Samsung introduced a few new point-and-shoot cameras yesterday and while some were more of the same, one stands out from the crowd. The HZ35W pairs a 12 megapixel sensor with Schneider KREUZNACH lenses and both optical and digital image stabilization for crisp, clear pics. The 24mm lens extends for an optical zoom of 15 times and the backside is graced with a 3″ AMOLED display. But the integrated GPS adds appeal for you geo-taggers out there:

“With the HZ35W, users can geo-tag digital images, recording the longitude and latitude of where in the world the photo was taken.  The camera will display the name of the city, state, and country on its AMOLED screen.  Thanks to its visual map-view feature, users can even check the photos’ location on a map without having to upload the images to the Internet.”

If that’s not enough, there’s the nearly standard 720p high definition video recording at 30 fps as well. And an HDMI interface can pump your pics to the big screen. Samsung hasn’t disclosed a price just yet, so we’ll have to see if the cost is off the map or somewhere near the crossroads of affordable and powerful.

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During the Consumer Electronics Show, I took a bunch of pictures with the Google Nexus One handset and it performed admirably. The flash was ideal in very low light setting although after a few meters away from your subject, the value decreases quickly. But I’m already getting questions about the video capability of the device. I was going to shoot a comparison between the iPhone 3GS and the Nexus One, but my friends at NewTeeVee beat me to the punch. There you can see two videos to compare.

Their verdict? The Nexus One offers better clarity, but the iPhone 3GS handles the white balance better. I’m not surprised by the video quality, though — the Nexus One captures 720 x 480 up to 20 fps while the iPhone 3GS grabs 640 x 480 up to 30 fps. For fast-moving action, the iPhone may trump the Nexus One. But for basic scenery with little to no movement — quite common for my cats, as you’ll see — the Nexus One offers a solid experience. And just like the iPhone, I was able to upload the file directly to YouTube, although I was cautioned that “large” files can only be sent over Wi-Fi.

I don’t think the Nexus One — nor the iPhone 3GS, for that matter — will replace my higher-end cameras for planned video. However, the best camera is the one you have with you, as they say. And since I carry my phones everywhere, the Nexus One camera will get plenty of use when I least expect it — like when the cats decide to get their five minutes of daily exercise. ;)

Note: I’ve received errors when trying to play the video back at HighQuality, so I suspect that it’s still in process at YouTube. If it doesn’t work when you view it, I recommend taking a look later. And if you’re curious about those low light pics, here are two faces you might recognize: Dave Zatz and jkk.

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All of this doubling down doesn’t cost a cent more than the current Pro card either — the MSRP of the new Pro X2 is still $149.99. And just like the current offering, you can upload JPEG, RAW or video files from your camera without wires. The new Endless Memory mode will even free up space on your card as photos are offloaded. My own testing of an Eye-Fi card showed it to be a usable solution, but not nearly as fast as using a USB cable or card reader. I’d probably see more benefit if I transferred pics to various online photo sites since the card can do that automatically, but I tend to edit photos before shooting them to the web. However, with these latest improvements in the hardware, I may have to take another look. There’s something very appealing about moving high-resolution photos or videos from a DSLR to a computer without wires.

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There’s no price or official announcement from Samsung just yet, so we’ll all have to wait for an actual shipping product. Based on the FCC documents, here’s what you’ll be waiting on in addition to the wireless functionality: 14.2 megapixels, 7x optical, 3.5″ LCD touch screen, microSD support and high-def video recording of 720p at 30fps. Here’s how it looks from the FCC’s point of view — and it makes me wonder: what camera do they use?

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Image Credit: Zatz Not Funny

Now this is a clever use of digital image processing — Sony’s DSC-WX1 can seamlessly stitch pictures together for a massively wide panoramic image. Dave Zatz recently took the WX1 for a spin — and I do mean “spin” literally. Aside from the standard bells and whistles on a 10 megapixel pocket shooter, you have to do a little spin for that panoramic mode. You tap the shutter release and physically pan around while the WX1 captures images. Then the camera stitches the input together for a super-wide view — and from the two samples Dave shared, it looks pretty seamless. I don’t see any evidence of the photo stitching, meaning Dave either has a super-steady hand or the WX1 is good at what it does. Click the above image for a larger size and see if you can find any stitching.

The WX1 lists for around $350, but is readily available for $299, and includes a few other nice features for a portable picture taker: a premium f/2.4 lens, stationary wide angle of 24mm, 5x optical zoom, anti-motion blur mode, 10 fps shooting, and 720p video capture.

Image Credit: Sony

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Image credit: Google

Photo buffs using Picasa get an early holiday gift — a free 4 GB Eye-Fi Home Video wireless SD card with the purchase of cloud storage space. Google is offering the deal to folks purchasing 200 GB of online storage at a cost of $50. Along with the storage is the Eye-Fi card and one year of geotagged transfers from it — the card is valued at $69.99 while the service is worth another $24.98, so at $50 for the storage and Eye-Fi kit, it’s a solid deal.

