I'm something of a fan of the new AVCHD video codec. It's essentially a capture implementation of the very pretty H.264. From the initial hands on time I had with the Sony cameras at their 'Experience More' event in Sydney, these new cameras are looking like a winner. Even the DVD-based model, a style of camcorder I generally hate, has a lot going for it -- you can shoot SD footage for general DVD playback, or HD to AVCHD for Blu-Ray playback (when it finally gets here) including direct disc drop-in support on the PS3.

BUT... we've still got big questions about what video makers can actually do with the footage! While there is no technical reason this footage can't be edited, being MPEG-4 after all, it seems no one is yet to make this footage work with anything but the included 'editing' software... which it is probably a safe assumption is a steaming mound of refuse.

Here is a quick run down of what the current state of play seems to be:

• Sony's Vegas 7 is the only software known to support AVCHD right now. If that's your editor of choice, grab it and taste the love.
  UPDATE: I was even wrong on that front. I've just checked in for official word, and was told only that "it will be supported in the future...", which isn't very helpful. (Thanks Jerry for flagging this was wrong)
• No one else has announced the if/when of AVCHD support. Sony has stated we will start to see stickers of approval when software officially supports AVCHD.
• Where supported, you're going to need a lot of grunt to edit AVCHD in real-time. With greater compression comes more demand on your processor to decode the footage.

In my recent look at the two Sony models for Australian Macworld, I said there should be no issue with editing the stuff in Quicktime-based solutions as it H.264 is nicely supported by QT. But having heard definite 'no joy' calls from the likes of Camcorderinfo.com I'm worried we're in for some pain until the January Apple iLife revision period. Having been so quick to support HDV, I'm disapointed we're going to have to wait.

I'm not 100% sure it can't be done right now either. No doubt we lack any direct import mode, but if you can get the video files off the camera and onto the hard drive -- probably an easier task with the HDD model than the DVD (Check Sony's site to see the model details) -- you should be able to import the footage. In theory, anyway! Until I get a camera in hand, I've got nothing but the experience of other users to go by. Never an ideal point of reference.

These cameras will be hitting the open market next week if the 'mid Oct' launch date is accurate. I currently await that magic email saying a test unit is on its way, so I can get down and see whether this footage can be coaxed into Final Cut or Premiere. Until then, I can only recommend waiting for software update announcements. With models also in the pipeline from Panasonic (no local announcement as yet), the wait may deliver more camera options too. And a first HD camcorder from Panasonic has good potential to be well worth the wait.

Once I've had my first touch, I'll write up any tricks I can find for making the footage work right now. Hold your breath 'til then.