Canon, Nikon video-shooting SLR cameras ready for action

By Jefferson Graham, USA TODAY

Millions of point-and-shoot-camera lovers have stepped up to more advanced digital SLRs to improve their photography. But while $1,000 or so gets you a faster-performing, sharper camera that can stop action on a dime, the fancier camera hasn't been able to shoot video, something virtually any point-and-shoot can do.

Video clips on low-cost digital cameras have gotten so good that full-featured video camcorder sales have been declining for years. Get ready to weep some more, camcorder manufacturers.

Two new SLRs can now shoot high-definition video, taking advantage of the superior lenses (much better than video cameras, way better than point-and-shoots) available for SLRs.

Nikon's $999 D90 (body only), out now, is the first digital SLR to shoot video at 720-pixal resolution. Rival Canon ups the ante next month with the upgrade to its popular 5D camera, the $2,700 (body only) EOS 5D Mark II, which shoots high-def clips in the higher-resolution 1080-pixal format.

The 5D won't be in stores for four to six weeks. I tested a preproduction model. The verdict: Video on the 5D is vastly superior to the D90, but it's not really a fair comparison. The 5D is nearly three times the cost, and the D90 is an amazing camera but better for stills.

Video quality on the D90 is on par with a good point-and-shoot. The 5D, to these eyes anyway, looks comparable to a professional video camera.

Shooting video on SLRs.

Canon and Nikon were able to introduce HD video to SLRs thanks to advances in Live View technology, which allows shutterbugs to frame images on an LCD preview screen instead of a viewfinder. Manufacturers made this video breakthrough by ramping up the power of their cameras' image processors to increase video output resolution and data transfer speeds.

I'm not a fan of Live View. If you try composing your image in bright sunlight, it's nearly impossible to see. But if you want SLR video, this is what you have to do to get it.

The good news about SLR video, and it is pretty major: You can make use of the mouthwatering, supersharp, add-on accessory lenses that camera makers promote to let us zoom in really close or go wide for wonderful vistas.

I tested both the 5D and D90 with wide-angle and telephoto zoom lenses and got video I never could achieve with a small point-and-shoot, or even my nice, expensive stand-alone video camera.

Furthermore, video from these cameras is a joy to work with. There are no tapes to transfer. And unlike the current crop of tapeless hard-drive or memory-card cameras, the video files on the D90 and 5D aren't in an incompatible format. They open right away in Windows Media Player, Apple QuickTime and other video-editing programs.

The bad news: Auto focusing is very problematic, more so on the D90 than the 5D.

With the Nikon, you need to focus the image before you start recording the video. If you move at all, and need to refocus, you can't. The only way to keep the image sharp is by switching to manual focus.

On the 5D, Canon adds a cool button on the back of the camera to keep the image in auto focus.

Low light.

One of the selling points of both cameras is that they are excellent in low-light situations. Advances in low-light sensors have gotten so good, you could shoot a movie practically in the dark with the new 5D, Chris MacAskill, president of photo-sharing site SmugMug, enthused on his blog recently.

Really?

Well, that's a little optimistic, at least in this version of the camera. Focusing ability on full-size video cameras is so much more precise, filmmakers would be wise to stick with them for now.

But MacAskill is right: You can shoot in dark situations, and the video looks terrific.

Sound.

One adage holds that 70% of the success of a video deals with sound. And most video cameras produce inferior sound, provided by the cheap, tinny built-in microphones.

Want good sound? You need to plug in an external microphone. The 5D has a slot for a microphone; the D90 does not. The sound from the D90's built-in microphone is certainly passable for vacation footage. You'll need to have the camera in your subjects' faces to be able to hear them.

Steadiness.

The 5D and D90 are not camcorders but still cameras with video capability. Your videos are likely to be less steady than on a video camera, your zooming rocky and the images shakier.

The record controls are on the back of the camera, meaning you'll be fiddling with the buttons when you start and stop each clip. You won't reach for a zoom button but the lens itself.

My advice: Use a tripod for your SLR videos.

There will be more Wii consoles this Christmas

NEW YORK (Reuters) — Japan's Nintendo expects to have more of its Wii game consoles available in the U.S. this holiday season, but stopped short of guaranteeing there will be no shortages of the popular device.

There will be a "significant increase from 2007's levels" in North American supplies of the Wii between October and December, the company said in a statement Thursday. Supplies of the Nintendo DS handheld device will also be available "in greater abundance" the company said.

