Camcorders

The PMA trade show is in full swing right now, and while many digital camera makers announced new products prior to the show, one company that held off was HP. This week at PMA, HP unveiled five new point-and-shoot digital cameras and three new camcorders.

HP's CW450t and HP PW460t digital cameras feature 2.7-inch and 3-inch LCD touchscreen displays, respectively, and a touch interface for viewing photos with the swipe of a finger. Both have 4X optical zoom and support up to 32-gigabyte (GB) SD/SDHC memory.

The CW450t will be available this spring in two colors – blue and merlot – and priced at $109. The PW460t will be available in pink and charcoal gray and priced at $149. Read more

JVC today announced that a new HD camera has been added to its 2010 Everio line. The new Everio GZ-HM340 includes 16GB of internal flash memory plus an SD/SDHC card slot. It also features a KONICA MINOLTA HD LENS, 20x optical zoom and a 1/5.8" 1.37 Megapixel CMOS Sensor.

Additional features include an Advanced Image Stabilizer, Face Detection, Time-Lapse REC & Auto REC, one touch uploading to YouTube, and Everio's MediaBrowser for automatic conversion of HD and SD videos for sharing on YouTube (both down-conversion and up-conversion).

The new Everio GZ-HM340 will be available later this month for $499.95. Read more

In addition to Canon's new A-Series PowerShot digital camera lineup announced today, Canon has announced nine new VIXIA camcorders. The new VIXIA High Definition flash memory camcorders include the VIXIA HF S-series, the compact VIXIA HF M-series and a new entry-level VIXIA HF R-series.

New features include a new Touch Panel LCD with a tracking feature to help keep your subject in focus and exposed properly, an advanced image stabilization system, and an all-new HD-to-SD Downconversion feature lets you upload your video to the web easily. Also, select 2010 VIXIA camcorders are compatible with Eye-fi SD Memory Cards for wireless uploading to a computer. Read more

Most digital cameras on the market today can record video, but there are those of us that want a device made specifically for video. The HDC-SD10 and HDC-HS250 camcorders from Panasonic are great options for the video buff on your gift list this year, or as a gift to yourself.

Panasonic's HDC-SD10 is one of the world's lightest, HD camcorders, which uses an SDHC/SD Memory Card as recording media. The SD10 weighs only a 1/2 pound and has a compact body, making it easy to carry around. It also features a high-powered 16x optical zoom and can produce beautiful 1920 x 1080 Full-HD videos. The HDC-SD10 is available in black for $499.95.Read more

Do we really need more pocket camcorders in the marketplace? Memorex seems to think so. They just announced the release of two new camcorders – the MyVideo and MyVideo HD.

The new Memorex MyVideo and Memorex MyVideo HD both feature a 2-inch LCD display, USB port, and digital zoom. With 2GB internal storage, the MyVideo captures up to 2hrs of VGA quality video, while the MyVideoHD has 4GB for up to 2 hours of VGA and up to 1 hour of HD video. Both pocket cams can also grab still shots and include onboard software to make uploading to Facebook, YouTube and other sites easy.

They are available in black or pearlized white and priced at $99.99 for the MyVideo and $129.99 for the HD model. Visit www.memorex.com for more info.

A new Flip Video pocket camcorder just store shelves, the "premium" Flip MinoHD. With a new design, larger screen and double the memory of its predecessor, this pocket cam can now record up to 2 hours of HD video.

Also, the new MinoHD includes the latest version of FlipShare software which can upload videos directly to Facebook. It has a bright two-inch transflective screen for no-glare viewing (even in direct sunlight), and features an HDMI jack.

The MinoHD is available with brushed metal finish, or you can choose from the tons of designs offered on their website. You can also custom design your own by visiting theflip.com.

The new 8GB Flip MinoHD is priced at $229. They have also lowered the price of the original Flip MinoHD (4GB - one hour of recording time) to $199. The standard Flip Mino sells for $149.

Sometimes you don't need camera (or camcorder) that shoots a gazillion megapixels. You just want a small, simple camera that you can carry around in your pocket for everyday shooting. JVC realized this and just announced the company's first pocket flash memory camera, the PICSIO GC-FM1.

Think small and simple means you get low quality? Think again. PICSIO has a two-inch LCD screen, shoots true eight-megapixel stills and 1080p Full HD video, has a 4X digital zoom and image stabilization. Videos are recorded in MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 format and stored as .MOV files that can be sent directly to YouTube and iTunes. The camera also has an HDMI connection for viewing videos on your HDTV, and an SD/SDHC slot for additional storage of up to 32GB. Read more

The DXG-125V is a new weather-proof HD camcorder, perfect for sports and outdoor enthusiasts. No larger than a candy bar, it is weather-resistant and features a rugged rubber handgrip to protect against bumps and drops while enjoying outdoor activities.

The camcorder has a 2-inch LCD screen and captures video in HD (720p), takes 3 megapixel still images, and supports SDHC up to 8GB for up to four hours of footage. It also includes a carabiner, compass and built-in MP3 player. And with its built-in HDMI slot, you can share your videos on your HDTV. All of this for just $139.99.

"The DXG-125V is a break-out product in the HD camcorder space. With its candy bar form factor that fits in the palm of your hand and rugged design, action sports lovers now have the ideal gadget that can withstand the rough outdoor conditions and capture their experiences in HD," said Paul Goldberg, senior vice president of sales and marketing at DXG USA. "We are excited to bring such an exciting product to market at such an affordable price, making the quality, compact HD camcorder accessible to all outdoor enthusiasts."

The DXG-125V is available now for $139.99.

JVC today announced the new HD Everio GZ-HM400, a video camera that features full HD, shoots 9 megapixel still images and plays back videos in slow motion as well.

The HD Everio GZ-HM400 has a 10.3-megapixel CMOS sensor that delivers nine-megapixel still images, records to an SD/SDHC card and also includes 32GB of internal memory. It offers 1080 TV lines of horizontal resolution for Full HD video. High-speed recording modes are available for slow-motion video playback: 600fps, 300fps and 120fps.

The GZ-HM400 features a KONICA MINOLTA HD LENS and a JVC-developed optical image stabilizer that uses two active prisms to correct camera shake at the lens entrance before the image even enters the lens. The two prisms work throughout the zoom range, from wide to telephoto. Read more