CasCandra Gadgets Blog

When Sony’s HDR-HC7 camcorder first hit the market, many were surprised with all of the great specifications appearing in this one compact, lightweight device. In fact, film and video enthusiasts were relieved at not having to buy heavier equipment to achieve the same optical quality as this light video recording equipment. Not to mention the relatively affordable price of this handy camcorder as compared with its counterparts.

The HC7’s external design makes it easier to control many of the camera’s functions. The zoom and mode controls, for example, are within range of the index finger while the record button is placed just where the thumb is going to be. To minimize the number of buttons, controls Read more »

With the Panasonic HDC-SD1, Panasonic formally entered the steep competition in consumer high definition video recorders. Unlike the HDC-DX1 which records videos in DVDs, the SD1 uses high capacity flash memory cards (SD/SDHC) of 4 gigabytes or higher. It also uses three charge-coupled devices for those sharp images.

The new MPEG4-AVC/H.264 compression system makes it possible for excellent quality images to be displayed on high definition LCDs and plasma television sets. The mentioned AVCHD format was developed jointly by several leading electronics companies with Panasonic and Sony at the helm. The system effectively compresses high quality data into small sizes and is said to be the Read more »