After a lengthy period of being off the Sony radar, so to speak, it seems that the company really does want us to take a closer look at the latest camcorder offerings. That's something we're happy to do - especially when the latest offerings come in the shape of the marvellous new HDR-SR12 AVCHD camcorder.

Like its sibling, the HDR-SR11, this sturdy, fully featured HD camcorder appears to be up for anything you ask it to do. Not only does it offer a full range of connections that includes HDMI and USB 2.0 but also sports a external microphone input and dedicated headphone output. The latter two are enough to score serious SimplyDV brownie points alone, but even then it has lots more to commend it.

Read our exclusive review of the full high definition camcorder that offers a choice of either HD recording to its built-in 120GB hard disc drive or to an optional Memory Stick PRO Duo flash memory card. As you'll see from our new review, we like it in almost every respect - except that it doesn't offer recording in Progressive Scan mode - all it offers is the basic 1920 x 1080/50i mode in addition to MPEG2 standard definition recoding.

Why no progressive mode at a time when the company's competitors all offer this? Answers on a postcard!

Read the review here

Meanwhile, you can chat about this and other matters of a camcordery nature over on our SimplyDV Forums. They're free!

Sony has announced what it proudly boasts to be the world's first ever camcorder to feature Smile Shutter, a new and apparently unique technology that automatically captures crisp 7.6 megapixel photos when someone smiles in the frame as you're recording.

This latest addition to the Sony Handycam range offers a Dual Capture mode which enables people's smiles to be grabbed and saved to Memory Stick PRO Duo card whilst full specification, 1920 x 1080 pixels, high definition video is being recorded. Switching Smile Shutter to Always On makes it possible to grab photos whilst you're in Record Standby, irrespective of whether you've selected video or stills recording mode. So, according to Sony, there's no chance of your missing that winning smile between takes. The feature can, we're assured, be adjusted to recognise anything from a gentle smile to a beaming grin. Priority can also be set to recognise children's or adult's faces, too.

And there's more. Smile Shutter is teamed up with Face Detection (a feature we're seeing on more and more consumer HD models lately) to automatically fine-tune focus, exposure and colour balance, too.

Low noise ClearVid CMOS sensor for "stunning high resolution" images
The CX11 employs a ClearVid CMOS image sensor with Exmor-derived technology to record up to 85 minutes of AVCHD video at highest quality to the supplied 4MB Memory Stick PRO Duo card or 16GB in optional LP mode. It sports a Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* 12x optical zoom (150x digital) lens with Optical Steadyshot image stablisation and is powered by a BIONZ processor with D-range Optimiser technology designed to automatically adjust exposure and contrast in such a way as to maximise shadows and to highlight detail in high-contrast scenes. In stills mode, you can achieve picture resolutions of up to 10.2 megapixels.

Other features include a 5.1 Channel Surround sound microphone, zoom microphone and a 2.7-inch Clear Photo wide touch-panel LCD screen which is claimed by Sony to make life even easier when viewing in bright sunlight.

High definition playback can be achieved with an optional HDMI cable or, for users of Sony's Bravia HDTVs, Bravia Sync which allows the use of a single remote control for everything. Users of Sony's Playstation 3 can, if they wish, plug the Memory Stick PRO Duo card into the console for immediate playback of HD movie clips.

We'll have more info and a full review of the Sony HDR-CX11 as it becomes available to us. It is aimed to be in shops during August 2008.

Don't forget! You can discuss the Sony HDR-CX11 and other matters of a camcordery nature over on the SimplyDV Forums right now!

JVC has just announced the addition of three new Everio high definition camcorders and a new Sharestation USB DVD burner to its 2008 line-up. The top two models in the range, the GZ-HD40 and GZ-HD30, are claimed by JVC to be the world’s first AVCHD / MPEG-2 dual-format camcorders which are designed to give users access to the "superior long time compression afforded by AVCHD" in addition to the popular MPEG-2 format as used by many of the models in the company's range of standard definition Everio G hard-disc camcorders.

