Digital Cameras and Camcorders

Kodak’s Z18 camcorder, announced today, has the same chunky shape as the Zi6, Kodak’s flagship pocket cam and the same color-blocked design as the smaller, water-resistant Zx1. Although it’s not the first YouTube cam to shoot 1080p video, it’s certainly a first for Kodak.

Even more than the resolution bump, though, the biggest change is the introduction of image stabilization, a feature I’ve wanted to see in pocket cams in general. Even though it’s electronic, and not optical, I’d still expect it to offset the shakiness that mars even the crispest of HD pocket cam footage.

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It’s been ages since Pure Digital updated the Flip Ultra the larger of its two pocket camcorder lines (the Flip Mino ($179.99) line being the svelter). Today, though, the company made two new Ultra camcorders official: a standard-def version ($149) and the Ultra HD ($199), which records 720p video at 30 frames per second.

We’ve already had plenty of hands-on time with the Ultra HD, and we just gave it an Editors’ Choice (check out the full review here). We dig the clear video quality, loud speaker, and HDMI output, something most other HD pocket camcorders don’t have. Best of all, the Ultra now has 4GB internal memory, while the HD version has 8GB. We don’t even care this time around that there’s no memory slot.

The new color scheme resembles the Mino series, although they have a satin feel and discrete buttons, while the Minos are glossy with touch-sensitive controls. It’s bulky, as you can see, but that didn’t stop us from naming it best in class.

Other specs: it comes with 2 rechargeable AA batteries (you can pop in your own, too). It has a larger 2-inch screen with a 16:9 orientation, which we were able to see even while shooting outside on a cloudless day.

The Flip Ultra costs $149 and the Ultra HD costs $199. They’re available now.

Fujifilm mixed high and low today, announcing a $399 point-and-shoot and a $129 budget one. Like other cameras in the company’s F series, the FinePix F200EXR (right)  has the latest and greatest imaging technologies, which might one day trickle down into cheaper models.

In addition to 12-megapixel resolution and 5X optical zoom, the camera has Fujifilm’s new Super EXR CCD sensor, which allows for improved color fidelity and dynamic range (the latter is crucial in drawing out shadow details in harshly backlit situations).

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Nikon announced eight new CoolPix cameras for the spring today and, continuing a trend we noted at CES, the lineup is mostly about budget, offering more style and features for the money than we’ve seen in years (and economies) past.

Before we get to budget, though, let’s talk about zoom. The escalation of zoom factors (not to mention gimmicks like smile detection) seems to have replaced the megapixels arms race; what used to pass for a superzoom– 12X– looks puny compared to the 24X models we’ve seen and will continue to see this spring.

The 12.1-megapixel P90 ($399, above right), Nikon’s update to the P80, has a 24X lens, a huge bump from the P80’s 12X zoom factor. It also boasts features the P80 doesn’t have: a 3-inch vari-angle lens, four-way image stabilization, and a pre-record mode that caches up to 45 3-MP frames before you fully press the shutter. Like the P80, it has a pop-up flash. ISO 6400, sports continuous mode, and a fair amount of manual controls.

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At first glance, Panasonic’s SDR-S26 camcorder ($329) is just another flash camcorder: it records in standard definition. It has a cylindrical black body; sleek, but ordinary. It has a simple smattering of buttons on the backside, and on the inside when you open the LCD.

And yet, it’s one of the most memorable camcorders announced at this year’s CES. That’s because inside its tiny body is a monster 70X optical zoom lens. That’s unheard of in a consumer camcorder this size. Even in DVD and miniDV models, which can have 50X or 60x, this would be a milestone.

But particularly in a flash model, where the optical zoom often doesn’t exceed 10x or 12X, it’s just baffling. One has to wonder, how’d they fit it all in there?

As we got hands on, our biggest concern was the image stabilization. The S26 does have optical image stabilization, similar to what you’ll find in the company’s Lumix cameras, but the fact is, it gets harder to keep the picture steady as you continue extending the zoom. We noticed some additional shakiness on the LCD as we pushed the zoom to its limit, but nothing too distracting.

What really impressed us about the S26– aside from the fact that it even has 70X optical zoom– is how quickly the camcorder regained focus as we continued pushing the zoom. The picture remained sharp as we did this, and by the time we arrived at 70X we could still make out fine details, even on the LCD screen. As for the question of, “What can you do with a 70X lens?” Standing on the CES showroom floor we were able to make out tiny lines in the rafters, high above.

