Digital Home Thoughts - News & Reviews for the Digital Home

This is my review video of the Nikon D5000 DSLR. The D5000 has a 12.3 megapixel CMOS sensor, can record 720p videos at 24fps (MJPEG format). The 2.7 inch screen flips down and rotates around to face the front. It also has 19 auto-exposure scene modes, up to 4fps shooting, one-button Live View, ISO sensitivity from 200 to 3200, built-in image sensor cleaning, 11-point autofocus system with 3D focus tracking, auto active D-Lighting, in-camera image retouching with special effects, and more. Read more...

"The V1020h is a 720p high definition digital camcorder that combines performance, portability, and style. It captures videos of your life moments in great clarity and color. The V1020h fits easily in your pocket or purse making it great forrecording on the go."

The product name - the V1020h - is a mouthful, but the specs on this pocket video camera look, well, average. 720p video with a digital image stabilizer, h.264 format (.AVI format - can it be both?), 2x digital zoom, and digital image stabilization. And that's about it. It uses SD memory cards in addition to the built in 128 MB of storage (why even bother?), but doesn't support the new SDXC format - though with a 32 GB SDHC card, you could cram a lot of 720p video on to this thing. I'm frankly a bit surprised to see HP enter this market with nary a stand-out feature on this product. No 1080p, no optical zoom, no external microphone support, no optical image stabilization...and no mention of a bigger sensor for more high-quality low-light video (the latter is on my wish list for these small cameras).

Above: starting in the middle and going 'round, that's a Nikon D300, Panasonic GF1, Panasonic TS1, Flip Mino HD, Panasonic ZS3, Kodak EasyShare M1093 IS, and a Nikon D5000. I took this photo with my HTC HD2.

I have to admit that since the birth of my son, I've become a bit of a camera whore enthusiast - I just can't seem to have enough cameras with the right features in the right places to capture all his cuteness. Yes, I'm a completely biased father, but comon', this is one cute kid. ;-) Not shown in this picture are my Canon HF100 and Canon G1 video cameras (the latter I haven't used in a couple of years) - and I also forgot to include my Canon SD870 because it was tucked away in a container below one of my monitors. Yeah, I have a lot of cameras. The question is, am I using all of them? For the most part, yes. Read more...

"Corel Corporation today announced a dramatically enhanced version of its powerful consumer video editing software, Corel VideoStudio Pro X3. Offering great value at a new price of $99.99, Corel VideoStudio Pro X3 combines video editing, media authoring, real-time effects and DVD and Blu-ray burning, enabling video enthusiasts to create professional-looking productions in a simplified and streamlined environment that offers maximum performance. With industry-leading speed and lowest-in-category rendering times, Corel VideoStudio Pro X3 now performs many common tasks more than twice as fast as the previous version with optimization for new, high-powered chipsets including the Intel® CoreTM i7. The software also offers multi-core and GPU parallel processing with support for new technology including NVIDIA CUDA to offer impressive performance and an improved end-to-end production workflow."

Jan Piros from Corel gave me a demo of Corel VideoStudio Pro X3 yesterday, and I have to admit, I was quite impressed. VideoStudio has always been a capable product, but the enhancements I saw in X3 made me want to take it for a spin to see if it could replace my angst-ridden experience with Adobe Premiere Elements 8. Here are my notes from the demo I was given. Read more...

This is an unboxing and first impressions video of the Panasonic LUMIX GF1 [affiliate], easily the most unique camera I've ever had the opportunity to look at. It's similar to a DSLR in that you can change lenses, but the micro four-thirds system doesn't use a pentaprism or mirror, so it's not a DSLR (which I think I got wrong in one of these videos when I said it was a DSLR). Panasonic calls it a DILC: Digital Interchangeable Lens Camera. I don't see "DILC" taking off as a term, because it sounds vaguely dirty, but this camera is hot stuff...it's been selling out everywhere, and Panasonic is struggling to keep up with demand. It uses SD cards and supports SDHC, so you can slap a 32 GB memory card in there for a massive amount of pictures and videos. Read more...

"NVIDIA's Ion technology may be hogging the limelight when it comes to netbook graphics, but Broadcom's no stranger to the space. After giving Acer's Aspire One HD playback capabilities that it could only dream of just months prior, the company's newly announced Crystal HD platform could provide Intel's Atom N450 with the multimedia boost it badly needs."

Intel's Atom 450 chipset doesn't do squat for HD video playback - I guess Intel hasn't gotten the memo that this HD thing is kind of big - but Broadcom's Crystal HD chip will give any Intel 450-based system the ability to play back 1080p content, including acceleration of the Flash 10.1 player. This is a chip we'll supposedly see in netbooks from Samsung, Dell, and Asus. I suspect HP will be on that list too, as the HP Mini 110 can be purchased with an earlier version of the Broadcom chip. HP has a $30 up-charge for the current Broadcom chip, so as long as the new chip is in that range, I can see consumers going for netbooks that can handle 1080p videos.

