Point-and-Shoot HD Video Cameras

USA Today reports:

Camera makers are looking to high-definition video to revive point-and-shoot camera sales hit hard by the recession. Digital cameras — on an upswing for a decade — finally hit a wall at the end of 2008. Unit sales rose 7% for the year but tumbled in the fourth quarter, when the industry sees 40% of its annual volume.

The photo industry meets in Las Vegas next week for the annual Photo Marketing Association trade show, where new cameras are introduced for late spring sales aimed at graduations and Father's Day. Canon, Panasonic, Sony, Casio and other manufacturers will tout new point-and-shoots that are more full-featured and lower-priced than last year — with greatly improved video features.

Canon lit up the blogosphere in November with the release of its $2,700 5D Mark II — a digital SLR (single lens reflex) camera that can shoot full 1080p high-def. Now it is bringing that feature to a point-and-shoot, the compact $599 PowerShot SX1 (pictured above).