iMovie
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Apple updates iMovie for iOS
Apple has pushed out an update to its iMovie app for iOS. Though the update is relatively minor, I can confirm that it does indeed fix the problem with photos in movies after the movie projects were restored from backup. Here's a list of all the updates included in iMovie for iOS 1.4.1: Improves reliability when sending photos from iPhoto to iMovie Resolves an issue that could affect photos in projects and trailers after restoring from a backup Improves overall stability iMovie for iOS runs on both the iPhone and iPad and costs US$4.99.
Animationist creates dynamic titles for your video or printed projects
Animationist is a clever and useful OS X app that lets you create animated titles, logos and images for use in iMovie, YouTube or Final Cut. It's currently available in the Mac App Store for a half-off introductory price of US$24.99. The results look professional, and the default titles are so good you might not want to create you own designs, although you certainly can. Animationist displays your edits in real time and animations can be done using keyframes, which should please video pros and semi-pros alike. Even light sources and font kerning can be animated. Of course you get borders, blur, shadows, color control, reflectivity and control of all the other parameters you would expect in an app like this (final effects must be rendered for full quality). %Gallery-172792% Animated files can be exported as a movie file, an image file, a PDF or even a layered Photoshop file. There is a lot of power here for those who want to go beyond the simple effects provided in iMovie. While the app is not inexpensive enough to elicit an impulse purchase, the 50 percent launch sale discount does make it appealing to a wider audience. I tried some animations and thought the output was excellent, and learning the app is easy and straightforward. Both text and video tutorials are built in. Also, final rendering was acceptably quick in my testing. Animationist requires OS X 10.6 or later, and can be set up for English or German users. It's a 76 MB download. If you'd like to try before you buy you can get a preview at this link and additional details here.
Logitech announces $200 Broadcaster WiFi webcam for iPhone, iPad and Mac (video)
After trying (and failing) to surreptitiously shepherd it through the FCC, then seeing it leak out anyway, Logitech has formally outed the HD WiFi Broadcaster webcam. The 720P shooter (not 1080p as we hoped) allows wireless transmission from 50 feet away to any Mac computer, iPhone or iPad, instant broadcasting on Ustream and the ability to toggle between your device or computer's built in camera with a button push. The hard plastic carrying case with a magnetic lid doubles as a stand to elevate the cam, which Logitech says will "play nicely" with apps like iMovie, Final Cut Pro and FaceTime. Broadcaster is already up for preorder for $200 in the US and €180 in Europe, so if you want to show that you're doubly beautiful with a multi-cam Skype call, the PR and video are after the break.
Apple updates nearly every app for iOS 6, sneaks in key GarageBand, iPhoto and Podcasts updates
If you didn't already know that iOS 6 was out in the wild, Apple just delivered a torrent of mobile app updates to make it perfectly clear. Virtually every app that isn't preloaded now has explicit iOS 6 support to keep it running smoothly, and some of the upgrades are thankfully more than just skin-deep compatibility tweaks. Among the highlights are Podcasts' new subscription list syncing through iCloud, ringtone creation with GarageBand and iPhoto support for 36.5-megapixel image editing on the latest devices -- you know, for that moment you need to tweak Nikon D800 photos on an iPhone 5. We're including direct links to a few of the juicier updates, but we'd recommend checking AppleInsider's comprehensive list to see everything that you're missing.
Apple announces iPhone 5-compatible updates for iPhoto, iMovie, Keynote and more
At its press event today, Apple announced the new iPhone 5 with a 4-inch, Retina display. For customers, the larger screen means there's extra room for apps to display their content. The most noticeable difference will be the homescreen, which will now display five rows of icons. This extra screen real estate allows built-in apps like the calendar to display the full five-day work week. Other apps like iPhoto, iMovie, Keynote, GarageBand, Pages and Numbers will also be updated to support the new screen.
Apple updates iMovie for Retina display MacBook Pro
As it did with several of its other apps yesterday, Apple has pushed out a small update for its iMovie '11 software. The updated iMovie adds support for the new Retinal display MacBook Pro as well as adds localizations for a host of Eastern Europe countries. The update is available through both the Mac App Store and OS X's Software Update.