This is a review video of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3 digital camera. This is a 10 megapixel point and shoot digital camera with an impressive 12x optical zoom, starting at 25mm and reaching all the way to 300mm. That's a lot of zoom! It uses Secure Digital memory for storage, and is SDHC compatible, allowing for up to 32 GB cards to be used. It also takes 30fps 720p videos in either AVCHD Lite or MJPEG formats, has optical image stabilization, and you can zoom while shooting a video - a feature many comparable cameras lack. I didn't do an unboxing/first impressions video of this camera because I bought it and immediately wanted to start using it - so instead what you have is my review after having used it for a couple of months. You can see all the specs here. If you're interested in buying one, Amazon.com has them in our affiliate store. On to the sample pictures and video... Read more...

This is an unboxing and first impressions video of the Nikon D5000 DSLR. The D5000 has a 12.3 megapixel CMOS sensor, can record 720p videos at 24fps (MJPEG format). The 2.7 inch screen flips down and rotates around to face the front. It also has 19 auto-exposure scene modes, up to 4fps shooting, one-button Live View, ISO sensitivity from 200 to 3200, built-in image sensor cleaning, 11-point autofocus system with 3D focus tracking, auto active D-Lighting, in-camera image retouching with special effects, and more. Read more...

"If you upload videos to YouTube and feel restricted by the 1GB limit, YouTube now offers 2GB of wiggle room as well as the ability to directly link to and embed high definition video."

If you use YouTube, you're going to like this: YouTube has expanded upload limits to 2 GB, which is around 60 minutes of 720p HD quality video. And if you have a blog where you like to embed your YouTube videos, you can now embed it in HD. One thing worth noting: if you're embedding at 600 pixels wide, there's not much point in using the HD option. The high-quality (HQ) option looks quite good at that size. To show the HD option, you'll want 800+ pixels in width - or tell people to go full screen. Good stuff - thanks YouTube!

"Senior Editor Tim Moynihan takes a look at six HD, YouTube-friendly pocket camcorders from Pure Creative, Kodak, Sony, and the brand new FlipHD from Pure Digital. With features ranging from a wide-angle lens to variable frame rates, one of these devices in the $150- to $200-range is bound to be a great fit for your needs."

Moynihan goes through the basics of each pocket camcorder, though without video samples it's hard to know for sure which one you'd like the video the most on - but arranging a six-way shoot-out with video samples would be tough. I'm not overly impressed with the video quality on my Flip Mini HD personally, but I haven't used it outside in bright light much - it's not great in low-light, at least not compared to my Panasonic point and shoot camera.

The rumours about the forthcoming Nikon D400 continue to surface, this time from a Nikon Solutions show held in Germany last week. These rumours about the D400 have been bubbling up for months, and some of them are downright ludicrous. The rumours this time around are a bit more down to earth: the sensor will be based on the new EXPEED II engine, be a DX sensor in the 16 to 18 megapixel range, and do 1080p HD video capture at 24fps. It also mentions a tilt display, similar to the D5000. The D300 has a 12.3 megapixel sensor, so it wouldn't be unheard of for it to jump to 16 megapixels, though I think 18 is stretching it. I'd personally be happy with zero increase in resolution - 12 megapixels is a lot to work with as it is. Some people believe the D400 will be an FX sensor (full frame), but I doubt Nikon wants to make a compeditor for their own D700. The D400, as a successor to the popular D300, will continue the prosumer line and with Nikon's recent investment in DX-format lenses (such as the 35mm f/2.8) I see Nikon continuing that trend. I really like the look of HD video shot on a DSLR - the depth of field is gorgeous - so that's my main reason for wanting a D400. I'm hoping that the D400 will be the first DSLR to offer true auto-focus while shooting video, but that may be too much to hope for at this stage. Lastly, as for when it's coming out, it's anyone's guess - but with the D300 having been released in August of 2007, I'd say sometime in the summer months would be a good bet for when we might see the D400.

"Panasonic today introduced the LUMIX DMC-TS1, the world's first waterproof, shockproof and dustproof digital camera to also feature AVCHD Lite High Definition (HD) video recording capabilities. The TS1's tough and rugged design makes it the ideal choice for active users needing the ultimate hybrid for capturing both still and motion images during outdoor activities. The LUMIX TS1, with a 12.1 megapixel resolution, features a 28mm wide-angle LEICA DC VARIO-ELMAR lens, a 4.6x optical zoom and Panasonic's proprietary iA (Intelligent Auto) mode, making this an easy-to-use, yet powerful camera that packs advanced imaging features."

