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New Sony Camcorders at CES 2013.

CES is well underway in Las Vegas, and Sony has announced many new camcorders to their already impressive consumer lineup.

First, Sony has stopped producing  their last two standard definition models, SX45 and SX85.  The entry level, CX220 will have an 8.9MP sensor for still image, Carl Zeiss lens, AVCHD and MP4 video recording, and 60p record capable.  That’s a lot of camcorder for only $249!  The CX230 get you all that and 8GB of internal storage for $279.  The CX290 gives you optical stabilizer for $349.

Sony-CX430-CES

Balanced Optical Steadyshot came out on last years CX760 model and it was a very impressive feature.  The lens seems to “float” as you move the camcorder around and coupled with the optical steadyshot, it’s as if you are walking around with the camera on a steadycam arm.  The problem was to get all of that you had to spend $1499.  Not anymore!  The new CX430V and  PJ430V will have that feature and are $699 and $849.  Both have 8.9MP sensor, 60P recording, GPS integration, 5.1 channel mic and mic input, 16GB of flash memory, and Multi Interface Shoe.  The PJ430V adds a projector as past models have had, but this one adds HDMI input, so you can project video/stills from other devices.

The top dog is the PJ790V.  At $1600 it is a premium price, but you get some premium doodads on it.  First, it has a 24MP sensor for great stills and unbeatable low light shooting.  Sporting 96GB of flash memory, you get hours of record time without needing an SD card.  The cool part is the projector.  They upped the brightness of the projector to 30 lumens so it should be a pretty respectable piece, unlike previous models where it was more a novelty.  With the HDMI input, you could use it as a projector for all your toys while you are on the road and bored in the hotel room.

Sony expects to ship all of these goodies in mid February.  We will know more when we get our hands on them!

Lens_hood1_HDR-PJ790VB-1200



Sony Announces Two New Bloggies, Encourages You To Get Your Splash On

Sony’s Bloggie line of camcorders may have had a rough start back as the Webbie HD series, a duo of compact cameras aimed squarely at the social generation… and the now-defunct but then-popular Flip pocket camcorders. Since then, the line has evolved into the Bloggie series, moving away from Sony’s… less than popular memory stick cards to integrated memory, and adding increasingly elegant design with touchscreens and metal bodies. And now we have not only your annual refresh, but the addition of a ruggedized waterproof sports Bloggie, too.

Up first is the Bloggie Live HD (also known by it’s technical name of MHS-TS55/S, for those of you who are more fluent in cyborg than I am). Starting with the hardware, you’re looking at a metal body, in which is housed a fixed 37mm equiv lens, a backlit Exmor sensor that does 1080p video or 12.3 megapixels for still, a 3″ touchscreen, 8GB of internal memory, a flip-out USB dongle, built-in interfacing software for Mac and PC, and a wi-fi card.

Using that wi-fi, you can do more things, like upload direct to social sites (YouTube, Facebook, etc). And going even further, it can now do live streaming (something a lot of the press could probably use out at CES this week). Honestly, this is probably the best spiritual successor to the Flip I’ve seen announced, and anyone who’s been looking to fill that hole in their life should gaze long and hard at this beauty. It might just be the way to go. Especially for the relatively painless retail of @249.97.

 

But, if you need something a bit more… durable, don’t worry, the Bloggie line now has you covered there, too, via the Bloggie Sport HD (MHS-TS22/L in the cyborgese). If you’re willing to trade down to a 2.7″ screen, a 5 megapixel still function, and the wi-fi, you can add on waterproofing down to 16 feet, and drop protection up to 5 feet. Which ought to make this a gem for adventuring types. For some reason I’m still thinking kayaks. I think I have a fixation, here.

And, because there’s apparently a law that waterproof things need to look sporty, the Bloggie Sport HD does indeed sport it up, though not without a certain sleekness. And it’ll do so for you in your choice of blue, red, or black (all adorned with black rubber trim). You also get to shave some scratch off the price, dipping down to $179.97 for this one.

It’s worth noting before we leave that both models also feature Sony’s sensor-shift IS, LED lights, and auto-focus with face detection. Which pretty much rounds out what you’d expect from a pocket cam.

 

 



Canon Gives VIXIA Camcorder Line a Freshing Up

VIXIA HF M52

In addition to the new still cameras, Canon’s revamped its camcorder line with six new HD flash-memory camcorder models, three in the M series and and three in the R series. Previously easily thought of as being differentiated by whether there was built-in memory, the two are now separated by sensor size. The M series features a larger 1/3″ CMOS sensor, and the R series a more budget-conscious 1/4.85″ one.

