PARK RIDGE, NJ -- Bexel Corporation has increased its commitment to high definition with the recent purchase of Sony's HDW-F900 digital camcorders.

Since placing its first order for 10 of the cameras, the Burbank, Calif.-based rental company has ordered five more and plans to purchase another 15 next year. That 30-unit investment represents approximately $3 million in camera bodies. In addition, Bexel plans to purchase about $1,000,000.00 more in accessories (monitors and VTRs) to complement the cameras.

Sony's HDW-F900 24P digital high-definition camcorder combines a 3-CCD HD color digital camera, where each RGB imager has 1, 920 x 1,080 sensors, with an HDCAM compact digital ½-inch cassette recorder. The camcorder is intended to complement 24-frame film origination, facilitating a new creative choice for program producers for both television origination and certain types of movie making.

"We first bought HDCAM equipment because we recognized that the 24-frame technology offered us an opportunity to offer high definition to the film market," said Tom Dickinson, Bexel's vice president/general manager. "We made a conscious effort to make a very significant investment in that technology and those cameras as soon as they became available."

"The HDW-F900 camcorder's ability to emulate the capture imagery on a par with 35mm motion picture film is of vital importance to many cinematographers seeking to capitalize on the advantages of digital acquisition while still needing the aesthetic look and feel of 35mm film," said Larry Thorpe, vice president of acquisition systems for Sony Electronics' Broadcast and Professional Company. "Our new CCDs, which feature very high sensitivity and a wide dynamic range, coupled with a 12-bit A/D converter and advanced digital signal processing, make this a unique camcorder that is ideal for digital cinematography in terms of exposure latitude, picture sharpness, and tonal and color reproduction. The camcorder's HD studio signal processing considerably extends creative flexibility on set, while also simplifying the overall setup and operation."

The cameras will be distributed among Bexel's eight offices: the Burbank headquarters, New York, Washington DC, Dallas, Atlanta, Miami, Seattle and Irvine, Calif.

"This is a new market for us," Dickinson said. "It's made up of new customers possibly looking to shoot high definition rather than film, or shooting HD because the quality is at the point that their production demands it. We see it as a growth market and a technology that is a logical direction for us to expand into. We want to make sure that the marketplace understands that we're serious about this."

The HDW-F900 cameras are just part of Bexel's continued commitment to high-definition. Two years ago, Bexel built an HD theater and a hi-def studio in Burbank, "So anyone can come in and shoot test shots," Dickinson said. "They can walk down the hall to our surround sound theater, throw the footage into a deck and, with the Sony VPHD-90 HD projector, look at it on a 13-foot screen."

Sony Electronics' Broadcast and Professional Company (BPC) provides advanced products and systems for a variety of professional and broadcast markets, including production, corporate, industrial, government, security, medical and education. Sony designs products and applications that facilitate the transition to digital technologies and the emerging broadband network era. Sony products and services include those for broadcast acquisition, production, storage, data management, system integration, digital imaging, digital printing, large and small venue display and projection needs. Sony Electronics recorded annual sales exceeding $12 billion in the fiscal year that ended March 31, 2000. For more information, visit www.sony.com/professional.