Apple updates iPhoto, iMovie, GarageBand for iOS
Apple just pushed a series of updates for its iLife iOS apps. The iPhoto 1.0.1 update doesn't add any new features, but does offer a number of stability improvements including when publishing a journal to iCloud, the URL of the journal can now be copied using a Copy Link button. It also addresses an issue that could cause duplicate photos to appear in Photos view. iPhoto for iOS was first released at the beginning of March and in only 10 days hit one million downloads. GarageBand 1.2.1 fixes an issue that could lead to crashing or missing songs when sharing to iCloud, resolves an error when logging into SoundCloud using a Facebook account, and addresses minor issues related to performance and stability. iMovie 1.3.1 squashes a number of bugs, including problems accessing Help on iPad. There's also a new feature too: now you can easily send a song from GarageBand to iMovie. Apple also pushed another update to its Cards app. The 1.1.2 update doesn't address any noted issues that weren't already listed in the previous two updates to the app in April. iPhoto, GarageBand, and iMovie are $4.99 each and Cards is a free download.
Apple announces updates to iWork, GarageBand, iMovie apps for iPad
Apple has updated the iWork apps, GarageBand and iMovie for iOS to go along with today's announcement of the new iPad. GarageBand now has a Smart Strings feature, a note editor and the ability to push songs through iCloud. The iMovie update has added storyboards and new editing tools, going along with the higher-quality video capture of the new iPad. The updates will be available from the App Store today, but do not appear to be available yet. For those who are buying for the first time, the iWork apps are $9.99 each while GarageBand and iMovie are each $4.99.
Switched On: Metro and the Mac
Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology. With the release of the Windows 8 Consumer Preview, more consumers can more easily experience Metro, along with Metro-style apps. With this new approach, Microsoft is making the most radical shift in user interface it's ever attempted -- a change so drastic it will supplant the desktop as the default user experience.
Apple patent shows teleprompter tool may come to iMovie and Final Cut Pro
It's no secret that Apple gear is big in video production. The iPhone has been used to produce and edit news stories in the field, at least one Texas reporter shot a complete story on an iPad 2 and The Daily, a newsmagazine for the iPad, has done that as well. Patently Apple reports that Apple is working on teleprompter tools that integrate into Final Cut Pro and iMovie. A script can be pasted into the app, then scrolled, and if desired, superimposed over video. The scrolling rate can be set to a natural speech rate determined for a particular reader, or hand controlled by scrolling. Apple also appears to plan on sending the text to another device such as an iPad. Teleprompters are pretty much standard equipment in news, documentary and commercial production. By integrating the prompter with the production software, Apple hopes to have a stronger offering for people creating media.
Considering Aperture for iOS
Gabe Glick over at Macstories has a proposal: Aperture for iOS. On the surface, it sounds like a pretty silly idea -- Apple's high end camera app is really made for a desktop environment, and with the hassle required to get high quality photos onto iOS devices, there really isn't a point bringing Aperture over to a platform like the iPad. But Glick, though he agrees with the naysayers to a certain extent, is willing to take the opposite position. He says that he thinks Aperture is coming to the iPad with the announcement (expected sometime this year) of the iPad 3. So we'll let him make his case. He says the Retina Display is a big benefit, for photographers who really want to see their pictures close up and in full color. Of course, the iPad 2 doesn't have a Retina Display, but if the iPad 3 gets the same kind of high definition screen that the iPhone 4 already has, Aperture would be more likely. iCloud's photo stream would make it easy to get pictures on the mobile device, a better A6 processor would make editing RAW photos and other high end resolutions easier as well, and finally, Glick says that a "professional workhorse" app like Aperture shouldn't be automatically dismissed from the iPad. Most people would have said the same thing about iMovie and GarageBand on the iPad, and both of those have done quite well. When you put it like that, well, sure. Obviously this is all just speculation -- we won't know that Apple is releasing an app like this until it's actually announced on stage. But I will say as well that I've been trying to make noise lately for a sort of "iCamera" -- a more professional DSLR camera made and produced by Apple -- and I've been answered most of the time with the suggestion that Apple is betting on the cameras in its mobile devices rather than a separate dedicated device. If that is true, then sure, why wouldn't we want to see better official tools to deal with photos than the current Camera app offers?