VIXIA HF R32

A big feature for (most) of these new camcorders is social integration. Four of the six models (the HF M52, HF M50, HF R32, and HF R30) have wi-fi and via that can now upload videos directly to popular sites like YouTube or Facebook, or iOS devices with the aid of a free app. They also have DLNA built-in, and as such can share with DLNA-enabled TVs directly (and might also be discoverable by other DLNA devices like Xbox 360s).

Other shared features across the range are 3″ touchpanel controls, 1080p recording, 38 scen settings, smart Auto exposure, new audio setting presets, AVCHD/MP4 formats, and optical image stabilization. After that, models are differentiated based on things like lens, whether they have internal storage or need SDXC/SDHC/SD cards, and whether they have the Wi-Fi/Social options. They break down like this:

Camcorder Zoom Storage Wi-Fi / Social Price (At Launch)
M Series (1/3″ Pro Sensor)
HF M52 10x 32GB Internal Flash Yes $749.99
HF M50 10x 8GB Internal Flash Yes $649.97
HF M500 10x SDXC/SDHC/SD Slot No $549.97
R Series (1/4.85″ Sensor)
HF R32 32x 32GB Internal Flash Yes $549.97
HF R30 32x 8GB Internal Flash Yes $449.97
HF R300 32x SDXC/SDHC/SD No $349.97

Additioally, he M series is now 15% smaller for each model than last year’s, and now boast a minimum illumination of a mere 1.2 lux. The R series is a whopping 21% smaller for each model, but only works to a more conservative 5 lux.

Press release is, as always, after the jump.

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Canon announces big video plans!

So the wait is almost over.  Last night, Canon announced their new Canon Cinema EOS system.

What started out as a magnificent accident with the amazing Canon 5D Mark II is developing into two types of movie cameras.  The first is the EOS C300 series.  One will have a Canon EF mount and the other will have a PL mount.  This will give the RED cameras a run for the money.  This 4K capable camera will be completely modular in design, so you can customize it to whatever your needs require.  It will boast a Super 35 equivalent 8.3 MP CMOS sensor with an active image size of 24.6 x 13.8mm.  It uses the XF codec that Canon pro camcorders have been using for the last few years, with 50MB/sec files, so editing won’t be a hassle.  Pretty cool!

 

C300 side view

 

The other big announcement was a little vague right now, but more suited to our customers here at Roberts.  It is a Canon 4K DSLR.  Basically it’s a 5DMK II on a massive dose of steroids!  It will have the familiar DSLR feel with the new Cinema engine.  Here is what Canon says about it exactly:

Equipped with a 35 mm full-frame CMOS sensor and supporting the recording of 4K video* (at a frame rate of 24P, with Motion-JPEG compression), the next-generation digital SLR camera currently under development will enable exceptional image quality for the creation of innovative and expressive images. Additional details, including the product name, specifications and scheduled launch date, have yet to be decided.  Here is a picture of it:

Canon 4K DSLR

So now, the waiting game begins.  At least we know something is coming.  I guess like the announcement of the 1D X, they let you know what’s coming with enough time to save those pennies!

Of course, these new cameras wouldn’t be complete without some new glass to go along with all of it.  Here is a listing of what is coming in PL and EF mount:

EF Cinema Lenses CN-E14.5-60mm T2.6 L S EF mount
CN-E14.5-60mm T2.6 L SP PL mount
CN-E30-300mm T2.95-3.7 L S EF mount
CN-E30-300mm T2.95-3.7 L SP PL mount
CN-E24mm T1.5 L F EF mount
CN-E50mm T1.3 L F EF mount
CN-E85mm T1.3 L F EF mount


Sony Handycam NEX-VG20 Completes Sony Announcements

That handsome piece of tech is the final bit of today’s Sony media blitz, the Handycam NEX-VG20. The successor to the NEX-VG10, this camcorder likewise mounts any NEX lens up front to power the whole optical train. It’s got a 16 megapixel APS sensor in there, presumably a tuned version of the one power the NEX-5N EVIL. It can use that sensor for either HD video or grabbing stills. it records 24p or 60p in the AVCHD format. The rest of the stuff inside is such a blitz of Sony marketing mumbo jumbo that I can’t help but recreate the key terms below for your enjoyment:

  • Cinema Tone Gamma™
  • Cinema Tone Color™
  • Quad Capsule Spatial Array Microphone
  • Xtra Fine LCD™ 
  • TruBlack™ technology 
  • built-in Optical SteadyShot™
Trademark-fest aside, Sony has also tweaked the ergonomic and usability of the camcorder, moving the fucntion dial so it can be used with the LCD closed, “hard” touch buttons for better haptic feeback, a redesigned carrying handle, etc…
It’ll come packaged with the SEL 18-200 for around 2200, or body only for closer to 1600. Press release after, you guessed it, the jump.


