Hasta La Gadget!

We caught up with Sanyo and its recently announced, sub-$230 GH2, CG102 and CG20 high-def camcorders this morning, and have to say the company has done it again. While we didn’t have enough time to test the video quality, for less than 300 bucks you sure can get a compact and solid feeling cam, regardless of which model your big heart desires. We’re especially taken with the CG102 and GH2, which are virtually the same, only housed in two different form factors. Both record full HD 1080i60 videos, have 14 megapixel still cams and Sanyo’s 12x “double-range zoom,” which lets you switch between a wide-angle and telephoto zoom when shooting vids. Cleverly, the horizontally-built GH2 — which can be ordered with an expansion lens — now has two sets of record / stop controls for those that tend to hold the cam in different ways; one set is on the top and the other on the inside of the LCD pane. Those that don’t want to shell out the extra $30 for the vertical CG102 can grab the $199 CG20, but keep in mind that it drops you down to 10 megapixels and nixes the dual zoom function. We’re looking forward to thoroughly testing one of the $229 units in due time, but for now you can check out their sleek bods and buttons in the hands-on gallery below.

Sanyo Xacti GH2, CG102, CG20 preview: full-HD cams for less than $230 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 25 Mar 2010 00:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In a world full of stylish pocket camcorders, there are few reasons to recommend Coby’s ho-hum Snapp series, which has only just now managed the transition from cheap plastic junk to tasteful Flip knockoff with today’s introduction of the CAM3001, CAM4505 and CAM5001 Snapp HD. Recording 640 x 480 footage over MJPEG, the cheaper two models are still not much better than your average VGA webcam, and with only megabytes of internal storage, all three will require a sizeable memory card to capture any real content. But when you consider the price of these things — Amazon shows preorder prices of $30 and $50 for the budget cams and $80 for the 720p CAM5001 HD — you might yet find yourself combing desk drawers for that spare SDHC card.

Coby intros Snapp pocket camcorders, for those with small pockets originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 01:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It looks like a flashlight, but it’s also a camcorder! Isn’t that cool? I’m crazy about the covert gear at BrickHouse Security, and the Flashlight Hidden Camcorder with Nightvision is just another reason why. While this looks and performs like a standard LED flashlight, it’s able to film VGA quality (640-by-480 pixel) video at 30 fps and record 2-megapixel shots on its microSD card.

The camera can record up to 8 feet away and, since it offers night vision, can capture video or pictures in complete darkness. You can record for up to 5 hours at a time with the rechargeable li-ion battery, and store 5 hours of video on the included 2GB microSD card. If you can think of a legitimate reason why a person might need a tool like this, leave it in the comments. If you’ve talked yourself into buying one, BrickHouse has them for $149.95.

Hey, didja hear the news? PMA is just about upon us, giving all the camera makers a perfect opportunity to refresh their lineup. In no particular order, here’s what Samsung is providing, all set for a Spring 2010 release:

• New HMX-U15 ($230) and HMX-U20 ($250) 1080p HD pocket camcorders shoot H.264 and feature HDMI out, image stabilization, a 2-inch LCD, and some simple edit options. The U20 also throws in a 3x optical zoom and 10 megapixel stills, while the U15 instead takes 14 megapixel stills.
• The TL500 is a 10 megapixel camera with 24mm ultra-wide angle lens with an articulating three-inch AMOLED display, perfect for spying around the corner. It supports RAW format, shoots VGA video, and is due out for a hair less than $450.
• The 10 megapixel TL350 claims 1080p HD video recording with a maximum speed of up to 1,000 frames per second — which invariably drops the video resolution to 138 x 78, but hey, sacrifices must be made. The three-inch AMOLED display and look for it set you back about $350.
• A pair of 12 megapixel point-and-shoots for the lower end, the waterproof AQ100 ($200) and the “scratch resistant” SL605 ($130), both with 2.7-inch LCDs and 5x optical zoom. The former shoots video in 720p and the latter just VGA.

Plethora of pressers after the break, and we’ll be catching our flight to Anaheim shortly to give hands on impressions and take pictures of cameras that’ll put our DSLRs to absolute shame.

Continue reading Samsung’s PMA gifts: HD pocket camcorders, point-and-shoots with AMOLED screens

Samsung’s PMA gifts: HD pocket camcorders, point-and-shoots with AMOLED screens originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 20 Feb 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sanyo rolls out GH2, CG102, CG20 1080i camcorders in the US originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Feb 2010 15:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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