Nominate your favorite iPad photo and video apps for TUAW's Best of 2011
During December and January, The Unofficial Apple Weblog is soliciting your nominations and votes for the best products for Mac, iPhone/iPod touch, and iPad. We'll start with nominations in a category, and then tally your votes for the top-nominated products a few days later. The winner in each category receives the highly-coveted title of TUAW Best of 2011. After a Christmas Day respite in the TUAW Best of 2011 nomination process, we're back in business. In the next category for the TUAW Best of 2011 awards, we want to know what you consider your favorite iPad photo and/or video app. While the iPad 2 isn't the best mobile camera unless you want to look and feel like a complete dork holding it up to shoot photos or capture video, it is a wonderful device for editing your images. Snapseed (US$4.99) is a relatively new photo editing app that won the iPad App of the Year award in its category in Apple's App Store Rewind 2011 awards. For iPad video editing, Apple's own iMovie ($4.99) is an extremely popular and easy to use app. Pocket Pixels has had a winner for several years with Color Splash for iPad ($1.99), while the Master Your DSLR Camera app ($9.99) uses a multimedia approach to teach you how to make the most of your Digital SLR camera. Serious photographers may want to get a Newsstand subscription to Popular Photography magazine (free for the app, most issues $2.99). It's up to you to tell TUAW about your favorite iPad photo and video apps. Leave your nomination in the comments below. Voting will start soon! Nominations close at 11:59 PM ET on December 28, 2011.
TUAW Best of 2011: 360 Panorama and iMovie
The votes are tallied for the best iPhone photography and video apps, and the winners have been named. 360 Panorama from Occipital pulled in over a third of the votes (36.8 percent) for take the Best iPhone Photography App award for 2011, while Apple's iMovie grabbed the title for Best iPhone Video App of 2011 with 48.4 percent of reader votes. 360 Panorama (US$0.99) uses the gyroscope in your iPhone (also works with iPad and iPod touch) to stitch together panoramas in real time. Panoramas are GPS tagged and can be tweeted, posted on Facebook, or emailed, and share online. I personally use the app when I'm on vacations so when I get home I can enjoy the immersive experience of moving my iPhone or iPad around to view a stunning panorama. It's not surprising that Apple's iMovie ($4.99) app grabbed the top spot in the video category. It is totally magical to shoot 1080p video on an iPhone and then add a theme, titles, and transitions to raw video to create a digital masterpiece. Our congratulations go out to the teams at Occipital and Apple for their stellar work on these apps, and many thanks to the TUAW readers who nominated and voted for these apps in the TUAW Best of 2011.
TUAW Best of 2011: Vote for the best iPhone photo and video apps
The nominations are in, and the poll is ready to go! The TUAW Best of 2011 awards are all about you -- the readers -- and what you think is the cream of the crop of Apple or third-party products and software. To vote, select one entry from the top nominations made by readers. We'll be announcing the winner in just a few days. Vote early and often! TUAW is asking for your votes for the best iPhone photography and video apps of 2011. The iPhone is one of the best point-and-shoot cameras possible. That's not because it has stellar lenses, great low-light capabilities, or high shutter speeds -- because it doesn't -- but because it's always with you. Developers have stepped up to the plate with some of the most innovative apps for iPhone, all in the photography and video app categories. In the photo app category, readers nominated FX Photo Studio (US$0.99), the ever-popular Camera+ (currently on sale for $0.99), social networking / camera app Instagram (free), new photo editor Snapseed ($4.99), and panorama powerhouse 360 Panorama ($0.99). For video apps, we have iVideoCamera ($0.99), Filmic Pro ($0.99), Silent Film Director ($1.99), Apple's own iMovie ($4.99), and the fun TiltShift Video ($1.99). As with the Mac video and photo apps, I've broken out the voting into two polls. Please feel free to vote for one video app and one photo app, and we'll announce the winners in a few days. And now, let the voting begin! %Poll-72151% %Poll-72157%
Holiday Gift Guide: iMovie-friendly video cameras
