JVC Everio GZ-HM340 has the worst image quality I have ever seen in a camcorder and the best I can say about this device is that it is cheap and small. They cost $60-$100 less than the HD rivals and have a 20x zoom lens without optical image stabilization (just electronic), small, insufficient-resolution-for-HD sensor, and the resolution of LCD display too is lower than what you’d want. Maybe the goal of JVC is just to upsell customers. There are ten HD models offered for less than $800 and four of these are quite identical for price of $400 and $550. Three of them are flash based and differ just by the internal memory and the fourth has an 80 GB hard disk inside. It can also take microSD cards instead of standard SDHD/SDXC cards. JVC’s lineup is quite  [...]

The camcorder market is getting really crowded especially the minicamcorder market because there are plenty of options to choose from. Hence, in order to lure customers, these devices must either have a low price or should come with a few extra features. Unfortunately, the Panasonic HM-TA1 doesn’t have either and hence I find it really hard to recommend this gadget to you. Also, there is no shortage of substitutes in the market with a plethora of smartphones and devices like iPod Touch which can also serve the give purpose well. Panasonic HM-TA1 records videos at VGA resolution at 1080p and 720p resolution at 30 fps for both. iFrame format of Apple is also available here. It is smaller than HD and records at 960x540/30p at 24Mbps. This format is made for iMovie although you can import standard HD MPEG-4 format in to iMovie. The TA1 can also be used as a Webcam and you get to choose  [...]

Cisco's Flip Video UltraHD is available in two hour and one hour versions and it is not just the recording time that separates these two models. The one hour model costs $149.99 and it is the same as UltraHD that I reviewed last year but with smaller storage capacity. The The UltraHD 2 Hour (2H) come with plenty of new features. The video quality has been improved and there is also a proprietary port for connecting third party accessories that are made especially for Flip devices. This version costs $50 extra and according to me, it its good value for money. On the flip side, I would recommend the Flip UltraHD 1 hour if you are looking for a simple way to shoot and share the videos online. Otherwise, there are plenty of models in the same price range which give better video quality. If you are not interested in the accessories and need things like headphone or mic jack, more than a single  [...]

Feature set on the Canon Vixia HF M300 is quite similar to the previous model. There is a virtual function button which shows you the settings that are frequently used. There is also a full menu system below this. Apart from this, there are digital effects, image effects, white balance, program, still photo size, and a couple of scene modes. The camcorder gives you real aperture and shutter priority modes having a shutter speed range of 1/6-1/2,000 second. Options for the aperture range from f1.8 to f8. This gives you more control over the depth of field as compared to other camcorders in this price range. There is also the Canon Cine mode for adjusting gamma and color for the 24F progressive modes. This lets you record the 30F as 60i. The drive and metering modes can be selected in the still modes. There are a few high end features which can be accessed through the menus which are included  [...]

There are plenty of things that I liked about the Canon Vixia HF R11, an entry level camcorder which can record high definition video. One of the features that I liked was the user interface; it is better than most of the step up camcorders I have previously seen. You also get microphone and headphones jacks which are rarely seen in this class of camcorders. Such devices remind of me the early HD days when everyone was converting the old and low resolution sensors to 1,440x1080 pixel resolution to full HD resolution of 1,920x1,080 pixels. I won’t say that the Canon Vixia HF R11 is dirt cheap but it is certainly cheaper than other camcorders in this class. This device records video at resolution of 1,664x936 pixels and hen up converts it to video of 1,920x1,080 pixels resolution before it saves through AVCHD codec. The video quality is better than what I expected in the first place but  [...]

When ever I hear about a waterproof gadget, I automatically assume that it is going to be either ugly or thick. I don’t blame the makers of camcorders for this since there has to be a lot of covering around on the ports to prevent the water from going on. People who are value looks more will certainly be turned off but then you cannot have best of both worlds. I am yet to see a good waterproof or shockproof camera having good looks but it seems that will be a long wait. I am not here to review about this product; I haven’t even got it in my labs yet. This is just a news piece that I got from my sources so I am blogging about it. The Exemode DV5000UW is the latest device to break in to the camcorder world. This device has 12 megapixel sensor that will surely take good quality photos. I have seen lots of camcorders before this having a 12 MP sensor and the quality is really good. You  [...]

Canon Vixia HF S200 has a big LCD and the virtual buttons too are relatively bigger. The interface is quite user friendly and we think this is the best one we have ever come across in a camcorder. The screen can be easily viewed even in direct sunlight but you will have to fiddle with the angle for a bit to find the sweet spot. The interface falls short only in the menu system because it is quite frustrating to use. The scroll area is located on the inside edge and hence your hand will block the screen when you scroll. We also had a few complaints about the multi touch scroll operations which make it quite hard to move through a single entry at a time accurately. In our tests, we often scrolled past the one we wanted and finally ended up selecting the wrong entry. You will certainly need some time to get used to it but it might drive you crazy too. We recommend you to test  [...]

Kodak Playsport is also known as Zx3 and it is Zx1’s evolution. That model has a weatherproof body where as Playsport can stand water and record up to 9.8 feet under the water. There are some improvements made on the feature side too and this makes the minicamcorder a great option for shooting inside or outside water. We didn’t have much to complain about in terms of the price but keep reading if you particular about the shooting features or abilities. We will highly recommend you this device if you want a long battery life to shoot inside the water or while hiking in the woods. Kodak Playsport’s lens on the front is not protected but this is not unexpected from a minicamcorder. Just remember to take good care of it while traveling. There is no macro option to focus on subjects that are really close. The normal focu range will start at 3.3 feet and underwater, it is 4.4 feet.  [...]