camcorder/digital camera or digital camera/camcorder?

[TheDisneyClan]

Hi!

We go on vacation every other month or so for 10-14 days. We usually take 600 or so pictures with our digital camera and 60-90 minutes of video with our camcorder. Those are total numbers per vacation.

So I went to circut city yesterday to buy a decent camcorder which also takes digital still pictures so that I no longer have to fumble between the two. Was shocked to learn (according to the sales person) that the highest quality digital pic you will get on a camcorder is about 1MP. Our current digital camera is 5.2 MP. So she was insiting I should buy a digital camera with extra SD cards and just take my video and pics with the digital camera. My concern is that the video our current digital camera takes is horrible. Its about 3 years old, so I am sure things have improved, but I am still skeptical.

Anybody use have a decent camcorder that takes really good digital stills also, or a digital camera that takes really good (camcorder quality) video?

Any recommendations would be so appreciated. I really want one device that will do both, but am sooo confused after talking to the sales person.

Thanks

 

[simonkodousek]

Hi,

I recently purchased a Kodak Easyshare Z710, and I am extremely happy with it. The still picture quality is excellent (an example is below) and the camcorder quality is pretty decent. I highly recommend this camera. Here is the Amazon link.

Here is a still picture example...



~Simon

PS: Remember, I am still an amatuer at photography!

 

[Jeanne B]

I've taken a few videos with my S3 and I've actually been quite impressed, much more so than the still pictures I've taken with our camcorder. Granted, it doesn't replace a camcorder but if I had to choose between the two I would definitely go with my S3.

 

[Groucho]

A lot of the digital cameras have pretty decent video modes now. But they definitely are not a substitute for the real thing.

Most (not all, but most) can't do true zoom in movie mode... this was a feature that I really enjoyed having on my Minolta 12x zoom... meanwhile, my wife's SD600 with a mere 3x zoom cannot, only "digital zoom" which looks lousy.

You won't have the "steadishot"-type stabilization with a digital camera, even one with IS.

Quality will be worse, of course, although maybe not as bad as you might expect.

Low-light will look especially bad with the digital camera, and no "night mode".

The biggest one, though, is that since you're recording to a memory card, you'll be pretty limited in the amount you can record - forget 60-90 minutes unless you take a lot of memory cards, and you'd still probably be having to empty them out nightly.

If you're willing to live with these drawbacks, then the things to look for are 640x480 at 30fps, and also take note of how long the movies can be. Some will only record a minute's worth (or less) at a time, some will record until your memory card is full. Some reviews will feature a sample movie as well as sample photos, so you can get an idea of what to expect. The other thing is the format - some record in mpeg4 (giving you an AVI file), some record in Apple Quicktime. Quicktime is a nightmare to deal with, so you can guess which I think is better in that regard!

On a side note, megapixel rating has zero to do with image quality, it's about 80-90% marketing. Image quality is a function of the size of the sensor (and design, but most other than Fuji are pretty similar, Fuji's pretty much alone in pushing larger, fancier sensors in point-n-shoot cameras) and the quality of the lens in front of it. If the sensor remains the same size and design while the megapixel number increases, you'll generally end up with worse-quality photos.

Sensor size is part of the reason why camcorders stink as still cameras, too - they have relatively small sensors even compared to the most basic of digital cameras, because they only have to record 720x480 resolution. (Ignoring high-def camcorders, of course.) Those little things just aren't cut out for the extra quality you need for a still image.

Ultimately, at this point, there is no good all-in-one setup and I doubt we'll see one any time soon.

 

[LPZ_Stitch!]

Unfortunately, if you take a lot of video *and* a lot of stills, you aren't really going to be happy with just one camera.

I also have an Canon S3 and I love the video mode (640x480/30fps); you have full access to the zoom while shooting movies and the ultrasonic motor can't be heard by the stereo microphones, you can take still shots while shooting movies at full normal MP/size and the IS remains operational so you have some assistance, but it isn't as good as a dedicated camcorder.

The biggest problem is that you can only take 1G video at a time (each file is limited to 1G, regardless of how long it takes to reach it); which is only about 8min/GB ... you fill up SD cards quickly shooting video! An 8G SDHC card is only good for about 32min!!