Funny thing about video cameras: you can spend an arbitrarily large amount of money on them, if you want. The line between the kind of equipment used exclusively by professionals and the stuff you might find in the gear bag of a weekend Scorsese has become so blurred that an $8,000 Canon HD camera no longer seems completely inappropriate for an Amazon wishlist. Well, maybe that's a trifle exaggerated; the high-end Canon, Sony and RED Digital Cinema cameras are certainly out of reach for even the most dedicated hobbyist. (We can dream.) Nevertheless, with prosumer & consumer cameras converging in the $1,000+ range and Flip-style compact HD devices found for less than $100, which ones should you focus on if your post-production process includes editing in iMovie? (For an overview of cameras for the Mac user, see our Cameras gift guide here.) Apple's consumer editing app, part of the $49 iLife '11 suite (but available as a $14.99 standalone buy from the Mac App Store, and shipped with every new Mac today) has a lot more in common with the company's flagship editing tool than it used to. Final Cut Pro X has moved closer to iMovie's editing metaphors and control approaches, compared to Final Cut Pro 7, so that the transition up to the $299 FCP X from iMovie is a smaller jump now (the previous midrange editor, Final Cut Express, has been discontinued). Both programs are fairly agnostic about what kind of source material they'll work with, too. Older versions of iMovie were happy to work with DV cameras and some tapeless models, but they were picky; some would work only with specific settings, and some not at all. iMovie '09 noticeably expanded its camera support, as it included an import/transcode option for the AVCHD recording format; it didn't work on PowerPC machines, but on Intel Macs it did the job by converting the AVCHD footage to an editable native format, the Apple Intermediate Codec. This opened up the camera landscape dramatically, but it meant chewing up quite a bit of hard drive space for the transcoded video clips (AIC is a beast when it comes to drive space, gobbling 50GB per hour of footage -- see Divergent Media's hilarious blog post on editing in native formats) and also plenty of time to convert the video before editing. The import also needed to take place directly from the camera. Now we have iMovie '11, which has camera fever; it works with scores of them. So many models are friendly with the current version of iMovie, in fact, that Apple's replaced the static support chart from '09 with a filtered list that allows you to search by storage media, recording format, manufacturer and more. All of the cameras on this list should be supported well, and there are footnotes indicating any gotchas (for instance, iMovie doesn't handle 1080p60 footage, even though some of the listed cameras do). Just like '09, to handle AVCHD content iMovie '11 will transcode it to AIC before editing; also, like its predecessor, it requires you to import directly from the camera for AVCHD. So which cameras should you choose? My suggestion is: follow the format. AVCHD cameras are popular and readily available, but because of the transcode requirement they will definitely slow you down when working with iMovie -- even with a fast and capable Mac you would be hard-pressed to turn around a family cocktail hour highlight reel before the Cool Whip hits the pumpkin pie after dinner. Instead, look for cameras that support H.264, MPEG-4, HDV or iFrame formats. The iFrame format is actually just a special case of H.264, locked to 30 frames per second, progressive scan mode and 960x540 resolution. That's lower-res than both common HD formats (720p = 1280x720px, 1080p = 1920x1080px) but still looks quite good on high-def TVs and conforms to the 16x9 HD aspect ratio. The smaller frame size helps keep the files manageable, although you'll still burn through your memory cards faster with iFrame than with conventional compression. About 42 minutes of iFrame video fit on an 8GB SD card, versus almost 2 hours of 720p MPEG-4 video, as the iFrame format reduces or eliminates predictive frames to make editing faster and less resource-intensive. iFrame support in a camera manufacturer's product line serves another purpose; frankly, it's a kind of shibboleth for identifying the companies that are willing to at least make a gesture in the direction of Mac-specific capabilities. That's not to say you'll get better service or more clueful iMovie tech support from Panasonic than you would from other vendors, but consider this: historically, one of the best ways for the Mac-using community to show its support for compatibility efforts from vendors (back in the dark days where Mac support was neither a given nor a likely circumstance) was to vote with its dollars. Nowadays the buying power of Apple users is orders of magnitude more than it ever was, and every OEM out there knows it, but it still doesn't hurt to look carefully at who's making the effort to play nice. I'd recommend sticking to flash memory as a storage medium, rather than an HDD-equipped camera. Although the larger onboard storage capacity of a hard drive-based camera may be tempting, it's going to be heavier and more battery-hungry than an equivalent SD-based unit, and you can't pull the drive out of the camera. SD cards are cheap enough now to make it economical to stock up on them -- and the MacBook Pro, 13" MacBook Air and iMac all sport SD slots for rapid import of footage (at least for non-AVCHD content, as you will have to connect