Category: Camcorders
JVC confirms HD Everio GZ-HM400 camcorder for US market
The new model packs 32 Gigabytes of internal memory – which can be supplemented by SD/DDHC cards, features a 1/2.33-inch 10.3-megapixel CMOS sensor with Bayer Array RGB Color Filter, is capable of delivering nine-megapixel still images and can output video of 1920 x 1080 Full HD.
The gadgets we'll be buying this Christmas – LCD TVs, Camcorders and Netbooks
The UK is apparently the biggest market for flats screen TVs in Europe and Futuresource thinks it will stay that way with demand for the sets fuelled by the World cup next year, the Olympics in 2012 and the digital switch off.
Canon's family-friendly HD camcorder – the LEGRIA HF21
Smaller and less feature-rich than the HF S11 it nevertheless shoots at shoots at 1920×1080 Full HD video which it then archives to a 64Gig flash memory drive
Canon's top-end HD flash camcorder – the LEGRIA HF S11
Canon's LEGRIA HF S1O was one of the best received high definition, but still vaguely affordable, camcorders of recent times. Now it has put its successor in place n the guise of the LEGRIA HF S11 which is set to…
Gadget makeover #1 – Five ways to make the Flip Mino HD even more of a must-have
The ease of use, the quality of the images, the built-in editing software were more than enough to convince me that I couldn't live my life without one
SHINY PREVIEW: Sony Handycam CX520VE
I’m going to break this to you straight away. The Sony Handycam CX520 starts at around £1000. That’s for the 32GB SSD model. If you want the 64GB version, you’d better be prepared to part with another £200 or so.
When I saw this thing on paper, I couldn’t quite see what all the fuss was about but as soon as I got the thing in my hand it was obvious I was playing with a top quality HD camcorder.
What impressed me most about this machine is that the 3-way image stabilisation actually works staggeringly well. You can shake the thing pretty vigorously and the picture barely wobbles. The quality of the optics also sound pretty spectacular and it’s got all the touches you’d want like GPS and touchscreen too. A little surprised that it only records interlaced images before upgrading them though.
One wonders how much more you’d have to pay for professional video cameras, if any at all, but ignore that thought and you’ll be really pleased with this one. Looking forward to a full review.
Samsung Flips out the Full HD HMX-U10 pocket camcorder
Pocket camcorders are all the rage and the best way to blow away the market leader, Flip, is by introducing a 1080p version of what they do so well. The Samsung HMX-U10 is a Full HD shooting, 10-megapixel stills capturing, 2-inch LCD sporting chunk of loveliness.
It measures a very comparable 56mm x 103mm x 15.5mm and weighs in at the all important sub-100g category – 95g to be exact. There’s no mention of a zoom, so, presumably, you’re getting a tiny bit of the digital variety at best but at least they’ve stuck in a decent 1/2.3 inch CMOS image sensor.
It appears to have a much more adult design than the competition but no sign of the nice, neat flip out USB-type feature and I’ve a feeling you’ll have to stick with cables on this one. It’s out from September and will doubtless go down a storm.
Better pictures and prices when Samsung pull themselves together
Samsung
Flip Mino HD review:
Samsung intros two SMX HD upscaling camcorders
Why bother with fancy, expensive storage sucking HD camcorders when you can record in standard definition and upscale in playback through an HDMI cable? That’s Samsung’s philosophy with the release of two flash memory camcorders, the SMX-K40 and SMX-K44.
The two sport healthy sounding 52x zoom Schneider-Kruznach lenses that you can tweak out to 65x if you’re happy to use the digital intelli-zoom which is designed to hold on to some of that quality that’s usually lost to pixelation. Then shoot up to 10 hours and 20 minutes on the 16GB SSD, if using the SMX-K44, or however much you like if you’ve got the SMX-K40 with its zero onboard storage and gaping SD/SDHC card slot.
Naturally, there’s image stabilisation so that you can actually hold the picture steady at maximum zoom and there’s even a YouTube button so that you can flaunt share you vids, you generous soul, you.
Both are out next month which is August 2009 in case you’re reading in the future. If you do happen to be in the future then please tell us what it’s all like. Do we have flying cars yet, do hover boards exist and any of the next few years Grand National winners would be most helpful.
Better pictures and prices when Samsung pull themselves together
Samsung
Sony launches flagship HD Handycam CX520VE camcorder
The secret to any imaging hardware is in the holy trinity of the lens, the sensor and the processor, and Sony has thrown everything but the kitchen sink at the Handycam CX520VE to make it a winner in all three areas.
The Exmor R CMOS sensor has backlighting technology to improve camera resolution at low light levels plus the fact that its a CMOS in the first place speaks for itself. The glassware is the same as you’ll find in the top Sony Alpha DSLRs – the G lens – and it contains ED glass elements which keep the light as crisp and the images as high contrast as possible. And all the number crunching’s taken care of by the BIONZ processor. All good so far.
On top of basics you get 12x optical zoom, 12-megapixel stills, auto geo-tagging, face detection, smile-shot and a touch sensitive 3-inch LCD. Perhaps the best feature, though, is the Optical SteadyShot ‘Active Mode’ which is touted as the first three-way camera steady function. Sony says that it reduces camera shake by 10x and is designed even to smooth out the effects of walking along while shooting. Very curious to see how well that works.
The CX520VE gives you 25 hours of LP recording on its 64GB internal HDD and there’s also a CX505VE 32GB HDD model if you’re happy with 12. Either way, there’s space for one of Sony’s silly memory sticks to expand your storage, if you need.
They record in 5.1 surround, they’re capable of burning onto discs without the use of a computer and generally sound like the kind of camcorder that everyone will hate you for having. They’re out in August and I’ll get you prices as soon as I have them.
Check out our Top 10 HD camcorders you can actually afford here
10 full HD camcorders you can actually afford
Consumer camcorder technology has come on in leaps and bounds in the past couple of years, as evidenced by the number of high definition models we’ve reviewed on Tech Digest.
All that technology doesn’t necessarily come cheap, though. Is it possible to get full HD on a fairly modest (sub-£500) budget?
Here are ten 1080p-capable camcorders that offer you a way in to high definition film-making.
Click on the image below to start the tour.
