Aiptek's AHD 300 Camcorder Does Full 1080p HD, Costs $250 [Camcorders]

Aiptek's last HD camcorder we showed you did 720p recording for a budget $170. But time and technology waits for no man, so Aiptek's newest cam now records at 1080p. The AHD 300 actually manages 30 frames per second at this resolution, but if you're into slightly high-speed filming, it can even stretch to 60 fps if you drop the resolution to 720p. It can squeeze an hour of 1080p footage onto a 4GB SD card, accepts SDHC, shoots 8-megapixel stills and has 4x digital zoom and media player functions too. Not bad for just $250.
[Via: Gizmodo, The Gadget Blog ]
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Samsung Challenges Casio with $850 Slow-Mo HMX20 HD Camcorder

As excited as we are about Casio's Exilim EX-F1 camera with slow-mo and high-def video modes, we're even more thrilled to see actual competition in this category. Samsung announced its HMX20C (or HMX20) at CES, and is now officially shipping it, at least in Korea, for a price around $850. That's about $150 less than Casio's Hiro Nakamura supercam. Here's what's similar about the two models:

• Both can do full high-def shooting—Casio at 1080i but Samsung beats it, with 1080p
• The Samsung can do slow-mo at 300 frames per second (presumably in standard def, but maybe in HD; Casio can do 300fps, 600fps and 1200fps
• Both can take still pictures while shooting video—very helpful indeed
• Although the Samsung is positioned as a camcorder and the Casio is called a camera, they both have 6-megapixel CMOS sensorsGiven the CES announcement and the Korea launch, we can only assume that the HMX20 will be one of the items in Samsung's summer line show lineup. That's good news for everybody—except maybe Casio. [Samsung Press Release via PC World]

[Via: Gizmodo, The Gadget Blog ]
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