A look at the latest gadgets for your motor car
Sanyo Xacti HD-2000
Price: €513
Buy: pixmania.ie
Trying to figure out which camcorder to choose may seem like a chore, but this one caught our eye recently.
The Sanyo Xacti has a pistol-like grip so you can feel like a film director, and the results wont be too shabby either as it shoots in full HD at 60fps, which is mighty impressive. But aside from all that, you’re also getting a camera that can take 8MB still, meaning half-decent pictures, too.
It’s not cheap, but the results you will get from this won’t fail to impress. There is no built-in memory which is a shame, but you can get up to 32GB from an SD memory card.
Panasonic Blu-Ray Home Cinema
Price: €899.99
Buy: Panasonic dealers nationwide
The SC-BTX70 is a great all-rounder. There’s a Blu-ray player and receiver unit in one, two front speakers and a subwoofer, providing a whopping 375 watts of sound to ensure a thrilling movie effect.
Operating the sliding door is as easy as pushing a button. When it slides to the left, it reveals the Blu-ray drive, or if you’re in the mood for some music, slide the door to the right to reveal the concealed iPod dock. A great system and the price isn’t really all that bad, considering what you get.
Muvi Micro Camcorder
Price: €92 Buy: firebox.com
There was a time when camcorders sat on your shoulders like a bazooka – now you can have the Muvi Micro Camcorder, which its makers say is the smallest in the world.
Despite its eye-rubbing smallness, the Muvi records in VGA quality (640x480) equivalent to the best selling (and comparatively enormous) Mino and Ultra by Flip.
Videos are stored on the included 2GB Micro SD card, but for those of you who prefer real epics, the Muvi can handle cards up to 8GB. Another cool feature is that it can be voice activated – handy if you want to stick it on your bike helmet to record that downhill blast.
Canon 500D
Price: €849 (body only)
Buy: connscameras.com, Bermingham Cameras
When Canon first started making cool Digital SLRs, a 1GB memory card was around €300 and 15 megapixels was science fiction. Now the 500D is here, complete with HD video, a serious bonus.
You need a steady hand, but the quality is great and you get to use all your fancy lenses. This is easier to use than ever, and well-built too so, unless you’re careless, it will put up with some abuse.