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Bella Catapult enables camcorder-to-iPod recording
Camcorder accessory manufacturer Bella has just announced a new device that will let you toss those MiniDV cassettes straight out of your bag and replace them with your iPod or nearly any other USB 2.0-compliant storage system. The Catapult, as it's known, is a paperback-sized digital encoder that plugs into any standard or HD camcorder with a FireWire port and processes the video as you're recording, eliminating the need to convert your footage later on. Besides saving time and offering access to higher storage capacities, the Catapult also enables your cam with a number of features not available out of the box, such as time-lapse recording, remote trigger capabilities, and both pre- and post-recording ability. Pre-recording is an especially attractive option, as it seems to buffer whatever your CCD is capturing for a preset timeframe, allowing you to essentially "turn back the clock" and preserve events that already happened once you hit the record button. Bella tells us to expect their new product sometime during the second half of the year, for some amount of money less than $300.[Via T3]
Sony working on 60fps CMOS for high-res stills
In a move that promises to minimize the trade-off between digital still and video cameras, Sony announced today that it is working on a CMOS chip capable of capturing images from every pixel at a blazing 60fps. The problem with current imaging devices is that consumers must sacrifice image quality when they are recording video, but risk missing important shots due to shutter lag and the general non-continuous nature of still photography. Along with a new digital signal processing chip also being developed by Sony's engineers, the sensor should allow cameras to be used strictly in video mode, with high-res stills capable of being extracted later. No word on when we'll see actual products sporting the new tech (regular CMOS sensors are only starting to replace CCDs in consumer devices), but it's nice to know that camera manufacturers are finally throttling back on the megapixel race and instead focusing on improving the imaging experience.[Via Digital Camera Info]
