Do you like to capture life's most precious moments, no matter where you are? Most video cameras work best when you're firmly planted on terrestrial soil, clutching the camcorder with your own two hands. The new DVR-FHD560 HD video recorder by Genius, however, takes a vehicle-first approach, complete with a windshield mount, swiveling lens and the ability to charge via a car's cigarette lighter -- but you can also yank it off its mount and use the DVR-FHD560 as a standard camcorder to snag some film far away from your wheels.
The 2.4-inch LCD screen swivels 270 degrees for (mostly) all-around viewing angles, while the lens itself rotates a full 180 degrees to capture video in the front or rear of a vehicle. If you're worried about poor visibility conditions, don't be: said lens includes a wide 128 degree viewing angle as well as a low-light enhancement sensor for nighttime recording.
Popping the DVR-FHD560 off its mount transforms it into a standard HD video recorder, complete with a 600 mAh battery, 2-in-1 SD and SDHC card support up to 32GB, and an HDMI port. The camera's capable of snagging AVI videos at 20 frames per second in 1080p resolution or 30 fps at 720p.
The Genius DVR-FHD560 is already available for $149, which seems like a reasonable price for such a versatile camcorder -- though we haven't tried one for ourselves. If you don't need the car-friendly focus, however, other camcorders offer better frame rates and consumer-ready features.