directly to your camera for that). When it comes down to specific models, there are so many variations of features, format and style that it probably pays to visit your nearest camera retailer or Apple store and play with a couple of units before making a final choice. Personally, I've been using the Flip-style Panasonic HM-TA1 for a year, and I like it a lot; it's cheap, it takes great video (including this iMovie-edited TUAW interview with Jeff from Voltaic Systems), and it's relatively indestructible. Drawbacks include a rather odd USB connector and a seeming inability to charge from anything other than my computer. It also speaks native iFrame, which is very handy for rapid turnaround projects. The TA1 has two successor cameras with larger screens, the rugged HM-TA20 and the stylish HM-TA2; both are worth a look. Panasonic also bought the camera business that used to be Sanyo's, so the popular Xacti brand of handgrip-style cameras come under the big P's umbrella now. The HX-DC1 and DC-10 models both support iFrame, with a handy flip-out screen and 12x zoom; the more expensive DC-10 adds higher still-shot resolution, intelligent scene exposure control and a full-quality max zoom setting (the DC-1 lets you flip a switch to go between 1x-6x zoom range and 2x-12x). The DC-1 can be found for less than $180, and it should not disappoint; the DC-10 is going to be $260 or more if you can find it, as it sold quite well during the early part of the shopping season. Moving up the quality line to full-featured HD cam models, Canon's Vixia cameras consistently get great reviews and deliver great quality. You will pay for what you get; the Canon gear is not cheap, but you should decide how much your lucky shooter will be using the camera and figure out if it's worth the investment. (They will love you for it.) Sony's pro and consumer cameras also deliver a lot of bang for the buck. If your beloved shutterbug is equally interested in still photography along with the video jones, it might be worth considering a still-centric camera as a video device. I have a Canon S95 point-and-shoot which works excellently for clean, 720p24 video, although like many P&S models it cannot adjust the optical zoom during a video shot. That's a bygone restriction in the successor S100 model, which allows optical zoom and adds a 1080p mode to boot; also, the presence of the newer unit will help lower the price of the S95 now. If your gift recipient craves an interchangeable lens system for a compact camera, the two Nikon 1 models look extremely tempting; both support iMovie-friendly H.264 files, interchangeable lenses (including all traditional Nikon lenses, with an adapter) and add the ability to intermix still captures with movie recording on the fly. (Note that many still cameras will import video to iPhoto or Aperture rather than iMovie, but it's easy to get to from there for editing.) Of course, Canon and Nikon's still camera lines go way beyond the point & shoot universe. Canon's EOS-7D, 5D Mark II and forthcoming 1DX set the benchmark for HD video-capable SLRs, and if you've ever seen the kind of astonishing footage that comes off these suckers you'll know why (and you'll also know why the 7D body starts at $1,200, never mind the lenses). The 5D MkII shows up on Apple's iMovie compatibility list, though oddly not the 7D; still, if you're even considering getting an SLR for video use, save a few dollars for FCP X too. For all things SLR/video, don't miss Philip Bloom's idiosyncratic and delightful site (his story of demoing the Canon cameras for the denizens of Skywalker Ranch is unforgettable). Don't forget, too, that some of the most convenient cameras for iMovie are already bundled inside Apple's bestselling smartphone and music player. The iPhone 4S and the iPod touch are dandy for iMovie video capture, when you need the camera that's already in your pocket. After all, the best camera is the one you have with you. If you do decide to go with a camera that defaults to AVCHD video, it should be noted that you aren't strictly limited to iMovie's built-in conversion routine, although that's the least-effort approach. Shedworx makes the $39.99 VoltaicHD converter app, which transcodes AVCHD content into other QuickTime formats. Divergent Media's ClipWrap can 'rewrap' the AVCHD content (or HDV, or other formats) into an edit-friendly bundle, with optional transcoding; it's $49.99. If you'd like to roll your own converter, there's the open-source hdffxvrt script, which does AVCHD transcoding via the ffmpeg library. There's a lot more that goes into great moviemaking than a great camera. Sound, lighting, a solid tripod; even the iMovie missing manual might make a wonderful gift for the filmmaker in training. (By the way, there's a Joby 20% off sale on all GorillaPod models through midnight PST on December 19, so get cracking!) If you've got a favorite (or feared) gear recommendation for iMovie '11 shooting, share it in the comments below. Happy holidays!