The S26 will be available in April for $329. Until then, check out our hands-on video to see just how far the zoom goes, and what kind of details were were able to see from far away.

When we reviewed it last summer, the Casio Exilim EX-F1 ($799.00) left little to dislike: in fact, its full HD video, high-speed burst shooting, and, best of all, slow-motion movies, won us over almost instantly. But as much as we loved it, we knew a couple things would keep many of our readers from buying it: it’s a chunky camera, approaching a DSLR in size. And with a list price of $999 we guessed that many customers wouldn’t be able to justify the splurge, especially not if a goofy, unnecessary feature like slow-motion shooting was one of the main selling points.

With the Exilims FC100 and FS10, announced this week, Casio seems to have pre-empted its customers’ concerns about the FX1, and even the HF2o ($599): they’re slim point-and-shoots, and cost $399 and $349, respectively, prices many people are prepared to pay for digital cameras. We got hands on with the FC100. Read on and check out the video to see why we’re so excited about this camera.

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Last year, the Polaroid PoGo Instant Mobile Printer ($49.99) landed on our reviews desk with a disappointing thud. Thanks to ZINK technology, whose special paper contains crystals that turn colors when heated, the PoGo could print without ink, making it the most mobile of mobile printers we’ve seen. Too bad the colors were so washed out and the only available paper was 3 x 2 sticker sheets.

And yet, we couldn’t resist checking out the Polaroid Instant Digital Camera ($199) the first– you guessed it– digital camera with a built-in printer. As far as digital cameras go, it’s kind of a joke: it has five-megapixel resolution, fixed focus, 4X digital zoom, and, at 10 ounces without an SD card or rechargeable battery, is almost three times as heavy as most point-and-shoots.

The reason it’s so heavy, of course, is that there’s a ZINK-enabled printer inside. Like the PoGo it prints 3 x 2 stickers. We like that there’s a dedicated print button, which made the printing process fast and easy. It’s also neat that you can crop photos and add borders on the 3-inch screen.

The camera has the same printer specs as the PoGo, meaning they’re both rated to print in a minute or less. Indeed, that’s about how long it took for the picture to fully come out after we initiated the printing.

The final product was similar, too: bluish overtones made the picture look washed out. That’s not Polaroid’s fault of course; we actually commend their ability to stay current as photography becomes overwhelmingly digital. But now that ZINK has found a way to print without ink, we think its next step should be making those heat-activated colors, you know, look better.

Check out out hands-on video below.

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Several companies have tried integrating Wi-Fi into their cameras and SD Cards  in an attempt to make uploading on the go easier. So far, though, they’ve presented several compromises. The Nikon Coolpix S610c, for instance, only connects to myPicturetown, Nikon’s sharing site. This, along with the Eye-Fi Explore ($79.99), works only at Wayport hotspots, which means you need a subscription.

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-G3 ($499), announced today, aims to change that. Users can upload their photos to a variety of popular sharing sites, including Picasa. They can also upload over any connection—secured or unsecured, public or private.

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Like other wireless digital photo frames, the Ipevo Kaleido R7 ($199, March) allows users to stream photos, untethered. What makes it different, though, is that it works with iPhones and Windows Mobile devices, so you can stream camera phone pictures as well.

With the help of EyeStage software, users can stream Web content like weather and photo feeds. Most other wireless frames do this, too, but many of them use FrameChannel’s service, which makes it hard to tell some of these models apart. We’ll be curious to see if this new software is truly a breath of fresh air.

We weren’t surprised when we learned about the DXG-581V, a $180 pocket camcorder that shoots in 1080p: the company is known for breaking price barriers. In the past, our verdict has been, “you get what you pay for.”

In addition to shooting 1920 x 1080 video, it snaps 8-megapixel photos, and houses a voice recorder. Its SD card slot reads cards as large as 8GB (the Kodak Zi6 ($179.00) accommodates cards as large as 32GB).

It has a rotating, 2.4-inch screen, which is large for its class, and comes with ArcSoft TotalMedia Extreme editing software.

This time around, DXG’s strategy of targeting young, budget-oriented consumers with inexpensive (but often low-grade) products might be a little more appropriate given the category at hand; YouTube camcorders, after all, were designed to be portable and cheap, not the best quality.

Then again, we’ve seen pretty good quality from several pocket cams, not just the Zi6, but the Pure Digital Flip Mino HD ($179.99) ($199.99), too. And now that Sony has announced two sub-$200 pocket camcorders, we’ll be interested to see if the twenty-dollar difference is enough to lure customers away from the big guys.