Camcorders
Serif MoviePlus X3: Windows video-editing software that doesn't reek of fail
Video editing can be an impenetrable business for the casual user. Both Windows and Mac OS X try to make it easy for normal folk to edit videos, with Windows Movie Maker and iMovie respectively. The former is a painful disaster in every way, although iMovie is a much more useful application, capable of producing some pretty decent results. With Windows feeling left out, then, Serif has decided to step in and introduce MoviePlus X3.
The problem with most video-editing packages is that they are either ludicrously expensive or nearly impossible to use, or, in many cases, both. With X3, however, Serif aims to provide something easy to use and cheap, and we think the company might have pulled it off. X3 is available now, costs £60 and is available to buy on a disc or as a download.Continue reading...
Veho muvi: Go extreme with the world's smallest camcorder
UK manufacturer Veho is flying the flag for tiny camcorders with the muvi, the smallest of its kind. It's a mere 5.5cm tall, as you can see in our delightful 'actual size' picture to the left.
Just like the iPhone 3G S, it shoots video and is voice-controlled. When you're dangling over a crevasse, you're fairly likely to need both hands -- one to hold on, and one to put a neat crease in your slacks -- so, if you spot a penguin tripping up another penguin, you simply shout 'action!' and the hilarity is captured for posterity.
The muvi shoots 640x480-pixel video in AVI format. It also takes 2-megapixel stills, and will work as a webcam. Everything is stored on a microSD card. You get a 2GB card in the box.
When you're done extreme horse jumping off cliffs and you've returned home for a well-deserved shower and a mug of Horlicks -- extreme Horlicks, naturally -- you simply plug the muvi in to your computer via USB, and it charges while you rub Vaseline on your saddle-chafed loins. Continue reading...
Panasonic HDC-HS200: 80GB of goodness 
When summer finally drops over Britain, like a blanket made of ice cream and sunburn, there are two types of people: those driven to the debilitating brink of eye-streaming, nose-gushing insanity by hay fever, and everyone else. Either way, you can distract yourself from the misery of the sunny months with a shiny new gadget -- and today's suggestion is the Panasonic HDC-HS200 high-definition camcorder.
Panasonic has proved itself hard to beat in both the camera and camcorder sphere, with the HDC-HS100 setting the bar high for the HS200. Like all Panny models, it's built to last, with excellent build quality and a brick-like feel. Continue reading...
TyphoonHD4: HD slo-mo camera in totally tubular BBC doc
A top surfer, an underwater camerman and a slo-mo video expert have come together -- like an aquatic A-Team -- to capture some gobsmacking slo-mo, high-definition footage of the ocean. As impressive as the swell is the piece of kit used, the $100,000 TyphoonHD4. Continue reading...
JVC Everio X: Hands on with the X-cam
The first of the series of prequels to the X-Men films, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, hit cinemas this week, so what better time to don fitted leather bodysuits and get hands-on with the JVC Everio X, a camcorder with super-powers?
The X shoots full high-definition 1,920x1,080-pixel video. It's recorded in AVCHD format at 24Mbps up to 50 frames per second with a 1/2.33-inch CMOS sensor. Just as Professor X does all the thinking for the X-Men, the brainwork is handled by a Gigabrid Premium II image processing engine. This powers features such as face detection, which will find up to 16 faces in the frame, rather like how Cerebro finds mutants. Continue reading...
Twenty20 ContourHD: Hi-def camcorder on your helmet
You could, in theory, strap the Flip Video MinoHD to your ski helmet, hit record and see what happens. But a couple of companies are making extreme YouTube-friendly camcorders, and Twenty20's second-generation ContourHD model is billed as 'the first HD wearable camcorder'.
Twenty20 says it has maintained the simplicity of its earlier standard-definition camcorder, but 'seriously improved' the video quality, field of view, memory capacity and audio experience with the ContourHD. The camcorder is powered by a removable, rechargeable lithium-ion battery. It has a slot for a microSD card (it accepts cards of up to 16GB for 8 hours of recording time), a wideangle lens (135°), and a laser-guided alignment system. Continue reading...
Panasonic SDR-SW21: Dead 'ard hands-on
Like Daniel Craig emerging from the waves in Casino Royale, the Panasonic SDR-SW21 is a camcorder that takes the knocks on water or on land, although probably doesn't make ladies come over all previous to quite the same extent.
It's a standard-definition, SD card-based shooter that can be used underwater, as well as being sturdy enough to repel dust and withstand being dropped. Previously the domain of Sanyo, the tough-camcorder market is under attack from Panasonic, as is the tough-camera market previously ruled by Olympus. Continue reading...
Panasonic AG-HMC40: Enterprising pro AVCHD camcorder
Panasonic has added the AG-HMC40 to its SD-card-based AVCCAM series -- not to be confused with its P2-card-based and seriously more expensive P2 HD series. You can tell the difference because the AG-HMC40 looks like the Enterprise. The AG-HMC40 joins the AG-HMC150 and shoulder-mounted AG-HMC70 in the ranks of Panasonic's pro AVCHD camcorders.
Smaller and lighter than either of its line mates, and with a much simpler design, the AG-HMC40 is also the first in the line to include a trio of 'Full HD', 1080p-resolution 1/4.1-inch 3MOS sensors, rather than CCDs. It incorporates a 12x zoom lens of as-yet-unknown focal-length range and can shoot 10.6-megapixel stills (obviously interpolated, since none of the sensors are that high resolution). Continue reading...
Sony Handycam HDR-XR520VE: GPS camcorder tells you where to stick it
It's a little-known fact that even the most the bleary-eyed and pasty-faced Craver scrubs up all right when the mood strikes us. And so it was last week, when Crave got suited and booted to rub shoulders with the great and the good of the camera world at the Sony World Photography Awards. Our gadget-sense was soon tingling, and among the stunning snaps on show in Cannes we also got our hands on a raft of Sony products, including the GPS-enabled HDR-XR520VE camcorder.
The XR520 shoots 1080i video at 16Mbps. Once you've filmed, inbuilt GPS automatically geotags your clips, baking location information into the file. This means you can later add your clips to maps, handy if you're taking it away on your 'olidays. Continue reading...
Sony Handycam HDR-TG7VE: GPS for roving all over
Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego? Where's Wally? These are questions that can be answered by the Sony Handycam HDR-TG7VE. It's the most compact and consumer-friendly camcorder yet to boast GPS, allowing you to geotag your video clips. The ability to place your footage on a map is perfect for the traveller, and you can do it all in crisp high definition as well.
The TG7VE packs 16GB of on-board memory, holding up to 6 hours of 1,920x1,080-pixel AVCHD HD video and stereo sound. Whack in a 32GB Memory Stick and you add another 12 hours.
The build quality of the HDR-TG3E, the TG7VE's precursor, was one of its most impressive features. The TG7VE also packs a titanium body, with a flip-out 69mm (2.7-inch) LCD touchscreen.
Inside this sturdy frame there's a 2.3-megapixel, 1/5-inch Exmor CMOS sensor. Features include intelligent face detection and smile shutter, which works in both video and still mode. All this is topped off by a 10x optical zoom.
A GPS receiver plots your location as you travel, then adds pins to the Map Index software. Without a metadata standard for video, the geographical information may tie you to Sony's bundled Picture Motion software. Continue reading...
