Kodak is back with the brand new Kodak Z981 superzoom compact digital camera one year after the announcement of the Z980 super-zoom at CES 2009.

The model name “advances” by just +1, but the camera actually jumps to a 14mp sensor and 26X zoom ratio, up from 12mp and 24X.

The lens is also Schneider-branded, f2.6-f5, and has a 26-676mm equivalent focal range, enough for most photo-amateurs, along with image stabilization.

The Kodak Z981 sports a really useful vertical shutter button and a detachable vertical (non-battery) grip.

On the plus side, the camera has RAW capture and PASM which is short for Program, Aperture and Shutter priority, and Manual exposure: that means that Pro-oriented photographers will get their teeth on Pro-features and a less than 0.2 second click-to-capture specification.

Other features include a huge 3-inch display and (as required by 2010 standards!) one-touch upload to popular web-services (flickr, youtube, facebook, etc).

The Kodak Z981 takes four AA batteries, and Kodak actually includes four of the pre-charged (presumably LSD) types. This is a nice touch for AA cameras.

The Kodak Z981 is available for pre-order now at Amazon for $330.

Great gift often come in small packages… and in HD too!

The Flip UltraHD Camcorder combines Flip Video’s signature shoot-and-share simplicity with the power of vivid, vibrant HD video. UltraHD could not be easier to use: just power on and press record, and you’ll be capturing high-quality HD video in seconds.

The Flip UltraHD features 120 minutes of record time and an included rechargeable battery pack, so you’ll never miss another minute of video again. And because it’s ultra-portable, UltraHD lets you capture spontaneous video anytime, anywhere. Whether it’s a lazy afternoon in the park; a family vacation; or simply an unplanned, everyday event, your UltraHD will be charged and ready to go. So you never have to say, “You should have been there.”

What we really love about the Flip UltraHD:

• Shoots 720p HD video;
• Captures 120 minutes of HD video on 8 GB of built-in memory;
• high-quality video for its class;
• Comes with Flip Video rechargeable AA battery pack (recharges when connected to USB); also supported by standard AA batteries
• Large 2-inch anti-glare color LCD screen to play back and delete videos
• HDMI output (mini-HDMI connector) makes it simple to watch video on your HDTV
• Video: 16:9 widescreen, HD 720p (1280 x 720) at 30 frames per second (fps) progressive scan; recorded as MP4 files
• snappy flip-out USB arm plugs directly into your PC or Mac to launch FlipShare software
• Pre-installed FlipShare software lets you easily email videos, edit individual clips, make custom movies, capture still photos from video, and even upload video to sharing sites like YouTube and MySpace
• FlipShare software compatible with both Mac and Windows machines.

The bottom line?
The Flip UltraHD may not be the sexiest mini camcorder out there, but it offers a truly respectable feature set and some of the best video we’ve seen from this type of cheap, YouTube-friendly camcorder.

Priced at less than $150.00, the Flip UltraHD is available right now.

Price conscious? Looking for an even cheaper deal? Meet the Flip Mino!

The super-simple, super-portable Flip Mino makes it easy to capture and share high-quality video anywhere and everywhere. Mino weighs only 3.3 ounces and features a sleek, pocket-sized design, allowing you to take it with you everywhere you go. Flip Mino also boasts a rechargeable battery that powers up automatically while plugged into your computer. And while Mino is 40 percent smaller than its already-pocket-sized brother, the Flip Ultra, it’s got all the Flip Video features–simple user interface, one-touch recording, flip-out USB arm, built-in editing and sharing software, instant uploads to YouTube and MySpace–that folks have come to know and love.

While small in size, Flip Mino produces video that is unbelievably high in quality. Its 2 GB of on-board flash memory records up to 60 minutes of full-VGA-quality video that looks sharp when played back on your laptop or television (TV cable included). The built-in microphone captures crisp, detailed audio, whether you’re paddling down the Amazon or rockin’ out at your favorite club. When it’s time to edit or share videos from your latest excursion, flip out the USB arm and connect to any Mac or PC to launch the built-in FlipShare software.

Check the lastest price for the Flip Mino!

At just 0.5 lbs each, Panasonic’s two new high definition (HD) camcorders are almost half the weight of the company’s first AVCHD offering released in 2006 which tipped the scales at just under a pound. While a pound may not sound like much anyway, any weight loss in a device that may need to be carried at eye level for extended periods of time is good news for tired arms everywhere.

