Archive for August, 2007
Canon introduces HG10 AVCHD Hard Disk Drive Camcorder
Thursday, August 2nd, 2007
More High Def Camcorder news - Canon announced a new HD capable camcorder yesterday called the Canon HG10 AVCHD Hard Disk Drive Camcorder. As you might have guessed by the long name, the HG10 comes with an integrated 40 GB HDD and records HD video using the AVCHD codec. Major features of the HD Camcorder include a Canon 10x HD video lens, a full HD CMOS image sensor, Canon’s DIGIC DV II Image Processor, SuperRange Optical Image Stabilization, and Instant Auto Focus.
The Canon HG10 is capable of recording full high definition video (1920 x 1080 resolution) thanks to the Canon Full HD CMOS Sensor. For those of you that want that film look and feel, the HG10 supports 24p recording.
Here’s the tally of what features and specs are available with the Canon HG10:
- AVCHD Format HDD
- Full HD on a 40GB HDD
- 1920 x 1080 Full HD CMOS sensor
- Canon 10x HD Video Zoom Lens and 200x digital zoom
- DIGIC DVII
- SuperRange Optical Image Stabilization
- Instant AF
- 24p Cinema Mode
- HDD Photo Grab from Video
- 2.7 inch Multi-Angle Vivid Widescreen LCD
- Advanced Photo Features
- Corel Application Disc
- HDMI support
- 3.1 megapixel still pictures
- Dolby Digital 2 channel support
- Measures 3.2 x 3.0 x 5.1 inches and weighs only 1.1 lbs
Hitachi introduces world’s first Blu-ray camcorders - the DZ-BD7H and DZ-BD70
Thursday, August 2nd, 2007
It’s not quite the fall yet but Hitachi has formally announced the world’s first Blu-ray capable disc camcorders today. The new camcorders are the hybrid DZ-BD7H and the BD single disc DZ-BD70. Both camcorders will begin selling in Japan on August 30th and will become available in the overseas market starting in October.
The Hitachi DZ-BD7H is known as a hybrid camcorder because it has both a 30GB internal hard drive and a BD drive. Customers can record 1920 x 1080 full HD video onto the hard drive and then later copy the contents to the BD drive. If you record at full 1920 x 1080, you’ll get approximately four hours of video from the 30GB HDD. If you record at 1440 x 1080, you’ll get approximately eight hours of video on the drive. The camcorder also comes with a 5.3 megapixel CMOS image sensor capable of providing 2.07 megapixels for video and 4.32 megapixels for digital stills. The DZ-BD7H supports high speed dubbing to the BD drive at rates of 2X recording speed.
The Hitachi DZ-BD70 is a BD single drive camcorder which can record approximately one hour of 1920 x 1080 resolution video onto a single 8cm BD disc. If you switch to 1440 x 1080, you’ll get approximately two hours on a single 8cm BD disc.The DZ-BD70 also features the same 5.3 megapixel CMOS image sensor.
Key features of the new Hitachi BD camcorders include:
- Adaptive Dynamic Noise Reduction which analyzes and encodes the video while reducing noise
- Advanced Correlative Coefficient Multiplication Method which reduces false colors to reproduce images in clearer and more natural colors
- MPEG4 AVC/H.264 codec suppport
- 12 element in 9-group, 18-sided multicoat lens
- HDMI support
- SD memory card slot
- Review recorded videos with a display of 12 thumbnails
- Interactive guide
- 10x optical zoom
You can find additional information about the new Hitachi Blu-ray camcorders here on Hitachi’s website.
Panasonic launches "Living in High Definition" event and program
Thursday, August 2nd, 2007
Hoping to spur interest in high definition equipment and content, Panasonic held their first ever “Living in High Definition” initiative event today. The event was held today at 11:45 am EST and lasted till 12:45pm EST and included speakers such as a Hollywood producer and director, academic experts, and Panasonic executives. Luckily, it was a web cast, which means you can still catch it by going to this link here:
http://4.78.165.100/PanaSonic_HD_Event/default2.asp
More importantly, this event was designed to launch Panasonic’s Living in High Definition program. The program will select families from across America and provide them with Panasonic’s high end HD products including a 50 inch 1080p plasma TV, an HD camcorder, digital cameras, a Blu-ray DVD player, and much much more.
So how do you enter to get this equipment? Starting on August 1st, Panasonic will be posting up challenges for families to compete in. What you’ll need to do is tell Panasonic how your family would complete the challenge and why your family would be the best spokes-family for the company. If Panasonic chooses your family, then you will receive Panasonic’s entire HD product suite and then asked to bring your ideas to light. Your final video might be shown online or become part of a documentary film that the company is making with Brett Ratner.
The folks judging the entries will include Brett Ratner, Justine Shapiro, Kevin Smith, and Robert Wilson. The selection panel will review the submissions, and then judge them based on several criteria. However, creativity will be the most important aspect to the submissions.
If you’re interested in the program, make sure to check out the new website - http://www.livinginhd.com and also make sure to check out the web cast for additional information into the program.