Your possible reason for buying this Camera may have changed fairly recently. The EOS 7D would have been the only way to get ’standard’ and ‘film’ frame rates from a Canon DSLR product in HD, but no more. There is a new model which offers very much the same video functionality and output for a fraction of the cost, the Canon EOS 550D – more on this later.
Canon is well aware that some filmmakers and news gatherers would like to shoot with its stills cameras. It seems providing this feature on the EOS 5D Mark II was just testing the water – as one of its professional full frame DSLR’s was given a single HD video frame rate (30p) @ 1920×1080. Step back, and see how it goes. It goes very well; picked up by all sorts of people to whom shallow depth of field composition would help tell their story.
With the EOS 7D Canon has decided to release what surely is a natural progression; a multi frame rate videoCamera that also produces beautiful stills, albeit with a smaller sensor with a 1.6x crop factor. The 7D is pitched at the same audience that bought into the filmmaking capabilities of the 5D Mark II and while there was also the EOS 500D, which offered a rather strange 20fps @ 1080p, obviously the timing wasn’t right, in more ways than one. Read the rest of this entry »
The success of Flip’s pocket camcorders has seen a fair few manufacturers scrambling to grab a share of this potentially lucrative market. Many of us, it seems, quite like the idea of owning a product that lies somewhere between a cameraphone and a camcorder. Samsung’s HMX-U10 is for the person who wants a highly portable camcorder with high definition video, plus a few extras – a fairly enticing combination.
Samsung’s me too Youtuber cam, the HMX-U10
First impressions are good: the HMX-U10 is compact, sleek, stylish, and from the back, could easily be mistaken for an upmarket MP3 player. It also sports a 7-degree bend in its body, which Samsung says makes it more ergonomically-friendly. In practice, it makes little difference to how the HMX-U10 handles, but it certainly ensures that this pocket camcorder stands out from the rest.
The Camera features a 1/2.3-inch CMOS chip with a 10Mp resolution, plus a fixed focus f/3.0 lens. The HMX-U10 offers a wide, some might say, bewildering choice of shooting options. There are three HD shooting settings: 1920 x 1080/30p; 1280 x 720/60p and 1280 x 720/30p. You can also record in SD quality (720 x 480/60p), and in slow motion in QVGA resolution at 120fps. Read the rest of this entry »
The Pentax K-x is arguably one of the smallest and more accomplished entry-level DSLR cameras on the market. The K-x inherits the compact body and the simple layout of the K-m while squeezing in quite a few of the high-end features of its bigger brother, the K-7.
Colour photography: Pentax’s K-x
The 12.4Mp sensor measures up at 23.6 x 15.8mm and features a dust removal system and in-body shake reduction. The K-x shutter speed ranges from 1/6000 to 30 seconds and it’s capable of continuous shooting at up to 4.7 fps, as well as 720p HD video. It also features an 11-point, wide-angle autofocus and offers Live View on its 2.7in, 230,000 dot LCD panel. All in all, not bad for an entry-level Camera.
The basic kit comes with a DA-L 18-55mm lens and costs £600. Given the spec, the K-x appears pretty good value and is likely to prove a very tough competitor for its main rivals, the Canon EOS 500D and the Nikon D5000. While Pentax’s decision to power the K-x with AA batteries might not appeal to everyone, this choice does increase portability. AA batteries are everywhere and you’re not constrained by having to find a mains source to recharge the Camera. And if you can’t abide the waste, a set of high capacity AA rechargeables plus charger can be picked up for less than 20 quid. Read the rest of this entry »
Toshiba’s Camileo S20 is aimed at a very demanding consumer. The type of consumer who wants a highly portable pocket camcorder with HD recording, and yet, has a budget of just £120. So, the Camileo S20 seems to offer it all – price, performance and portability. But can it really deliver so much for so little?
Light in the hand and on the wallet: Toshiba’s Camileo S20
The Camileo S20 looks stylish and comes in a choice of four colours – pink, red, silver and black. It’s a super-slim model measuring 59 x 106 x 17mm and weighing around 120g with battery and card. Within its compact body is a 5Mp 1/2.5in CMOS chip, f/3.2 fixed focus lens, 4x digital zoom, video light and the ability to record Full HD (1920 x 1080/30p) video, as well as 720/30p HD, WVGA and VGA video.
It also offers still photo shooting at a standard 5Mp, with a ‘16Mp’ high quality option, which uses interpolation. video is shot in the H.264/MPEG-4 AVC format, and stills are in JPEG format. You also get a 3-inch flip-out LCD screen (230,400 dots resolution) and 96MB of internal memory for recording – it takes SD/SDHC cards too, inserted from a slot hidden behind a plastic cover on the top of the S20. The unit is powered by a lithium-ion battery and has an internal charger. Read the rest of this entry »
The world seems to have gone 3D crazy. Crowds are flocking to see the 3D movie Avatar; consumer electronics companies are promising 3DTVs and Blu-ray Disc players, and broadcasters, such as Sky, are set to launch 3DTV services. Fujifilm has also got in on the act with the Finepix Real 3D W1, a Camera for the masses that captures that third dimension.
The big picture: Fujifilm’s Finepix Real 3D W1
Fujifilm’s Camera is aimed at anyone with an interest in stereoscopic photography, from the curious novice to the seasoned enthusiast. Compared with most compact cameras on the market, it seems large. Yet to compare this model to a standard digital Camera would be a mistake, because the Finepix Real 3D W1 is effectively two digital cameras in a single device.
When you compare its size with stereoscopic systems – which lash two cameras together plus associated synchronisation electronics – then Fujifilm has done a great job in producing a 3D Camera that is so compact. The Finepix Real 3D W1 measures 123.6 x 68 x 25.6mm and weighs around 300g with battery and card. It’s small enough to carry around in a coat pocket and doesn’t feel too heavy.
With the two lenses at the front, the Finepix Real 3D W1 takes two shots of the same scene, in order to create a Stereo image file. The lenses are spaced 77mm apart, wider than most 3D Camera systems, which tend to place the lenses some 64mm apart, the equivalent distance between our eyes. Read the rest of this entry »
