PocketCamcorder
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Toshiba Camileo S30 and P20 pocket camcorders get touchscreens
Toshiba's launching some new Camileo pocket HD camcorders at IFA, and hey -- just like everything else in the world, they've sprouted three-inch touchscreens. Both offer 1080p recording and 10x digital zooms with HDMI out and support for 64GB SD storage; the £139 ($214) S30 comes in a more standard form factor that's 19mm (.7 inch) thick and features eight megapixel still photos, automatic exposure control and image stabilization, while the £119 ($183) P20 comes in a pistol grip package and takes five megapixel stills. The P20 will hit in October, while the S30 is set to arrive in January, so it makes perfect sense for Toshiba to announce it now, in September. PR after the break.
Kodak's Playtouch 1080p pocket camcorder and EasyShare M590 announced
Kodak just kicked out a pair of devices with its Playtouch pocket camcorder and EasyShare M590 point and shoot. Kodak's $229.95 Playtouch is capable of shooting image stabilized 1080p video with stereo audio to SDHC cards. A 3-inch capacitive touchscreen gives you plenty of room to edit your video (or extract a still) on camera before flipping out the USB arm for a quick PC transfer. Otherwise, an HDMI jack lets you pump that digital keepsake right to the living room television without the PC assist. Rounding things out are an external microphone jack and Share button that makes it easy to push those memories to YouTube or FaceBook, or send via email if that's your preference. Kodak's rather mundane $199.99 EasyShare M590 is being billed as the world's slimmest digital camera with 5x optical zoom. Otherwise, things simmer down with a 2.7-inch LCD, some kind of image stabilization, face recognition, unspecified HD video capture, and microSD card support. And as you'd expect, the M590 also features a Share button that makes tagging and uploading photos and video to social media sites like Facebook, Flickr, and YouTube a snap. M590 image and press releases after the break. Expect both cameras to ship sometime in the fall.
Sanyo Xacti VPC-PD2BK 1080p pocket camcorder with 3x optical zoom
With smartphones and point-n-shoot cameras doing most of our impromptu video recordings, it's getting harder and harder to justify the purchase of these pocket-sized camcorders. Perhaps that's why Sanyo is positioning its Flip competitor as a "dual camera" -- capable of capturing 10 megapixel stills or 1080p/30fps MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 video with stereo audio. Model VPC-PD2BK features an integrated USB jack that swivels out for some hot laptop mating sessions, a 3X optical zoom, 37-mm wide-angle lens, mini-HDMI port, and support for SD/SDHC/SDXC memory cards. Look for it in September with a suggest price of $169.99 in North America.
Colorware finally points the rainbow gun at Flip Ultra, UltraHD up next
It sure took 'em long enough, but Colorware has finally added the Flip Ultra pocket camcorder to its assortment of wares available to be doused in a rainbow's worth of hues. It's a fitting addition, of course, and those who'd prefer the HD version will be treated in the near future. For now, it'll cost you a Ulysses S. Grant (or more) to colorize your existing Flip Ultra, or $210+ to snag a minty fresh unit direct from Colorware. Best of all, you'll be able to paint the top, ring, bottom, back, cursor and button a different shade if you've got the cash, so hit that source link (or hop on past the break) if you're imagination is already whirring. %Gallery-99062%
Sanyo's VPC-CA102YL waterproof HD camcorder, your perfect accessory for visiting Sealab 2021
Sanyo isn't breaking out the hyperbole with this water-resistant full HD pocket camcorder -- that honor went to the DMX-CA100 back in May -- but the VPC-CA102YL does boast a spec sheet as impressive as its product name. We've got 1920 x 1080 / 60i video in MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 format, 14 megapixel stills, an articulating 2.7-inch wide LCD, 12x dual range zoom on video, and 5x optical zoom on photos... and did we mention it's waterproof up to 10 feet under? Connectivity options include USB, mini HDMI for TV sets, and a SDXC card slot. Due out this month -- perfect for capturing the very last bit of Summer -- for a penny under $350. Product shots below, press release after the break. (P.S. -- 10 feet to the bottom of the ocean? Bizarro!) %Gallery-98922%
DXG-5D7V, 'the only 3D video camcorder,' now available for preorder
Panasonic may have the first 3D camcorder we'd actually ever consider purchasing, but technically speaking DXG has been sitting on the stereoscopic gold mine for months. This past week, the budget camera company's 3D View pistol cam got real, in a Hammacher-Schlemmer package that'll set you back $600. That outlay buys you not only the twin-lens VGA shooter you see above, but also a companion 7-inch, 800 x 480 3D media player, both of which are outfitted with glasses-free parallax barrier LCD screens. It's not a terrible deal considering the alternatives on offer, but we're not down with the $200 luxury tax Hammacher and company tacked on top, and we're a little wary about the way that ram is staring at us. Cameras are expected to ship August 6th; press release after the break.
