CES 2009

(Credit: Panasonic)

Part of Panasonic's CES 2009 product announcements is a triumvirate of camcorders featuring a 70x zoom lens. That's apparently a "world's first and most powerful" lens, though I'm still not sure this was something the average consumer was clamoring for.

The models featuring the new optical zoom are the standard-definition SDR-H80, the SDR-H90, and the SDR-S26. Hand-shake is a big issue with these megazoom lenses and Panasonic had the good sense to back these models with its advanced O.I.S. system, which reduces the effect. Gyrosensors detect shake and shift the lens to correct the optical axis, but it does it at about 4,000 times per second.

Selling for between $329.95 to $499.95, the camcorders will be available in April 2009.

(Credit: Panasonic)

The Panasonic SDR-SW21 is a very compact, standard-definition camcorder that records to SD/SDHC cards. Oh, and it can survive a 4-foot drop, is waterproof down to 6.5 feet, and the seals are tight enough to make it dustproof, too. (For those interested in the actual tests, Panasonic goes by IEC 60529 IPX8 for water, MIL-STD-810F METHOD 516.5 for shock, and IEC 60529 IP5X for dust.)

The SW21 also features a 0.6-second quick-start recording option and a Web mode that when combined with the included VideoCam Suite software allows you to "seamlessly" upload your video to sharing sites such as YouTube.

I reviewed the previous version, the SW20, and wasn't all that impressed with its video quality. But, there aren't a lot of options out there that have its advantages of small size, easy operation, and rugged body. It's definitely a niche product, but its a larger niche than most.

Look for SDR-SW21 in April 2009 for a little less than $400 and in three color options: lime green, orange, and silver.

(Credit: Panasonic)

Designed for spur-of-the-moment video capture, the Panasonic SDR-S15 announced Wednesday at CES 2009 seems to have the right combo of features making it worth keeping on you all the time.

For $299.95 you get a standard-definition camcorder that records to SD/SDHC cards, auto scene mode recognition and face detection courtesy of Panasonic's Intelligent Auto (iA), and a Web mode button that records video at settings making uploading to video-sharing sites easier (at least when paired with the included software suite). It also claims a 0.6 quick-start recording feature.

Available in black, silver, or chocolate in April 2009.

(Credit: Samsung)

If you'll be shopping for a simple, small digital camera when spring 2009 rolls around, you may be interested in this 10-megapixel model from Samsung.

The SL420 has a 5x optical zoom and dual image stabilization--optical and digital--and a 2.7-inch LCD on back. It's otherwise unremarkable.

However, you will find now-standard features like face, blink, and smile detection and an ISO range up to 1600 at full resolution and up to ISO 3200 at 3 megapixels.

If that's too much camera for you, look into the SL102, which pares everything back to just a 3x zoom, digital image stabilization, a 2.5-inch LCD, and only face detection.

(Credit: Samsung)

The new 10-megapixel HZ10W from Samsung looks wonderful on paper. A compact camera with a 10x megazoom wide-angle 24mm Schneider lens and a whole mess of features.

You get 720p HD video capture at 30fps using H.264 for good-quality compression and the zoom works while shooting. The video mode also allows you to pause and resume capture so you don't end up with a bunch of small files. There's optical image stabilization, too, so your photos aren't a blurry mess when that lens is extended.

And for those that like lots of control, you'll be able to adjust the HZ10W's settings manually for things like shutter speed, aperture, exposure, and focus. I also wouldn't doubt the inclusion of multiple settings for color, sharpness, and contrast.

The HZ10W is available in January 2009 with a sub-$300 price tag.

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(Credit: Samsung)

There are only a few camcorders that I'm interested in actually getting my hands on while I'm here at CES 2009. One of them is the HMX-R10 from Samsung.

It's a CMOS-based, full-HD compact model capable of snapping off 9-megapixel still photos that stores both video and photos to SD/SDHC cards. In theory this could be a solid choice for capably capturing both video and photos that are equally as good and that's comfortable to use for both.

And I say that because I've never found a camcorder that's comfortable for taking photos or a still camera that's comfortable for capturing more than a few minutes of video at a time. However, the R10 has a 5x zoom lens that's angled at 25 degrees so you can grip the camera more naturally in front of you for both photos and video--or at least that's what I'm hoping for.

Samsung said it'll be available in summer 2009, which has me a little concerned that it'll actually show up in stores, though.

(Credit: Samsung)

Samsung continues its line of soda-can-shaped, standard-def camcorders with the SMX-F34. It's based around the company's 2008 flash-based model--the SC-MX20--but adds the ability to capture 800x600-resolution photos to its 16GB of internal memory or SD/SDHC cards.

The F34 records video in H.264 format up to a resolution of 720x480 and out front is a 34x zoom lens. If you like to share your videos online, the F34 is designed to do so with minimal effort on your part.