Panasonic announced this a few weeks ago, but after our own Lee Yuan Sheng mentioned it, I decided to take a look at it and create a post because this is an impressive little camera! It looks like the camera the Canon D10 wanted to be - it boasts 720p video capture - and in AVCHD no less (AVCHD Lite = 720p). It has 4.6x optical zoom over the Canon D10'd 3x zoom, and a wider-angled 28mm to the D10's 35mm. The rest is probably a wash, and while I have no idea on image quality yet, the DMC-TS1 looks like it's a worthy competitor. The remainder of the press release is after the break, along with a few more images. Read more...

"Cool curves, powerful features and a fun new way to operate the camera mark Canon's PowerShot SD970 IS Digital ELPH. Amazing resolution and expanded editing options are yours with 12.1 megapixels, and you can even create HD movies. Shooting is fun and easy with Smart AUTO that makes all your shots better effortlessly, and there's a new user-friendly interface. And see how much fun it is to browse through your photos and even speed up image advance with a shake or tilt of the camera!"

Similar to my earier post I'm thrilled to see that Canon has finally added 720p video capture, and they've done it across multiple models. I've always found Canon's point and shoot product line up baffling, and they continue to confuse everyone by releasing the SD970 IS, a camera that has 5x optical zoom, a 12.1 megapixel image sensor, a three-inch display, 720p video capture, and a MSRP price of $379.99 USD. Then there's the slightly older SD990 IS, which is $20 more expensive, and boasts 14.7 megapixels, but only VGA video. So, the more expensive model with the higher model doesn't have everything the less expensive, cheaper model has. Well, at least Canon is consistent in making things confusing.

The PowerShot SD970 IS is expected to be available in April of 2009, at which point I'll try to pick one up immediately. I guess that shows how I really feel about my Panasonic DMC-TZ5 - it's just a bit too big, and the photo quality isn't that great. The 720p video and 10x optical zoom rock though, which is why I've tended to carry it. I'm willing to lose 5x on the optical zoom if it means better photos - which I presume the Canon will deliver.

"Canon today strengthens its reputation for excellence in digital compact camera design with two new models: the slimmest ever Digital IXUS model, the 12.1 Megapixel Digital IXUS 100 IS, and the 10 Megapixel Digital IXUS 95 IS. Both models feature a new Smart Auto mode, which uses Canon's Scene Detection Technology to help users take great shots with ease. The Digital IXUS 100 IS also includes the option to shoot HD movies (1280 x 720, 30fps) and HDMI connectivity."

It seems like I've been waiting forever for this to happen: Canon finally released a point and shoot camera with HD video! We've seen 720p recording on small cameras for about two years now, going back to a Kodak camera if memory serves, and all the while Canon and Nikon, the two big guns in the camera industry, seemed to ignore this move toward HD video. These are the European model numbers, so after I post this I'll jump over to Canon USA's site and see what's new there...

UPDATE: Looks like the IXUS 100 IS is the PowerShot SD870 IS over here in North America. It comes in four swanky colours, including black, silver, a tacky gold, and a ruby red. The IXUS 95 IS is the PowerShot SD1200 IS and is available in even more colours...

YouTube has been getting in on the HD bandwagon lately, and the results are definitely an improvement over the high-quality option - as long as the original video looks good enough. But what if you want to embed your HD video on your own Web site? Mark Robertson over at Reel SEO figured it out, but using his example code I wasn't able to get it to work (and neither was Vinny over at Apple Thoughts). So I thought I'd work backwards - first, I took a look at one of my videos on YouTube, and copied the embed code that YouTube provided. They don't provide a 600 pixel-wide option, so I manually changed that part of the code to be 600px by 365px. The important part is the YouTube video URL in the code.

In the code below, wherever I saw this:

http://www.youtube.com/v/PKr6sZ3zfLY

I added &fmt=22 onto the end of it, so in the code it looks like this when pasted in:

http://www.youtube.com/v/PKr6sZ3zfLY&fmt=22

Or, more accurately, it looks like this when strung together with the other code that YouTube puts in there:

http://www.youtube.com/v/PKr6sZ3zfLY&fmt=22&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0

The important thing is that &fmt=22 is included immediately after the last character of the YouTube video ID. The results look like this:

UPDATE: Upon further testing, I'm not convinced that Reel SEO has this figured out after all (or me for that matter). When the video plays, I see an "HQ" option in the lower right corner...so I think this is only streaming the HQ version, which looks good, but isn't the same as HD. I see the same HQ over on the Reel SEO sample video, so I think neither of us is actually embedding the HD stream from YouTube. Back to the drawing board!