DXG-506V All-in-oneCamera?

Digital camera manufacturer DXG announced a new hybrid digital camcorder that should be available sometime later this month. This thing combines five different media gadgets into one VOLTRON-ESQUE SUPER GADGET. It has a 5.1-megapixel digital still camera, MPEG-4 video camcorder, PC camera (webcam I assume), voice recorder, and an MP3 player to boot. Expect this to be like a giant concrete block? Negative, the DXG-506V is roughly the size of a bar of soap. Unfortunately it isn t hard drive based, but it takes an SD card. No rechargeable batteries either, it uses four AAA batteries. It's also pretty cheap, around $150 for all of this. More »

Canon Optura 600, It's Dual-tastic!

This is the Canon Optura 600, it is another MiniDV camera coming from Canon. This is jumping on the multipurpose gadget bandwagon by providing exceptional still image pictures which is sometimes hard to come by with a compact MiniDV camera such as this one. On top of the good quality MiniDV recording, this video camera is also capable of taking four megapixel still images. This camera records on secure digital flash cards and MiniDV tapes. Unfortunately you will end up paying for the awesome dual-ness of this camera. Expect to pay upwards of $900. More »

Creative DiVi CAM 428

Creative Technology has just released a new 4-in-1 digital camcorder that incorporates an MP3 player, voice recorder, and of course, a digital camera in its list of features. The DiVi CAM 428 has a 4-megapixel CCD sensor and able to take pictures at 8.0 megapixels using what's called an "in-cam interpolation." It'll record MPEG-4 in VGA (640 x 480) res at 30 frames per second, in a choice of either AVI or ASF format. Other features include 4x digital zoom, five flash modes, a Night mode, a Macro mode, integrated 32MB, and a 2-inch LCD that can rotate up to 270 degrees. Available starting this month, the price is a really affordable $199. Which is good, since all of these multi-function devices seem to suffer from a "master of none" syndrome. But with the low price and sleek stylings of the DiVi CAM 428, I may actually learn to like this one. More »

Mattel's Vidster is For Kids

Tired of your kid messing up your $500 camcorder? Well just get your little tyke a video camera of his or her own. Mattel, maker of Barbies, has recently released the Vidster, a camcorder designed to be kid-friendly with its durable plastic housing molded to fit small hands. (And, later, it will be re-discovered by emerging directors and replace the Fisher-Price Pixelvision as a breakthrough in filmmaking.) Specs include 1.3 megapixels for stills, 1.1-inch color LCD, and 2x digital zoom (no optical). A 32MB SD card is included, which is enough for short 6-8 minutes of video with 320 x 240 res. Not the best specs obviously, but your kid probably won't mind anyway. Now to figure out how to project all those videos on the refrigerator door. More »

Canon MVX4i Digital Video Camera

Canon has just announced the Canon MVX4i, a 4.29 Megapixel digital video camera, which is apparently the first ever digital videocam to have over 4 megapixels in a single CCD sensor. It sports a DIGIC DV processor, RGB Primary Color filtering, 10x optical zoom, high-res 16:9 widescreen mode, Electronic Image Stabilizer (EIS), a 2.5-inch LCD, and an SD card slot. The MVX4i will supposedly take better than average still photos, up to 60 frames shot in a single 5 frames per second shot, which is still an anomaly amongst most digital video cameras. More »

Canon Whips Out Two New MiniDV camcorders

Canon continues to push the envelope for digital camcorders with two new Optura miniDV camcorders: the Optura S1, and the Optura 600. The sleek Optura S1 took some major design cues from the iPod, and features a smooth and clean exterior. The choice of the miniSD card format, a new thing for Canon, also meant a more compact camcorder. Packed in this tiny package is a 10x optical zoom, a 2.5" LCD screen, and a 1/3.9-in. 2.2 megapixel CCD — which means the S1 can take stills of up to 1632 x 1224 pixel resolution. While impressive, that still does not beat out the Optura 600, which features a huge 1/2.8-in. 4.3 megapixel CCD that will result in stills of 2304 x 1728 resolution — one of the largest resolutions of any hybrid imaging system camcorder. The Optura 600 uses the regular-sized SD card format for storage. More »