Review The 3M CP45 is a combination HD camcorder, 5Mp Camera and LED-lit LCOS projector. Not much bigger than a couple of copulating iPhones, it can film and throw an image up to 65in onto a convenient wall.
3M seems to be touting it at families who can’t be bothered to upload their holiday shenanigans to YouTube, but having spent a few days with it I’m wondering if it’s better considered a business presentation tool? Indeed, 3M sells a dinky 26in folder up accessory screen specially made for boardroom presentations. However, this is more likely to be found partnered with the company’s MPro range of pocket projectors – super serious and all dressed in black, they miss out on the camcorder fun. Read the rest of this entry »
Review Pocket camcorders might have lost their appeal since the spread of HD-ready smartphones but the amphibious nature of the Panasonic HM-TA20 is still likely to grab the attention of holidaymakers. The HM-TA20 is an underwater pocket camcorder capable of shooting 1080p videos and 8Mp still images up to depth of 3m and also doubles up as a digital voice recorder, with a number of ad hoc options.
Sub-aqua snapper
The HM-TA20 has a rugged and fun appearance with a bright orange or blue-coated body that felt just a tiny little bit too wide for my hands and slightly awkward to hold. The large 3in touch-sensitive screen whilst being generous in size, leaves very limited space to grip on. You need to hold the camcorder in an upright position while shooting, so it’s not the most comfortable Camera to handle, especially underwater. Read the rest of this entry »
Review Contour has been making a lot of noise recently about the new wireless viewfinder feature for its HD range of helmet cameras. With these units being necessarily small, the idea is that the viewfinder bulk is taken care of by using your phone‘s display, with a Bluetooth connection streaming the pics and video. Simply download a free app and you’re all set.
Environmentally friendly: Contour’s GPS camcorder
The concept is great, however, the current implementation is for iOS devices only, with Android support on the horizon. The cameras themselves (GPS version tested) are impressive pieces of kit. The brushed-metal enclosure slots tightly onto the supplied fixings including the ingenious goggle-mount; skiers and off-road bikers will be most impressed. A few more bundled mounts would have been nice, though the range available separately for your chosen type of extreme, daredevil activity is quite staggering. Read the rest of this entry »
Review Let’s cut to the chase: JVC’s £1,600 GS-TD1 is the most sophisticated 3D camcorder you can buy. While Panasonic may have pioneered DIY 3D moviemaking with its bolt-on 3D accessory lens, this is the first stereoscopic shooter aimed squarely at the pro-sumer. It’s been unabashedly built for 3D from the ground up.
Visual feast: JVC’s Everio GS-TD1 3D camcorder
The GS-TD1 uses a pair of f1.2 lenses, each linked to a 3.32MP 1CMOS sensor. A proprietary imaging system, called Falconbrid, then processes the paired streams to produce 3D video. You have a choice of shooting your footage in a Side-by-Side AVCHD format, or in 1920 x 1080/50i Full HD MP4 MVC, a relation of the MultiView codec used by 3D Blu-ray. 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 »
