Recently the Pure Digital Flip Video and Creative Vado camcorders had captured the markets. Now, the Small Wonder series camcorders are their tough competitors with their release. This series is manufactured by Audiovox, but branded with RCA. The RCA Small Wonder EZ205 uses MPEG4 codec, which is more efficient than MPJPEG of the EZ200. Therefore, the EZ05 records 16 hours of video at 8GB card and 2 hours in Web quality at 1GB card. In contrast, the EZ200 is limited up to 8 hours for 8GB and 2 hours for 1GB in Web quality mode. The Small Wonder EZ05 features flip-out LCD display and micro-SD card slot, which are missing on the Flip Video products. You can completely flip-out the 1.5 inches LCD display. The onboard USB dongle sits behind the display and it can also be flipped out. We appreciate the company to ship separate USB cable for easy connection if some computers have recessed USB socket. More to like: The EZ05 camcorders ships with 1GB  [...]

RCA Small Wonder series is a tough competitor for Flip Video and Creative Vado products. The Small Wonder series include – the EZ200 and the EZ205. They do not deliver the high quality like that of Flip Video, but it has some features that are missing in Flip Video such as expansion slot and flip-out display. $89.95 priced the RCA Small Wonder EZ200 can record up to one hour in Web mode with its MJPEG mode, whereas the EZ205 can record up to 2 hours due to its more efficient MPEG4 codec. With 8GB card, the Small Wonder EZ200 can record up to 8 hours full length video and the EZ205 can go up to 16 hours. What’s more – there is also quality difference between two Small Wonder models due to different video codecs. 1.5 inches LCD display can be flipped out completely, which makes it easy to see while recording. The USB dongle is hidden behind the LCD display of the RCA Small Wonder EZ200. You can as flip it out for connecting to computer and the  [...]

Sanyo has dubbed its latest Xacti VPC-CG10 as dual camera to equally adopt good quality still captures and shooting videos. It costs $199.99 and offers 10-megapixel sensor, large battery life, good quality 720p HD video, good feature set, and 5x optical zoom. However, the auto-focus works slowly in still camera and photo quality is relatively poor. Also, the component cable does not come inside the box. If you need a combo device that works as both as good digital camera and better camcorder, then you can go for new – Sanyo Xacti VPC-CG10. Sanyo Xacti VPC-CG10 has large rotating display that can be used to shoot the videos above and below the eye level. You can easily handle the display with one hand. The stereo microphone sits on the back of LCD. It worked perfectly in our tests but did not handle wind noise efficiently. The compartment for SDHC expansion slot and power button is located on the LCD cavity. AV/USB jack and tripod mount is located  [...]

PENTAX Imaging Company is redefining the entry level digital SLR cameras by introducing its K-x dSLR. Despite of the fact that Pentax K-x dSLR is priced like an entry-level product, it comes in numerous colors and offers advanced features that simply does not come its price range. The company continues to have its tradition of manufacturing and offering advanced features in normally priced dSLRs. Its good example is one Pentax K-x model that comes in $650 with video recording feature and 18-55mm lens. The K-x dSLR is quick, provides great noise reduction profiles and good quality in its class. Pentax K-x dSLR of 18-55mm with 50-200mm lens costs $745.95 and its other model of 18-55mm with 55-300mm lens costs $849.95. Overall, most of the shooters will like flexible budget-friendly Pentax K-x dSLRs. Like its predecessor, Pentax K-x dSLR runs on four AA batteries that make it a bit heavy. We prefer to have digital cameras and especially dSLRs to use  [...]

Previously, the market is captured by popular Mino HD Camcorder from Flip Video, however, the situation got changed when Creative has launched its Vado HD Camera which takes the pocket cam wars to a new level which effects the competitors like RCA and Kodak. Vado HD provides a mini HDMI Connector with a HDMI Cable for providing 1080i video output to HDTV with standard AV Output but did not provide any AV Cable. This feature is missing in Kodak Zi6 and Flip Video Mino HD.  Built-in 8GB flash memory is enough to store the 2 hours HD+ Video, 4 hours HD video and 8 hours VGA quality video. However, we cannot insert more external memory This small size Camera stunned us in video quality. The company is providing a protective Silicone Skin and built-in Vado Central Software for formatting and editing the videos after shooting. We observed that the Vado Central Software did not work at Mac and we have to use QuickTime to view the recorded video  [...]

Pocket camcorders are going quickly because they are now extensively used by the youth to make videos and put it on sites like YouTube. Creative Labs intends to cash in on this growing demand and comes up with Vado 3rd Gen. It manages to offer all the features that pocket camcorders have and still manages to keep the price low. The device weighs about 3.3 ounces and has HDMI output, 4 GB of internal memory and records in 720p HD resolution. It costs about $179 which is less than second-generation Flip Video MinoHD. Kodak Zi8 too costs the same as this camcorder but there is no internal memory and you have to buy one separately. The tiny 2.4 inch display gives a resolution of 640X240 and below the screen there is a record button and few touch sensitive buttons. There is a mini-HDMI port but Creative Labs doesn’t give an HDMI cable, you will have to purchase one separately. There is a flip-out USB connector and a threaded tripod mount at the bottom. You can charge the battery of  [...]

As per our Pentax X70 Review is one of those cameras which try to bridge the gap between the digital SLRs and mega zoom camera. It doesn’t have interchangeable lens like a dSLR but it does have a lot of features which might remind you of a dSLR device. However, the photo quality of the camera declines when you go beyond ISO 200 and the camera is slow performer. The camera has 24x optical zoom for the 26mm-equivalent wide-angle lens and there are a lot of shooting options which make the device fun and flexible. The camera has features of both megazoom and dSLR however we feel it belongs more to the megazoom family. There is a 2.7 inch LCD on the back below the electronic viewfinder. There is button for toggling between the two modes. The button and the controls of the device are labeled clearly and are big which makes them easy to use. We were also delighted to find that the menu system was user-friendly, sometimes it gets intimidating  [...]