Coming in spring 2009, the SMX-F34 will be available in four colors, including Midnight Black, Sunset Red, Galaxy Silver, and Deep Ocean Blue and features Samsung's swivel hand-grip for comfortably shooting at low angles (and something I've always liked on its camcorders). No pricing was announced.

(Credit: Samsung)

The Samsung TL100 is just a basic ultracompact point-and-shoot with not much going on except its small size. The 12-megapixel camera is just 3.7 inches wide by 2.2 inches high by 0.6 inch deep.

Like any decent point-and-shoot camera in its class, the TL100 has a largish LCD at 2.7 inches and a 3x optical zoom. It also has the shooting options currently in vogue: face, smile, and blink detection, auto scene recognition, and full-resolution ISO settings up to 1600.

It's reasonably priced for the specs, too, and will be available for purchase starting in April 2009.

(Credit: RCA)

In the minicamcorder market, last year RCA pretty much played second or third fiddle to Flip Video and Kodak, with Creative recently making a late charge. Well, RCA hopes to change all that with its new Small Wonder EZ209HD, which carries the bargain price of $120 and is due out sometime this spring.

This model is smaller and sleeker than previous Small Wonders, integrates a microSD card slot rather than an SD card slot (it accepts microSD cards up to 16GB), and retains a not-too-puny 2-inch LCD. Like the Creative Vado HD, the EZ209HD also incorporates an HDMI output so you can connect the camcorder directly to your HDTV to view your clips in their full glory.

Like competing mini-HD models, the EZ209HD records up to two hours of video on a single charge. It captures video at HD and SD resolutions at up to 60 frames per second. It also captures 8 megapixel still images, but like with all budget minicamcorders, both video and still quality don't measure up to what true HD camcorders and still cameras can produce. Still, this is an impressive price for these specs and should put some pressure on Flip Video to lower the price of its Mino HD. Of course, we'll have to wait to see if the video quality has improved along with the design of the camcorder.

The new Media Hub NAS servers, MNH400 and NMH300, from Linksys.

(Credit: Linksys)

Network-attached storage servers, in my opinion, have generally not been user-friendly enough. Even the easiest-to-use ones require some getting used to.

This is looking to change with the two new Media Hub series released under the networking giant's marketing brand "Linksys by Cisco" at CES this year, the NMH400 and the NMH300.

The NMH300 series is a budget solution that offers just the core features of the Media Hub, and you need to use a computer to manage the device.

The NMH400 series, on the other hand, features an LCD screen that lets users view a variety of information and perform certain tasks without a PC, such as updating firmware or making instant backups. The NMH400 series also has a 6-in-1 card reader for users to transfer content of flash media onto the Media Hub without the need for a computer.

Much like the HP MediaVault, both Media Hub series feature two hard-drive bays--each can take SATA hard drives of any sizes. One of the bays is occupied with a drive from Linksys. The NMH300 series come with a 500GB hard drive, while the NMH400 series also offer an option of 1TB. The second bay is left empty for users to upgrade.

According to Linksys, the new NAS servers share common Media Hub features, including an easy graphical user interface, simple remote access, and easy-to-operate backup functions. They also boast a friendly design and silent operation that allows them to reside anywhere in the house.

The rest of the core Media Hub feature list includes:

• Two USB ports for external storage and one media reader that supports CF/MD/MS/SD/XD/MMC memory cards
• Gigabit Ethernet connection
• RAID1/JBOD configurations
• Support for SMB/CIF protocol: network users can access the NAS server the same way they access another computer in the network
• PC backup with NTI Shadow software: automatic scheduled backup available
• On-demand backup via GUI or LCD Continuous backup option available
• User-friendly way to import media content with Linksys Media Importer
• DLNA 1.5 certified. Ability to stream content to Xbox 360 or UPnP DMA devices and support iTunes server
• Support for up to three simultaneous HD streams
• Automated "crawl" for UPnP servers to index and aggregate all digital media in the home
• User-friendly, browser-based media browser to view JPEG pictures, play MP3 and WMA music, and manage system configuration
• Media server support for most content formats: Audio: M4A, M4B, MP4, 3GP, WAV, OGG, FLAC, AAC, MP2, AC3, MPA, MP1, AIF, ASF Photo: PNG, TIF, TIFF, BMP, GIF Video: MP1, MPG, SPTS, MP4, AVI, VOB, DivX, 3GP, VDR, MPE, DVR-MS, Xvid, M1V, M4V, MOV, MPV
• Playlists: M3U, M3U8, PLS, WPL
• Remote access using DDNS in combination with Linksys relaying service to cover up to 100 percent of all Internet users

The new Media Hub NAS servers are expected to be available in the first quarter of 2009, and cost $300 (500GB NMH300) and $350 (500GB NMH400). You can also get the 1TB version of the NMH400 series for $430.