Filed under: Digital Cameras, Storage

Transcend is here to tell ya that they’ve got a special new SDHC card on the market. What’s so special, you ask? Well, unlike those 4GB cards we’ve seen from Toshiba, Panasonic, and even Transcend themselves, this one’s rated a class 6 on SDHC’s 2/4/6 class scale. That means you’re guaranteed a data rate of at least 6MB/sec making it a good choice for digital cameras and camcorders in need of some lickity quick SDHC storage. Oh wait, this just in, SanDisk’s 4GB Ultra II SDHC card is also class 6 and was announced last month — sorry Transcend, another second place. Available November for an undisclosed price. But as least you know who to compare it with now, right?

[Via Impress]

 

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Filed under: Digital Cameras, HDTV, Home Entertainment, Portable Video

CEATEC is pumpin’ out the HD goods fast and furious now. Here’s the latest AVCHD camcorder prototype from Panasonic. Although clearly different from the first Panny AVCHD recorder we peeped last week, it shares much the same specs including 3CCDs capable of capturing video at 1080i to SD/SDHC cards. This fully functional prototype, however, brings a Leica DICOMAR lens with 12x optical zoom, image processing LSI, and HDMI out. No word on pricing or ship date but hey, flaunt ‘em if you gotta ‘em Panny. More snaps after the break.

 

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SPONSORED BY: BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time.

Filed under: Digital Cameras, Peripherals

If you’re still rocking a digital camera older than the recently unveiled Nikon D80 or lineup of Canons, for instance, the lack of SDHC support may have you a bit down on your luck. Apparently Casio and Pentax aren’t wasting any time in making sure their customers are kept happy, as both companies have released firmware updates for a few popular shooters that sport SD slots. Pentax Japan is hooking up the *ist DL, *ist DL2, *ist DS, *ist DS2, and K100D (K110D to soon follow) with SDHC support, while Casio is upping the ante on its EX-S500, EX-Z600, and EX-Z850. So if you happen to own one of these select models, and you can’t resist the urge to drop some coin on those pricey (albeit spacious and speedy) SDHC cards, be sure to do your duty and treat that digicam to its respective upgrade first. While these may be the first few cameras in which SD 2.0 support is granted retroactively, we don’t imagine the list will stop here — so, dear camera manufacturers, what’s the holdup anyway?

Read - Pentax Firmware Updates
Read - Casio EX-S500 Firmware Update
Read - Casio EX-Z600 Firmware Update
Read - Casio EX-Z850 Firmware Update

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Filed under: Peripherals, Storage

It looks like Buffalo hasn't met a memory card it didn't like, finding room for just about every format under the sun in it's new MCR-C12H/U2 series card reader, although they sure know how to stretch the definition of individual card types. Still, marketing hype aside, the so-called "28-in-1" reader packs support for most everything you could ask for, including seemingly every variation of SD, mini/microSD, xD, CompactFlash, and Memory Stick -- and, with the aid of a fresh firmware update, SDHC cards up to 4GB as well (making it a 29-in-1 reader if you follow Buffalo's logic). Our friends in Japan should be able to pick the reader up now, in their choice of four pretty tame colors, for 2,960 Yen (about 25 bucks).

[Via Akihabara News]

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Filed under: Storage

With Toshiba and Panasonic having already unveiled their respective 4GB SDHC cards, you didn’t really think that industry powerhouse SanDisk would be too far behind, did you? For the uninitiated, SDHC (or SD 2.0, as it’s also known) is a new FAT32-compliant format designed for capacities up to 32GB, with cards that look exactly like regular SD models, but that won’t work in any but the newest of digital devices. SanDisk’s offering — available sometime before the end of the month — is rated as a Class 2 card, meaning that it guarantees a minimum transfer rate of 2MB per second. The $200 pricetag also gets you a “free” MicroMate card reader, which is not only handy but vital to making the most out of your new card, as the SD readers you currently own won’t have any idea what to do with this thing.

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Filed under: Digital Cameras

That didn't take long. Hot on the heals of their SDHC card announcement, Panasonic brings us their SDR-S200 3CCD video camera capable of recording MPEG-2 video directly to their new 4GB SDHC cards. And that trio of 1/6-inch CCDs will shoot 3.1 megapixel stills to boot. This followup to the SDR-S100, features the same 10x optical zoom, optical image stabilization, and 2.8-inch LCD, but measures in just a touch heavier and hair bigger - still tiny though by camcorder standards. So all you're really getting is a doubling (for now) of recording capacity --  up to 3.5 hours or a scant 50 minutes if you're after the cams top quality. Still with higher capacity SDHC cards on the horizon (up to 32GB theoretically), at least the S200 won't suffer that 2GB capacity cap like the S100.

[Via Impress]

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Filed under: Storage

We kind of hoped they'd just go away, but after Maxell announced their SDHC card reader yesterday, well, those SDHC memory cards were bound to get real soon enough. Now right on queue, Panasonic just went public with a July 26 global release date for their new 4GB SDHC (SD 2.0) cards. The cards feature a 5MB/s maximum transfer rate and are expected to pull about  ¥30,000 (or around $265) once on the shelves. No doubt, Panny will drop a few devices soon enough that take advantage of the cards (besides the DMC-L1) since they'll only work in SDHC-compliant slots.

[Via Impress]

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