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Gadget Gift Guide 2009

Woo Hoo!  It’s that time of year again, when Gadget Geeks all around the world tremble with barely contained excitement over this year’s crop of gadgets, in hopes that one (or all) of them will make it under the tree this year.  This year saw some huge jumps by certain manufacturers to solidify or regain their leads in their respective sectors.  There may not be as many new gadgets this year as in years past, but this year’s collection easily offers the best bang for the buck, especially in the categories of cameras and MP3 music players.  For this year’s guide, I’m going to focus on the best in digital cameras, MP3 players, and the best video games for the Xbox 360, PS3, and Wii.  So lets kick things off with my favorite gadgets, digital cameras!

Digital Cameras:  Last year Nikon handed my Canon boys their rear-ends in the SLR camera department, but this year Canon pulled out the stops and in my humble opinion retook their lead as the top digital SLR leader on the market (before you Nikon Nerds blast me with emails, this is not a knock against Nikon as a whole which makes fabulous cameras, it is just that right now, Canon owns the top spot in almost every sector of digital SLR market).

Pro-Level D-SLR: While Canon did just come out with the 1D Mark IV recently, and it is a beautifully capable camera for sports photography, I still have to say that for overall versatility, last year’s late entry the 5D Mark II is still the best in class.  People a year later are still marveling at its 21-megapixel quality.  Also, while I considered its ability to shoot 1080p HD video at a movie 24 frames per second (think big screen movie style) to be a kind of cool, what some budding and professional cinematographers have produced with this camera is nothing short of stunning.  While it would still be great if they could find a way to work autofocus into the movie shooting, it obviously hasn’t hampered the pros in how they do their business.  It still isn’t cheap by any means at $2500 but what you get with this camera beats out cameras that cost three times as much.

Semi-Pro/Serious Amateur D-SLR: Canon’s new 7D, which only hit the street a few weeks ago is my new object of lust.  While it may not pack the 21 megapixel, full-frame sensor of the 5D Mark II, the 7D certainly breaks ground as the first camera in a new series by Canon in a decade (it fits between the 5D series and the xxD series, of which the 50D is the current model).  The new 18 megapixel APS-C sized sensor (smaller than a 35mm film frame and identical to the xxD and Rebel series cameras) seems to violate the laws of physics by packing a ton of pixels onto the same size chip without the usual explosion noise that many sensors tend to exhibit once you reach a pixel density like this.  It has to be the work of the camera’s software that makes this possible but whatever it is, this camera turns out some stunning photos even in really low light situations (still can’t beat the 5D Mark II but it costs a &1000 bucks less).  The real beauty of this camera lies in its improved ergonomics and new 3” screen, which improves its usage in outdoor situations.

A real first though is the new viewfinder for the 7D, which now provides 100% coverage of the frame (most only show you 95% of the frame and you sometimes get elements you didn’t want in your picture that you have to crop out later).  The other really cool thing about the viewfinder is that it now has a transparent LCD screen overlay that allows you to turn on and off information that is shown in the viewfinder such as horizon lines, a real boon if you are like me and seemingly unable to maintain a flat horizon in your pictures without assistance (perhaps I should just lay off the booze while shooting photos, but that takes away half the fun).  The 7D has the same cosmic movie shooting capability as the 5D, though without the full frame sensor, but it should start producing similar stellar results.  The 7D isn’t cheap at $1750 (body only) or $1900 with a 28-135mm lens but this camera should meet the needs for many photographers for years to come.

Super-Zoom Compact: The Panasonic FZ-35 is yet another upgrade to the whole FZ-18/28 line and continues to have all the features that keep it continually at the top of almost any super-zoom review list (such as a superb Leica lens, great image quality, and a very good viewfinder).  They also continue to add refinements that keep it just one step ahead of their competition (to include Canon).  This year, just like every other camera it would seem, video is where it seems to be.  The FZ-35 is not a slouch here and provides 1080p High Def video with stereo microphone inputs cleverly situated right in front of the flash.  The sensor is a respectable 12 megapixel sensor, and while other superzooms may go up to a 20 times zoom factor, the FZ-35 kept theirs at 18 times zoom, which probably explains why it continues to still produce good photos while a lot of those pushing the zoom envelope actually saw a drop in quality (there is only so much you can ask from the lenses in these cameras).  The great thing about this camera is that you can easily find it for just a little over $300 on Amazon and it beats out cameras that are hundreds of dollars more.

Compact: This category actually is the story of one sensor in two cameras.  Canon decided to buck the trend and instead of cramming more pixels into every camera they made, the sensor they use in both the G11 and S90 actually has fewer pixels than the previous generation (they went back down to 10 megapixels from 14 megapixels).  With that extra breathing room they made the sensor more sensitive to light and made it produce good quality shots where other cameras would just produce noise.  This is a move I have been waiting for years for a major camera manufacturer to make. I’m glad to see Canon took the lead on this one.  The megapixel race has run it’s course and really they need to focus more on the camera’s low light capability since most people use their cameras indoors at parties or during the prime outdoor shooting times of dawn and dusk.

