camcorders

As consumer demand for cameras continues to rise, Sony plans to invest $1.2 billion next year to double its production of the image sensors used in smartphones and digital cameras.

The Japanese electronics giant announced today that part of the investment would go toward buying back a semiconductor production line from Toshiba, a deal estimated to cost around $600 million, according to an industry source cited by Reuters. The company is also planning to convert part of a plant in Nagasaki to make CMOS (complementary metal-oxide semiconductor) sensors and will purchase wafer processing equipment for CMOS image sensors, Reuters … Read more

I have to admit; once again, I'm heading into another CES with pretty low expectations when it comes to anything significantly new or different in camcorders. Thankfully, we seem to have already reached ludicrous maximus on lens lengths, so while we'll probably see longer lenses than last year's at many price points, I don't think we'll hear claims of even longer ones for the current longest models.

But replacing the long lens claims, the most hyped feature we'll probably see is more 3D, thanks to companies that are trying to sell more 3D TVs … Read more

My first camcorder was a PXL-2000, a toy camcorder from Fisher Price that recorded black-and-white video to audio cassettes. It was huge, expensive, required six AA-size batteries, and only recorded 11 minutes of video. That was 1987. Today, for $25, you can get the Micro Camera.

Shaped like a keyless entry remote for a car, the device only measures 2 inches long by 1.3 inches wide and is just 0.5 inch thick and weighs half an ounce with a microSDHC card. It can record up to an hour of 480p (720x480) video to a 4GB card, which is good 'cause the battery only lasts that long. It quickly fully recharges, though, in about 90 minutes by Mini-USB. (There are other sites that sell this or similar cameras, but this is where the one I tested came from.)

The company's site has several videos showing just what's possible with a camera so small and light.… Read more

I remember when camcorders were big-ticket items. Buying one was an investment, something you usually did when the first kid came along.

Now, they're $40. And they capture higher-resolution than those $600 tape-based behemoths of yesteryear. What, me bitter?

Today only, Woot has the Sylvania HD1Z 720p pocket camcorder for $39.99 (plus $5 for shipping). It's available in your choice of five snazzy colors, and it's new, not refurbished.

In fact, it's really new: Woot is actually launching the HD1Z today, so don't try checking the prices elsewhere or looking for reviews. You won'… Read more

The GoPro HD camera can be mounted to many, many things--helmets, surfboards, and cars. Apparently it's also small and lightweight enough to hang around your cat's neck. The movie above, which says it's the first movie filmed by cats, was shot using the GoPro HD and for a camera designed for shooting outdoors it handles indoors/low-light conditions quite well.

This movie was inspired by the results from a study conducted by Nestle Purina PetCare's Friskies brand. For that, 25 cats wore specially designed portable video cameras around their necks to capture daily clips for five … Read more

It's a popular exercise with tech writers to declare product categories dead because of the iPhone or smartphones in general. Everything from GPS devices to alarm clocks to my editorial category at CNET Reviews, point-and-shoot digital cameras and camcorders.

It would be silly for me to try and argue that smartphones haven't played a part in slowing the purchase rate of compact cameras; I'm fairly certain they have. It would also be silly to say smartphones aren't legitimate photo tools or great for that shoot-and-share experience. However, saying that it'll be the death of the … Read more

Up until 2010, there were nearly no off-the-shelf cameras for consumers to create digital 3D photos and movies; it was pretty much a hobbyist or professional thing to do. But with people hungry for content to view on their 3D-enabled TVs or computers, manufacturers started trickling out cameras and camcorders this year that just about anyone can use for shooting 3D.

The cameras don't all create 3D in the same way, though. Panasonic, for example, is currently relying on add-on lenses that feed stereo images to a single sensor. Fujifilm, DXG, and others, however, are using dual lenses and sensors, which is the more traditional way--and some might argue the best way--of creating stereoscopic images.

Sony skips both of these methods by using a single lens and high-speed shooting and processing to simultaneously capture left and right images that are stitched together in camera. (I expect the remaining manufacturers that don't have 3D cameras to go this last route, as it's likely the least expensive option to implement.)

Plus, there's software to take the 2D content you already have and convert it to 3D, which saves you the trouble of buying a new camera or camcorder altogether. (You could always go back to film or DIY, too.)… Read more

We saw an early mock-up of Ion's dual-lens Twin Video mini camcorder at last year's CES. Now, almost a year later, the product is finally shipping, and it doesn't really look like the mock-up. However, it still has two lenses that allow you to shoot rear and front video feeds with the touch of a button.

What's the purpose of that? Well, the idea is that the person shooting the video can easily--and smoothly--get in on the action. Ion's billing the Twin Video as perfect for "blogging, interviewing, and creating videos with an easy-to-use, … Read more

I suspect this is mere moments from selling out (and my apologies in advance if it does), but here goes: Dell has the Creative Vado HD 2nd-gen pocket camcorder for $49.99 shipped.

As you may recall from previous posts, the Vado HD shoots 720p video and stores it in 4GB of onboard memory--enough for about an hour of footage, or more if you lower the quality setting.

The camera sports a nice 2-inch LCD for previewing and reviewing your movies, but there's also an HDMI output for piping the video to your HDTV. (Alas, HDMI cable not included--but … Read more