Eye-Fi’s had it for years and now the SD Association (the standards organization for SD cards) has finally jumped into the fray. What’s up for grabs? Wireless SD cards.  The SD Association revealed it’s intention to license out the wireless standard to SD card manufacturers at this year’s CES. What this means is that somehow the people of the SD Association have managed to find a reliable way to pack even more equipment inside the already crammed SD card by adding a wireless transmitter. This transmitter will allow you to download pictures or footage straight from a camcorder to your Mac or PC saving that extra step of having to plug in a cable or having to subject the card to the inevitable wear and tear of popping it in and out of a camera. I know that I’ve personally broken two of the fragile storage units myself in the course of a year, so this seems like a great move for SD card manufacturers everywhere.

The wireless transmitter will work over the typical 802.11a/b/g/n standards and will work inside of any SD card type including SD/SDHC/and SDXC. The amazing part? They’ve even squeezed this technology into microSD/SDHC/SDXC cards as well.  Since these cards are so small and have a wireless transmitter at the same time, they can be useful as wireless control points for other devices such as TVs in a home network making USB wireless transmitters a thing of the past. The wireless technology will come in three flavors, a web interface which supports server upload and peer-to-peer functions; a home network interface which supports server upload and home network communication functions; and one that can do both in the same card (which will probably turn out to be the most popular by far).

This technology seems great at first glance but there are still a few kinks that seem to need working out before this technology hits the mainstream. First, and most importantly, how much of a battery hit will this card take from your camcorder or mobile phone? Anything more than just a sip of energy will result in the failure of this technology since power is such a precious resource for any gadget. Secondly, will the signal interfere with any other wireless devices in a person’s home or office? Lastly, how much more will a technology like this cost compared to a “regular” SD card. Flash memory is already expensive and adding more cost to it is very prohibitive to mainstream adoption. Even so, this technology could save yet another step in a shooter’s workflow which is always welcomed. Not only do editors no longer have to wait in real-time for a tape to digitize it’s content to the computer, they may be able to just get the footage a few seconds after the footage is shot.

Nearly everyone the world over celebrates some sort of “Winter Festivity” and it’s the most beautiful time of year for gathering great video of annual traditions along with a reflection of the past year and getting a year-ender together to share with family and friends.

Whether you’re making a holiday video filled with all the pageantry and glorious color, or have taken on the daunting task of making a year-end compilation, there are a few things you can do to make your task a little bit easier, more fun, and artistic.

I’ve covered the holidays for decades and have made many year-ender and ‘this is your life’ compilation videos. Next week, I’ll have some tips on getting those year end compilations together. This week: a few tips for shooting the holiday events, for a special video to give as a gift to family and friends.

If you have some holiday video tips, pass them along and we’ll share them with our wonderful readership, too.

-1- Let the magic of light and color work for you. Here’s a few tricks for shooting holiday lights. first thing’s first: You have to use manual focus and manual iris for these tricks, and a tripod or some other steadying device.

If you see a specially vibrant over-the-top light display on someone’s home, ( or your own!) don’t make fun of it, rather make use of it… the lights can make for a beautiful backdrop portrait. Set your camera and subject across the street from the lit up home, so you’re not too close. Too many people get right in front of the lights for a photo op, and lose a lot of the beauty of the shot. By setting across the street, your lights will be in softer focus, be more plentiful, won’t overwhelm the scene, and your subject will stand out from the background better. Read the rest of this entry »

After the big announcements from Sony and Canon this year, it’s no surprise that Panasonic, a leader in professional camcorders, decided to get its feet wet by announcing their own 3D camcorder – the HDC-Z10000.  The camcorder does have a number of great features that should make it a solid contender in the 3D world. First off, it has the ability to switch between 2D and 3D shooting, it records images in the 3D AVCHD format using the frame sequential method (meaning it records a full frame for each lens on the camcorder), can zoom up to 10X, and has a wide 32mm angle of view. The lenses have f-stops as low as 1.5 in order to capture great footage even in low light situations as well as two independent 3MOS sensors for each lens which should allow each eye’s picture to look its best.

The great features don’t stop there though. This camera also records in full 1920x1080p (which is expected) but can do so at a full 60 frames per second without any interlacing – a relief for any videographer. Like many 3D camcorders coming out on the market, the LCD display can show 3D images glasses free making it easy to see what your final result will be. However, it remains to be seen how effective their version of the technology is.

In the past, Panasonic has won over the prosumer world by having plenty of external controls on their camcorders and the Z1000 is no exception. It has a ring for focus, zoom, and iris giving it a real pro feel, and buttons for OIS, white balance, zebra bars, and many more. Panasonic also decided to include two XLR ports giving this camcorder a bigger edge than most of the camcorders being released today. Lastly, the Z10000 also has two SD card slots with relay recording making it possible to record live events for many hours without the fear of running out of card space. This is quite the improvement over their consumer model which debuted at CES last year.

