Canon and Nikon broke ground when they launched DSLRs that have HD video capabilities. Now Sony’s taking a different approach by offering a comparatively affordable HD video camera with all the attractiveness of interchangeable lenses, plus the ability to take high resolution stills.

Sony revealed its plans to release a camcorder with the same interchangeable lens system as their NEX series cameras this past May, but announced today that the NEX-VG10 will be available in September for around $2000.

Not only will the camcorder share the same Sony E-mount as the NEX series (it comes standard with a kit 18-200mm f3.5-6.3 lens), Sony DSLR owners will be pleased to know that with a separate adapter, the camcorder can be mounted with any A-mount lenses — including Sony G and Carl Zeiss lenses.

The camcorder also has the same Exmor APS HD CMOS sensor as the NEX-3 and NEX-5. The DSLR sized sensor alone gives the camera a lot of extra real estate to work with; Sony boasts the sensor to be approximately 19.5 times larger than the standard sensor of conventional camcorders.

The NEX-VG10 can shoot 1920×1080 high def video at 60 fps, which Sony says is ideal for Blu-Ray recording. And for stills shooting, it can capture 14 megapixel images with a continuous burst of up to 7 fps.

Some benefits of using the NEX-VG10 over a video DSLR is that the camcorder has the right ergonomics and image stabilization for shooting video, and doesn’t have the same limited clip time that plagues DSLR video shooters — it can shoot up to 315 continuous minutes. Also, Sony says the NEX-VG10 has a silent auto-focus system that could cut down on noise typical on video DSLRs.

Stills shooters may appreciate the camera’s Auto HDR mode, but the fact that it doesn’t shoot RAW images could be a dealbreaker.

You can pre-order the NEX-VG10 from Sony Style.

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Nikon President Makoto Kimura says that in order to keep its “top position” in Japan’s DSLR market, it needs to create an “entirely new domain” that may go well beyond its plans for a mirrorless, EVIL camera.

In an interview with Pen News Weekly, Kimura said:

“Nowadays digital cameras take movies, performance of cameraphones is rapidly advancing and demand for simple movie cameras for uploading video on the Internet is on the rise. Redefinition of photography may become necessary.”

Much of this comes at the heels of Canon’s revelation of their future plans at the Shanghai World Expo, with its Wonder Camera presentation.  With the introduction of cameras like the iPhone 4 and other smartphones with HD video modes, both companies suggest that there is a lot of pressure to keep abreast of the improving technology in typically lower-end camera competition from camera phones, as well as in higher end DSLRs with video capabilities. It seems that Kimura hopes to reassert Nikon’s product by marketing EVIL cameras to consumers primarily for higher quality video and video sharing, perhaps through a built-in internet mode.

However, it sounds like Nikon may have more up its sleeve than simply adding better video and internet. Kimura also said:

“It will be a camera that may take photos of the world that the traditional SLR cannot reach.”

(via Nikon Rumors)

If you want to dabble in 3D on your SLR without having to use separate frames or “gluing” your cameras together, this 3D lens accessory by Loreo might be a happy solution. The Loreo 3D Lens-in-a-Cap is a standalone lens that mounts onto the camera body like a normal lens. The resulting image is duplicated side-by-side, and can be enjoyed in 3D with a special monitor viewer.

You can see sample photos taken with the accessory on the Loreo site.

The Lens-in-a-Cap is available for Nikon, Canon, Pentax, and Sony/Minolta mounts for $150. Individual monitor viewers are $2.50 or less.

Or, if you don’t mind being cross-eyed or seeing double (remember that technique you used to see Magic Eye 3D books in the 90s?), you can actually see the image above in 3D.

(via Engadget)