Look-out GoPro, JVC Breaks-out ADIXXION Action Cam

JVC is looking to take a bite out of the action cam market with its rugged new JVC GC-XA1 ADIXXION camcorder.

Leveraging its decades-long digital imaging prowess evidenced in models like the ProHD cams and GC-PX10 hybrid, the company says that its new small and lightweight video recorder includes a range of features that leaves the competition behind.

Highlights include four levels of rugged protection, built-in Wi-Fi, a Super Wide lens, and Full HD video recording.

The GC-XA1 has been waterproofed to a depth of 16.4 feet (5 m), is able to withstand a fall from 6.5 feet (2 m), and is both dust- and freeze-proof. It’s a collection of all-round ruggedness that JVC is calling Quad Proof and means that the camcorder can record 1920 x 1080/30p video at 30 frames per second (fps) to MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 format, or 60 fps at 720p, in a variety of action scenarios without the need for optional housing to protect it from the elements :: Read Paul Ridden’s Full Article at Gizmag »»»»

UPDATED! Olypmus Executives Arrested Over Cover-up

UPDATE! 26 September 2012: Japanese camera maker Olympus and three of its former executives have pleaded guilty to charges relating to a $1.7 billion accounting cover-up. The scandal was exposed last October by chief executive Michael Woodford, who was sacked by the Olympus board after querying past acquisitions by the company and the payment of vastly inflated consultancy fees.

The former president of Japanese camera-maker Olympus Hisashi Mori, has been arrested over a nearly $2 billion cover-up at the company. Six others have also been taken into custody over one of Japan’s biggest corporate scandals. Japanese prosecutors allege that the seven suspects used shady accounting to hide $1.7 billion in investment losses. The scandal was exposed by the company’s former chief executive Michael Woodford, who was fired when he confronted the board about the cover-up.

Japanese prosecutors arrested the firm’s former president Tsuyoshi Kikukawa on suspicion of violating laws banning falsification of financial statements.

The company’s former vice president Hisashi Mori was arrested, along with former auditor Hideo Yamada. Also taken into custody were a former brokerage firm executive and three former employees of a major securities company who are alleged to have advised Olympus management about how to cover up the massive losses :: Read the full article »»»»

Cameraless iPhone 4 Available

There are clearly 2 schools of thought on smartphone cameras, in the red corner – diehard photogs – who firmly believe a camera should have a detachable lens and a body the size of a small animal. In the blue corner, the rest of the world. Singapore Mac-addicts can now get their hands on an Apple iPhone without a built-in camera. Singapore telco, M1, gave details of the price and plans of its non-camera iPhone 4 and 4S, late last week. The iPhones can now be ordered on the M1 website: www.m1.com.sg

This clever move is aimed directly at Singapore Armed Forces personnel who are barred from taking cameras into military installations. M1 is charging close to $1000  for the 64GB iPhone 4S model, with a fresh two-year contract. The cost includes the camera-removal service, which is offered by an external contractor appointed by M1. The cameras cannot be re-installed, said a M1 spokesman.

Read the full article »»»»

The KODAK PLAYFULL Dual: A Pocket Full of Dreams

Remember Kodak? Yep, the guys that  popularized photography. Apparently they still have a basement filled with boffins, not celluloid boffins but gadget creators. Kodak has been looking for an angle for a while now, looks like they’ve found it! The KODAK PLAYFULL Waterproof Video Camera!  gives you full 720p HD video in a small, affordable package :: Read the full article »»»»

Kodak Has Filed For Bankruptcy

Eastman Kodak Co, inventors of the hand-held camera, the digital camera and helped bring the world the first pictures back from the Moon, has filed for bankruptcy protection, capping a prolonged plunge for what remains one of America’s best-known companies. The 130-year-old photographic film behemoth, which had tried to restructure to become a seller of consumer products like cameras, said it had also obtained a $950 million, 18-month credit facility from Citigroup to keep it going.

Kodak said it and its US subsidiaries had filed for chapter 11 business reorganisation. Non-US subsidiaries were not covered by the filing, it added. ”The board of directors and the entire senior management team unanimously believe this is a necessary step and the right thing to do for the future of Kodak,” chairman and chief executive Antonio M Perez said in a statement. Read the full article »»»»