Compact camera with good video capture

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James Varty - 03 Mar 2008 18:58 GMT

Just wondered if anyone could recommend a digital camera which also has very
good video capture capabilities (or visa versa)? I was just about to
purchase a digital camcorder when our digital camera broke. Having something
that can do both jobs would therefore be ideal. Don't want to spend more
than £300. Would a very small camcorder that takes good stills be the best
way forward?

Any pointers appreciated

Cheers

James

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Trev - 03 Mar 2008 19:12 GMT

> Just wondered if anyone could recommend a digital camera which also
> has very good video capture capabilities (or visa versa)? I was just
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
>
> James

A £300 camcordor will take low res stills with lots of noise. A £300 still
will take only very short movie clips.

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Trev
You can always tell a Yorkshire man,
But you can't tell him much.

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Vance - 03 Mar 2008 19:30 GMT

> > Just wondered if anyone could recommend a digital camera which also
> > has very good video capture capabilities (or visa versa)? I was just
[quoted text clipped - 16 lines]
> You can always tell a Yorkshire man,
> But you can't tell him much.

Take a look at the Canon Line of compact digitals. Several of them
take very good videos and also produce very good quality stills for
most consumer uses. How long your videos would be depends on the
memory card. I think you can find reviews of several of them on
www.dpreview.com including comparative opinions on the video quality
and some videos.

Whether these cameras would be an option will depend on your needs and
the compromises that you are willing to make. If your emphasis is
video, then a camcorder is better. Video, by it's very nature,
produces lower resolution images than a still camera, but the
camcorder will be optimized and feature rich in that direction. The
converse is true for a still camera with video capability.

Vance

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Dudley Hanks - 03 Mar 2008 20:53 GMT

> Just wondered if anyone could recommend a digital camera which also has
> very good video capture capabilities (or visa versa)? I was just about to
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
>
> James

what is the main purpose you want the camera for?

Most digital cameras that also take videos will not produce videos
comparable to an actual video camera. For instance, I have a Canon A720
which takes video clips that look really nice on the TV screen, but the
sound is not that great. Also, you cannot use the optical Zoom feature
while you are filming the video. You are limited to using the digital zoom.
Moreover, any little movement of your fingers on the camera while filming is
picked up by the microphone so the noise level is unacceptably high.

On the flipside, if you get a video camera that also takes stills, the
videos will be good but your still pictures will be limited in size. The
sensor size of video cameras is not usually as big as the sensor in a still
camera, so you won't be able to blow up the image as large should you get a
nice shot that would look good on your living room wall.

If you want a good video camera and a good stills picture camera, get one of
each. If your preference is for a still camera and you want to catch the
odd video clip, then the Digi cam is a good idea. Or, if you mainly want to
take videos with the odd snapshot thrown in, a digital video camera with
stills capability should fit the bill.

The best trade-off I know of is the Canon Powershot S5. It does 8Meg
stills, and has stereo sound with the video clips. But, the clips are
limited to 4Gigs (about 33 minutes at high quality).

Good Luck,
Dudley

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BackPacker - 03 Mar 2008 21:41 GMT

> The best trade-off I know of is the Canon Powershot S5. It does 8Meg
> stills, and has stereo sound with the video clips. But, the clips are
> limited to 4Gigs (about 33 minutes at high quality).

It also has 12x zoom that you can use while recording, unlike many digicams.
You can zoom at one of two speeds, depending on how hard you pull the zoom
lever, and it's completely silent (and it records in stereo). Of course,
some videocams zoom to around 30x.

The older Canon S3 is a cheaper alternative to the S5 but has a smaller LCD
screen. Both the S3 and the S5 are good bridge cameras with most of the
features of the DSLR but with a smaller sensor. Their only drawback IMO is
that you get a fair bit of noise at 400 ISO and up. There is a hack you can
load that can perform in-camera noise reduction, and it gives good enough
results.

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BackPacker

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James Varty - 04 Mar 2008 18:58 GMT

> The best trade-off I know of is the Canon Powershot S5. It does 8Meg
> stills, and has stereo sound with the video clips. But, the clips are
> limited to 4Gigs (about 33 minutes at high quality).

Cheers for the advice. I'll have a look at the Canon. A friend has suggested
the Sony CyberShot DSC-N1. I'll primarily be using it for photos and short
videos, so I suppose a camera with good video capabilities the best option.
Is an external mic a good idea?

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Dudley Hanks - 04 Mar 2008 19:48 GMT

>> The best trade-off I know of is the Canon Powershot S5. It does 8Meg
>> stills, and has stereo sound with the video clips. But, the clips are
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
> and short videos, so I suppose a camera with good video capabilities the
> best option. Is an external mic a good idea?

Depending on the situation, it can be.

If you are filming a group of people who don't move a lot, a nice
omni-directional mic strategically placed will probably out-perform the
built in mic of whatever camera you are using. But, if the action is moving
around and you don't have the budget of MGM to hire a film crew to do the
sound for you, external mics will probably prove more annoying than useful.

Regarding the Canon Powershot S5, I'm not sure if you can actually plug an
external into it. If you want to go that route, that is one of the things
you'll need to check.

I can't use an external with my A720, and its built-in isn't that great, so
I employ a Sony mini-disk (mzm 10 pro) to record audio and then I overlay it
with the video using a program called Multiquence (available at
http://www.goldwave.com). For special effects, narrative overlays, video
editing, title / credits, etc, I either use Multiquence or Adobe.

It takes a bit of time to get things sequenced properly, but the end result
is quite good.

Good Luck,
Dudley

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Zimmy - 04 Mar 2008 16:16 GMT

> Just wondered if anyone could recommend a digital camera which also has
> very good video capture capabilities (or visa versa)? I was just about to
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
>
> Any pointers appreciated

Although many still cameras can take good quality video, the sound quality
isn't always great, you get a lot of wind and 'finger' noise and zooming may
be noisy or may even be disabled. They generally don't work well in low
light either. You'll also need quite a few high capacity memory cards.

The still resolution is normally limited in video cameras, so you takes your
choice.

Z

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monopix - 05 Mar 2008 17:53 GMT

> Just wondered if anyone could recommend a digital camera which also has
> very good video capture capabilities (or visa versa)? I was just about to
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
>
> James

The Gadget Show on 5Life at 9.00 tonight (wednesday) is reviewing cameras
that do both.

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George Harold Hartshorn III - 04 Dec 2008 11:28 GMT

PreVisite (PVS-7030)
7.0 Mega Pixels
3.0 inch LCD screen
3X optical zoom
comes with a "fish eye" lens for visual tour photos, metal carrying case,
recharger for the batteries. Great for real estate agents or anyone wanting
to take wide shots. Comes with software. $150

> Just wondered if anyone could recommend a digital camera which also has
> very good video capture capabilities (or visa versa)? I was just about to
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
>
> James

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