Rugged, wearable video cameras aren’t particularly new, but the macho naming, bright design and feature set of the Predator VX360 caught my eye (as did the price tag).
The VX360 is described as “a totally rugged system”, being waterproof to a depth of three metres and able to withstand impact with rock and the abrasive effects of seawater.
Toshiba has got quite a bit of mileage from its Camileo camcorders, and late last week it announced a further three high definition models: the S20, H30 and X100.
Let’s take a look at their features in turn.
First up, the Camileo S20 is touted as one of the world’s slimmest HD camcorders, at just 17mm thick, yet it still packs in a 5-megapixel CMOS sensor capable of shooting in full 1080p high definition video.
Following last month’s bevy of new compact cameras from Samsung comes another: the ST45.
Stylish and thin, featuring an aluminium body and just 16mm in width, it boasts 12 megapixels and Samsung’s new Smart Auto scene recognition which has 11 optimised picture presets including Portrait, Night portrait, Macro and Macro Colour.
Samsung has just announced its rather nice looking WB5000 compact digital camera, featuring an impressive Schneider-KREUZNACH 26mm wide angle lens, 24x optical zoom and 12.5 megapixels.
Samsung has effectively launched a hybrid camera here, taking the best bits of a compact camera but including features that are standard on a DSLR but you wouldn’t expect on a compact, such as that massive zoom range, lots of manual shooting controls and the option to store files in RAW format.
Sony’s new Alpha DSLRs are very nice, particularly if you’re a megapixel hunter, but it’s the Canon EOS range that gets me excited.
Today, Canon has introduced the EOS 7D, offering a huge range of features that should keep enthusiastic amateurs and professionals satisfied.
First up, because they’re mentioned so much, the megapixel count is no pushover at all — 18 megapixels crammed into the APS-C CMOS sensor in fact — and yet the mechanics and processing speed are fast enough to capture up to eight frames per second in burst shooting mode.
Though traditionally Sony was not a name I associated with DSLR cameras, the company has been pushing out some quality products of late.
The latest α (Alpha) trio of DSLRs is no exception, with the top-end α850 and α550 / α500 just announced.
OK, first up we know that camera quality goes far beyond its megapixel count, but having said that, when you’re faced with a camera boasting 24.6 MP, you have to sit up and take notice.
The α850 features an Exmor CMOS sensor and dual BIONZ processors which together promise high sensitivity (up to ISO 6400) quality images.
I’ve always been a fan of Sanyo’s “pistol grip” high definition Xacti camcorders, and there are now reports that those lucky Japanese will be the first to get hold of the new Xacti CG11 HD.
Looking at the basic specifications, it’s not a huge step up from the CG10. It still shoots in 720p HD using the H.264 format — you’ll need to pay more if you want full 1080p recording — and can take SDHC cards up to 32GB.
It’s the season for new digital cameras, with Casio today announcing its new range of EXILIM compacts.
First up is the EXILIM EX-Z280 featuring a 12.1-megapixel, 4x optical zoom zoom 26mm wide angle lens, Casio’s EXILIM Engine 4.0, image stabilisation, HD video recording at 720p, and a 2.7-inch widescreen TFT color display.
There’s also a dynamic photo function that lets you take the subject out of one photo and then use another photo as a background. You can even cut out several subjects from a serial picture recording and use these to create an image sequence in which only the subject moves and the background remains static. Saves trying to mess about in Photoshop anyway.
Hot on the heels of Canon’s new digital cameras comes the latest two camcorders in its LEGRIA HD range.
The LEGRIA HF21 is a dual-flash memory camcorder offering 64GB of internal memory (that’s around 24 hours of HD recording) and serves up a huge range of features including 15x optical zoom, face detection, video snapshot, dynamic image stabilisation and low light shooting.
If Canon’s new PowerShot range of cameras aren’t quite your thing, perhaps you’ll like the new Digital IXUS 200 IS — the slimmest wide-angle compact camera to date.
With 12.1-megapixels, a 24mm ultra-wide angle lens with 5x optical zoom, and incorporating a touchscreen LCD, Canon is jumping on board with the new “tap screen to focus” technology that Apple heralded on the iPhone 3G S and we saw a similar version of last week on the Samsung ST1000.