Both the GZ-HD40 and the GZ-HD30 offer 1920x1080 "Full HD" recording in both formats to a 120GB (GZ-HD40) or 80GB (GZ-HD30) internal hard disk drive. The third new model, the GZ-HD10, offers 1440x1080 recording to a 40GB hard drive in the AVCHD format only.

The new models use CMOS imaging chips with interpolation technology in the form of the HD Gigabrid Duo chip that includes codecs for AVCHD in all camcorders and MPEG-2 in the GZ-HD40 and GZ-HD30. Also employed is noise reduction technology, and 1920x1080/50P output for all camcorders via HDMI.

"World's smallest Full HD" camcorder - GZ-HD30
With the GZ-HD30, JVC is targeting the needs of a broader segment of people who shoot video, including family users. More compact than the GZ-HD40, it offers all of the performance and nearly all of the features of that model, except it has a slim 80GB internal hard disk for a maximum 33 hours of Full HD recording, and does not come with a docking station. As of June 2008, it is the world’s smallest Full HD camcorder with 1.8” HDD (according to JVC, we should add).

JVC has provided the GZ-HD40 with a 120GB hard disk drive for up to 50 hours of AVCHD Full HD video recording, and a docking station with the requirements of the prosumer or high-end enthusiast in mind. The small sized HD Everio GZ-HD10 has been given a high quality Konica Minolta HD lens and a 40GB hard disc designed to provide up to 16 hours of high-definition recording. The GZ-HD10’s 1440x1080 AVCHD recordings are also up-converted for playback at 1920x1080/50P via HDMI.



Easy DVD creation with Sharestation
All three of the new HD Everio camcorders can connect to the optionally available CU-VD50 Everio Share Station with stand-alone playback. The new HD Everios can also connect to the JVC CU-VD3 Share Station to offer an even more cost-efficient archiving and playback solution. The combinations offer the world’s first PC-less solution for AVCHD and MPEG-2 burning and playback, with AVCHD DVD discs that can be shared with commonly available AVCHD compatible/Blu-Ray players.

1920x1080 Full HD Recording
The GZ-HD40 and GZ-HD30 both have three AVCHD recording modes that all record Full HD 1920x1080 video. The only difference among modes is the bit rate, and while using the highest bit rate yields the highest quality results, the image quality is remarkable even using the lowest bit rate EP mode. And since, we're assured, 1920x1080 is truly native HDTV resolution, it requires no conversion on the part of the display device to show high definition images.

The GZ-HD40 and GZ-HD30 also have the FHD mode for recording Full HD 1920 x 1080 MPEG-2 Transport Stream video with MPEG-1 Layer 2 audio. The GZ-HD10, however, records solely in the AVCHD format at a resolution of 1440x1080 pixels.

All three models will be available in the UK in August, a JVC UK spokesman has told SimplyDV.

We'll be reviewing these models very soon, so watch this space. Meanwhile, to discuss this story and other matters of a camcordery nature, don't forget the SimplyDV forums. They're free!

As expected, Pinnacle Systems has unveiled version 12 of Pinnacle Studio, its market-leading consumer video editing software. The new version includes Pinnacle Montage - a high-end compositing and animation effects tool. With more than 25 new features, Studio 12 is claimed by Pinnacle to include many new capabilities requested by users. More titles, DVD menus and templates have been added as well as new professional audio and video controls and a complete HD workflow with Blu-ray authoring in certain versions of the software package.

The Studio 12 family consists of three "affordably priced" versions to meet the needs of consumers whose digital video-making skills range from novice to dedicated video enthusiast. In addition to Pinnacle Studio, the basic version, Pinnacle offers Studio Plus and Studio Ultimate with more advanced audio and video tools, including a complete HD workflow.

