CAMERA FOR KUBRICKS
Panasonic HC-V700M
Plenty of camcorder makers say they can turn you into a cinematographer, but few mid-priced cams deliver on the promise. The Panasonic HC-V700M comes close.
The new model has an improved light sensor, giving impressive results in bright or low conditions. Its image-stabilising is startling, more the Steadicam drama of The Shining than the shake of The Blair Witch Project.
€594.49, argos.ie
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MOTION PICTURES
Swivl
Here’s a clever way to shoot and appear in your own films. Swivl is a motion-tracking dock that works with iPhone 4s, the fourth-generation iPod and light, small tripod-enabled pocket cameras.
Carry the “marker” in your hand or clip it to your clothes and the unit will move to keep you in the frame. The base rotates through 360 degrees and has a 10m range. The first batch of Swivls sold out within days, but more will become available soon.
€140 (estimate), swivl.com
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TABLET THERAPY
Archos ChildPad
Parents will be familiar with “disappearing touchscreen syndrome”, when their smartphones and tablets vanish and are later found in their offspring’s bedroom with a half-completed game of Angry Birds on the display.
Now parents can regain control of their gadgets thanks to the ChildPad, an affordable 7in Android tablet with pre-loaded apps and games. It provides parental peace of mind by having a child-friendly web browser and a link to a vetted version of Google Play, the Android app shop previously known as Market.
The ChildPad puts many other tablets to shame in performance by being one of the first to run Ice Cream Sandwich (the latest version of Android) and by having a respectable 1GHz processor and 1GB of Ram — as much as the Apple iPad.
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Archos has given the Android home screen a colourful makeover, and has installed 28 popular apps, including the Android version of those irritable avians. The device goes on sale online at the end of this month.
€120 (estimate), archos.com