Digital Cameras

The interweb rumor mill has been busily whipping up a storm about a new mirrorless digital camera from Sony in recent weeks. Happily, the official announcement from Sony hasn't disappointed those of us who have been patiently waiting for something more tangible. That space has now been filled with a brand new model - the NEX-7 - with an impressive list of advanced features that would normally be found in the company's bigger Alpha cameras. Sony has also announced the retirement of its popular NEX-5 model, with its replacement representing quite a marked upgrade on the original. Read More

Sony has taken the wraps off the NEX-VG20, a consumer HD interchangeable lens camcorder that follows the world's first consumer-oriented HD camcorder with an interchangeable lens system, the NEX-VG10. The upcoming NEX-VG20 features the same E-mount system that offers users the choice of seven different E-mount lenses. Sony claims the VG20 offers a number of improvements over the previous model, including comprehensive manual controls, improved imaging quality, upgraded sound and ergonomic refinements such as enhanced grips and a second record button. Read More

If you’re a videographer, and want to elevate your work from just looking competent to looking slick, one of the best things you can do is put your camera on a dolly. No, I’m not talking about a Ken or Barbie, but a wheeled camera mount that allows you to do smooth, fluid tracking shots. While the Spielbergs of the world use actual purpose-built camera dollies, lower-budget film-makers often make do with wheelchairs, skateboards, or wheeled spreaders that mount on the bottom of industrial-sized tripods. Given the popularity of JOBY’s compact and flexible GorillaPod tripods, however, it perhaps shouldn’t be surprising that someone has developed a wheel system for them – it’s called CineSkates. Read More

GoPro’s HERO HD is certainly one of the most popular actioncams on the market, perhaps more so now that its long-awaited LCD viewfinder/playback screen is available. As is the case with other digital cameras, however, the glare of direct sunlight can make it difficult to see what’s on that screen. Also, as we noted in an actioncam video comparison, the HERO’s underwater shots tend to be a little on the soft-focus side. Well, two new products from camera gizmo-maker XSories are designed to address both of these situations. Read More

Over the years Sony has shown its ability as a genuine innovator in the digital imaging space - in the early days of Gizmag the (then) bleeding-edge, 5-megapixel Sony F707 digital camera was a treasured part of our kit - and its latest venture looks like it could be holding that line. That venture is the company's move into digital binoculars with two models - the DEV-5 and DEV-3 - which boast full HD video recording, 7.1 megapixel still capture, optical image stabilization, 3D recording, HDMI output and (on the more expensive DEV-5) geotagging via an in-built GPS receiver. Read More

Ricoh has now detailed its new Leica M-mount unit for the modular GXR photographic system and announced a release date. In addition to the wide range of Leica lenses, users of the 12 megapixel GXR MOUNT A12 module will also be able to access other mount configurations via a conversion adapter. There's a silent electronic shutter feature for those quiet occasions, some new creative scene modes and a number of useful lens correction settings. Read More

Tilt-shift photography is one of those things that you’ve probably seen already, even if you don’t know what it is. It involves taking high-angle photographs of large-scale scenes in which the top and bottom of the shot are out of focus, creating the shallow depth of field that people usually associate with photos of small objects. The result is photographs of things such as city streets, in which all the people, cars and buildings look like tiny models. The effect can be achieved using custom lenses or software ... or now, the tilt-shift-dedicated NeinGrenze 5000T camera. Read More

If your holiday snapping demands the versatility of up close macro photography and telephoto zoom in one compact camera then a wide-angle superzoom will likely be at the top of your shopping list. Olympus believes that it has you covered with the announcement of a successor to its SP-800UZ superzoom compact camera. The new model retains the same image resolution and movie quality as its predecessor but gets a zoom boost, gains SDXC and Eye-Fi support and is a touch thinner and lighter. The creativity features also benefit from new additions, including a 3D capture mode and Magic Filter additions. Read More

Last August, we did a side-by-side video comparison of Drift Innovation’s HD-170 actioncam, and the ever-popular GoPro HERO HD. While we liked the HD-170’s image quality, LCD screen, ease of use and swiveling lens, we noted that it lacked the HERO’s replaceable lens, and that it was considerably longer (although narrower) than the GoPro camera. Well, with its new compact Drift HD, Drift Innovation has addressed both of those shortcomings. Read More