According to Pinnacle, beta users of Studio 12 have concluded that the new photo and video Pinnacle Montage feature alone makes the upgrade from previous versions of the software worthwhile. Designed to make it easy to achieve high-end results with multiple video layers, animated text and graphics, the Pinnacle Montage feature includes more than 11 pre-defined themes with over 80 single templates. In addition, all Pinnacle Studio 12 products now offer marker tools for the timeline. Format compatibility has also been expanded to include photo import in Photoshop’s native PSD format and the GIF format. With the new export options, users can create MP3, Flash Video, WAV and 3GP files or upload files direct to YouTube.

Addressing the features most requested by customers, Pinnacle has incorporated advanced capabilities for audio, with numerical audio volume, master volume controls, a timeline VU meter and peak indicators. New convenience features include the ability to reference images in the album and direct crop control to automatically remove black bars of a video or image. The new version also offers improved effects performance on lower-end PCs, advanced 2D editing, the ability to rotate effects and new content for titles and DVD menus.

Among the first to offer native HDV and AVCHD editing software, Pinnacle Systems Studio Plus and Ultimate now includes new Blu-ray disc burning capabilities in BD-MV with motion menus. AVCHD 1920 and support for various HD camcorder types including JVC full HD, Canon Vixia, Sanyo Xacti have also been added.

Designed for the most serious video enthusiasts, Pinnacle Studio Ultimate version 12 also includes a green sheet for Chroma keying effects and integrates a three of the industry’s most highly acclaimed professional video tools:

ProDAD Vitascene – a complete library of highly customizable transitions and lighting effects. The effects include film looks, blurs, glows, sparkles, and glass effects. Transitions include film effects, ripples, wipes, sparkle and starburst dissolves, and many others.

Red Giant Software Magic Bullet Looks – a powerful tool for adjusting tone, color and focus to simulate the appearance of classic films or specific production conditions. Offers more than 100 simple-to-apply presets to match common looks found in television programs, commercials, and motion pictures.

Boris Graffiti – the 2D/3D vector title animation plug-in that includes text on a path, jitter, randomization, independent vector text, advanced type-on title animation and automated rolls, crawls, fades and zooms. Comes with hundreds of presets to streamline title creation.

We'll be reviewing Pinnacle Studio version 12 Ultimate as soon as we can. Meanwhile, check out the Pinnacle Website for more information.

With all the attention being lavished upon the new generation of high definition camcorders of late you'd be forgiven for assuming that standard definition formats really were on their last legs. To some extent that might be true, but Canon is one company that is still keeping the flag flying for products that don't carry the HD label - for the time being at least.

However, if you're going to release a standard definition camcorder in these difficult times you'd better make sure that it produces darned good pictures and sounds at a competitive price. Canon does, of course, have a reputation for great quality - but has it lapsed a little with its new totally solid-state, SDHC card recording, FS100 SD-Video camcorder? We like the style, it handles beautifully, but are the images it produces in low light up to the mark? That's what bothers us.

Read the best in-depth and exclusive review of the Canon FS100 SD Video Camcorder right here and see what we think.

At long last, it appears that Apple has incorporated a patch to enable users of Panasonic's HDC-SD9 and HS9 AVCHD camcorders to import and edit their clips in either iMovie '08, Final Cut Express 4.5 and Final Cut Pro 6. And about time too!

According to some users who have contacted SimplyDV, the Quicktime 7.5 update (released just after Apple's announcement about the iPhone 2, its MobileMe re-branding of its .Mac online services package and its cut-down OSX Snow Leopard operating system) has apparently sneaked in under the radar and has gone relatively un-noticed.

For quite some time now, owners of Panasonic's HDC-SD9 AVCHD camcorder found that they simply could not import and edit their high definition video clips in their Apple Mac computers, no matter how much they tried. Although this problem hasn't affected users of AVCHD cams from either Sony or Canon, it's been one about which Apple has been particularly cagey. Unfortunately, Panasonic's own product engineers have been powerless to do anything about it too; Apple did something to Quicktime and it then couldn't handle SD9 or HS9 files. Very odd - because in our original SD9 review we managed to import and edit AVCHD-originated clips without a problem.

We can't test the update for ourselves because there's no SD9 to hand, but if you've had first hand experiences of the update patch then please let us know over in this forum thread. Thanks!