G11: The G11 is the (reasonably) compact camera that every owner of a D-SLR wants when they can’t lug around their big camera and all of the equipment and lenses that go with it.  This line of cameras has often been cited by pros as the one they most often pull out when an SLR is either too bulky or obtrusive to use.  This thing is built like a tank and has tons of knobs and switches, which may seem counterintuitive for a pro-camera, but the pros don’t have time to go digging into menus on their camera’s screen to change settings, they need to be able to switch them quickly and shoot.  The G11 makes sure that you rarely, if ever, have to dig into a menu to change an important setting.  The camera also took a step back in the screen size on the back (down to 2.8 inches from 3 inches) but brought back the swivel screen which allows for shooting from a greater number of angles and allows you to swivel the screen so it is against the body of the camera and protect it better (helping to maintain it’s tank-like ruggedness).  I got this camera the day it hit the street in November and I see it going with me many places. I would have missed a lot of photo opportunities just because I didn’t want to lug all my SLR gear.  Unfortunately the G11 is priced like an entry level D-SLR at about $500.

S90: The S90 is the super-sexy version of pair and boosts the sensor’s already impressive low-light capability by pairing it with a very fast f2.0 lens allowing for a ton more light to get through to the sensor than virtually any other compact camera out there.  This is the camera you want in your pocket or purse if you are always taking pictures at indoor parties.  You will be able to get blur-free photos where everyone else just has smears of color on their screens.  This camera is arguably the king of the compact cameras (for a few months at least until someone comes up and trumps Canon) and would be an awesome camera for anyone who wants a truly compact camera to take with them wherever they go that will not let them down in virtually any photo situation.  The S90 is a tad expensive at $400 but you will not find any compact that can do what the S90 can do with even half of the quality for less than this.

MP3 Players

I’m going to reiterate my statement from last year and just say there is NO reason why everyone should not just go out and get an iPod.  While I might have made a few caveats last year saying that the boys and girls at Apple need to get off their duffs and add in a few features (such as an FM radio tuner, for gym use not because anyone really listens to the radio any more) that many other brands include in their players; those same boys and girls answered all of my gripes and even one-upped me.  The new iPod Nano line has the FM tuner I have been squawking about for years and just like every other gadget in the world this year, they added a camera!  (Just as a side note, is there going to be ANY device in the next few years that doesn’t have a camera on it?  Do I really need a camera on my bread maker showing me bored for hours waiting for the bread to mix and bake?)  Not only is the Nano a pro at taking pictures, but it also shoots great video clips as well, as if it were possible for you to miss that little fact after Apple’s iPod advertising blitz this season.

With the addition of the FM tuner and the integration of the Nike+ system into the Nano without an attachment, the Nano has become the hands-down winner of the best MP3 player for the gym since you can now use it to tune into the broadcasts that many large gyms use for the TVs in front of all the cardio equipment as well as use it with your Nike+ shoes to track your exercise routine in or out of the gym.  The camera though is actually a step back for it in this realm since I really don’t think we need any pictures of ‘naked hairy guy’ from the locker room posted on the web.  The Nano is still a steal at $149 for the 8GB model and $179 for the 16GB model.

As for the rest of the iPod lineup, the Touch remains a great iPod for those who want the Apps of the iPhone without the Phone (though it was surprising to see that it didn’t get a camera as well, but sources would have you believe that that will be corrected in the spring of next year) and the Shuffle got a new sleek form factor and a bump up in capacity with a loss in its ease of use and battery life.  The 64GB Touch is $399 and the 4GB Shuffle is $79 ($99 if you want the cool polished stainless steel look).

Video Games

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 – (Mature; Very, VERY mature) This game is the First-Person Shooter to end all First Person Shooters (at least until Modern Warfare 3 in 2011).  This game made $530 million dollars in its first week on sale!  That beat the opening week of any movie ever made by a couple of hundred million or so.  This game has so many jaw-dropping moments in it’s single-player campaign that alone justify it’s $60 price tag but you more than get your money’s worth with the multiplayer that will keep you playing till all hours of the night just to rank up one more level and unlock that next cool weapon or item for you to use.  Be warned though, there is one level that the game gives you the option to skip if you are faint hearted.  I’m not squeamish by any means, but even I found myself taking a bit of a ‘gut check’ playing it (I won’t give it away for fear of ruining it for you or your gamer loved one, but it is a doozy).  It is out for the 360, PS3, and PC.

LEGO Indiana Jones 2 – (Everyone 10+) The first LEGO Indiana Jones game was a hoot even for older players (maybe more so since we remember seeing the good Indiana Jones movies  in the theaters- you know, all the ones other than the last one).  While this game focuses primarily on the rather lame ‘Kingdom of the Crystal Skull’ movie, it does still hit on all the old favorites and provides a lot of the antics that the LEGO games are famous for.

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves – (Teen) The follow-up to 2007’s smash hit, Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, Uncharted 2 follows Nathan Drake’s continued adventures in search of lost relics (think of him as a male Lara Croft from Tomb Raider) and continues to serve up some of the best graphics and gameplay of any game on the PS3 system.  It is only available for the PS3 but it, and its predecessor, are such good games they are almost worth the cost of a PS3 to play.

So that is it for this year’s annual gadget guide, I hope you or your loved one gets all the gadgets their little geeked out heart desires.  As always, if you have any gadget question, or request for a review, feel free to write me at jeff@healthandleisureonline.com.  Have a very happy holiday!