Camcorders

Sony launches prosumer 3D camcorder

Sony takes the Noah's Ark approach in its prosumer 3D camcorder, the Handycam HDR-TD10. There's two of everything: two lenses (naturally), two Exmor R sensors, and two image processors.

Though it lacks the ability to remove the dual lens (like Panasonic's approach), you can still opt to shoot in 2D, using only the left lens, and the unit can play back 3D content in 2D by using only the left-side video.

It can do this because Sony uses a proprietary approach called "frame packing." Rather than save a single file with side-by-side left/right frames--which … Read more

Triple-speed SD card standard finalized

The SD Association announced a new interface for flash memory cards today that triples data transfer speeds.

The faster SD card specification was expected since the group started previewing it in September. But more unusually for the consortium, the SD Association also announced an e-book specification at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

"Our new e-Book application...opens broad consumer access to e-book content, and turns billions of existing SD mobile phones and devices into e-readers," Norm Frentz, chairman of the SD Association, said in a statement. "SD continues to evolve its capabilities to support voracious consumer demand for portable movies, television broadcasts, high-definition home videos, and now full-color books."

It's not yet clear who among e-book reader makers, publishers, or other companies are on board with the new specification, but two partners showing eBook support at CES are Toshiba and Sharp, the association said. Such partnerships will be important to its success, though, and there already are other e-book formats, such as ePub.

But eBook won't live in isolation. "The association plans to support popular external formats like ePublish, CPS, XMDF and ".book" formats in the near future," said SD Association communications director Kevin Schader. And to keep content publishers happy, it's free to use and supports copy protection. … Read more

Samsung HMX-P300, HMX-P100 minicamcorders announced

LAS VEGAS--It looks like Samsung is creating a nice little family of minicamcorders. The HMX-P300 and HMX-P100 are pretty much higher- and lower-end versions of the same model, but the P100 isn't so crippled that it's not worth checking out.

The P100 has a backside-illuminated 5-megapixel CMOS sensor for better low-light recording, a fixed focal length f2.2 lens, and a 2.3-inch LCD with an 80-degree viewing angle so you have more shooting and viewing flexibility.

The P300 gets a backside-illuminated 8-megapixel CMOS sensor, a 3x f2.8 zoom lens, and a 3-inch touch screen.

Both can … Read more

Samsung's cheapish mainstream HD camcorders

LAS VEGAS--Samsung's HMX-H300 series looks like a ho-hum update to its H200 models of 2010--but that's in part because Samsung's so stingy with its specs that it's hard to tell what's going on. The series consists of four models--the H300 ($399), H303 ($449), H304 ($499), and H305 ($599)--with the H305 incorporating 32GB of memory. I'll guess that the models differ by amount of memory, starting at 0GB and increasing in price as their predecessors do, but the company hasn't bothered to state what the differences are.

As for "improvements" over … Read more

Samsung SMX-F50 standard-def camcorder announced

LAS VEGAS--The Samsung SMX-F50 is the company's entry-level ultracompact standard-definition camcorder for 2011. As such, it doesn't do a whole lot beyond capturing 720x480-pixel-resolution video to SD memory cards.

Key features include a 52x optical zoom lens; the capability to pause while recording, so there's less of a need to join individual clips; and something called Smart Background Music. If you choose to add background music to a movie, the Smart BGM feature automatically lowers the music volume when speech is detected so it doesn't drown out what's being said.

If you want or need … Read more

Casio wants you to turn Tryx

LAS VEGAS--There's only so much you can do with the design of a point-and-shoot camera, so Casio deserves credit for literally breaking out of the box with the Tryx.

At first glance, it looks like an ultracompact camera/minicamcorder with a bit of flair. Then you flip out the high-resolution 3-inch touch-screen LCD and, well, it's no longer your typical pocket camera. The display can pivot through its frame a full 360 degrees while the screen itself can rotate 270 degrees. And with its built-in orientation sensor you can hold the Tryx in your left or right hand … Read more

App unlocks Bluetooth viewfinder on ContourGPS

LAS VEGAS--When Contour announced its ContourGPS location-aware HD sports camera last year, it held back a bit of information: there's a Bluetooth chip inside the device that has been sitting unused. However, a pair of new smartphone apps for Android and iPhone devices aims to put that wireless connection to good use.

After downloading a software patch (not yet available) and updating the ContourGPS' firmware to unlock the Bluetooth connection, users will be able to grab the Contour Mobile app from the Android Market or the iTunes App Store, and connect their smartphone to the camera. Users will then … Read more

Not many changes for Panasonic's prosumer camcorders

Originally published 1/5/2011; updated 2/1/2011: Pricing added to chart. Scroll to the bottom for additional comment.

LAS VEGAS--CES is usually so crazy that I don't bother doing my full-blown treatment, with tables, when covering the new products. But I had so much trouble trying to spot the differences between last year's and this year's lineups for Panasonic's camcorders that I built tables for my own sanity. And confirmed that there's not a lot different between the new and the old.

One major change is in the top-end TM900/HS900 models, which … Read more

Canon introduces entry-level pro camcorder

LAS VEGAS--Along with the announcement of a new "prosumer" camcorder, the Vixia HF G10, Canon announced a version of the product targeted at professionals. The XA10 seems to be identical to the G10, but comes with a detachable handle that includes dual XLR inputs, audio switches, an infrared light, tally lamp, removable microphone holder, zoom and record switches, and an accessory shoe (though the G10 has a shoe, it looks like the handle attaches to it, so the handle gives you another shoe).

It's not clear whether at some point you'll be able to upgrade the … Read more