CES 2012 is nearly over and if you’re like us, you’ve probably passed the point of information overload even before the annual tech show began. Even so, we’ve decided to help you sort things out by showing you our picks for this year’s Videomaker Best of CES awards. Videomaker’s Best of CES awards were created to help you find products that were especially innovative, affordable, dependable, easy-to-use, and most of all products which empower each of you to make better video. So we’ve scoured the show floor, trekked many miles, and ruined more than one good pair of shoes to find out once and for all which CES products would do just that.

Best of Show: Nikon’s D4 DSLR -

It’s no surprise that our biggest award of the show went to Nikon’s newest DSLR, the D4. With features like an ISO range of 50 to 204,800, 1080p video with an uncompressed HDMI output, and an FX-format (36mm x 23.9mm) sensor, this DSLR has many features that videographers have been wanting in a DSLR for years. An interesting new feature is the camera’s ability to use a new 2.7x Crop mode to zoom into an image on a sensor without losing any of the 1920×1080 quality of the picture. This means that you can easily turn a 35mm lens into a virtual telephoto lens instead. The camera also has on screen audio indicators and a 20 step audio adjustment making this a real force to contend with in the DSLR world.

Best Lighting: Sunpak’s LED Video Lights -

We’ve seen lights like these before but never in such quantities and interesting designs. At CES 2012, Sunpak unveiled 5 LED products ranging from their DSLR67 ring light (that attaches directly to a DSLR lens) all the way up to their LED 96 which sports 96 high-powered LED’s. Best of all, almost all of their lineup runs off of easy-to-find AA batteries and can be attached on any camera’s shoe mount.

Best Microphone: Blue’s Microphone’s Spark Digital -

We’ve been impressed with Blue Microphone’s products ever since we laid eyes (or ears?) on their surround sound microphone the Snowball, but they’ve managed to impress us again with their newest offering at CES, the Spark Digital. The Spark Digital is a cardioid, solid-state condenser microphone that provides two different usage modes at the touch of a button: the Normal mode which is supposed to provide increased low frequency for those times when you need to sound like Don LaFontaine, and a Focus mode which changes the microphone’s frequency response in order to pick up more clarity and detail. The newest part about the Spark Digital is that it offers both USB and iPad connectivity. Better yet, Blue Microphone even thought to include a custom shockmount and pop filter for the microphone so that nothing will stand in the way of capturing the kind of audio you need.

Best Software: Corel’s VideoStudio Pro X4 Editing Software -

When we reviewed Corel’s VideoStudio Pro X4 back in October, we loved how easy it was to bring a project from start to finish. At CES 2012, our minds still haven’t changed. We love how VideoStudio Pro X4 offers great support for beginners by offering the Corel Guide – a useful repository for video training, customer support, and user forums. We also like how the software also offers dual screen support (something most introductory editing software leaves to the pros) and an easy stop motion video creator making VideoStudio Pro X4 a great choice for the Best Software at this year’s CES.

Best Computer: Lenovo’s IdeaPad Y580 Notebook -

Though NAB is where the real workhorses come out to play, we really enjoyed the power and affordability of Lenovo’s IdeaPad Y580. It has JBL speakers, an optional Blu-Ray burner and Intel’s Wireless Display technology. You can also get up to 8 GB of RAM along with a Core i7 processor in this beast to boot. As for the display, the Y580 sports a 1920x1080p  screen and has a 2GB GTX66M card to drive it. Not bad for a laptop that starts at $899.

Best Storage Device: Lacie’s 2big RAID Drive with Thunderbolt -

LaCie never fails to do something big in the world of hard drives and this year was yet again no exception. LaCie introduced a new version of their popular 2big that now has the power of Thunderbolt which gives the drive speeds up to 311 MB/s. The 2big also conveniently adds RAID technology to protect all of your valuable footage and has hot-swappable drives so there’s never any need to reboot the system in order to upgrade or repair the drive.

Best Support: iOmount’s iOstand and iOmini -

iOmount is a brand new company at CES, but that doesn’t mean it’s any less eligible for the Best of CES award. No, if you have a product as innovative as they do, there’s no way we would be able to keep from talking about it. iOmount stood out for its innovative mounting idea for iPad and iPod-like devices. Their mounting device allows a free and unobstructed rotation of any device using a ferro-magnetic sphere and a specially engineered magnetic carrier. In laymen’s terms, this means you can mount your iPad easily to the stand just by placing snapping it into place and then rotate your iPad without the need for holsters or locks. In addition, iOmount plans on releasing an articulating arm so that you can have your iPad or iPhone over your bed while you read a book or text message hands-free.

