Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Official photos of the Canon WP-V1 Waterproof Case for the VIXIA HF20 and VIXIA HF200

Canon U.S.A., Inc, a leader in digital imaging technology, announces an exciting first with its new WP-V1 Waterproof Case for the VIXIA HF20 and VIXIA HF200 Flash Memory Camcorders. Consumers can now dive up to depths of 130 feet and still be able to capture exciting underwater adventures. The ultimate accessory for divers who want to shoot video and photos while underwater, this compact and light-weight housing hugs the camcorder like a wet suit, enabling easy on-camera operation and control. Whether filming sharks off the Great Barrier Reef, snorkeling in the warm waters of the Caribbean or simply wading in the water at your local beach, the Canon WP-VI Waterproof Case and corresponding VIXIA camcorders are ideal devices for capturing both video and photos. As an added plus, once enabled in the Special Scene mode, the white balance is controlled in a way which is ideally suited to an underwater environment.


"Canon is excited to offer consumers a go-anywhere option in the camcorder market," said Yuichi Ishizuka, senior vice president and general manager, Consumer Imaging Group, Canon U.S.A. "By broadening our accessory offerings, Canon can now service an expanded audience of those who need water-resistant products for their work or recreational use."

About the Canon VIXIA HF20 and VIXIA HF200 Flash Memory Camcorders
Canon's most compact high-definition Flash Memory camcorders, the VIXIA HF20 and VIXIA HF200 are powerhouse options for anyone looking to take their HD camcorder with them wherever they go. The VIXIA HF20 offers the option of recording to a 32GB internal Flash drive or SDHC card slot and the VIXIA HF200 records to a SDHC memory card only. Additional features include a 3.89 Megapixel Full HD CMOS Image Sensor, newly designed Genuine Canon 15x HD Video Lens, Genuine Canon Face Detection, Video Snapshot and Dual Shot Modes, and an Advanced Auto Exposure system.


The WP-V1 Waterproof Case for the VIXIA HF20 and VIXIA HF200 Flash Memory Camcorders is scheduled to be available in May for an estimated retail price of $599.

Via Canon Press Release / Press info

Canon WP-V1 Waterproof Case for VIXIA HF20 and VIXIA HF200

image from www.letsgodigital.org

Canon U.S.A., Inc, a leader in digital imaging technology, announces an exciting first with its new WP-V1 Waterproof Case for the VIXIA HF20 and VIXIA HF200 Flash Memory Camcorders. Consumers can now dive up to depths of 130 feet and still be able to capture exciting underwater adventures. The ultimate accessory for divers who want to shoot video and photos while underwater, this compact and light-weight housing hugs the camcorder like a wet suit, enabling easy on-camera operation and control.

Whether filming sharks off the Great Barrier Reef, snorkeling in the warm waters of the Caribbean or simply wading in the water at your local beach, the Canon WP-VI Waterproof Case and corresponding VIXIA camcorders are ideal devices for capturing both video and photos. As an added plus, once enabled in the Special Scene mode, the white balance is controlled in a way which is ideally suited to an underwater environment.

Buy Canon WP-DC28 Waterproof Case for Canon PowerShot G10 Digital Cameras

“Canon is excited to offer consumers a go-anywhere option in the camcorder market,” said Yuichi Ishizuka, senior vice president and general manager, Consumer Imaging Group, Canon U.S.A. “By broadening our accessory offerings, Canon can now service an expanded audience of those who need water-resistant products for their work or recreational use.”

About the Canon VIXIA HF20 and VIXIA HF200 Flash Memory Camcorders

Canon’s most compact high-definition Flash Memory camcorders, the VIXIA HF20 and VIXIA HF200 are powerhouse options for anyone looking to take their HD camcorder with them wherever they go. The VIXIA HF20 offers the option of recording to a 32GB internal Flash drive or SDHC card slot and the

VIXIA HF200 records to a SDHC memory card only. Additional features include a 3.89 Megapixel Full HD CMOS Image Sensor, newly designed Genuine Canon 15x HD Video Lens, Genuine Canon Face Detection, Video Snapshot and Dual Shot Modes, and an Advanced Auto Exposure system.

