Offering a preview of its first camera for 2008, JVC today unveiled the Everio GR-D850. The widescreen DV camera is designed primarily for those with small hands or newcomers turned away by the large grips of other camcorders; compared to the outgoing D750, the new model is more compact overall and 0.8 inches shorter, JVC says. Pressing an Auto button also hands over nearly all control over shooting to the camera, adjusting the picture quality and other picture settings on the fly. Its 2.7-inch wide LCD also auto-dims in low light.

The camera uses MiniDV tapes to store its wide, NTSC resolution (720x480) video and centers around a 35X optical zoom lens; the D850 can also output directly through 4-pin FireWire or to a TV through RCA jacks. Recording time is rated at an even two hours with the LCD's backlight turned off or an hour and 50 minutes with the light switched on.

JVC has so far only announced the camera for Japan and is expected to release this new entry model in January for about $398 in the country. An American release is expected shortly afterwards given existing NTSC video support and is likely to be given a lower price. [via Impress]