src="http://www.engadget.com/media/2006/04/catapult.jpg" />Camcorder accessory manufacturer Bella has just
announced a new device that will let you toss those MiniDV cassettes straight out of your bag and replace them with
your iPod or nearly any other USB 2.0-compliant storage system. The Catapult, as its known, is an paperback-sized
digital encoder that plugs into any standard or HD camcorder with a FireWire port and processes the video as you’re
recording, eliminating the need to convert your footage later on. Besides saving time and offering access to higher
storage capacities, the Catapult also enables your cam with a number of features not available out of the box, such as
time-lapse recording, remote trigger capabilities, and both pre- and post-recording ability. Pre-recording is an
especially attractive option, as it seems to buffer whatever your CCD is capturing for a preset timeframe, allowing you
to essentially "turn back the clock" and preserve events that already happened once you hit the record button.
Bella tells us to expect their new product sometime during the second half of the year, for some amount of money less
than $300.

[Via href="http://www.t3.co.uk/news/247/imaging/camcorder/capture_video_straight_on_to_ipod">T3]

Oh Barry Fox, does a week ever go by when you don't find a great patent or two? Today the intrepid Mr. Fox manages to dig up an application by consumer-darling Apple for an LCD display embedded with thousands of microscopic image sensors that would allow users to video-conference while looking straight into the "camera." Data accumulated by the individual sensors would be stitched into actual images using special software, which will probably be bundled into future versions of iLife. Since the patent specifies almost as many sensors per screen as there are pixels, some of those sensors could have different focal lengths, with a defacto zoom lens created by switching between them. Apple goes on to suggest portable uses for the technology, such as employing the displays in cellphones and PDAs, so you can add another item to the list of features we'll be expecting from the iPhone and Newton 2.0 when they finally hit stores.

[Via New Scientist]

Casio just gave a bump to the top-end of their Exilim Zoom line-up by introducing the 10.1 megapixel EX-Z1000. The Z1000 features the same anti-shake DSP and meager, 3x zoom we saw in Casio's 8.1 megapixel Z850 but doubles the pixels count on the LCD to 230k. They also double the ISO sensitivity to a massive ISO 3200 (likely) just for show -- but let's hope that tiny 1/1.8 inch CCD can cut through the noise a bit better than Z850 can, eh? All this largeness impacts the size as well giving the case a bump by a few millimeters in all directions. Still, at 22.4-mm thin, she ain't no fatty. Hey Casio, how about some pricing and release date? Picture of the LCD on the flip.

[Via Akihabara News]

So, Apple wasn’t the only company with something big to show off at NAB today. Turns out that Red Digital Cinema, a company started by Oakley founder Jim Jannard, chose the venue to roll out the Red One, an HD camcorder that boasts 11.4 megapixels at up to 60fps. The camera is based around what the company calls the Mysterium CMOS, which we assume is made by Kodak, Sony or one of the other big sensor makers, though — as made clear by the name — Red is maintaining an air of mystery (we assume someone will pull the lens off one of these soon enough and solve this one, though). The camera also features an optional "Red Cage" — designed, presumably, to protect it from hordes of digicam junkies eager to check it out, and has a big red HAL-like light on the front, presumably because Jannard and company think it looks slick (and it does look a lot better than most of Oakley’s traditional gear). A mere $17,500 will get you one of these (if and when they’re manufactured, that is), and a 300mm lens will set you back another $4,750.

[Thanks, Henry]

Following up on that farewell to Konica Minolta, Sony just announced their new D-SLR sub-brand hitting the streets this summer: Alpha. Yeah, Alpha as in "beginning" or "essential," not pre-beta instability (we hope). Sony will produce the complete camera system including the lenses (no Carl Zeiss?), accessories, CCD (hopefully not those CCDs) and CMOS imaging sensors, and other Sony imaging technologies. And like we already knew, the new Sony shooters will be compatible with Konica-Minolta lenses and accessories. That’s it, we can all go back to waiting now for actual products to be announced. Oh, and we linked to the Sony Alpha website per the press release which is, er, down at the moment… "Alpha" indeed.

Update: Thanks to everyone who pointed out that Minolta’s SLRs were marketed in Asia under the Alpha brand. At this point, it looks likely that Sony will be using the brand globally, dropping Minolta’s previous use of Maxxum (North America) and Dynax (Europe) branding for its SLRs. We’ll let you know if we learn otherwise.

[Via Sony]

PC Magazine just laid-out a postivie review on Panasonic’s Lumix DMC-FZ7 six megapixel superzoom shooter. The reviewer fawned over the “excellent image” produced by this “very inexpensive” cam's “outstanding” VARIO-ELMARIT 12x optical zoom lens steadied by Panny’s MEGA Optical image stabilizer. The ability to shoot 640 x 480, 30fps video in both bright and low light with "little noise" was found to be “above average” -- especially in this price range. Yeah, there was some noticeable shutter lag and the non-articulating 2.5-inch LCD solarised when viewed from a sharp angle. Still, that didn’t stop PC Mag from slapping an Editor’s Choice, 4/5 rating on this $400ish cam when all was said and done.