The only difference between the two new models is the choice of recording media. The Panasonic HDC-SD10K records to an SDHC/SD Memory Card, while the Twin Memory Type HDC-TM10 records onto both an 8GB built-in Memory and an SDHC/SD Memory Card. The Twin Memory of the HDC-TM10 also allows for a Relay Recording function, which automatically switches the recording media to the SDHC/SD Memory Card when the built-in memory is full.

As is the way of technological advances, the new cameras haven’t needed to cut features to shed the weight. Both camcorders feature 16x optical zoom supported by an Advanced Optical Image Stabilizer (O.I.S.) function to minimize hand-shake while zooming. The new Active mode also extends the hand-shake correction range to allow the shooting of clear, crisp images while walking or moving.

Other features include Face Detection, which adjusts the exposure based on the faces being captured, Intelligent Contrast Control, which helps ensure proper contrast, and Intelligent Scene Selector, which determines the shooting conditions and automatically selects the Scene setting that will provide optimal results. Additionally AF/AE Tracking automatically tracks the focus and exposure of a moving subject for consistent images.

To allow for operation without looking away from the subject the cameras include a touch screen that can be used to operate a variety of functions by simply touching an icon on the screen. Both models also include a built-in video light and flash for low light filming.

Anyone who has ever operated a camcorder knows that just missing a great shot is the height of frustration so the Panasonic HDC-SD10K and HDC-TM10 seek to minimize this with a 1.9 second power on time and Pre-Rec function, which continuously records three seconds of images into an internal buffer memory. When the Record button is actually pressed, the three seconds immediately prior are added to the beginning of the clip.

The HDC-SD10K will be available in black for USD$549.95, while the HDC-TM10 will be released on August 10, 2009 in both black and silver for USD$ 599.95.

The new Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3 features 10.1-megapixels, a 25mm ultra-wide-angle lens and 12x optical zoom, meaning it has added 2x optical zoom to the award-winning TZ-series camera, yet reduced its size. The Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3 also features a Leica DC Vario-Elmar lens and High Definition (HD) video recording ability, known as AVCHD Lite.

It’s not often that we see a whole new video format being introduced on a digital camera, but that’s what Panasonic has done with the Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3; as well as being a well specified 10-megapixel still camera, it’s the first digital camera to shoot high definition video in the new AVCHD Lite format.
Camcorder fans may recognize the first part of the name (AVCHD is the format that many high def camcorders shoot in), but the Lite part is new.
AVCHD lite is a subset of the full AVCHD standard, which means that the ZS3 shoots 720p video (which is lower in resolution than the 1080i that most dedicated camcorders shoot) that can be watched on a HDTV and edited in many video editing programs, such as Apple’s iMovie.

In fact the Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3 is the world’s first digital camera to feature HD video recording in “AVCHD Lite”.
Compared with the conventional Motion JPEG format, AVCHD Lite allows longer recordings with breathtaking HD visual and audio quality.
This combined with a well-considered control interface, which includes a dedicated movie recording button on the camera’s back panel, makes the ZS3 a hybrid model that performs admirably for both still and motion image capture.

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3 packs a LEICA DC VARIO-ELMAR lens with 12x optical zoom into a compact body.

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3 also expands Panasonic’s popular Intelligent Auto (iA) mode with the addition of Face Recognition–a feature that “remembers” faces from previous shots. When a registered face appears in the frame, the camera will prioritize focus and exposure to capture it beautifully. With Face Recognition, when a familiar face is recorded several times, the camera will prompt the users to register the face. Once registered, if the face appears into the frame again, the camera will display the name specified for that person and prioritize focus and exposure so that the registered face is bright and sharply focused.

It goes like this: the new Canon EOS 500D/Rebel T1i looks like the Canon Digital Rebel XSi, shoots much like the 50D.
It’s not exactly an entry-level camera - take a look at the Canon Rebel XS if you’re budget-conscious.

So, what’s different from the Canon Digital Rebel XSi? - some key differences:

15MP sensor - similar, but not the same as the 50D (slower readout for one thing)
Video - 1080p, but only at 20 FPS
Anti reflection coated display
Digic IV - menu layout similar to 50D/5D2
Auto lighting optimiser - now adjustable
Quick control setting mode
ISO to 12800
Variable high ISO noise setting adjustment
Face detect in Liveview
Peripheral Illumination Correction - brighten the corners of images to correct for lens vignetting
Sensors under viewfinder to blank screen when the camera is raised to the eye.

