Flip has sold millions of their little vidcams, and the latest ones record 720P HD video. Add an Ikelite housing and light and you have a very handy underwater video setup that is very affordable and lets you shoot very good video without weighing you down. We tested the setup on dives at the California Channel Islands and on Roatan. [See review of the Flip Ultra HD with Ikelite housing and PRO-V8 LED light] -- Posted Wednesday, August 25, 2010 by chb
Nikon announced a new entry-level dSLR that packs a punch (several, actually). Following on last year's D3000, the new D3100 is Nikon's first dSLR that can record 1080p HD video (albeit only at 24 fps and not full 30 fps), and it is also the first to offer full-time autofocus both in live view and during video capture. Making it all possible is a new 14.2-megapixel CMOS sensor and Nikon's EXPEED 2 image processing engine. There is a 3-inch LCD, an enhanced "Guide Mode" to help first-timers get the max out of the camera, a HDMI port, SDHC/SDXC card storage, and the F3100, including a NIKKOR 18-55mm lens, retails for US$699. [See Nikon product page] -- Posted Thursday, August 19, 2010 by chb
And another technology demonstration that may or may not go mainstream: a camera with a built-in projector. Micro projectors have become quite useful and powerful, so why not integrate one into a camera? This is what Nikon did with its second generation integrated projector offering, the US$349 Coolpix S1100pj. It's a handy 14-megapixel camera with a 5X optical zoom, a 3-inch touch LCD, and the ability to record 720p video. The big deal though is the integrated 0.4-inch reflective LED projection panel with a 4:3 aspect ratio and a brightness up to 14 lumens, and able to project a 47-inch image from a distance of about 7 feet. The onboard battery can power the projector for about an hour. [See 
In the 1950s and 60s, kids and adults alike were dazzled by "View-Master" reels that showed things in glorious 3D. Now, in the age of James Cameron's "Avatar," 3D is making another strong push, with 3D movies, 3D TVs, 3D computer screens, and new 3D cameras. Fujifilm's just announced FinePix REAL 3D W3 digital camera is the latest example: it's a 10 megapixel camera with two CCDs that records still pictures and even 720p HD video in 3D. You can view pics and video on the camera's special 3.5-inch "autostereoscopic" LCD that directs a different image to each eye, or you can view it all in full glory on most 3D TVs via HDMI. The REAL 3D W3 is a smaller, sleeker update to Fuji's initial FinePix W3 and will cost about US$500. The big question is whether 3D is the way of things to come, or just another fad (who wants to always wear 3D glasses when watching TV?). -- Posted Tuesday, August 17, 2010 by chb
Oregon Scientific has long been known for supercool, yet affordable electronic gadgets. They're doing it again with a rugged, all-terrain, waterproof (to 65 feet), shock-resistant HD video camera that can record 1080P video onto microSD cards up to 32GB. The