Whether you’re going snorkeling in Maui or you’ve been deployed to the dusty battlefield of the Middle East, a regular old point and shoot camera just isn’t going to cut it. You need something rugged. You need something that is waterproof, shockproof, and freezeproof, making it reliable for all kinds of weather conditions. And now you can get one on sale.

The Nikon COOLPIX AW100 is a waterproof digital camera that can really withstand the elements and it’s currently on sale for about $125 off the regular price. It’s totally rugged, so you can dunk it in water as deep as 33 feet. You can also drop it from heights of up to 5 feet (shockproof) and use it in the dead of winter with freezeproof capabilities down to 14F (-10C). Well, I guess it depends on where you are for said winter.

As far as the tech specs go, you can expect a 16MP CMOS sensor, GPS and e-Compass functions, full HD 1080p video, and even Points of Interest information that can be added to your photos. Other features include the 4x zoom, 3-inch display, “Action Control” for “easily adjusting settings when wearing gloves,” in-camera special effects, 3fps burst mode, and advanced VR image stabilization.

The regular price on the Nikon AW100 is about $350, but it’s on sale for $224 on Amazon, including free super saver shipping. Buy it now and you’ll be more than ready to tackle the slopes on your family’s ski trip this holiday season.

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Up until earlier this week, you could expect to pay about $300 or more for a GoPro Hero2. It really was the de facto “action camera,” but GoPro is starting to face some potentially stiff competition in the space by the likes of Sony, JVC and others. And so, the GoPro Hero3 has been formally revealed and it improves on the Hero2 in just about every way. Indeed, all three versions come with built-in Wi-Fi.

Remember that you had to buy a Wi-Fi accessory for the GoPro Hero2 in order to gain wireless functionality. That already saves you a bunch of money. The other kicker is that the cheapest of the new Hero3 cameras — White Edition — is only $199.99, a full $100 cheaper than its predecessor. For that price, you get the aforementioned Wi-Fi, as well as 1080p full HD video (at 30fps), 960p at 30fps, 720p at 60fps, and 5MP stills with a 3fps burst mode. The Wi-Fi makes it compatible with the Wi-Fi remote, as well as the compatible GoPro apps on iOS and Android.

If you step up to the $299.99 Silver Edition GoPro Hero3, you get the fundamentally the same video capabilities, except the 960p HD video can be recorded at 48fps. Also, the stills have been upgraded to 11 megapixels with a 10fps burst mode.

And finally, at $399.99, the most expensive version is the Hero3 Black Edition. You get bumped to 12MP stills with a 30fps burst rate, but the real kicker is that you go beyond full HD and gain the ability to shoot 4K video at 12fps. There are also settings for 2.7k at 30fps, 1440p at 48fps, 1080p at 60fps, and 720p at 120fps. Bundled in with the Black Edition is the Wi-Fi Remote, which is an additional purchase for the Silver and White Editions.

Pre-orders are being taken now at GoPro.com.

The post GoPro Hero3 Camera Captures 4K of Phenomenal Action Video appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

When camera phones came around, people still wanted to have their regular digital cameras to take better pictures. When those digital cameras gained the ability to take video, people still wanted to have standalone camcorders to take better video. While there are certainly cameras and cameraphones that shoot some pretty great video these days, there is still something to be said about having a true dedicated camcorder for your movie-making purposes.

Offering full 1920×1080 HD video in the palm of your hand is the Samsung HMX-QF20. The Samsung QF20 is a very compact camcorder, but it comes loaded with a number of impressive features, like integrated Wi-Fi and an assortment of art filters.

Features and Specs

Even though the QF20 is marketed as offering full HD video, that’s only partly true. It shoots 1080i at 60fps or 720p at 30fps, with no option to shoot at a true 1080p at all. This isn’t a huge deal breaker for the average consumer, but the discerning techie would have likely wanted to get that full 1080p HD treatment.