It's still seems a bit silly to be shooting 8 megapixel shots out of such a compact camera, but we're not going to stand in your way, and neither will HP with their flagship compact offering, the Photosmart R927. Besides the 8 megapixel CCD, the camera has a 3-inch LCD, along with HP specific software enhancements to help you get the most out of those 8 million pixels. The reviewer found the image quality solid, with "controlled noise" at ISO 400, good low light focusing, and HP's adaptive lighting functionality, though there were purple fringing problems that are evident when making large prints. The interface is easy enough for a grandparent to use, along with being easy to see on the 3-inch LCD. HP's image undelete, in-camera panorama stitching, and automatic red eye reduction software enhancements were all easy to use and fairly functional. After a brisk startup, the camera is a bit sluggish shot to shot, which is worsened by the red eye processing, but if you can deal with that, and the lack of an optical viewfinder or optical image stabilisation, you might find this to be a pretty good cam for the roughly $400 price.

Of
course the first thing you notice about the Ricoh href="http://www.engadget.com/2006/02/23/ricoh-caplio-r4-and-rr630-announced/">Caplio R4 six megapixel compact is
how freakin’ huge that lens is — and luckily, at least according to Digital-Lifestyles, it knows how to use it.
Equally impressive at both zoom extremes, the 28-200mm equivalent, 7.1x barrel of a lens includes handy features such
as optical stabilization for negating hand shake on tight shots, and even an on-screen cursor for manually selecting
the focus area in macro mode. Other nice touches include a skew-correction feature that adjusts non-level shots and and
histogram function for technical types, but some issues with picture quality — most notably visible banding in a few
shots and significant noise at higher ISOs — earned this model a good-but-not-great 84%. Still, the Ricoh definitely
gets a thumbs up from D-L, and the sub-$450 pricetag won’t break the bank.

The 7 megapixel href="http://www.engadget.com/2006/01/26/olympus-updates-stylus-mju-line-with-three-new-models/">Mju Stylus 720SW
from Olympus has some pretty steep claims, including waterproofing up to 10 feet deep and shockproofing for up to 5
foot drops, but does seem to live up to its claims and happens to be a pretty good camera to boot. Available in pink,
silver, or blue, the camera’s metal housing is the main story here, with claims to be the world’s only shockproof
digital camera. With all this banging around we would hope for some optical image stabilization, but the digital
version seems to do a decent job. The pictures are generally low noise, the camera does a good job of focusing, and the
small flash manages to light up an indoor scene quite well. The reviewer liked the 2.5-inch screen, though the
resolution was a bit low, but found the workings of the camera to quite quick, and the camera body easy to use and
comfortable to hold. You could easily find a 7 megapixel shooter for less than the 720SW’s $410 asking price, but good
luck with dropping one of those in the drink.

That 6 megapixel DSC-H2 announced last month just pulled a righteous first-look review over at HardwareZone. The H2, remember, is Sony's prosumer followup to the DSC-H1. If you liked the H1, then the H2 is sure to please with its higher megapixel count and better low-light imaging capabilities due to a high ISO 1000 sensor sensitivity and "Clear RAW" noise reduction technology. And Sony fanatics will be stoked to hear that Sony opted for a Carl Zeiss lens with that same 12x optical zoom boasted by the H1's in-house Sony lens. Throw in Sony's "Super SteadyShot" optical image stabilization and HardwareZone sez the DSC-H2 is "highly recommended" for travelers who prefer image quality and functionality over portability. And with macro shot focusing at 1-cm, the H2 makes a "fine camera that is ideal for most occasions." Look for these to drop any day now for about $400 beans.

[Thanks, Rubylized]

We have yet to see quite how well Samsung's Digimax i6 compact shooter will hold up to PMP duties, but Samsung is billing it as the "world's first PMP slim camera," so hopefully it does something right. The 6 megapixel i6 is now available in Europe for £200, while US pre-orders are available at a reasonable $300. Along with your average camera features like a 2.5-inch LCD and a 3x optical zoom, the i6 includes a mini headphone jack for enjoying MP3 files, along with video playback capability for XviD files made using an included converter. Not exactly groundbreaking, but we can't fault this sexy, 0.7-inch thick shooter for trying.

[Via SamsungHQ]

We're not entirely sure of the purpose here, but Kodak filed with the FCC for a Bluetooth camera module that "is to be installed only by the professionals and used only with any product produced by Kodak." Yes, this thing's internal -- normally they'd just file for a camera with the radio, but this isn't the camera, this is the component. See why we're a little confused? So unless Kodak's going to start offering Bluetooth upgrades for their point-and-shoot cameras (which would arguably cost in parts and labor more than the camera itself), it's dubious this is anything more than a proof-of-concept for future, yet unearthed-in-the-FCC cameras, like the one in which the device appears to be implanted (that dual-lenser that sure as hell aint a V570, that much we can tell you).

[Via MobileWhack]