A few caveats appear on the offer page: U.S. and Canada only and you’ll have to be a first-time buyer of Google’s storage product. Having used an Eye-Fi in the past, I’ve found that it’s not a primary photo offload solution for me. Although it is convenient to transfer photos from my Canon EOS Rebel T1i without any cables, it can be a slow process — especially if I have a bunch of pics to transfer. I find that using a USB cable generally offers a faster experience for my workflow. Typically, I transfer all pics from my camera to a computer. I then choose which ones I want to work with and edit, which is easier to do on the computer than on the camera. Only after editing, do I upload any to an online service. Of course, if you don’t have a USB cable with you, the Eye-Fi is a lifesaver. Aside from standard pics, the 4GB Eye-Fi Home Video does support transfer of video files, but not the RAW images that I use. For that, you need to step up to the Eye-Fi Pro card.

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I previously mentioned the super, pre-holiday deal on the Panasonic high-definition camcorder, but a deal is only good if the product works well. So this afternoon, I got some playtime with the HDC-SD10 and recorded a short video of my office area. My workspace is quite the mess and I wasn’t even planning to share the video, but I was so impressed with the 1920 x 1080 output, that I decided to upload it. I still have to get a handle on the various buttons and features, but overall, this is a solid camcorder for the $299 I paid.

I originally thought I’d have to upgrade my iMovie 08 to the current edition, but it turns out that the older application imports the AVCHD file format. Perhaps iMovie 09 offers support for direct recording from camera to Mac, but that’s not a feature I really need, so I’ll stick with the software I have.

Obviously, the video that you’re able to view is compressed and resized down from 1920 x 1080, so you’re not getting a true view of what I can see. But the quality from where I sit is quite good, especially for the price. And with the small size and weight of the HDC-SD10, I suspect this little device just made the cut for January’s Consumer Electronics Show.

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So is this the best handheld camcorder out there? Of course not, but at this price, I simply couldn’t pass it up. As you can see by the photo gallery, the HDC-SD10 has roughly the same footprint as my iPhone 3GS, so it’s pretty small. And it doesn’t weigh all that much either — the body only weighs 85 grams more than my iPhone and the battery doesn’t add much more heft. I can easily see myself throwing this in a gear bag — OK, maybe not throwing — for use at CES and on the run.

The HDC-SD10 supports recording in full 1920 x 1080 at up to 60 interlaced frames per second or 24 fps progressive and sports a 16x optical zoom. The device records to an SD card in AVCHD format and can also take 2.1 megapixel stills. Other features include:

• Optical image stabilization
• 2.7″ LCD with touchscreen for camera controls and settings
• 1 x USB 2.0, 1 x mini HDMI, 1 x component out
• iAuto function for auto-focus, auto-exposure subject tracking
• Integrated microphone for Dolby Digital stereo recording
• 725 mAh battery

Again, there are plenty of better high-definition cameras on the market today — just not at $299.99!

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I’m on a bit of a camera kick this morning. Just after I scored a $299 Panasonic 1080p camcorder from Amazon today, I caught Sal Cangeloso’s thoughts about BorrowLenses.com – a camera lens rental service. I’ve been using my Canon EOS Rebel T1i for months, but only with two lenses. The standard 18-55mm kit lens is a good starter lens, but I’ve added a Canon 50mm f/1.8 prime lens as well. I’m in the market for a fast telephoto, but they don’t come cheap and that’s where BorrowLenses comes in.

For one week, Sal rented a Canon EF 85mm f/1.2 II USM for his digital SLR at the cost of $74 plus shipping and optional insurance. While that might sound like a large sum for a week’s worth of use, this particular lens would cost you $1,900 to purchase. So with that perspective in mind, I think the rental rate is quite reasonable. Some of the telephoto glass I’ve been longing for will easily set me back over $1,000. And if the lens doesn’t really meet my needs, I’m either out that $1,000 or I have to deal with selling it at some discount. From where I stand, a small up-front rental fee is cheap insurance to ensure that I like what I’m planning to buy. Note that some brick-and-mortar camera shops offer lens rentals, so BorrowLenses isn’t necessarily unique. However, Sal’s experience appears very positive, which is good enough for me.

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In a side-by-side comparison, one could argue that pics from the iPhone 3GS look better than those from a Droid. That doesn’t mean you can’t make the Droid photos a little better. Adobe released a mobile Photoshop app for the iPhone a few weeks back, and the same title hits the Android Market today. The free software is limiting in terms of what picture qualities you can change, but I find myself using it on most of my pics. In fact, just yesterday I tweaked this little number using Photoshop for iPhone.

Harvesting the feed corn

What I like about the app is how simple it is. You just choose what function you want and then slide your finger left to right for the adjustment. You can save the photo locally or save and upload to Photoshop.com where you have 2 GB of free storage.

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