JUNE NEWS
PANASONIC LAUNCH 'GRANNYCORDER'
Billed as a 'totally new concept' in
camcorders Panasonic's new NV-CS1 is defintiely assured a place in the history
of the camcorder... This ultra-simple and compact record-only VHS-C camcorder
will be selling for just under £600 when it appears in the shops next month!
No, that's not a misprint, the CS1 is a record-only machine for the price of a
proper camcorder! There's nothing wrong with record-only camcorders, the very
first camcorder, the Sony Betamove, launched over a decade ago was a
record-only machine; so too was the first 8mm Handycam, the CCD-M8, and you may
recall that in the late 1980's JVC and Amstrad both marketed record-only VHS-C
camcorders, with mixed success, but all of those machines were either
technically innovative, or very cheap, the CS1 is neither. Panasonic's argument
is that there's a demand for an absolutely fool-proof machine -- a video
version of a 35mm compact still camera if you like -- that even your old granny wouldn't mind using. We only hope granny
has got a VHS video recorder as well....
Price misgivings aside the CS1 has been quite
well thought out; just three buttons cover
routine operations for on/standby, stop/start recording, and tele/wide
lens setting. It has an optical viewfinder, and it's in colour too.. The CS1
has a simple self-timer which records for ten seconds, after a ten second delay
and, here's a clever idea, the machine
only records for as long as the button is pressed, rather like a cine camera.
It should help to eliminate those accidental shots of feet and sky, when you
forget to stop the recording. Traditionalists will be relieved to know that
there's a little switch that changes the button back to the more familiar
toggle action. All of the camera functions, including exposure and white
balance, are automatic, as is time and date recording. The CS1 has additional
power-saving circuitry, and because there's no replay function, or electronic
viewfinder, the CS1 can operate for up to 70 minutes on a single charge. In
case you get caught short, it can also be powered from dry batteries, using a
battery holder which is supplied as a standard accessory. Panasonic are right,
there are a number of arguments for a fuss-free camcorder but we suspect that
everyone, apart from uninformed senior citizens, will need some convincing
about the price. Look out for a full review soon.
One other new Panasonic product to keep a
look out for is the VW-VT1 title generator. It has been designed to partner the
EC1 edit controller and though price and launch date have still be to be
confirmed we suspect we'll be seeing it in the late Summer/Autumn, and wouldn't
be at all surprised if it sold for around £200.
SMALLER SAMSUNG
The Korean comsumer electroncics company
Samsung have just released details of the VPE-404, their first 8mm palmcorder
which is due to be launched in the UK in September. Samsung promise that the
404 will be competitively priced, though the exact cost has still to be
finalised. The specification should certainly give the competition something to
think about, in addition to an 8X zoom, credit-card sized remote control and an
all-up weight of 900 grammes the 404 has:
lux low-light sensitivity
6-mode programmes auto
exposure system
1-page/8-colour title
superimposer
inner-focus lens
multi-speed shutter
A little closer at hand is an updated version
of the VPE-807 which we reviewd a couple of months ago. It's the VPE-808 which
will be raching the shops this month. The general specification is basically
the same as the 807 though there have been a couple of worthwhile improvements,
including the additin of a alip-on video light and sportsfinder eyepiece. The
really good news, though, is the price, which at £530 is some £20 cheaper than
the 800.
EDIT ENSEMBLE
As we reported last month Goldstar are to
introduce a VHS and 8mm twin deck in September, well, now we've had a chance to
see it and we can put a little more flesh on the bones. First the price,
Goldstar expect that it will sell for aournd £630. The 2-head 8mm deck is
replay only, the VHS side can record directely from the 8mm deck, and it has
simple edit function. The 4-head VHS deck has a built-in tuner, just like a
normal VCR, and there's an 8-event/365-day timer for making unattended
recordings. Other facilities include:
front-mounted AV terminal
audio dubbing
twin-speed operation
variable slow-motiuon
simple titling facility.
We hope to have a sample for review in the next couple of months.