Samsung unveils WiFi-enabled ST80 camera, swiveling-lens HMX-E10 pocket camcorder
Camera releases are somewhat a by-the-numbers thing with so many different variations being released by numerous companies throughout the year. Samsung's pair here does have some interesting standout features, but one at a time. The 14.2 megapixel ST80 point-and-shoot boasts WiFi capabilities for email / direct upload of images (DLNA supported, to boot). It's also got 3x optical zoom, a 3-inch WQVGA touchscreen, 720p 30fps H.264 video recording, and Sammy's "Smart Crop" feature for taking angled shots and "straightening them up" (i.e. a banner that is fixed to look straight on). This one's due out September 2010 for a penny under $250. Then there's the HMX-E10 pocket camcorder with an impressive 270-degree swiveling lens and 1920 x 1080 30p H.264 HD video recording. That touchscreen you see is a 2.7-inch LCD, the lens has 2x digital zoom, connectivity is HDMI and USB (also used for charging), and release details are September as well, for $199.99. You know the drill: product shots are below, press releases after the break. %Gallery-98345% %Gallery-98344%
Panasonic's new HM-TA1 and HDC-SDX1 'budget' camcorders attack the concept from very different ends
Let's just put it out on the table: the Flip-inspired HM-TA1 ($169, left) and the ultra traditional (though delightfully mini) HDC-SDX1 ($499) are very different cameras. But are they $330 different? You be the judge. The 1080p-shooting TA1 is nothing surprising if you've seen any recent portrait-style pocket camcorders from Flip or Kodak, though it has a quality build and friendly interface. It also records to Apple's 960 x 540 iFrame format, and can double as a USB webcam. As an added bonus, it's rather small for its category, a distinction shared by the flip-out-LCD ultra zoom HDC-SDX1, which Panasonic calls the world's lightest full HD AVCHD camcorder. Outside of that fancy codec and the 2.7-inch flip-out LCD, the SDX1 actually sounds a lot like the TA1 on paper, with the same webcam and iFrame features -- both cameras also are bring-your-own-SD-card for storage. Obviously the image quality should be a decent step up, and the 23x zoom (paired with optical image stabilization) bests the TA1's 4x digital zoom easily, but we're wondering how consumers will feel about these widely disparate price tags when the TA1 lands in August and the SDX1 follows in September. PR is after the break. %Gallery-98334% %Gallery-98336% %Gallery-98339%
Sanyo Xacti DMX-CA100 joins the 'waterproof pocket HD camcorder' crew
Sure, Sanyo's PR claims this camera is the "world's first waterproof full HD camera," but unfortunately for them Kodak beat them to the punch. A caveat at the bottom of the PR clarifies that this claim was merely meant for "Full HD video cameras for consumer use with optical zoom lenses," which naturally makes everything better. Plus there's no point in getting down on Sanyo, since it's essentially delivered its classic Xacti form factor and middle-of-the-road image quality in a waterproof (up to 10 feet) chassis. The DMX-CA100 will be launched at the end of June for some unnamed price, and shoots 1080p video to H.264, 14 megapixel stills, and offers a 6x optical zoom augmented by a 6x "Advanced Zoom" that crops the image sensor instead of just blowing up the pixels like a regular digital zoom. %Gallery-93916%
Kodak PlaySport Zx3 waterproof HD camera review
We have plenty of gripes with the current crop of pocket cameras, most of them to do with image quality: grainy footage, poor (laughable) low-light performance, a lack of autofocus, digital zoom, gimmicky 1080p, and so forth. The new Kodak PlaySport Zx3 HD Waterproof Video Camera solves none of those problems. But you can put it underwater. So, all is forgiven. Follow after the break for our full review.
