Tapeless mini digital camcorders hotter than Beyonce
With the introduction of 3, count em 3 new mini tapeless digital camcorders today, I’ve decided to post a mini synopsis of 6 DV camcorders that use flash or HD for storage as main storage. The Nisis Supacam, Creative DiVi Cam 316, NHJ D’zign DV-5, JVC’s GZMC100, GZMC200 and the GZM-500.
One of the first off the bat, selling directly to the consumer for $199, now upgraded to a newer version at $279 is the Supacam from Nisisusa. A mom and pop shop that sells direct from what looks like an apartment with manufacturing done in China. That’s the kind of entrepreneurial spirit that makes me warm and fuzzy. {embed="video-games/dpadz-ads"}Check out their local tv station coverage.
They were one of the first out with a SD based DV camera that also covers the other items on a gadget prerequisite checklist; MP3 player, voice recording and digital still camera. All the cameras in this review have those things covered too, natch.
Creative got into the game today with their DiVi Cam 316, a very similar unit, also SD based for $149. I know this is going to be junky but for the price of a 1Gb iPod Shuffle you can get yourself an expandable MP3 player with all the video options you need. I was going to pick up the Nisis to play around with but geez Louise at $149 suggested retail with discounting it will probably end up costing $129 or so. That’s cheaper than the Robosapien with a lot more replayability.
Next, a second tier Japanese electronics company called NHJ Japan has introduced the D’zign DV-5 (did they hire Prince to come up with these names?). Very similar to the Creative and Nisis products but with a built in 2gb drive. NHJ sells through Target in the US.
Now onto the much better quality hard disk based recorders. JVC is the king when it comes to HD based mini cams. Their first entry was the Everio GZMC200 and GZMC100, both are 2mpixel mini camcorders with a built in 4gb hard drive that can record DVD quality images in MPEG-2 format and a 10x zoom. The difference between the two is the layout of the shooting style, the 100 is verticle while the 200 is more traditional camcorder style. The GZMC200 has a folddown handle and the GZMC100 is an all in one with a flip out LCD. These are $1000 cameras and the quality is not in the same league as the units listed above as they can record in DVD quality MPEG2 versus the lower quality MPEG4’s generated by the Creative and NHJ.
Finally, JVC’s latest and greatest, the GZMC500. Displayed at a dealer conference in Prague today, the world’s smallest 3CCD camcorder. It looks like a mini James Bond version of the Canon XL2, all dressed in black. With a 5mp resolution, 10x zoom and 6gb and 8gb versions coming, expect this sexy baby to be out in March for about (cough, cough) $1500 Euros or over $1950 US.
Oh lord why does quality have to be so expensive? I’ve got caviar tastes on a ikura budget.
Links:
Nisis Supacam
Creative DiVi Cam 316
NHJ D’zign DV-5
JVC’s GZMC100
GZMC200
GZM-500
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