Loading, please wait...Category: Gear | Camcorders
Microsoft LifeCam Cinema
By Fresno
The webcam that came attached to your computer is fine for taking grainy facebook pictures, but Microsoft's HD shooter is seriously next level. Not only is it equipped with an autofocus mechanism, but it also shoots 720p HD video through high-precision glass elements. There's even a digital microphone with noise cancelling technology built right into its slick aluminum body. It works with most services that require a webcam, like Skype, IM, Yahoo messenger and, of course, Windows Live. Perhaps the best part, though, is that Microsoft manage to cram in all of that quality and still keep it to about the size of a prescription pill bottle. It's a big upgrade from that ancient Death Star shaped cam you bought back in 2002. $55.
Kodak Playsport Rugged
By Fresno
The market for miniscule camcorders is filling up faster than that portable hard drive you got for Christmas, but Kodak's new shooter looks like a real winner. It shoots full 1080p video as well as 5-megapixel still images even under water. It has a 2-inch LCD display for watching your content and it even comes with an HDMI cable for the reasonable price of just $150. If the quality of the footage is on par with what we have seen from Kodak's Zi8, then this thing should be the new leader of the pack when it comes to snapping under water butt shots. It's probably good for extreme sports, too. We'll let you know. After we're done getting those butt shots.
Creative Vado HD
By Fresno
Now that we all live in the internet, if something doesn't get captured on video, it might as well have not happened. But, with Creative's compact HD cam, you'll never miss the chance to capture an old lady falling on a patch of ice again. It has 4 GB of built-in storage to hold 720p HD footage. You can preview your content on the 2-inch LCD screen or hook it up to an HDTV and watch it in swanky 1080i. You're practically a Youtube superstar already. Just remember that the gig doesn't pay. $229.
Tired of the fuzzy audio emerging from your Flip cam? Samson's Zoom Q3 video boasts the company's pro-level voice recording tech and two condenser mics that store sound in stereo as MP3s or WAV files, producing studio-quality playback. The fact that it sort of resembles an Epilady is just a bonus. $249
Leica X1 Digital Camera
By Fresno
If you're carrying around a Leica camera, people will automatically assume that you're serious about photography. The main reason being that this 12.2-megapixel compact cam will run you just shy of $2,000. Inside you'll find an APS-C sensor, which is similar to the ones you'd find in high-end DSLRs. But only this cam fits in your pocket and won't hang around your neck like a sign that says, "I'm a tourist, please steal my fanny pack." The fixed, wide-angle lens doesn't zoom, but it produces images so crisp and bright that you'll feel a little guilty sticking them on Facebook to mingle with all those cell phone photos.
VholdR ContourHD Helmet Cam
By Fresno
Snowboard season is right around the corner, which means it's time to bust out the helmet cam and capture footage of yourself busting sweet tricks and then taking the Med-evac to the hospital. The CountourHD shoots full 1080p HD video, which is a vast improvement over cams from just a couple years ago. Plus, it has dual sighting lasers to help get your shots just right. It's also good for pretending you're the Predator. If you want to turn down the resolution, you can jack up the framerate and get some sweet slow-motion shots of you in action. Expect it later this year for $330.
JVC GZ-HM400 Everio HD Camcorder
By Fresno
HD video cameras are getting better and cheaper at such a rate that I'm surprised we aren't all making our own professional TV shows at this point. The only thing that's really stopping us is our crippling lack of good ideas for TV shows. JVC's newest HD camera costs just under $1,000 and has 32GB of internal storage for holding your footage. It has a 10.3-megapixel sensor and it shoots HD video with the added bonus of three slow-motion modes (600, 300 and 120 fps). As a note, this post is a milestone for us. This is the first time we have written about a video camera without making reference to homemade pornography. Huzzah!
Creative Vado HD Pocketcam V2
By Fresno
If it were five years ago, the quality you could expect out of a camera the size of the new Vado would be little more than a mess of ugly blocks that vaguely resemble whatever it was you were shooting video of. Now, you can drop $200 for an 8GB cam that shoots HD video so clean you'll feel like George Lucas (back before he sucked). The camera has a built-in USB jack for transferring your videos and comes with the Vado Central software that helps you upload your movies, even if you're on a mac. Now you have no excuse to make that 194-hour documentary about your life you've always thought about making.
Kodak Zi8
By Fresno
Thanks to super-compact HD video cams like this one, it's getting to be impossible to do something embarrassing in public without it ending up on the Internet. Kodak's cam is about the size of a smartphone and shoots full, 1080p video and 5-megapixel still images. Then, if you can't wait until you get home to re-watch your footage of that old man falling on an escalator, you can preview what you've captured on the 2.5-inch LCD screen. Plus, it only costs $180 so it won't be too huge of a deal when you have your own Youtube-worthy fall and break it.
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