Best of 2011 Nominations: Mac photo / video apps
During December and January, The Unofficial Apple Weblog is soliciting your nominations and votes for the best products for Mac, iPhone/iPod touch, and iPad. We'll start with nominations in a category, and then tally your votes for the top-nominated products a few days later. The winner in each category receives the highly-coveted title of TUAW Best of 2011. Today's category for Best of 2011 nominations is Mac photo and video apps. Your Mac can manage thousands of photos and help you to create video masterpieces, so this is a crowded category. You might be a fan of Apple's iPhoto (US$14.99) or Aperture ($79.99) apps. Maybe you love to create HDR images with HDR Darkroom (on sale for $7.99) or apply stunning effects with FX Photo Studio ($9.99). The ease of use of Flare ($19.99) might be more your cup of coffee. Video fans might be excited about Apple's iMovie '11 ($14.99) or Final Cut Pro X ($299.99). Perhaps you're developing screencasts and use either ScreenFlow ($99.99) or Camtasia 2 ($99.99) in your work. Whatever your favorite Mac photo or video app is, we want to hear about it. Leave your nomination in the comments below. This is the last Mac-specific category for the 2011 awards -- tomorrow we'll begin gathering nominations for iPhone apps and accessories. Nominations close at 11:59 PM ET on December 15, 2011.
Holiday Gift Guide: Cameras
Welcome to TUAW's 2011 Holiday Gift Guide! We're here to help you choose the best gifts this holiday season, and once you've received your gifts we'll tell you what apps and accessories we think are best for your new Apple gear. Stay tuned every weekday from now until the end of the year for our picks and helpful guides and check our Gift Guide hub to see our guides as they become available. For even more holiday fun, check out sister site Engadget's gift guide. It's camera time here at TUAW, and we're going to help you pick out the best Mac-friendly camera gear for this holiday season. We've used our own experience with digital photography and consulted a pro or two to help us out. If you have suggestions for cameras we have not covered here, please leave them in the comments! Buying Advice for Mac Owners Before we dive into all the details, there are a few Apple resources you should consult before you start your camera search. First is an Apple tech support article that lists all the digital cameras with RAW files supported by OS X Lion. RAW file support lets you pull the original, uncompressed image file off your camera. This is essential for professionals who prefer to edit the original file, instead of the compressed one which might contain artifacts. Apple regularly releases updates and adds new cameras to this list. Apple also maintains a list of still and video cameras compatible with iMovie '11. iMovie will easily import data from these compatible cameras. All you have to do is connect your camera to your Mac and iMovie does the rest. Take it from someone who regularly spends hours editing home videos, choosing a compatible camera will save you headaches in the long run. For a deep dive on iMovie's compatibility story, see our gift guide post for iMovie-compatible cameras. Now that this basic stuff is behind us, let's get started with the cameras. We're going to give you a quick run-down of our top choices in each camera category. If you need more information on specific camera models, you can check out photography review sites such as dpreview, imaging-resource and Steve's Digicams. They'll have detailed reviews, sample images and all the information you'll need to make your decision. Point and Shoot Cameras Point and shoot cameras are consumer-grade gear -- they're affordable, easy to use and portable. They also tend to produce a lower quality image than the bigger, more expensive DSLR. This is the sacrifice you make to get the advantage of being able to fire off a quick shot wherever your are. Recommended in this category is the Canon S95, a 10-megapixel shooter with Canon's DIGIC 4 image processor, a high-sensitivity sensor, image stabilization and support for RAW files. One step up is the Canon S100. It's a 12-megapixel camera with the DIGIC 5 image processor, 1080P HD video, a high-sensitivity sensor, image stabilization and support for RAW files. Another interesting offering is the Nikon COOLPIX S1200pj. It's a projector camera that'll let you display images from