Olympus LS-20M, new pocket camcorder with pro audio capability

Do you miss Flip already? Don’t want to run down your smartphone’s battery with HD video recording or need high-quality stereo audio recording? Olympus was looking out for you when they designed the LS-20M. It supports 24bit 96KHZ Linear PCM recording, records full HD 1080p videos, and while it will ship with a 2GB SD card it will support up[ to 32GB SDHC cards.  Product page here. Press release after the break.

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Panasonic Announces New Pocket Camcorders, Including Two Rugged Models

So, Engadget is telling me Panasonic has some new camcorder models out. I’ll defer to their obvious expertise and tendency to get press releases on this. There’re five models total, all flavors of pocket camcorder, a la The Flip or the Sony Bloggie series. Two are the traditional pocket design, and three are the “pistol” grip style popularized by JVC models. One of each type is ruggedized, with waterproofiness to 3 meters (which also assures dustproofiness), and some shock protection. The other models are, er, camcorders. They’ll all do 1080p video, though, and your differences range mostly in whether they can weather the weather and whether they have a touchscreen for controls. If you want to know more, we’ll leave you to read Engadget’s succinct analysis.



Holy Three Dimensions of HD, Batman! The Sony HDR-TD10 take HD 3D Footage!

In my Sisyphean quest to update Robertscamera.com with every new SKU that shows up in our point of sale system, I came across this beaut from Sony.

Whoa, two lenses! They’re claiming it’s the world’s first HD 3D consumer camcorder. The HD-TD10 certainly looks good on paper, – glasses-free 3d viewing on the 3.5″ 1.23 million dot touch LCD, 10x optical zoom for 3d footage, 12x optical if you’re confining yourself to 2 dimensions, 64 gigabytes of internal flash storage which can be augmented with either MS or SD cards, the Advanced Interface Shoe for intelligent accessories, and a built in flash to take 7MP stills.

SonyStyle.com indicates it’ll start shipping mid-February so start saving 3D enthusiasts.



Sony Announces Drop-Dead Gorgeous Update to Bloggie Camcorder

So, while we kinda liked the quirky little original Bloggies, we’ll forgive you if they weren’t quite your thing (especially if a camcorder in the color “Eggplant” weirded you out a bit). But, we have to say, there’s a lot to like about the refresh to the Bloggies, and it starts with “ooooh” and ends with “aaaah.”

I mean, really, take a look at this metal-clad bit of gorgeous over here. This is everything the last gen wasn’t, and borrows heavily from their T-series CyberShots. Which is not a bad thing.

Under the hood, you’re looking at an f2.8 “wide angle” lens with the pocket-cam standard 4x digital zoom. Hard specs aren’t listed yet, we don’t know exactly how wide the lens is, and we also know it’ll have internal memory this time (a much better idea all around than its predecessor’s Memory Stick hangups) in 4 and 8GB sizes, but no suggestion as to how many minutes of footage those will hold.

We do know it’ll do 1080 HD in MP4 format, and can take 12.8 megapixel still with its CMOS sensor. We also know that it’ll have a touch interface, and easy sharing to YouTube, Flickr, Facebook, and Picasa. The software is preinstalled on the device, and the USB plug is also built-in this time, making this a full-on Flip competitor now.

And, of course, it’s Sony, who is one of the biggest names in consumer video and who have been cranking out absolutely stellar HD-ready devices for the past couple years, so we have little doubt it will return anything but wonderful video quality.

The 4GB will be about $180, the 8GB about $200. We’ve heard black and silver, but could swear we saw pink kicking around too. Still, even without pink, they seem safer color than the last model’s silver, orange, and purple.



Canon’s New XF100 and XF105 Camcorders Are Professional, Also Small

If you’re a pro in the market for a new camcorder, you might be interested in Canon’s newest announcements. The nearly-identical twins known as the XF100 and XF105 claim to be Canon’s smallest pro cams to date, and still feature the XF codec from the XF300 and XF305 (for those who’d forgotten,  that’s an MPEG-2 4:2:2 50Mbps video codec, it is). Both models record to hot-swappable CF cards, 10x Optically Stabilized HD zoom lenses, DIGIC DV III processing engines, infrared low-light recording, and features to help align two of them for use in recording ridiculously high-quality 3-D footage.

The two models are differentiated merely by the XF105 having HD-SDI output and genlock in/SMPTE time code terminals.

You can read Canon’s full press release after the jump.

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