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General discussion

Best video mode Point and Shoot digital camera?

by Addicus2756 Jan 2, 2007 7:52AM PST

Hello,

I started out my digital photo career about a year ago when I got a Canon digital rebel XT (350D) for my graduation from high school. And as much as ive enjoyed the rebel, it?s rather cumbersome to carry around in a college party type situation for fast shooting, and it defiantly can?t be pocketed.

So what I?m looking for now is a point and shoot for under $350 that can take good pictures, and also, most importantly, can take nice video footage with sound. I would like the camera to shoot at least 640x480 resolution movie files at 30fps or better, and would also really like a model that can shoot up to 60FPS or more at a lower resolution, or a higher resolution, although ive never seen that be the case. The type of storage card doesn?t matter to me, but I would shy away from any camera that automatically limits the amount of time that I can record in any one movie mode.

It would also be preferred that the camera can take somewhat of a beating, since im going to take it snowboarding. Although I can stick it in a case and plastic bag so it doesn?t have to be specifically made shock resistant and waterproof, just something that can take a jostle or two every now and then and not break. The tougher the better essentially.

Please fell free to recommend any cameras you think would fit what im looking for. I have done a little research on my own, but I figure getting the opinions of some knowledgeable community members from various forums would help me become more informed on my choice. Thanks a bunch!

PS. When I say ?under $350 please?, I mean from ANYWHERE I can buy it. Like if I can get the model you would recommend for under $350 used on ebay, that?s fine with me.

Thanks again, Shawn.

Discussion is locked

15 Posts
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Update
by Addicus2756 Jan 2, 2007 11:17AM PST

After a bit more research i think in order to get the the movie recording i described, and a small pocket like shape, the more recent Canon powershot models (SD600,SD630,SD700) look the best to me. Anyone see any alternatives?

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Those are perfect for what you want...
by whizkid454 Jan 2, 2007 12:44PM PST

You will be happy with any one of those... Happy

Good luck!

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?
by Addicus2756 Jan 2, 2007 1:57PM PST

actualy i just heard that those models have a limit of 60 seconds continous video record time, can anyone confirm or deny that? so ill need a canon SD700+ to record video for as long as i want?

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Link...
by whizkid454 Jan 2, 2007 10:33PM PST

Go to the movie clip section on this page, 1/3 of the way down:

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canona700/

With this camera there is an option for 60fps like you wanted, but thats the one for only a minute. You can go up to the ones that offer up to 1GB and I would say that is around 10-12 minutes of continuous video.

Another one that does this is the SD800 IS.

The SD600, SD630, and SD700 IS will allow you up to an hour of recording or up to a 1GB file size on some settings.

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Getting rid of screen indications
by JY-JR Jan 12, 2007 8:05PM PST

Thought maybe you could help me with this - I have an older JVC video camera JVC GR-AXM225 (VHS-C)that I am trying to use just to send a video signal remotely - not record. If I don't start to record within 5 mins. of turning the cam on - it shuts off automatically. If I remove the tape - the camera stays on, but I have a tape indicator icon that flashes and is part of the video signal. Is there anyway to get rid of the screen indicators or foot the camera so that they don't show??
JY

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Camcorders
by snapshot2 Forum moderator Jan 13, 2007 12:51AM PST
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Digital Snapshot//VidIMAGE
by castingRod47 Jan 2, 2007 5:37PM PST