The high-quality Schneider Kreuznach lens has a 35mm equivalent focal length of 38.4mm to 768mm for a suitably equipped 20x optical zoom. There’s also the digital zoom factor in there if you want to bump that figure to 40x. The aperture range is F/1.8 to F/3.9, giving you plenty of light even at full telephoto. For stills, you are limited to just a 5.1-megapixel imaging sensor.

Unlike the Samsung HMX-H106 HD camcorder, which has a built-in solid state drive, the HMX-QF20 relies on its SD card slot for storage. Thankfully, it’s also considerably cheaper as a result. Rounding out the specs are optical image stabilization and a 2.7-inch touchscreen LCD.

The QF20 is more compact that I expected at about 12cm in length and a 5cm diameter, making it somewhat pocketable (depending on your pockets, of course).

User Interface

There is no power button or switch on this camcorder at all. Instead, it automatically turns on when you flip out the touchscreen panel and it turns off when you close it back up. That touchscreen can also rotate around as needed for a better viewing angle. If you close it up with the screen toward the outside, the QF20 will automatically enter playback mode.

As far as the touchscreen UI goes, it’s all pretty basic and standard. There is a physical “home” button next to it that brings up the main menu with the ability to switch between modes (like Smart Auto or Art Time Lapse), as well as access to the Social Sharing, Auto Backup, TV Link (AllShare), and Settings menus.

While shooting, there are a few icons available to you on the screen too, like switching between video and stills. You can optionally bring up virtual buttons for zoom, but the five way controls at the back of the camcorder are generally more comfortable to use. As with so many other similar products, the touchscreen on the QF20 isn’t the best; we’ve become far too accustomed to the responsiveness of capacitive smartphone displays, so going to this plastic-y resistive display is disappointing.

There is a built-in lens cover and this is opened and closed via a switch on the right side, just in front of the hand strap. The stereo microphones, which seem to be very sensitive, are located on top towards the front of the barrel.

Switch Grip and WiFi Functionality

Lefties of the world rejoice! The trouble with most camcorders that take on this form factor is that they are very rightie-centric. While that’s still mostly true here, you can simply “flip” the camcorder over and the UI on the touchscreen will also flip accordingly. This way, you can hold the camcorder in your left hand and everything will work just the same (without an upside down video).

Another selling feature is the inclusion of integrated Wi-Fi. You can use this to upload videos directly to Facebook and YouTube, for example. This sounds like it could be an interesting feature in concept, but entering your access point and social media account credentials via the touchscreen can be the expected exercise in frustration.

For my part, even though the Wi-Fi could be interesting, I can’t see myself ever using it. Even if I didn’t want to do some basic editing on my computer, I’d want to be able to write up a proper description and tag my videos before uploading. But that’s just me.

Still Photo Performance

So, how do those 5MP photos turn out?

Here is an example of an indoor shot taken on an overcast day with a fair bit of interior incandescent lighting. I left all the settings at full auto. You can see that there is noticeable noise, particularly visible on the black portions, and the details aren’t nearly as “crisp” as they could have been. It does the job, but it could be better. The lack of flash makes taking stills with the QF20 under darker conditions virtually impossible too.

There are a number of digital effects that you can apply to both videos and stills. Here is the “art” effect, for instance. There is also black and white, sepia, negative, ghost, noir, western, and dazzle.

Overall, the quality is probably best described as just decent. It may be a step above some cameraphones, but you’ll likely get better results from a suitable point-and-shoot digital camera.

Video Performance

Comparatively, the video performance on the QF20 is quite a bit better. The details come through quite well, but I did find that the “Smart Auto” mode goes too far in overcompensating for backlighting. This is understandable and it’s a common problem, but it goes even further in this regard than many other cameras.

Video quality is definitely better than what you’d get some of the pocket camcorders out there, like the Flip MinoHD, and having access to a true 20x optical zoom lens is a huge plus. The file sizes are typically smaller than what you would get from shooting 1080i or 720p with a conventional P&S too.

