news if the day is overcast as you can always pop in some fresh units and continue shooting.
According to the calculations of industry observers, the 120mA solar cell would take an entire day to fully charge a single 2500mAh battery. This no doubt leads to the troubling suggestion that trickle-charging the camera will not only mean leaving it out in the sun for ages, but also potentially unattended whilst you go off gallivanting.
The idea behind the HDV-T900 camcorder is a noble one, but you will have to wait and see whether in practice it is a workable solution, or more trouble than it is worth. This is one area eco-friendly technology that will no doubt continue to evolve as photovoltaic cell technology evolves. But it is great to see the manufacturers starting to innovate.