I've tried the Video setting about three or four times..in my opinion and since my time is valuable..I like my Palmcorder for video format(DV)..
I would suggest TAPE over the new DVD-disk format..if your gonna' jostle the camera about..
Unless somebody out there knows that the HDD or DVD-disk format holds under "banging"..
I like my DV-tape format..
My PanaSonic PV-DV53 is years old/I've dragged it thru a terrible time and its "Still Ticking"..!!
So far I would suggest that in a DV-tape format the Fast Forward and Reverse Buttons are a bit HARSH on the TAPE BED,,the mechanism seems to get lost in all the action..
So I will hand-wind my TAPES these days..it might be the age of my CamCorder..don't really know..
But the last couple of months the PalmCorder was deader than a door nail..and some of my DV-Tapes began to tangle inside the Tape Bed..
I did a radical Clean JOB inside the BED..bought NEW Tape..also ran the Cassette Tape head CLEANER(TDK)..utilizeing the Hand-Winding the Camera has been operateing 100%..so far..the Video Footage even seems better w/the Cleaning process..
Digital JPG Camera's seem to offer about 15seconds-1:00minute of vid..
You may get stuck in a .mov file extension..
When your best in DV-avi..editing into the compressed mpeg-2..w/MP3 Audio tracks..30fps seems the NORM in Software Video Editing and Authoring..both ROXIO and NOW...NERO 7 seem to go there(30fps).

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(NT) Camera video, not camcorder video....
by whizkid454 Jan 2, 2007 10:20PM PST
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a
by Addicus2756 Jan 3, 2007 12:16AM PST

yeah, lets just stick to video on the point and shoot cameras. I obviously know the quality on these models wont be anywhere near an actual camcorder, but thats the whole point, im sacraficing quality to have both good pictures and decent movie files (for what ill be using them for) in one device. keep those tips rolling in, and thanks to everyone who has contributed thus far!

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canon sd900 or G7?
by photo_dee Jan 4, 2007 7:58AM PST

I am looking for something similar. I am a new mom and so want a compact camera to carry around and capture -spur-of-the-moment pics and short movie clips of my baby. I want the camera to be good enough so I can enlarge the pics. I'm considering the following...any thoughts anyone?

1)Canon A640 -bulky, but lots of good features for stills, 640 x 480 @ 15/30fps

2)Canon SD900 -Very compact, Has 1024 x 768 @ 15 fps, 640 x 480 @ 30 fps, NO manual focus

3)Canon PowerShot G7 -Has 1024 x 768 @ 15 fps, 640 x 480 @ 30 fps, weighs almost a pound, better zoom and has image stabilization, manual focus, bulkier than SD900

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Couple questions:
by whizkid454 Jan 4, 2007 8:21AM PST

1. Do you want a manual focus option?

2. Certain amount of optical zoom?

3. Preferred media(SD,xD,CF,MS)?

4. LCD size?

Your answers will help narrow down the many choices available...

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For video has to be Casio
by royzemi Feb 19, 2007 11:21AM PST

We buy consumer digital cameras specifically for video functions. I use a Canon SD900 as my main carry around camera, but the video compression is very poor. I also find the stablizer less effective. The best video we find is from Casio's smallest cameras. They have excellent stabilizers and shoot really well compressed 640 x 480 video. You can get an hour on a 512MB SD card (I think its about 20 minutes on the Canon). You need to get some free plugins on their website to use it on a computer, but it works no problem. Of course you need lots of light to use these cameras for video and you need to be close to get any decent sound.

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video
by aioiddy Jun 1, 2007 5:01PM PDT
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Sony DSC WX1 5x optical zoom with HD video
by smiledoctor Feb 17, 2010 10:49PM PST

Have my eye on the Sony DSC wx1 5x optical zoom with HD video capability (5x optical zoom supposedly works even with HD movie mode ).

Anyone here own a WX1 here and tried it for video taking? Saw some test vids with videographers using the wx1 at youtube. Though far from perfect, video and sound quality are decent. Read that photo quality with this particular model has mixed results ( from CNET )

Suggestions of point and shoot camera models from other brands ( Canon , Nikon, Fuji etc. ) would also be appreciated. Happy

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To SmileDoctor from the Forum Moderator
by snapshot2 Forum moderator Feb 17, 2010 11:40PM PST

You have replied to a thread that started and ended in 2007.
It is unlikely that anyone will find your post here.

You should start a new thread with your post.
Go here:
http://forums.cnet.com/digital-cameras-forum/
And click on the red button "Create A New Thread"
Then post your message.

Welcome to the Digital Camera Forum!

I am going to lock this old thread to prevent further posting here.
Thanks.

..

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