The WP-V1 Waterproof Case for the VIXIA HF20 and VIXIA HF200 Flash Memory Camcorders is scheduled to be available in May for an estimated retail price of $599.


Buy Canon WP-DC28 Waterproof Case for Canon PowerShot G10 Digital Cameras

Via Business Wire

Creative Vado HD camcorder reviewed by iGizmo

iGizmo has a fresh review of the Creative Vado HD camcorder.

Creative follows the YouTube crowd and turns up the resolution on its portable camcorder

Pros: Portable / Ease of use / Good in low light / Image quality
Cons: No optical zoom / Price

The pocket YouTube device was big news in 2008. Epitomised by the Flip Video, its point-and-shoot simplicity was much beloved of footballers, their wives, and anybody else not wishing to tax any brain cells when capturing video.

Now that YouTube has gone HD, however, web-oriented camcorders have to follow suit, and latest to turn up the resolution is Creative.

The Vado HD offers 720p shooting, yet still packs it into a similar form factor to a mobile phone.

Subtle upgrade

The only signs that the Vado HD is different to its predecessor are the rubberised black exterior and protruding lens.

The device works in exactly the same way, with very few controls. In fact, during normal usage there are simply the Record and + or – digital zoom buttons to worry about. There are no manual settings to configure at all.

You can choose between three different shooting modes. There are two HD options, offering 8Mbps and 4Mbps data rates. The original VGA mode is still available, operating at 2Mbps.

Buy Creative Labs Vado HD 720p Pocket Video Camcorder with 8 GB Video Storage and 2x Digital Zoom (Black)

Sony Cyber-shot T900: compact camera with 720p/30fps video


The Sony Cyber-shot T900 is a slim digital camera which features a 3.5 inch touchscreen and 720p HD movie recording. Measuring 15.1mm, the Sony T900 offers 12.1 megapixels, 4x optical zoom lens, Optical SteadyShot, Enhanced Face Detection and Smile Shutter technology, and Intelligent Scene Recognition. The new 720p HD movie recording captures video clips at a smooth 30 frames per second, with up to 60 mins of HD video and stereo sound fitting on a 4GB MemoryStick. The Sony T900 will be available in silver, black, red and bronze for about $380 / £369.

Sony UK Press Release

If you’re passionate about colourful, high-fashion styling and smart technology, look no further than the Cyber-shot T900. With slim, good looks, super-size touchscreens and new 720p HD movie recording, there’s no better way to show you’re serious about great images.

Ultra-slim looks, breathtaking styling and attention seeking colour choices instantly mark out Cyber-shot T series from other digital cameras.

Just 15.1mm* slim, the T900 is available in a choice of silver and black colour finishes.

This T series model is incredibly easy to operate. The 3.5”-inch wide Xtra Fine LCD touchscreen gives a detail-packed view of your pictures, as well as fingertip control of camera settings. There’s a new Intelligent Auto mode that makes operation simpler than ever. The camera automatically analyses the scene and sets the appropriate settings for the subject, for the best results with any scene.

The powerful BIONZ processor ensures flawless, low-noise images in any shooting situation – from holidays and fun-filled family moments to atmospheric interiors and low-light scenes.

Optical SteadyShot keeps things crisp and clear when you’re shooting handheld in low light, while enhanced Face Detection and Smile Shutter help you get more great smiling portraits without fuss.

Left your camcorder behind? No problem. New 720p HD movie recording captures detail-packed video clips at a smooth 30 frames per second. Up to 60 mins of crisp HD video and stereo sound can be stored on a 4GB MemoryStick™: that’s plenty of time to grab the highlights of a day out or short break. Even movie capture in low light isn’t a problem. The T900 offers a high sensitivity movie mode that automatically adjusts exposure for low light movies.

Hook up the Cyber-shot T900 to any High Definition TV and enjoy the results at home. BRAVIA Sync makes it easy to control big-screen playback of movies and still photos with your BRAVIA TV’s remote.