Toshiba Camileo S20 review
Say what you will, but Toshiba has managed to time the Camelio S20 just right -- it was the very same day that our Flip Slide HD frustrations were reaching epic levels, that the $179.99 pocket camcorder showed up on our doorstep. The thin cam, which can shoot full 1080p and capture stills with its 5 megapixel CMOS sensor, just became available in the US earlier this month, and for the price we've actually been blown away by all of the features it boasts in comparison to the competition. So, did the Camelio S20 turn around our pocket cam woes? Jump on past the break for our full review of Tosh's latest camcorder contender. %Gallery-91271%
Flip Slide HD review
Sure, it was leaked over a week early, but the Flip Slide HD is still quite a surprise in many ways. If you'd asked us to bet, we'd have put money on the next Flip camera including minor-but-important enhancements like image stabilization and perhaps a 1080p sensor with better low-light performance. After all, competitive products like the Kodak Zi8 and Sony Bloggie get great reviews for these simple incremental feature additions, and it's been nearly a year and a half since the original Flip Mino HD came out. But apparently you get to play by different rules when you own nearly 40 percent of the "shoot and share" camera market, and Flip's latest cam eschews the spec upgrade game in favor of repackaging the Mino HD into a radical new form factor with a tilt-slide screen that's designed as much for playback as it is for recording. It's an interesting take on sharing video, but we can't say it's worth it -- especially not for $279. Read on for our full review. %Gallery-90845%
DXG's 3D View sacrifices HD, but makes 3D video recording pocketable
It's not a trade that we'd ever willingly make -- dropping to standard definition for the sake of some 3D shenanigans, but DXG is offering you the choice anyway. The budget cam maker has just announced its 3D View stereoscopic shooter, which interestingly comes with a separate 7-inch LCD display (800 x 480 resolution) for playing back your recorded footage without requiring glasses -- thanks to some parallax barrier magic. We might be tempted to spend the $400 this package costs just to get a preview of what the Nintendo 3DS -- based on the same spectacle-free technique -- might look like, but retail availability isn't expected until June, which is just that tiny bit too far out for our limited attention span.
Flip Slide HD officially official, on sale now
After a week of essentially non-stop leaks from Best Buy, Cisco's finally coming clean with the Flip Slide HD, the newest member of its Flip family. Obviously the big feature here is that pop-up three-inch screen -- when folded down and in record mode, it's a resistive touchscreen version of the Flip Mino button layout, but when it's time to play back you can pop it open for easy viewing. Thankfully, it's got a headphone jack in addition to stereo speakers and HDMI out, so you don't have to annoy everyone around you during playback. Camera-wise, the Slide is identical to the Flip Mino HD, so you're getting 720p video with no image stabilization, although storage has been bumped to 16GB for four hours of record time and 12 hours of compressed video storage. We'll be honest and say we're on the fence about resistive here, especially since that capacitive touch slider control below the screen in the open position suggests the touchscreen isn't responsive enough for navigation, but plenty of Flips get used on ski slopes and during other glove-intensive activities, so we can see the resistive rationale. We're less ambivalent about the $279 price tag, though -- for that money you can get any number of very nice HD video-capable point-and-shoot cameras with three-inch screens, all of which offer better lenses, better sensors, and image stabilization. Our review unit is due to arrive imminently, so we'll wait to use one before we make up our minds -- but if don't want to wait for us you can buy one from Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart, and theflip.com right this second. %Gallery-90352% %Gallery-90353%
Flip Slide HD caught outside the box, still looks weird
Maybe it's just the odd angle of this newly submitted out-of-box photograph, or maybe we just aren't smart enough for Cisco, but we still we can't quite figure out what exactly is going on here. We suppose the flip-up screen performs as a sort of poor man's photo frame? At risk of being rude, we're pretty sure we'd just like a thinner video camera, but when it comes to selling millions dirt cheap, dirt simple video cameras to the masses, the makers of the seemingly imminent Flip Slide HD are of course the experts. [Thanks, anonymous]
Flip Slide HD caught at Best Buy, slides into camera's view (updated)
All we have is this one image, care of a gracious anonymous tipster who said it was found at Best Buy. Our best guess? Well, it's a Flip camcorder, and there's a sliding element to it -- amazing deduction skills, we know. Perhaps Cisco has something up its sleeve soon? Inquiring minds want to know. Update: We got some more pics in from a tipster -- they're after the break!