With all of the amazing features this camcorder has, you’re probably thinking it costs more than $5,000. If so, you might be surprised to know that Panasonic plans to sell the Z10000 for only $3500 and will be shipping in December. With a price point this good, it’s easy to predict that this camcorder will likely be the prosumer choice for 3D shooting soon!

Videomaker is a great place to work for many reasons. Not the least of which is that our attention is frequently called to some pretty cool videos; videos shot by both novices and pros, and videos shot on everything from a smartphone and consumer cameras to professional and prosumer level camcorders. So it’s no wonder our interest was peaked recently when some new video came across the desk from a renowned videographer and photographer creating some great work in 3D.

Photographer and visual artist David McLain has done some terrific work over the years. His keen eye for stunning visual imagery and composition can be seen in both his photo and video work. David’s partnership with Sony means that his portfolio includes some pretty beautiful 3D work. Using a Sony Bloggie and an HDR-TD10 Handycam, David’s artistic eye and technical acumen are equally on display. Check these videos out on the Sonyelectronics YouTube channel.

Obviously, consumer-level 3D video continues to progress by leaps bounds and the technology will continue to grow rapidly in sophistication. As it does, video enthusiasts and professional videographers alike will keep apace. The Sony channel featuring David McLain’s work includes an example of family vacation video shot in 3D. While many of us might not yet immediately think “3D” at the same time as “family vacation home movies,” the technology is there waiting for us when we do.

Videomaker has reviewed both the Bloggie and the TD10 Handycam, so if you’re interested in learning more about these cameras, check these reviews.  And if you’ve done some innovative work in 3D yourself, be sure to let us know.  Send us a note or post an entry in the Videomaker Forum.  We’re always looking for the latest and greatest to cross our desks.

The Swann Freestyle HD Action Video Camera should be appearing on the shoulder of some science fiction machine since its lens alone lacks character. The clear, waterproof casing somehow makes it alien, but it might feel right at home with you and certainly comfortable with it’s assortment of mounts, detachable display and strength to endure the pressure of 65 feet of water. Then if you feel like getting away from the Freestyle HD, leave it somewhere with a good vantage point and activate it with your voice or  a remote. If you were thinking of hiding it, store it in a cool dark place, because it only comes in black.

Now for what you’re really reading for, the Freestyle HD shoots an effective 8 MP at up to 1080p and 30fps. Video gets stored on a microSD card and may be retrieved via USB and HDMI. Don’t expect it to grab the biggest, fastest images – the frame rate is standard, and the digital zoom is 3x. There is lots of fun to be had with such a small and mobile camera. Be sure to pass the time away, up to 2.5 hours, using the still camera function and the 1.5” LCD display. The screen sounds small, but it does provide immediate playback unlike the Contour from the same field. While detaching the waterproof casing limits the locations to shoot from, the Freestyle HD slims down in a hurry, especially when combined with one of the low profile mounts. Two different flat mounts are included for use with various boards. Another mount encourages your safety by attaching to your helmet, just one more reason not to forget it. The package is all in all very versatile,  with the mounts, display and casing detachable, the dimensions will be adaptable for many situations, and the price is just as competitive as you are.

$280

Delkin Devices announced on Thursday their intention to join in the POV camera foray with their device, the WingmanHD. The WingmanHD is a waterproof  3 ounce action camera that shoots 1080p high definition video and like most POV devices, can mount to almost any surface imaginable such as a skateboard, surfboard, bike, or helmet. Being just 3 ounces, Delkin is claiming that their device is the lightest POV camcorder on the market. A great claim to make, but with the already miniscule size of these kinds of camcorders, a slightly irrelevant one as well.

In addition, the camera comes with a “1/4-20″ mount for putting the camera on tripods, the ability to switch between 1080p, 720p, and WVGA video as well as 8 megapixel stills. The company also thought to include autofocus, auto white balance, and auto exposure in the camera so that every video can look its best no matter what the condition. Unfortunately, the camera does not have as wide of an angle of view as other popular POV cameras such as the GoPro Hero and Contour HD Plus have. While those cameras can achieve a 170 degree angle of view, the Delkin WingmanHD can only achieve 150 degrees. However, they are claiming that by keeping it at 150 degrees, their camera gives very little fish-eye distortion to an image.

The device does make up for its lack of viewing angle by including an impressive 1.5 inch built-in LCD display that allows users to skip, fast forward, rewind, and delete files on site. For those who like much larger monitors to view footage on, the camcorder does come with an HDMI, Composite A/V, and USB port. This is the first time an LCD monitor has been built right into a POV camera but isn’t the only POV camcorder that will allow you to see your footage. The GoPro Hero allows an LCD monitor to be attached to a port on the back of it’s unit while the Contour HD Plus allows a mobile phone to preview the image from the camcorder using Bluetooth technology, something that would have been nice for the WingmanHD to have. Nonetheless, the camera shows real promise so long as the picture quality can also compare or best the other POV cameras in the market.

The WingmanHD is shipping now and will retail for a kit price of $249.99