Sony Cyber-shot T900 Key Specifications
• Chic, ultra-slim design - 15.1mm
• 12.1 effective megapixels
• 3.5-inch wide Xtra Fine LCD touchscreen
• Carl Zeiss 4x optical zoom lens
• Record 720p HD movie clips
• Optical SteadyShot for clearer handheld shooting
• Enhanced Face Detection and Smile Shutter technology
• Intelligent Scene Recognition, adjusting exposure and other settings to give the best picture

Via photographyblog.com

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Panasonic AG-HPX300 Camcorder announced

Panasonic announced today the release of the new 10-bit AG-HPX300, a 2.2-megapixel, 1/3-inch 3-CMOS camcorder. The HPX300 records to P2 memory cards in both AVC-Intra and DVCPRO HD at 1080i/p, 720p, and standard definition. Featuring interchangeable lenses, a shoulder-mount design, and several new features, it appears designed to challenge the Sony PMW-EX3, JVC GY-HD250, and Canon XL H1S. The AG-HPX300 will retail for $10,700 (including a 17x Fujinon lens), the lowest price to date for an AVC-Intra camcorder. It is expected to become available in March 2009.

The Panasonic AG-HPX300 records up to 10-bit, 4:2:2 video. The company is hoping that these specs, and at this price, will persuade customers to consider the HPX300 over a camcorder like the Sony EX3, which records in long-GOP, 8-bit, 4:2:0 (after compression).

"It's not what you look at through camera live, it's what you actually record," stated Robert Harris, vice president of marketing and product development for Panasonic Broadcast. "Typically, how you see [competing camcorders] displayed is they'll have a live output. You get a nice, clear image out of the imager. But when it comes time to record it, it's 8-bit. It's 256 shades, while ours is 1024 shades."

The CMOS chip inside the camcorder is newly designed. It features a on-chip chromatic aberration compensation, as well as dynamic range stretch, which reads the content of the image to compensate for overly bright or dark areas. Panasonic also claims that the pixel density on the CMOS chip is lower that comparable sensors.

The AG-HPX300 features a 1/2-inch, 1,226,000-pixel LCOS viewfinder, which includes on-board focus assist, audio monitoring, and even a vectorscope. There is also a 3.2-inch, 921,000-pixel LCD on the side of the camcorder.

Panasonic has also announced a matching studio configuration package for under $10,000 (not including camera).

Buy Panasonic Pro AG-HMC150 3CCD AVCHD 24fps Camcorder

Read more at camcorderinfo

JVC GY-HM700 Pro HD Camcorder

JVC announces its latest Compact Shoulder professional camcorder developed for mainstream production, electronic newsgathering and cinematography, the JVC GY-HM700. The new JVC HD camcorder uniquely records directly to inexpensive SDHC memory cards in the QuickTime format for Final Cut Pro, and optionally to SxS media compatible with Sony's XDCAM EX format. Recording in the editing system's native format eliminates the time consuming transfer step and dramatically speeds up the post-production workflow, a major advancement for JVC and the industry. The JVC camcorder includes technology innovations that result in significantly improved resolution in the camera's core components: CCD, lens, and viewfinder.

The JVC HD camcorder is the industry's first shoulder supported camcorder to store files on inexpensive SDHC memory cards. The camera provides 2 memory card slots, for a total of up to 64GB of on-board storage - enough for more than 6 hours of continuous HD recording. The camera automatically begins recording on the second card when the first card fills up. When the second card fills up, the camera reverts to recording to the first card slot, allowing for virtually unlimited recording lengths. SDHC memory cards are economical, highly reliable, and make possible a recording system that consumes up to 20% less power than tape or HDD based systems. The per-minute cost of SDHC memory is comparable to video tape. Moreover, SDHC media is the first practical solid state solution to physical archive.

More features:
HD Camcorder lens adapter
New high resolution LCOS viewfinder
JVC Camcorder : GY-HM700 ProHD

Via letsgodigital

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Sony HDR-SR12E on sale 29% off at Amazon UK

The Sony Handycam HDR-SR12E is available at an RRP of £1,049, Amazon.co.uk is currently selling this beast for £749.99 -- that's a nearly £300 (29%) saving.

The HDR-SR12E has a big 120GB hard drive, CZ Vario Sonnar T* lens, ClearVid CMS sensor, full HD recording, 12x optical zoom / 250x digital zoom, image stabilisation, recording to optional memory sticks, 10-megapixel stills, slow-mo recording at 200fps, 5.1-channel surround sound recording and HDMI output.

Via TechDigest.TV

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