DXG, a maker of consumer-level production gear, unveiled a 720p high-definition camcorder at CES for $150. It won’t replace a Panasonic HVX200, Canon XL H-1, or JVC GY-HD200, but, according to the company, it does deliver video resolutions of up to 1280 x 720 and 720 x 480, both at 30fps.

The new DXG-566V HD, according to the specs, has a true five-megapixel CMOS sensor (not interpolated), a three-inch flip-out LCD monitor, 32 MB of onboard memory, and an SD/SDHC expansion slot for additional memory. The camcorder, which uses the H.264 and .mov formats for video, also has the ability to shoot stills (with LED flash) at an eight-megapixel resolution in JPEG format.

You can hook the camcorder to a standard television monitor through an A/V output connection. It allows videos to be viewed in either 4:3 or 16:9 aspect ratios. Users can also connect the DXG-566V HD to any personal computer via USB 2.0, upload to a video editor or to web sites like YouTube or Flickr.

Of course, there is a down side. There is no optical zoom, so users must deal with 2x digital magnification, which of course diminishes the picture quality. However, even if the images aren’t first-rate, the price point for a full 720p camcorder has never been lower.

For more information, visit www.dxgusa.com.