"While there's no way to gauge total demand for our hardware systems, we're trying to satisfy as many of those players as possible," said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America's executive vice president of sales and marketing.

Last year during the holiday season, the device was very hard to find, with many stores quickly selling out shipments that they received each week.

Nintendo at one point offered a "rain check" program with game retailer GameStop to deliver the Wii in January to shoppers who could not get the game console during the holiday season due to inventory shortages.

The Wii had been in hot demand due largely to its unique motion-sensing controller and simpler games that have drawn customers outside the traditional base of young males.

Sales of the Wii and rival consoles — Microsoft's Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3 by Sony — are expected to be strong this holiday.

'Rock Band' sequel steals the show

What do you do for an encore after launching one of the biggest video games in recent memory? If you're Harmonix, the makers of the just-launched "Rock Band 2," you make it bigger, better and louder.

This sequel to last year's ambitious music game features more than 80 new rock songs, including tracks from the likes of AC/DC, Soundgarden, Bon Jovi, The Who, Linkin Park and even Guns N' Roses' new "Shackler's Revenge," from the highly anticipated album "Chinese Democracy."

If you haven't stepped onstage with the original "Rock Band," in this game series you play along to hit rock songs on a plastic guitar or drum kit peripheral, or sing in a microphone, and must hit the right note/drum at the correct time in order to rack up points. Perform well and the virtual crowd claps to the beat, but make too many flubs and you might hear some boos or get yanked offstage.

The real fun in the game, however, is playing different instruments with friends as a band in front of the same TV or over the Internet, hence the name of the game.

This sequel doesn't veer much from what made its predecessor the hottest thing since, well, "Guitar Hero," but a few improvements and additions help justify the purchase. First, the only thing that isn't louder in "Rock Band 2" is the instruments. The "Special Edition Bundle" version of the game ($189.99) ships with a quieter and wireless drum kit, along with a more responsive and better-looking guitar and microphone.

Along with all new songs, "Rock Band 2" also features new solo and multiplayer game modes (such as a "Battle of the Bands" online competition) and the ability to import most of the original "Rock Band" tracks (but this will cost you $5 to "compensate music licensors for expanded use" says Harmonix). Tracks that will not be available for import into "Rock Band 2" are "Paranoid," "Run to the Hills" and "Enter Sandman."

Speaking of extra songs, "Rock Band 2" will again allow you to download additional tracks — by song or complete albums — and will play any previously downloaded track, too. By year's end, more than 500 downloadable tracks will be available for the game.

While unannounced, MTV Games has confirmed that the upcoming Nintendo Wii version of ``Rock Band 2'' will offer the same online functionality -- i.e. song downloads and Internet multiplayer modes -- as the Microsoft Xbox 360 and Sony PS3 versions. The PS2 version, however, will not include online connectivity.

So, is "Rock Band 2" worth the money? The answer is yes, but with a condition. If you loved the first game and are happy with the plastic instruments you already own, then just pick up the disc with all the new songs and modes on it, because the new instruments — while wireless and quieter — might not be worth the cost for the entire kit. But if you're new to the game series or prefer the new peripherals, then the entire kit is for you.

And let's face it — because the original game is only 9 months old, "Rock Band 2" isn't too radically different than "Rock Band" — so consider this game "Rock Band 1.5" rather than a true sequel. That said, gamers looking for a rocking thrill won't be disappointed with this purchase.

Japanese cellphone can unlock car, start engine

By Jay Alabaster, Associated Press

TOKYO — A new Japanese mobile phone will automatically unlock the doors of its owners' cars and let drivers start their engines without using an ignition key.

The phone, built by Sharp, uses a technology previously developed by Nissan Motor called "Intelligent Key" that allows drivers enter and start their cars without removing their keys from their pockets or bags.

Cars equipped with the system sense when the correct key is nearby, automatically unlocking their car doors, and allow the engine to be started once the key is brought inside the car. Nissan said it has shipped about a million cars with the technology in Japan since 2002.

The new twist on this technology is that it is loaded in a phone. The service will work on the mobile network operated by NTT DoCoMo, Japan's largest mobile operator.

The companies said in a joint press release Wednesday they will display the technology next week at CEATEC, a major technology conference in Tokyo. They are continuing development and aim to bring the phone to market sometime after March of next year.

Japanese phones are some of the most sophisticated in the world; most come standard with digital TV, music players, GPS, cameras that double as barcode scanners, and wireless credit cards.