Gearfuse

I’m tired of my camcorder running out of room. If only there was a camera that was capable of storing over 50 gigs of my Benny Hill impersonations. What’s this? JVC announces two new cameras that have larger hard drives than my desktop PC. The JVC Everio GZ-MG840 and GZ-MG880, both capable of 720×480 wide format DVD-resolution video and a 352×240 resolution format, optimized specifically for YouTube.

The Everio is the juggernaut of storage capacity when it comes to camcorders. The 60GB for $750 and the 120GB for $810 are two models already available in Japan which have us sitting in the dark, waiting for a release in the states.

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There are some gadget concepts that make me want to jump up and lobby to the world about them. This High Tech Scroll concept is a gorgeous idea, there just isn’t the technology available yet to create it. Featuring a 10 MP camera, camcorder, touchscreen, WiFi, Bluetooth support, and a PC running a full version of XP or Vista (come on, give us some OS X goodness!), the High Tech Scroll is too good to be true, and it isn’t.

Designed by 13 Tech Design, not only does the Scroll feature all of the listed specs above, but also has a form factor which unravels like the Hebrew Torah, pulling the sides apart to reveal the rolled up slim flat screen. Hit the jump for another pic and two demo videos. (more…)

We’ve seen some cool DIY’s, but this might take the cake on the technical aspect of things. Ever wanted to make your own Progressive Scam Camcorder? Odds are it never even passed your mind, but regardless, you can now create your own.

The Progressive Scan Camcorder in question was used to make the 88-minute indie sci-fi film, The Shimmering Earth. The trailer for the movie looks pretty impressive considering it’s made with homemade equipment. — Andrew Dobrow

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This might be a somewhat unorthodox DIY since you’re not really “making” anything, but it’s as equally useful as other tutorials. Digital camcorders aren’t exactly user-friendly compatible, if you’ve been wanting to transfer old camcorder video to your computer to throw on YouTube you might have a difficult time.

This step-by-step tutorial, complete with idiot friendly image instructions, will show you how to transfer those old videos over to your PC with minimal brain power needed. If you don’t know some of those big tech words such as FireWire and NTSC video format, don’t sweat it. — Andrew Dobrow

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When it comes to SD (SDHC) card camcorders, few would deny that the Sanyo Xacti line is indeed one of the most popular products if not the best and most successful in the market. Digital camera giant Canon is planning to take Sanyo down with their new PowerShot TX1, equipped with a similar 7MP CCD sensor and the ability to record HD videos up to 1280×720pixels 30fps. What’s more is that Canon fitted in an optical anti-shake lens with 10x optical zoom, their DIGIC III image processing engine, other proprietary technologies such as face-recognition autofocus. The TX1 is also a lot smaller than the Xacti, measuring 29.0×59.9×88.8mm and weighing 220g. Sanyo must be very worried when Canon quoted the suggested retail price of 500USD (a whooping 300USD less than the Sanyo Xacti HD-2), you would lose the HDMI output and the ability of taking still pictures in the middle of video recording, but who cares, you can do a lot with the 300 bucks you save; besides, we have more faith in Canon optics. We have a picture of the TX1 flipped open after the jump.

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You know there are always moments that you want to capture with good-enough digital photo, especially in the middle of movie recording? And those screenshots off the moving pictures are never good enough, even when we have HD recording nowadays. Well, Sanyo’s Xacti line of pocketable digital camcorders might just come into the right place, because these camcorders can take great digital prints in the middle of movie recording. The company has updated their flagship model this morning with a CCD of 7.1 Megapixels effective, low light performance was also improved so that the camcorder can work in environments as dim as 7 Lux (down from 14 Lux on the previous model), ISO can go up to 1600. Also, 8GB SDHC cards are now officially supported, this is good for 3 hours of HD-SHQ movies at 1280×720 pixels 9Mbps, or 21 hours of VCD quality movies. The Xacti houses a lens with 10x optical zoom (38-380mm f3.5). Digital anti-handshake during movie recording and HDMI/D4 output are both in place. The improved battery life allows you to take movies non-stop for 85 minutes or 180 photos straight. With all that power, the DMX-HD2 still keeps the compactness of the Xacti line, measuring 80×36x119mm and weighing 235g. The DMX-HD2 will be on shelves by March and will sell for a very reasonable 800USD, keep in mind that this is also the world’s smallest and lightest High Density camcorder. — Sam Chan

Press release [Sanyo Japan]

A vlogger’s dream camcorder was born with Pure Digital’s new Camcorder. This compact camcorder is just the perfect size to capture all those moments you’d never catch, or even have, lugging a regular camcorder around. With 1GB of memory built in, you can record up to 60 minutes worth of video without adding any extra memory. This new camcorder has all the features of a normal camcorder, from one-touch recording to a zoom feature. Remove the necessity of cables with an extendable USB arm; very nice if you seem to be constantly uploading videos off the video camera. Also included is a TV cable so you vloggers (video bloggers) can preview your content before putting it on the internet for billions to look at (that embarrassing clip doesn’t look so funny anymore, does it?). Sharing your videos with family and friends (or the whole world) is easy with the included software. If you are obsessed with filming everything, spending $140 should be a great deal for you. More pics after the jump.

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Just as the car industry went from monster SUVs with horrible gas mileage to small hybrids with excellent gas mileage, the video camera industry is going from big (think Canon XL2) to pocket-sized with the RCA Small Wonder. This tiny camcorder can store up to 60 minutes of MPEG-4 audio and video, or 30 minutes for high resolution, probably a better choice for a cheap camera. Connect to both Macs and PCs with the retractable USB arm and load up the software which allows you to view, save, email, or delete videos. The camcorder runs on 2 AA batteries, which can be better than a rechargeable battery if you’re on vacation or something where you can’t access an outlet. Hopefully you’re not half-blind, otherwise the 1.5 LCD screen might be a little hard for you to see; however, if you are, you can watch you videos on a TV through the Small Wonder’s AV outlet. You can probably go without editing software with the Small Wonder because if you’re only paying $130 for a video camera, you’re most likely not the type to be editing (you can always use Windows Movie Maker if you so desire). — Nick Rice

RCA Small Wonder [via Gadgetell]

In an attempt at stealing some of the HD market (and I guess at producing crappy movies?), Panasonic has joined the HD club by announcing their two new HD camcorders. For those who love the Panasonic brand of personals camcorders, but also have always wished to analyze the pores in their children’s faces, can now have the brand recognition they’ve always wanted. The HDC-SD1 ($1499) records onto SD cards, providing you with up to an hour of High Def recordings on a 4GB card. The HDC-DX1 ($1399) records straight to DVD, with a maximum recording time of 40 minutes. both record onto SD cards, providing you with up to an hour of High Def recording on a 4GB card. How many more indie movie directors will pop out from this one? And really, how many crappy film directors do we need?

The HDC-SD1 comes equipped with a SD card intact, which helps make up for the steep price. We don’t really find owning a HD camera being of much use now, since prices are sure to drop with the added competition of the Panasonic HD’s now announced and because we really don’t have anything worth recording in HD. You can also expect other emerging technologies to make HD a defunked technology. Though until then, indie film directors will rejoice, and we will have to pretend to like their crap movies. — Andrew Dobrow

Press statement [Panasonic]