New HD Cameras Don't Cut It

Many digital cameras also shoot video, and two new cameras from Kodak and Panasonic take that feature one step further by adding the capability to shoot high-definition footage. At price tags under $500, a fraction of an HD camcorder, the Kodak EasyShare V1073 and Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX500 would seem too good to be true—and, writes Rob Pegoraro in the Washington Post, they largely are.

Kodak’s camera shoots HD, but it can’t deal with motion and often has a grainy, blotchy picture even when shooting still footage. Panasonic’s Lumix is free of those issues but matches HD video with clock-radio sound—not exactly a winning combination. Thankfully, Pegoraro writes, both of these issues will be solved with time, processing power, and memory, but HD fanatics may want to wait. (More high definition stories.)