The Canon EOS 500D/Rebel T1i becomes the third (as of writing) camera to be able to shoot full HD video and, right now the very first in its not-so-entry-level class.

What’s inside? What comes from 50D/5D MkII?

Fast processing, fast focusing, and the Digic 4 Processor.
Canon’s DIGIC 4 processor drives continuous shooting speeds of up to 3.4 fps in bursts of up to 170 JPEGs . Using Canon’s wide area AF system – which features 9 individual sensors, including a central cross type point with a high precision sensor for f/2.8 or faster lenses– makes capturing split-second action sequences possible.

DIGIC 4 works in conjunction with the CMOS sensor to deliver exceptional noise reduction and 14-bit image processing for smooth gradation of tones and natural-looking colours. In addition, DIGIC 4 enables the ultra-fast start-up times and near-instant image review after shooting that photographers demand.

Why we like it?
The Canon EOS 500D/Rebel T1i it’s as compact and lightweight as the previous Canon Digital Rebel XSi but has far more features - not only megapixel-addiction, take a look at the VGA display - and grabs parts from higher-level Canon cameras.
It’s a serious (and price-aware) competitor to the widely-acclaimed Nikon D90 and to many of the new crop of over-12-mp-with-full-hd-video 2009 DSLR cameras.

Along with the Canon EOS 500D/Rebel T1i comes the Speedlite 270EX, the successor to the 220EX Speedlite model: a new compact flash gun with a maximum guide number of 27 m and silent recycling that becomes a lightweight external flash option for Canon cameras including select Canon PowerShot models.

The new Speedlite 270EX uses only two AA batteries and enables bounce flash shooting with four position steps from 0 degrees to 90 degrees.
Like Canon’s high-end Speedlite flash models, the 270EX allows users to control flash functions and input settings using the camera’s LCD monitor.

It’s only thumbs up for this: Sony introduces the Sony HDR-TG5V Handycam, by far the smallest Full HD camcorder, the successor of the HDR-TG1 (aka TG3E).
Sony HDR-TG5V can capture 1920×1080p Full HD video and 4 Megapixel photos. It has a Carl Zeiss Vaio-Tessar lens with 10X optical zoom and a 2.7-inch touchscreen display.

Record brilliant, 1920 x 1080 high definition video on the go with the ultra-portable Sony HDR-TG5V Handycam camcorder. With a strong and lightweight pure titanium body and a built-in GPS receiver that maps where you shot your videos and photos and can display your current location, the Sony HDR-TG5V makes an ideal travel companion.

Sony HDR-TG5V Handycam will be released in May for $1000 (skyrocket performance come at a price, usually).
An optional travel kit (Sony ACC-TCH5) with a battery, travel charger and pouch; and a wide angle conversion lens (Sony VCL-HGE07TB) accessory will also be available, both priced at $100.

What we love about it:

• 1920 x 1080 high definition video recording; 16 GB built-in memory
• Geotagging with built-in GPS receiver
• 4-megapixel still image capture; built-in flash
• 10x optical zoom; 120x digital zoom
• Hybrid recording to 16GB memory or optional Memory Stick media

Get yourself the two latest Batman movies starring Christian Bale: Batman Begins (Limited Edition Gift Set)
+ The Dark Knight (+ Digital Copy and BD Live) [Blu-ray]
, Blu-ray discs.
A welcome return to the grim and gritty version of the Dark Knight, owing a great debt to the graphic novels that preceded it.
Christian Bale cuts a good figure as Batman, intense and dangerous but with some of the lightheartedness Michael Keaton brought to the character. Michael Caine provides much of the film’s humor as the family butler, Alfred, and as the love interest, Katie Holmes (Dawson’s Creek) is surprisingly believable in her first adult role. Also featuring Gary Oldman as the young police officer Jim Gordon, Morgan Freeman as a Q-like gadgets expert, and Cillian Murphy as the vile Jonathan Crane.

Batman begins is available also as a Limited Edition Gift Set!

Samsung revolutionise its DVD Players look!
The new Samsung DVD-F1080 becomes a true ‘home decoration’ appliance with high-end performances and the ability to playback almost any video format upto 1080p (that is: full HD) with the most popular multimedia formats like DivX, MP3, WMA, JPEG and MPEG-4 clips.

Samsung DVD-F1080 technical details at a glance: