Name: Nikon D90
Category: digital still and movie SLR camera
Price: About JPY120,000 (body only)
Release date in Japan: September 9, 2008

It's the norm now that digital still cameras include some sort of video recording feature, and video cameras offer still-shot capability. Nikon's adding a new twist to the combination, with what it calls "the world's first digital SLR movie function that delivers genuinely cinematic results".

The D90 is the latest in Nikon's popular D line of digital SLRs, featuring 12.3-megapixel still shots. Its movie function records video at resolutions of 320 x 216, 640 x 424, or HD720p (1,280 x 720) in motion JPEG format, at 24 frames per second. (Sorry, no higher-resolution HD1080 video.)

What makes that exciting is not just the combination of a great still cam and decent HD video cam in one unit, but the ability to use Nikon's array of interchangeable lenses for video shooting. Fish-eye, wide-angle, telephoto... you'll swap lenses like a Hollywood movie-maker, something you can't do with general consumer video cams.

Aiding the moviemaker is a large DX-format 23.6 x 15.8mm CMOS sensor ("far larger than that in typical camcorders", says Nikon) with a sensitivity range of ISO 200 to 3200. A microphone and built-in speakers handle audio recording and playback. (There's speculation that the D90 will function as an audio player if you load it with MP3s, though Nikon itself doesn't say this.)

Still, this may not be your tool for feature films. When shooting video, you lose both autofocus and the viewfinder (use the LCD panel on back instead, via Live View previews). You can't go beyond 24 fps, which is fast enough for many but not all shooting purposes. Some pros are also wondering about the maximum video scene length before sensor overheating (hastened by Live View) becomes a problem.

In addition to that Live View preview in the 3-inch LCD display, other functions include Nikon Vibration Reduction (when used with compatible lenses), Multi-CAM 1000 autofocus module with 11-point AF system, face recognition, built-in flash, Image Sensor Cleaning, 0.15-second quick start-up time, and comprehensive image editing tools. Body weight 620g.

More info: http://nikon.com/about/news/2008/0827_d90_01.htm (English)

Name: Hanwha UDCM301
Category: scuba gear / underwater camera
Price: JPY12,800
Release date in Japan: August 8, 2008

Why do divers get this cool head-mounted camera, while we land people have to hold our cams the regular way? Hmm, I suppose it's because divers are already wearing head gear, and we normally aren't. Plus, our hands are usually available for things like photography, while they need their hands free for stuff like swimming and fending off sharks and making that funny I'm-out-of-air sign.

So we'll let the divers have this one. What exactly is it? A spiffy-looking, silicone and tempered-glass scuba mask with a 3-megapixel camera built into the brow, waterproof at depths up to 5 meters. In addition to 2048x1536 JPEG snaps (minimum shooting distance: 50cm), the camera will record 640x480 MotionJPEG video at 15fps. Those image specs won't impress National Geographic, but sound fine for casual scuba shooting.

Nice extras include regular or rechargeable AAA batteries as the power supply, so you don't need to worry about charging proprietary batteries, and a mini USB 1.1 port, so you don't need to remember to take a memory card reader on that beach vacation. There's a built-in 16MB memory, plus a slot for MicroSD cards up to 2GB, which should hold well over an hour of video (though topped-off rechargeable batteries will last through only about 30 minutes of video).

How do you use the camera? At the top of the mask is a control for mode switching and a shutter release, so you will need to keep a hand free to shoot. Crosshairs printed on the lenses act as viewfinders for aiming your forehead. Behind the camera is a small LCD panel showing battery status, shot counter, and shooting mode, plus LED lights indicating current shooting activity; it's all visible with a glance upward.

The UDCM301 is a limited model available only online, says seller Hanwha Japan, so move fast if you want to try what looks to be a really convenient gadget for underwater photography.  

More info: http://www.hanwha-japan.com/products/udcm301/ (Japanese)
Purchase: https://item.rakuten.co.jp/hanwha/10000048/

Name: Hitachi Blue-ray Cam Wooo DZ-BD10H
Category: digital video camera
Price: About JPY160,000
Release date in Japan: August 9, 2008

Blu-ray, which won the format war over rival HD DVD in the next-generation disc wars, continues its victory laps, recently popping up in handheld digicams. The latest entry: Hitachi's Blue-ray Cam Wooo DZ-BD10H.

The Wooo (let's call it that; it's so much more fun than "DZ-whatever") is a lighter, higher-resolution upgrade to the earlier Blu-ray-equipped DZ-BD9H, and marks Hitachi's first cam to save full HD (1920x1080 High Definition) video to Blue-ray discs (BD-R/RE). Its 7-megapixel CMOS sensor records video to MPEG4 AVC/H.264 format, and takes still snaps at 2880×2160 resolution.

The Wooo gives you four ways to save video: the internal 30GB hard drive, an SDHC memory card, 8-cm DVD-RAM/-RW/-R discs, or 8-cm Blu-ray discs, one of which holds about 7.5GB of data. The hard drive or a 32GB SDHC card will each save over 4 hours of full HD video, while a Blu-ray disc will store about an hour. (Video saved to DVD is in non-HD MPEG2 format.) The camera includes a one-touch dubbing feature to transfer recorded video from hard drive or SDHC to a disc, for playback or further editing on a PC.

Other specs: 10x optical zoom, face recognition, optical image stabilization, 2.7-inch LCD display, HDMI connector for output to a PC or TV. About 575g with battery.

More info: http://av.hitachi.co.jp/cam/products_bd/bd10h/index.html (Japanese)

Name: SONY HDR-CX12  
Category: digital still and movie camera
Price: Open price (about JPY130,000)
Release date in Japan: July 20, 2008

The newest model in the company's venerable Handycam line, the HDR-CZ12 brings "Kao Kime" and "Smile Shutter" face-recognition technology to your filming sessions.

The "Kao Kime" is pretty old-hat by now: face-recognition software catches the faces in your shots, and matches the focus, color, brightness, and flash to best flatter those. "Smile Shutter" is a tweak on the smile-recognition found in many still cameras: the feature watches for grins, and snaps a 7.6-megapixel still photo without interrupting your filming. The result: you get your movie, plus some automatically-taken stills of your subjects' best smiles.

There are some options you can play with, such as placing recognition priority on either adults' or children's faces. You can also choose from three levels of smile sensitivity, from "just smirk a little" to "come on, let's count 32 teeth". 

In still camera mode with movie recording off, you're good for shots up to 10 megapixels. As a movie camera, the HDR-CX12 records AVCHD video in full HD (1920x1080i), with MPEG-4AVC/H.264 compression. The included 8GB Memory Stick will record up to 3 hours of video on LP mode, or 55 minutes on highest-quality full HD FH mode.

The camera's "Quick On" feature wakes it up from sleep in one second. The included "Picture Motion Browser" software for your PC will create 3-megapixel photos from your movie clips, and even let you search only for shots containing smiling faces.

Other specs: 2.7-inch touch-panel monitor, 12x optical zoom (150x digital), "ClearBit" CMOS sensor with "Exmore" image noise reduction and "BIONZ" image processing engine, optical "active lens" shake reduction, Zeiss "T*" anti-glare lens, Memory Stick slot. 420g with battery.

More info: http://www.sony.jp/products/Consumer/handycam/PRODUCTS/HDR-CX12/ (Japanese)

Name: Hanwha Japan DVR-SP camcorder
Category: digital video camera
Price: JPY17800
Release date in Japan: June 23, 2008 (new black model)

This gadget's been out there for a couple of months already, but since the maker went through the trouble of telling the press about a new color variation, I'll take that as a chance to check things out.

Tokyo-based Hanwha Japan's earlier mini DVR-SP camcorder, the size of a cheap lighter, apparently wasn't sneaky enough for would-be spies, even when barely peeking over the top of a pocket. So the company has dipped deeper into the spy's bag of tricks with a camcorder that looks like a pen, the DVR-BP. (Wait, it actually is a functional pen, too. Sly!)

The 15cm-long 30g cam, part of Hanwha's "Digital Cowboy" gadget line, incorporates a hard-to-spot 1mm pinhole camera lens and microphone, recording onto 2GB of flash memory. Casually press the top of the "pen" to begin recording. (Try whistling to look more innocent.) Video is 352x288 (4x the DVR-SP's) in H.263 format at 15 fps - decent enough for posting on YouTube. Expect two hours' operation on a charge; download video and recharge the battery via USB (which is the slower 1.1, not 2.0).

The product web site suggests the cam/pen as an "information gathering tool" for businesspersons, bloggers, etc. One suspects there will be buyers with more prurient uses in mind, and I don't mean relaying state secrets to their KGB masters. If nothing else, take this gadget listing as a warning to be wary of chunky silver or black pens poised suspiciously upright in your vicinity.  

More info: http://www.digitalcowboy.jp/products/dvr-bp/index.html (Japanese)

Name: Panasonic HDC-SD100, HDC-HS100
Category: digital video camera
Price: JPY130,000 (HDC-SD100), JPY150,000 (HDC-HS100)
Release date in Japan: July 12, 2008

What's 3MOS? It's a Matsushita technology that uses three CMOS sensors to capture twice the light of the equivalent single sensor. Add to that a Leica Dicomar lens, "New HD Crystal Engine" processing (with next-generation Uniphier LSI) that doubles dynamic range over the earlier HDC-SD9 camcorder, "Next Generation Optical Image Stabilization" that actually moves the lens to compensate for hand shake, and "Digital Cinema Color" color correction, and the reward for you is better image quality than ever, says Matsushita. Even in twilight or birthday-candle situations, as low as two lux of light - twice the sensitivity of the HDC-SD9 with its triple CCD sensors, and reportedly the highest sensitivity you'll find in any HD camcorder.

The HDC-SD100 is the junior model, recording only to SD/SDHC cards (up to 2GB for SD, 32GB for SDHC). The HDC-HS100 has the same memory card recording capability plus a 60GB hard drive. Both models are full Hi-Def (1920x1080), recording in AVCHD format. Using the best recording mode (HA), expect 4 hours of video on a 32GB card, almost 8 hours on the 60GB hard disk.

Other specs: 12x optical zoom, face detection (up to 15 faces), VIERA HFTV connectivity, included 8GB SDHC card. Weight with battery is a mere 382g for the SD100, 482g for the HS100.

More info: http://panasonic.jp/dvc/sd100/ (Japanese)

Spotted elsewhere in the news:

1) This is sort of a clever gadget for the PC user: Canon Marketing Japan's new "LS-100TKM" looks like a regular black or white PC mouse, but flips open like a clamshell phone to reveal a ten-key pad. The keys rest on the bottom of the opened mouse, while an LCD screen appears on the underside of the flipped-open "lid". Use it for either ten-key input, or as a calculator (with the ability to transmit the calculated result to your PC). From late June, JPY3500.
http://cweb.canon.jp/calc/lineup/mouse/index.html

2) What's new in hard disks? Bigger storage in a smaller space - same as always. From late June, BUFFALO will begin selling the "LinkStation mini", a network external hard disk unit containing two 2.5-inch disks in RAID configuration. It's fanless and quiet, fits neatly on the palm of your hand, and weighs a mere half a kilogram - great for a home server that won't take up much space or make noise. JPY37,000 for 500GB, JPY74,000 for 1TB.
http://buffalo.jp/products/catalog/storage/ls-wsgl_r1/

3) SONY announced a prototype back-illuminated CMOS image sensor with double the previous sensitivity and low noise. Additional tech specs probably won't interest many readers; what it means to you is this: significantly clearer, richer images from future cameras once the sensor makes its way into products.
http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/News/Press/200806/08-069E/index.html