an iOS device onto a wall or screen. It's perfect for informal presentations and spontaneous slideshows. DSLRs DSLRs are your typical prosumer and pro-level cameras, based on the older film single-lens reflex cameras. Most have interchangeable lenses, external flash units and larger bodies. They're usually twice the price of a point and shoot and take much better pictures. They also have more bells and whistles such as manual focus rings, faster shutter speeds, and wider apertures. The top DSLR cameras are made by old favorites Canon and Nikon. The best Canon DSLRs available are the Canon EOS Rebel T3i and the EOS 60D. The two 18-megapixel cameras have the same DIGIC 4 processor, 1080P HD recording, and ISO6400. The EOS 60D is a slight step up from the T3i and has some additional features, such as the ability to shoot at 5.3 frames per second, compared to the 3.7 of the T3i. Nikon also makes some quality DSLRs including the D5100 and the D7000. The D5100 is a 16.2-megapixel camera with an 11-point AF system, 4 frames per second shooting and 1080P HD with continuous autofocus. One level up is the D7000. It, too, is a 16.2-megapixel shooter but captures photos at 6 frames per second, has a 37-point AF system and captures full time autofocus 1080P HD video. Video Cameras The video camera market is undergoing a transformation. Compact video cameras like those formerly made by Cisco's defunct Flip division are slowly disappearing now that we have smartphones which record at 1080P HD. Smartphone cameras can't match the quality of a dedicated video camera, but they're good enough for most people. If you need more than what your camera phone can deliver, you should take a look at the Canon Vixia HF M41. The M41 is a monster with 32GB of internal flash memory and dual SDCX slots in case you need even more storage. It shoots in 1080P HD and has a touch and track autofocus that lets you tap the screen to focus on a single subject. It's a solid performer and is compatible with iMovie '11. Panasonic also makes quality video cameras both for the consumer and the professional. In its consumer line, a favorite is the Panasonic TM90 which has the HYBRID O.I.S. (optical image stabilizer) to produce crisp, clear, shake-free video. It records 1080/60P HD and can capture in 3D when a special 3D conversion lens is attached to the camera. Shock and Waterproof Cameras Canon and Nikon go head to head again with two cameras that are waterproof, cold-proof and shockproof. Both the 16-megapixel Nikon COOLPIX AW100 and the 12-megapixel Canon PowerShot D10 are rugged cameras that'll survive almost anything you throw at them. Security Cameras For some solid advice on security cameras, you don't have to look any farther than our own Auntie TUAW. She recommends the Logitech security systems which are easy to setup and have companion iOS software. NightOwl also provides an all-in-one security package that works with iOS. Surprisingly, Panasonic, one of the top makers of security cameras, doesn't have an iOS app, but their cameras are compatible with third-party surveillance apps like Mobiscope from Shape Services. Baby Monitors with Video Cameras We've had the chance to review two remote video baby monitoring system. Both the iBaby and WiFi Baby 3G let you watch your baby while you are in the next room or away on business. The iBaby has the edge if you need a camera that can pan and tilt, while the WiFi Baby 3G is better for those who a want a monitor that deliver a bright, crisp image even at night. You can read our review of the iBaby and the WiFi Baby 3G. Camera Accessories GorillaPod is a flexible tripod for photographers on the go. It fits in a bag, and it's bendable legs means its can be mounted on almost any surface. Eye-Fi makes a series of WiFi-enable SD cards that'll let you transfer your images wirelessly from your camera to your computer. You can also transfer media to an online service like Photobucket. Rogue FlashBenders and Professor Kobre's Lightscoop are two accessories to help you manage the output from a camera flash. The FlashBenders fit a shoe mount flash and help you direct and diffuse the output of the flash. The LightScoop is a similar product except it attaches to a camera with a permanent pop-up flash. Optoma Pico PK301 Projector is a 16:9 projector small enough to fit in your pocket. The projector will display an 854 x 480 resolution image, up to 72-inches in size. It's