MITSUBISHI STAY SUPER
The Super VHS sub-format continues to
struggle and so far this year there's been a dearth of new equipment. One
bright sport is the Mitsubishi HS-M1000, a stylish, sliver S-VHS replacement
for the venerable HD-B82. It has just gone on sale in the UK, a full test
report is scheduled for next month. It's the usual Mitsubishi blend of
convenience features, and a competitive price of just under £800. Picture
enhancement facilities are in abundance, they include a new digital comb filter
to reduce colour and dot interference; digital signal processing for improved
signal to noise ratio. In addition to Mitsubishi's simple one-key timer
programming the M1000 also has:
jog/shuttle dial
front AV inputs
twin SCARTS
twin flying erase heads
auto head cleaning
high-speed deck mechanism
NTSC replay
audio dub
16:9 recording and playback
The M1000 is one of five new domestic VCRs
from Mitsubishi for the Spring and Summer, the others include the HS-M18 and
HS-M48V 3 and 4-head mono machines, and the HS-M58 and HS-M68 which are both
4-head NICAM VCRs. The M68 has the most potential as an edit deck as it has a
flying erase head, insert edit, audio dub, jog shuttle, front AV terminal NTSC
qand quasi S-VHS playback. All four machines have Video Plus timer programming
and an interesting new feature called 'Rental IP' . This is used when playing
rental tapes; it automatically rewinds the tape to the beginning, then speed
searches past the copyright warnings to the start of the soundtrack, and starts
playing. When the movie has finioshed the tape is automatically rewound and
ejected.
Mitsubish have also unveiled a professional
S-VHS VCR, called the BV-2000, that could also be of interest to enthusiast,
commercial, business and institutional users. The outline features include PAL
and SECAM play and record, hi-fi sound, NTSC replay, twin flying erase heads.
Froma serious users point of view other essential facilities include:
chroma phase control
colour level control
timecode editing facilities
RS-232 interface
The RS232 port onthis machine is arguably the
most important feature as it allows the
machine to be controlled by a PC, using a variety of editing and control
software. A suitable editing package has already been developed by Syntronix
DTV who can custom build two and three machine systems to customers individual
requirments. The BV-2000 is available now
for £2,200 (plus VAT), editing software starts at just under £1,000.
POP-UP CANON
Spring has finally arrived with first early
crop of Canon camcorders coming into the shops. There's three new machines so
far this year, two E-series 8mm compacts, and a Hi8 palmcorder. The most
ditinctive feature on the E300 and E500 is a pop-up 4 watt video light that
bears more than a passing resemblance to the 'pop-up' flash units on Canon's
EOS SLR cameras. The E300 is a slightly portly mono machine with a 10X zoom,
title generator, 3-mode program AE and the customary twisting handgrip and
sportsfinder eyepiece. The price, which is £700, is a little on the high side
for Canon, even taking the novelty video light into account. The E500 has the
same basic shape and spec as the E300 but with the addition of a 12x zoom and
stereo sound, it will sell for £800 or less. Look out for a full terst report
on the E300 next month.
The UC2 Hi
is an upgrade of the UC1 Hi, palmcorder, with a number of detailed
picture and operatrional improvements. These inlcude digital signal processing
for better colour rendition and lower noise levels, and a large liquid crystal
display on the left side of the machine, showing the various control, mode and
status indicators. Other features worth
noting are:
three-speed 12x zoom
Control L socket
stereo sound
6-mode auto exposure
digital effects
stereo zoom mike
1-lux low light sensitivity
detachable IR remote
The UC2 Hi should be on sale by the time you
read this for just under £1,300.
NICAM NEWCOMER
Look out for a new name on replacement
camcorder batteries, they're Millennium, an American company who are a division
of Gates Energy Products, one of the largest manufacturers of rechargeable batteries in the world.
Millennium have batteries to fit just about every make or type of camcorder,
including older models, and even two-piece portables from ten years ago, though
some of them are on special order. Millennium also produce rechargable
batteries for a wide range of other products, including portable and cordless
phones and toys. All Millennium batteries come with a year's guarantee and
prices for camcorder packs start at under £30.