Here is a sample compilation video that I put together. It was shot at 1920×1080 at 60i, de-interlaced in Pinnacle Studio 14 Ultimate with the “blend” function, and then rendered out in 720p HD. Aside from that and the titling, the video was not otherwise edited or altered.

To see how slightly edited 720p video looks, you can watch this video that I shot at a Japanese restaurant. It also clearly demonstrates the issue with overcompensating for the backlighting, resulting in a complete loss of visibility for the faces of some people at the table.

Conclusion

The Samsung HMX-QF20, despite its shortcomings, is quite the nice little camcorder. I like the compact size, as well as the “switch grip” feature. You can even shoot vertical HD videos, if you ever decide that’s something you want to do. Having 20x optical zoom (and 40x digital zoom) is incredibly useful too.

The lack of onboard storage is certainly forgiveable and while I still find the touchscreen to be not as responsive as I would have liked, it’s still perfectly usable without too much trouble. While the quality of the stills aren’t up to snuff, they’re still decent and the video quality is really why you’d want this camcorder anyway.

With retail going anywhere between $300-$400 (toward the higher end of that in Canada), the QF20 is a moderately priced camcorder that–for the most part–gets the job done. You might want to use the available manual mode to avoid over-exposure, though.

The post Review: Samsung HMX-QF20 HD Camcorder appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

The KickStarter project is seeking $7,500 in 45 days and its premise is relatively simple: it is an affordable camera dolly. The little cart has a spot for the regular tripod mount for whatever DSLR or camera you wish to use, and then there are four wheels. These four wheels can be left in the standard position for smooth tracking shots, but they can also be set at angles for dynamic rotational arc shots.

What’s cool is that each axle is threaded with holes that can act as mounting points for additional accessories, like audio receivers or lighting equipment. If you pick up the optional rail kit ($20), the dolly can travel on that for even smoother action on the soft urethane wheels. The whole thing is made of anodized aircraft grade aluminum and weighs just 1 pound 7 ounces.

The early backer special has come and gone, but if you pledge $70 or more, you’ll get one Revolve camera dolly when it becomes available with free shipping to US customers. Pledge more money and get some extra accessories

[Source]

The post Revolve Affordable Camera Dolly for Smooth, Dynamic Video appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

Video can be pretty great, but live video can be even better. You could stream from your cell phone, but the quality isn’t going to be the best. With Live Shell, you can stream directly from your camcorder of choice directly to the web, all without using a PC as an intermediary.

The wireless accessory looks like it can work with a number of different camcorders, getting the video feed through a standard HDMI connection. It takes three AA batteries and connects to the Internet via WiFi or Ethernet, streaming your feed directly to your Ustream channel. The batteries are said to last about three hours of straight shooting.

You can see the Cerevo Live Shell in action through the embedded video above. It’s all in Japanese, but the setup and use seem easy enough to follow. It’s “coming soon” for $299.

The post Live Shell Streams Video Directly From Camera To Ustream appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

This is a sad day for soccer moms and casual videographers alike. I’ll admit that I was more than skeptical about the original Flip Video camcorder (by Pure Digital, at the time), since I said a regular digital camera could shoot video too. Then, the brand grew on me. The simplicity grew on me. And I got it. Now, it’s about to be put out to pasture.

It’s being reported that Cisco will be shutting down the Flip video camera part of its business, completely overhauling its “troubled consumer products business” because the company has “lost its way,” according to head honcho John Chambers; swaying too far away from its core business of routers, switches, and other network infrastructure.

Business hasn’t exactly been good for Cisco. The stock value has dropped from almost $40 in 2001 to a mere $17.50 today, including a loss of a third of the value over the past year. Also as part of the “restructuring” plan, they’ll combine the consumer-oriented Umi with the business-oriented TelePresence.

Cisco bought Pure Digital in 2009 for $590 million and now they’re gearing up to have the “consumer” division sold off to some other company. And here I am with two Flip MinoHDs on my desk, both of which have served me well. Does this mean that the Creative Vado can finally have its moment in the sun or are we back to my original skepticism and people are just going to use their digicams for video too?