Best Bag: Tiffen’s Domke RuggedWear Camera Bags -

Tiffen has been a leader in optical filters for years but camera bags? You bet. At this year’s CES, Tiffen released a new line of Domke RuggedWear camera bags meant for almost any situation you might find yourself in. Each Domke bag is made of weather-tough and durable cotton canvas along with a strap made of durable cotton webbing and a steel snap hook so they’re built to last. They were also designed from the ground up to be easy to carry and easy to clean which we always love to hear.

Best Accessory: GoPro’s WiFi BacPac -

Though GoPro announced the WiFi BacPac earlier in the year, Videomaker had yet to see what this unit could really do – until now. GoPro’s WiFi BacPac gives GoPro’s popular Hero and Hero2 cameras the ability to transmit live video streams to a smart device such a a tablet, smartphone, or computer while at the same time being able to control a bevy of video options as well. As a result of using WiFi, this remote can travel over an incredibly long distance without losing signal – something that any videographer capturing a sporting event will love.

Best Camcorder: JVC’s GY-HMQ10 4K Camcorder -

JVC has seemed to hit the ground running this year by announcing a new 4K camcorder at CES 2012 and we were impressed. The camcorder can record at a resolution of 3,840 x 2,160 pixels using its Falconbird processor and 1/2 inch sensor, can record to SD cards, and has 2 phantom powered XLR ports. Though it has a fixed lens for now, we’ve heard rumors of an interchangeable lens concept coming soon – but that’s our little secret.

Spotlight Award: Panasonic’s 4K x 2K monitor concept -

This is a product that we’ve been waiting for a long time to get: a 20 inch field monitor that packs a 4K x 2K resolution. That means shooters everywhere will be able to see the full glory of their 4K footage from cameras like RED’s Epic or JVC’s newest Gy-HMQ10. Though there’s no price information on this big boy yet, we’re excited about it’s potential.

Spotlight Award: Sony’s Handycam HDR-PJ760V Camcorder/Projector -

It’s funny how close camcorder companies are to blurring the line between professional and consumer camcorders. Sony has done just that by releasing their newest camcorder and projector the HDR-PJ760V. The camcorder comes with 96 GB of internal storage space, an incredible 24.5 MP still image capture option, image stabilization, and of all things a high contrast projector said to be twice as bright as Sony’s offering last year. This means not only will you be able to capture your family’s memories to share with them when they get older, you can also easily show them what you got anywhere you are.

Spotlight Award: Buffalo’s AirStation WZR-1750H Router -

Buffalo’s always been one of the first companies to embrace new technology and industry trends so it came as no surprise that they released an 802.11ac dual band router at CES 2012. We were specifically impressed by the AirStation’s wireless speed which Buffalo claimed could hit 1300 Mbps, approximately three times faster than 802.11n. What’s amazing is that just a few short years ago, standard Ethernet cable used to have a hard time getting speeds up to 1300 Mbps and now wireless routers are doing it in spades. Not to be left out, the router will also have a 2.4 GHz 3×3 802.11n radio inside so that it can be backward compatible with the 802.11a/b/g/and n standards.

Spotlight Award: Tiffen DFX v3 –

If you’ve ever had to try to fix an image after it’s already been edited into your video project, you know how painstaking it can be. Tiffen has come along to help you make that better with it’s DFX video and editing effects suite. Tiffen DFX is a plug-in filter that in many ways mimics the screw-on glass lens filters that professional photographers use, but it’s like having a filter on steroids.

Version 3 has added even more filters for optical effects along with interface improvements and host support. The digital filters are made to simulate Tiffen’s glass filters – and you don’t have to try to find one that fits your lens… nor are you stuck with the effect that a screw-on lens might produce.  The effects are easy to apply, fun to use, and can take your videos from good to outstanding in a very professional way, which is why we gave Tiffen the Videomaker Spotlight Award for CES 2012.  Read more about the Tiffen “Videomaker Spotlight” award.

Spotlight Award: Satarii’s Swivl –

Asking someone to snap a photo can be a stretch, asking them to do camera movements is crazy unless you plan to hire a camera person. The Swivl is your answer in such times. By using a marker, the Swivl keeps you or your subject in a user-defined frame and has the capacity to record audio via an iPhone app. The 360 degrees panning capability is paired with a 25 degree vertical axis to capture a lot of action. The base and marker take AA and AAA batteries respectively, which provide for about four or ten hours of recording depending on whether you opted for the wall charger or the battery life of your pocket camera.

The Swivl is prepped to ship during the first quarter of 2012 and has been an innovative project for us to see from prototype to product, so we are glad to give it a Spotlight Award for the International CES 2012.