PC EDITING
FOR JVC CAMCORDERS ?
All new JVC camcorders built from this year
onwards --starting with the GR-M3 and including the four machines previewed
last month -- will be able to communicate with PC computers running specialised
diagnosic programs, this is intended to help speed up servicing and alignment
procedures. The RS232 interface for the JVC Service Bus System is accessed by
the machine's AV socket and allows the computer to read and ammend data stored
in the camcorder's EPROM (erasable programmable read-only memory), which
controls many of the machines higher functions, more importantly it can also be
used to operate the machine's transport systems. Service engineers will be able
to hook up their PC, via a telephone modem, with JVC's main service computer,
for more detailed fault analysis. In addition to faster and more efficient
servicing this new interface could be used as a direct control link -- like
Sony's Control L or Panasonic's 5-pin --
for automated editing systems.
JVC have confirmed to us that this is technically possible but say they
have no plans at the moment to develop an edit controller of their own, though
there's nothing to prevent third-party software companies from developing
editing systems for JVC camcorders.
Some late news from JVC in Japan. They have
just launched a new video titler called the JXT-500. It looks like a
sophisticated versio of the Sony XV-T33 Video Sketch, with an electronically
sensitised graphics tablet ; this is used to directely draw or select designs
from one of three graphics memories containing several dozen pre-prepared
patterns. It also has an alphanumeric generator, for creating text displays.
Other features include a three-channel audio mixer and full S-Video
compatibility. No details yet about a PAL version or price but they're
selling in Japan now for the equivalent
of a little under £400.
HITACHI HIGHS, AND FULL SIZE
There are no less than three new camcorders
on the way from Hitachi over the next few months. The first is likely to be the
VM-2500, a full-size VHS machine aimed at serious, semi-pro and commercial
video movie-makers. The main features include:
clip-on video light
digital signal processing
character generator
6-speed shutter
neg/pos image switching
8x zoom
As we speak this machine is being scrutinised
by the VC test team and a full report will appear next month, in the meantime
if you're interested, the 2500 is expected to cost £900.
The two other camcorders are the VM-E57 and
VM-H57, due for launch in the UK around September time. Both machines are alike
in appearance, though the E53 is a low-band machine, whilst the H57 is a Hi8
model. The basic specifications are also similar and include 8x zoom lenses
with eletcronic enlargement up to 24x, digital signal processing , programmed
auto exposure systems, credit-card sized remote and a title generator. The E53
has a 320k pixel CCD and mono sound system; the H57 has a 470k CCD and hi-fi
stereo sound. The anticipated retail prices are expected to be in the region of
£700 and £850 respectively.
A large question mark hangs over the
possibility of a fouth camcorder for 1993. Details of the VM-H38 appear in Hitachi's latest catalogue but there's some
doubt over whether or not it will actually reach the UK. For the record the H38
is effectively the Mk II version of the popular H37, launched earlier in the
year. The two ultra-slim Hi8 machines are broadly similar, though the H38 has
slightly revised cosmetics plus the added benefit of a digital image
stabiliser.
SANYO BACK IN CONTROL
Sanyo's recently announced VME-X30P 8mm
palmcorder marks the company's very
welcome return to the video editing scene. We're already expecting this new
machine to be one of the most exciting
new products for 1993, and it's not even due to be launched for another month.
Right at the top of the list of important features is the unique LCD
monitor-handset which comes with the machine as a standard accessory. The
handset, which connects to the machine in place of the normal electronic
viewfinder has a 2.2-inch colour LCD screen which can be used to monitor
recording and playback, it can be hand-held, or fixed to the machine's
accessory shoe. The handset also has a full set of controls, so the machine can
be remotely monitored and operated. However, the most significant feature
associated with the handset is a 5-scene edit controller. This is a little like
the Random Assemble Edit system fitted to the most recent JVC machines, and it
instructs the machine to replay
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(c) R. Maybury 1993 1604
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