[Flip]

The post Cisco Systems Prepares to Kill Off Flip Video Camera appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

There are a lot of these pocket camcorders flooding the market these days and they do fundamentally the same thing. Record reasonable-quality video in the simplest manner possible. The DV S11 is much the same, forgetting about manual settings and offering 10 shooting modes instead. That’s still a lot more than the Flip line and its relative complexity might be a ticket into some geekier hearts.

For example, this BenQ can shoot at 1080p whereas the current Flips still only do 720p. The DV S11 is also able to take still pictures with its 5MP CMOS sensor; the Flip only does video. You can also expand its capacity with SD/SDHC memory cards… and then there’s the pico projector.

I’d imagine that this projector isn’t the most powerful thing in the world, but it could come in handy in a pinch. BenQ claims that it’s capable of creating a 50-inch display. If you prefer, there’s HDMI and AV outputs on there too, but the pico is the darling of the feature set. Look for the DV S11 for about 300 bucks.

[Geeky Gadgets]

The post BenQ DV S11 pocket camcorder shoots 1080p, projects with pico appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

The Ordo HDV-350S pico-projector HD camcorder

Now you can project films directly from your camera using Ordo’s HDV-350S.  The device includes a Texas Instrument chip DPL that throws a WVGA (854×480) resolution image with a brightness of 15 lumens.  According to Ordro this allows for 60-inches of projection.

 The camcorder can capture 1080p video or pictures at 12 megapixels.  Other features of the HDV-350S include a 3” LCD touch screen, 10x optical zoom, an SD/SDHC card slot, and USB and HDMI connectivity options.  Although pico-projectors are already available in mobile phones, point-and-shoot cameras, and pocket camcorders, this is their first appearance in a conventional camcorder.

The post View home videos on your wall with Ordos’ HD camcorder appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

Sanyo Exacti VPC-CA102YL waterproof (to 10 feet) HD camcorder

Are you planning on visiting beautiful beaches and hitting up some waves? If so, it might be worthwhile to take a look at the new Sanyo Xacti VPC-CA102YL waterproof camcorder.

It’s not the first time that Sanyo has come forward with one of its water-friendly video recorders, but this one comes loaded with plenty of great specs. The latest addition to the Xacti line captures memories at a full HD (1920×1080), gets in close with 12x double-range zoom, and lets you view it all on the 2.7-inch LCD screen.

I wouldn’t recommend taking the Sanyo VPC-CA102YL with you when you scuba-diving, but the 10 feet of water submersion support makes it great for a snorkeling trip. And it comes in every color that you desire, so long as it’s yellow.

That’s the good news. The $350 price point is pretty good too. You do have to wait just a little while though, since the Sanyo VPC-CA102YL isn’t available right now. It’ll launch a little later this month.

[Gizmodo]

The post Sanyo’s best waterproof HD camcorder to date? appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

Flip Slide HD with large LCD

Remember when the first Flip Video hit the market and everyone thought it was such an amazing little toy? It made video recording so accessible to everyone, since all you had to do was point and click that big red button. The Flip line expanded again today with the Flip SlideHD camcorder.

Cisco Flip Slide HD Revealed

While all the other pocket camcorders in this line have offered the same basic form factor up until now, the Flip SlideHD is dramatically different. It’s not just a regular old candybar, because it actually slides up… sort of like an HTC Tilt smartphone.

The other vital difference is that Cisco has enlarged the display dramatically. Instead of that tiny little window that you got on the Flip UltraHD and Flip MinoHD, you get a big three-inch display. Underneath that is a capacitive touch navigation bar. All the regular buttons are now replaced by on-screen controls instead.

The rest of the specs are quite similar to existing models, shooting 720p videos and saving them onto the 16GB of internal memory. That should be enough space for about four hours of video. You still get HDMI output, but they’ve also added a headphone jack for private listening.

The Flip SlideHD is available now for $280.

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