Kodak Slice touchscreen camera, Pulse WiFi frame, and PlaySport pocket camcorder now on sale... at JC Penney
We're not sure why Kodak is pushing its new Slice touchscreen camera out to JCPenney before any of the usual retail suspects, but there it is, looking radiant in "Radish" and marked up with a $100 premium over the usual $349 list price. If that doesn't make any sense to you, you can also grab the 14 megapixel shooter with the 3.5-inch display, 720p video capture, and built-in search for $349 from JR.com or Kodak. Kodak's also got the seven-inch Pulse WiFi digiframe that pulls photos from Facebook and the new PlaySport 1080p waterproof pocket camcorder up for sale now as well, at $129 and $149, respectively -- and yes, you can buy those from Penney's at a markup if you like, because the very fabric of our relationship to reality is unraveling in a heap on the floor of the Juniors department.
Sanyo Xacti GH2, CG102, CG20 preview: full-HD cams for less than $230
We caught up with Sanyo and its recently announced, sub-$230 GH2, CG102 and CG20 high-def camcorders this morning, and have to say the company has done it again. While we didn't have enough time to test the video quality, for less than 300 bucks you sure can get a compact and solid feeling cam, regardless of which model your big heart desires. We're especially taken with the CG102 and GH2, which are virtually the same, only housed in two different form factors. Both record full HD 1080i60 videos, have 14 megapixel still cams and Sanyo's 12x "double-range zoom," which lets you switch between a wide-angle and telephoto zoom when shooting vids. Cleverly, the horizontally-built GH2 -- which can be ordered with an expansion lens -- now has two sets of record / stop controls for those that tend to hold the cam in different ways; one set is on the top and the other on the inside of the LCD pane. Those that don't want to shell out the extra $30 for the vertical CG102 can grab the $199 CG20, but keep in mind that it drops you down to 10 megapixels and nixes the dual zoom function. We're looking forward to thoroughly testing one of the $229 units in due time, but for now you can check out their sleek bods and buttons in the hands-on gallery below. %Gallery-88953%
New Flip cams to launch in early April?
The details are slim to none on this one, but we're all about a good pocket cam rumor. According to the usually-reliable Business Insider Cisco will launch a new set of Flip camcorders around the NAB show which runs from April 12-15, but we don't have any specs yet. Come on Cisco, now you've got us guessing not only about the future of the Internet, but also if your newest Flip will support 1080p. Told you we didn't know much, but we'll obviously be keeping an eye out for more.
Coby intros Snapp pocket camcorders, for those with small pockets
In a world full of stylish pocket camcorders, there are few reasons to recommend Coby's ho-hum Snapp series, which has only just now managed the transition from cheap plastic junk to tasteful Flip knockoff with today's introduction of the CAM3001, CAM4505 and CAM5001 Snapp HD. Recording 640 x 480 footage over MJPEG, the cheaper two models are still not much better than your average VGA webcam, and with only megabytes of internal storage, all three will require a sizeable memory card to capture any real content. But when you consider the price of these things -- Amazon shows preorder prices of $30 and $50 for the budget cams and $80 for the 720p CAM5001 HD -- you might yet find yourself combing desk drawers for that spare SDHC card.
