Gadgetell | Tech News, Reviews, and Interesting Things

Canon is adding three new camcorders into its VIXIA high-definition line-up, the VIXIA HF11 with dual flash memory, and the HG20 and HG21 with hard drive storage. All three camcorders brag of 24Mbps bit rate recording which is the highest possible bit rate that can be achieved in the AVCHD format.

And since high-definition video recording would require lots of storage, Canon has put in 32GB of internal flash drive into the HF1 plus an SDHC card slot for even more, while the HG21 and HG20 got 120GB and 60GB hard disk drives respectively. Other features of these camcorders include an HD Video Lens, HD CMOS Image Sensor that allows full HD (1920 x 1080) image capture, DIGIC DV II Image Processor, Instant Auto Focus and SuperRange Optical Image Stabilization feature. 

MORE »

Canon will soon be releasing two new AVCHD camcorders, the iVIS HF11 and iVIS HG21. Touting 3.31-megapixel CCD sensors, both cameras allow video recording in 5 different modes; MXP at 24Mbps, FXP at 17Mbps, XP+ at 12Mbps, SP at 7Mbps and LP at 5Mpbs. In addition, both cameras also come with a 2.7-inch LCD screen, SDHC media card support, DIGIC DV II technology, 12x optical zoom lens and a 1920x1080 full HD resolution.

What sets these two camcorders apart is the the inclusion of a 120GB HDD in the HG21, while only 32GB of built-in flash memory is loaded in the HF11. The HF11 is a follow-up to the Canon HF10 camcorder released earlier this year.

The iVIS HF11 and HG21 will be released in Japan sometime in August for an expected price of around $1,600.

Product [Canon] Product [Canon] Via [Akihabara News]

Panasonic has released two new High Definition video camcorders. The HDC-SD1 and HDC-DX1 record detailed High Definition video images and high-quality sound that make for perfect viewing on today’s home theater systems.

The HDC-SD1 records onto high capacity, solid-state SDHC Memory Cards. This model debuts as the world’s smallest and lightest 3CCD High Definition video camcorder. Because there are no moving parts in the recording section, the HDC-SD1 is also exceptionally resistant to impact.

The HDC-DX1 records onto convenient DVD discs. There is never a need to rewind or fast-forward, so users can play back a scene immediately after recording. The video image and sound data are recorded directly onto the disc for easy storage.

Both models use the high-resolution AVCHD format and feature the kind of 3CCD video recording system used in many professional broadcast cameras. The HDC-SD1 provides about 1 hour of High Definition recording on a 4GB SDHC Memory Card and the HDC-DX1 provides about 40 minutes of High Definition recording on a dual-layer DVD-R disc.

These two new models also incorporate Panasonic Optical Image Stabilizer (O.I.S.) that minimizes the effect of the slightest shake of the hands, resulting in crisp, clear images that are beautiful on a large screen. O.I.S. is truly necessary in the age of large-screen, high-resolution TVs, when every image imperfection is easily visible.

The HDC-SD1 and HDC-DX1 feature the world’s first 5.1-channel surround sound system with 5 microphones. When recordings made with these models are played on a 5.1-channel home theater system, viewers are surrounded by a clear, detailed sound that will make them feel as if they are right in the middle of the action. A Zoom Mic function links the microphone’s action to the camera’s action. When zooming in on a subject in the distance, for example, the microphones also zoom in and record the sounds specific to that subject.

Both high definition camcorders will be available in March, the HDC-SD1 for a suggested price of $1,499.95 and the HDC-DX1 for a suggested price of $1,399.95.

Sony and Panasonic today that the jointly developed AVCHD format for recording HD video to traditional DVD discs will be expanded to include flash-memory cards and hard-disk drives. The AVCHD format uses the MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 codec to record 1,080i and 720p high-definition video to standard 8cm DVD discs. Panasonic had initially announced, separately, that it was working on a variant of the codec for recording HD video to flash-memory cards. Today’s announcement moves Sony into the flash-memory camp and commits the companies to developing a hard-disk-drive version of the format as well.

According to a joint statement, both companies are “extensively” promoting the new format throughout the industry and have won support from Canon, Pioneer, Samsung, Sharp, Cyberlink, InterVideo, Nero AG, Sonic Solutions and Ulead Systems.

The yet no word if this format will be in you US, but it would obviously be nice if it was a universal format. Are you just fed up with format wars or do you rather the formats fight it out so the ‘best’ one may win?

Read [TWICE]