I need camera help!!

[wheelerkidz3]

hi everyone! i tend to lurk on this board, but i have to say that all your pics are so beautiful. we have been to WDW about 5 times in the past 8 yrs, and also on 2 disney cruises. we are booked for the eastbound Panama Canal cruise next august, and i want to be able to take some great photos/videos! I see lots of recommendations on diff cameras, but i'm not really sure what i'm even looking for! our digital camera is almost 2 yrs old, but i don't really like it due to a few factors...mainly the itty bitty screen. we haven't bought a camcorder in quite a few years...ummm...maybe like 6 yrs! LOL!...so the one we have is a larger model. not huge, but quite bulkier than we care to carry...meaning we usually leave it at home in the closet! since getting a digital camera a few years ago, we mainly use that for short video clips. i've only ever been able to view them on teh computer though, and the kids get upset that they don't get to put it in the tv and watch themselves!
so i guess what i need help with is...
should we just get a really nice camera that takes great video clips?
or should we get a new digital camera plus some type of camcorder? i like to have the videos, but i'm really not great with carrying a bunch of stuff with us! after all...we have 3 kids...and its hard enough to keep up with them! lol! we plan on using the camera/cameras at wdw, on cruises, and of course for the tons of photos i tend to take just around the house. we hope to have another child soon too, so we'd also be taking tons of pics/videos due to that!
can anyone help me out? give me any pointers? thanks in advance for any help!

 

[YEKCIM]

That's a pretty tall order, and can be approached from a number of different angles. The options, not in any particular order would be as follows, from my perspective:

1. Camcorder that takes still pictures. You'll get better video, but worse stills.

2. Buy separate PnS still camera and camcorder. You'll get better video and better stills, but you'll spend more money and have more stuff to carry around. Most likely, there would be overlap, in that the corder will probably be capable of stills and the digicam would be capable of short videos.

3. DSLR still camera and camcorder. Best still quality and best video quality option, but the most expensive of the options, by far

4. High-end PnS still camera that will take good quality stills (though not as good as dSLR) and use it for both stills and video. This is a compromise and neither the stills nor the video will be of the highest quality possible, but might very well be adequate. You'd need plenty of memory cards if you shoot a lot of video. Sort of the opposite of #1, above, where the camcorder is the do-it-all choice.

Once you narrow it down to a single scenario, you can begin to research specific brands and models.

~YEKCIM

 

[LPZ_Stitch!]

I think all three of the latest "bridge" cameras (the Canon S3, Sony H7/9 and the Fuji S6000fd) all have a "video out" port that you can plug directly into a TV, VCR or DVD recorder.

I know for a fact that the S3 has one, because I've used it to play some rock concert stills and videos I took for my DW (who had to miss the show); right on our TV, straight from the SD card in the camera.

Most of these types of cameras take really nice video (stereo in the case of the S3), all of them allow zooming and stills while shooting video, but they chew up SD/xD cards like nothing! You only get about 8.5min per 1G on the S3!