Why can't MVC-CD400 zoom in and out when video

I have seen this brought up in various places and the reason that made the most sense to me was the most simple (of course) Many digital cameras with video capability do not allow you to record video with sound and use the zoom simultaneously due to background noise caused by the powered zoom motor. On many such cameras, the zoom function can be enabled by choosing to record video without sound. I have tinkered a bit with the video function on my cd400 and found it fun, but obviously no replacement for a true video camera. Indeed the mike was fairly sensitive and the zoom motor is surely loud enough to be picked up by the mike. I:m not sure why this function was enabled on the 250, but if might have something to do with the fact that it uses a completely different lense. The different setup might have made it possible to use a more silent motor for zooming. I myself prefer to have the Ziess lense over zooming functions. Still even if this is the case, I don't see why the digital zoom could not be enabled during movies. Sure it's only 2X, but hey it's better than nothing. I also don't know if it is possible to shoot movies with the CD400 sans audio. This may enable the zoom (another poor compromise if you ask me). I'll have to fiddle with it and see if it works.

....Also, if movies are your thing then the CD400 is really the best of the Sony cameras because you can shoot movies all day long and fill up many CDs, whereas people with memory sticks are severely limited by the number of memory sticks they own. If you are on vacation and have a stack of 100 CDs you can shoot movies and stills with any limitations. That is a huge advantage. Sorry but you can't zoom while shooting movies though.

On p. 100 in the manual it states that the zoom does not work when shooting a movie with the cd400 only. The cd400 has quite a few more features,for example the higher resolution and the Carl Zeiss lens, compared to the cd250, thereby justifying the higher price. It has more functions as a still digital camera, more manual settings, etc., so I guess you have to sacrifice that one function. No digital still camera will replace a camcorder - the fact that you can record a movie as long as the cd allows is a lot better than most other still cameras. So you and your friend have the best of all worlds together, you just have to share! I have taken thousands of pictures with my cd400, and the picture quality and the cheap storage are great. Happy shooting!