terrific for anyone who travels to do presentations. iPhone Camera Accessories Photojojo's iPhone Lens Dial is a set of three lenses for the iPhone 4 and 4S. The lenses include a 0.33x fisheye lens, a 0.7x wide angle lens, and a 1.5x telephoto lens. All three are mounted on a rotating dial which is part of larger aircraft-grade aluminum case. The case-lens combo will both enhance your camera and protect your phone. Olloclip is another camera lens set for the iPhone 4/4S. It's a little less expensive than the Photojojo, because it's a smaller slip-on device that sits on the corner of your iPhone. It includes a fish eye lens, a wide angle lens and a macro lens. The Olloclip can hold only two lenses at a time. You need to switch one out, if you want to use the third. Glif is an elegant iPhone stand and tripod mount. It started as Kickstarter project and took off from there. I can see why; the design is simple, functional and beautiful. GorillaMobile is a smaller version of the GorillaPod for the iPhone. It's perfect for those hard-to-get shots you can't reach with a conventional tripod. RainBallet is a waterproof case with Sharpvue lenses on the front and back of the case. It takes your iPhone 4/4S and turns it a high-quality, waterproof camera.
E-book series details the evolution of iMovie
I am slowly reading through Walter Isaacson's biography of Steve Jobs and, like many of you, I'm fascinated by the complex series of events and people who created the Apple we know today. Another good read that covers a portion of Apple history is a e-book series called Timeline. Written by John Buck, the two-volume set discusses the history and development of video editing from its early beginnings back in 1898 to the recent development of tools like Adobe Premiere, Pinnacle Studio and QuickTime. The book ends its coverage in the year 2000. Apple fans will find the second volume particularly interesting, as it chronicles the events that led to the creation of Final Cut Pro, QuickTime and iMovie. It focuses on the engineers and programmers who created these historic software programs, and the machines that influenced the development of the growing field of digital nonlinear video editing. You'll learn about programmers like Randy Ubilios, who created the early versions of Adobe Premiere and then Final Cut when it was developed by Macromedia, and Ralph Guggenheim, a Lucasfilm employee who created the video group that eventually became Pixar. You can read some excerpts from Timeline at Buck's website. The book series was released in digital format only and is available from Amazon, iBookstore, Sony Reader store and Barnes and Noble. [Via The Loop]
Apple updates Remote, iMovie for iOS
Apple has released Remote 2.2 for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. This update offers a number of changes, including iOS 5 compatibility and the ever-popular "stability and performance improvements." Meanwhile, iMovie for iOS version 1.2.2 is also available. According to Apple, this update "...addresses minor issues and expands support for videos imported from external cameras." Please note: you won't be able to install these updates until you've got iOS 5 running on your device. Go and grab them now. Happy updating!
iPhoto, GarageBand & iMovie updated in Mac App Store (Updated)
A brief moment of confusion overtook us this morning as we got reports of new versions of GarageBand (6.0.4), iMovie (9.0.4) and iPhoto (9.1.5), with minor bug fixes plus tweaks to iMovie's ability to import projects from the iOS editions of the app. When several of us fired up Software Update to grab the new builds, the updates were nowhere to be seen -- yet our tipster was insistent that the new updates were there. Our friends at MacUpdate also had them listed... and that's where we figured out the mystery. So far, only the Mac App Store versions of the apps have been revised; the conventionally-installed iLife versions have not yet been released. While we're sure the 'classic' updates will be forthcoming momentarily, this split-update did give us a moment's pause. As far as we can recall, this is the first time any of Apple's products have been available in newer versions on the MAS than via Software Update. Times, they are a-changin'. Thanks, Jason! Update: iMovie, GarageBand, and iPhoto updates are now showing up in Software Update. Update 2: iWeb 3.0.4 and iDVD 7.1.2 are also available in Software Update.
