Hasta La Gadget!

Well now, leave it to Panasonic to dump a pile of camcorders at once, ensuring every domestic niche is covered. We have five separate models, so bear with us as we break out some bullets:

• HM-TA20 – This is a Flip-style upright design with a lens on one side and, on the other, an LCD with a big red button beneath it. But, it’s durable, offering three meters of waterproof protection and a durable, dust-proof case. It’ll do 1080p footage, offers no optical zooming, but does have a night mode that drops it down to 15fps to help it perform well when the lights go out. It can be used as a webcam, too.
• HM-TA2 – This is basically the TA20 minus the heavy-duty bits. Best to keep it dry. Comes with a tripod for self-portraits. Perfect for your new MySpace profile pic!
• HX-WA10 – Another durable one, waterproof to three meters, dust and shockproof, captures 16 megapixel stills and records 1080p footage, too. It offers a pistol-style grip and a flip-out, three-inch touchscreen. It’s pictured after the break.
• HX-DC10 – This is basically a WA10 that doesn’t like the water, or the dust, or being dropped.
• HX-DC1 – Another step down the cost ladder, this one backing down to 14 megapixel stills and losing some of the high-tech trickery of the others. Its three-inch LCD isn’t touchable.

Panasonic didn’t grace us with prices for any of these, nor release dates. But, hey, who needs details like that?

Continue reading Panasonic unveils a suite of camcorders of all shapes, sizes, and depths

Panasonic unveils a suite of camcorders of all shapes, sizes, and depths originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 17 Feb 2011 08:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Graphene looks poised to replace our silicon and our touchscreens, even fix our batteries. Now it’s due for something perhaps a little less revolutionary: keep our pants clean. Physicist James Dickerson and a team of researchers at Vanderbilt University have created two ways to apply thin graphene sheets that either make them super-hydrophobic or super-hydrophilic. These alternate arrangements, termed “rug” and “brick,” make the water bead up and run off or spread out and form incredibly thin sheets. Potential applications are windshields that don’t need wipers, pants that cause red wine drops to just bounce off, and goggles that never, ever fog — no buffing required.

Graphene coatings used to repel, attract water, could make Rain-X decidedly obsolete originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 02 Feb 2011 20:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony announced a heap of new Cyber-shot cameras earlier this week, and after spying the entire line posing Miss America-style at Sony’s CES booth, we decided to go hands on. The DSC-TX100V’s OLED screen, which is a Cyber-shot first, was definitely impressive in terms of clarity, brightness and color reproduction — despite only viewing a fellow convention goer obstructing the booth. The DSC-TX10 is also one the classiest looking ruggedized camera we’ve ever seen and thankfully lacks accents such as excessive rubber detailing. Sony wasn’t really down with us testinghow much grief it could actually take though. Similarly, we had hoped to check out the DSC-WX10’s 1920 x 1080 60fps video capture mode — since it’s the only digital compact to support it — but that idea got shut down the moment a few Sony VIPs arrived. Still, we did manage to take a few shots of each in the wilds of the convention center which you can check out in the gallery below.

Sony DSC-TX100V and the rest of the Cyber-shot posse hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 08 Jan 2011 14:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Remember Fujifilm’s Finepix XP10 from… oh, right around seven months ago? Hopefully you’re not one to get overly depressed about the rush of progress, because Fujifilm has just outed an update to that very camera that’s significantly improved. Following Casio’s footsteps on the Exilim EX-H20G, Fuji is introducing the GPS-enabled Finepix XP30 here at CES. The overall size and shape remains similar to the aforementioned XP10, with this point-and-shoot being waterproof, shockproof and freezeproof. What may really entice the argonauts in the crowd is the embedded GPS chip; this will keep tabs of your location and embed your exact coordinates into every picture you take. Once you get back home, just dump ’em into iPhoto or Picasa in order to view photos based on location. Moreover, the GPS Tracking Data function will regularly store location data, and when you get home, you can actually create a map of your travels. Other specifications include a 14 megapixel CCD sensor, 720p movie mode, image stabilization, a 2.7-inch anti-reflective LCD, a reinforced hardened glass lens barrier, a metal, unibody chassis and a riveted front panel. The XP30 should ship next month for $239.95, while a GPS-less sibling (the Finepix XP20; pictured after the break) will ship a month later for $199.99; those looking to accessorize will find an adjustable float strap, protective silicone skin and a neoprene sports case for sale in March for an undisclosed amount.

Continue reading Fujifilm adds GPS module, geotagging functionality to waterproof Finepix XP30 camera

Fujifilm adds GPS module, geotagging functionality to waterproof Finepix XP30 camera originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 Jan 2011 00:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s been a hot minute since we’ve seen any new tools from the security-minded folks at Swann, but it’s hitting back with a new head-mounted camera at CES. The Sportscam is a familiar device — similar to Contour and Go Pro units we’ve toyed with in the past — but rather than seeking optimal image quality at a premium price, this guy sticks to the basics. The VGA camera can only log clips at a resolution of 640 x 480, so HD junkies best look elsewhere. But it’s still encased in a rugged plastic shell, one that’s both shockproof and waterproof, and it’s capable of holding up to five hours of footage on a single 16GB microSD card. There’s a rechargeable Li-ion battery that’ll last 2.5 hours, and it ships with a variety of mounting options (though we’d suggest around your head, obviously). As we alluded to earlier, this one’s a lower-end product, and that $99 price may entice those who would otherwise never consider such a thing. The full release is after the break, and it’ll start shipping in the US of A next month.

Continue reading Swann’s shockproof, waterproof Sportscam straps on your cranium, captures momentous occasions

Swann’s shockproof, waterproof Sportscam straps on your cranium, captures momentous occasions originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 03 Jan 2011 08:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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