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General discussion

Digital Camera vs. Digital Camcorder. What's the difference?

Sep 29, 2007 5:23AM PDT

I see many digital cameras that say they can take digital stills as well as digital video footage. I see digital camcorders that boost they can take digital video (obviously)as well as digital stills. Can someone explain the difference between the two. Is it better to have a camcorder for video footage only and a seperate digital camera for photos only?I'm confused about what sets the two apart. Thanks for taking the time out to answer.
d.a.grice

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My interpretation on the difference is
Sep 29, 2007 7:35AM PDT

that a camcorder which takes stills will have electronics and an appropriate mechanism for storing video. That video would normally be viewed on a television using NTSC (or PAL), fill the screen and look pretty good. The best video capture is written to miniDV tape. A still can be taken and written to a memory card but the resolution will not be that great.

O the ither hand, a still camera will be able to do good stills written to a memory card - and if the memory card is big enough, record short video clips that can be displayed in a small window on a computer - but when expanded to fill a TV screen won't look good at all.

Also, I have not seen a still camera - with video clip capabilities - that has a decent mic - or a mic in jack.

"Digital video" on a still camera with limited video capabilities just means the video footage is stored using a series of 0s and 1s and makes no promises as to the quality of that video when viewed on various monitors or sizes. DV on a camcorder is a standard method to store video that, when played back on a TV, will provide good quality video.

If you want good quality video, use a a good video camera - miniDV tape or even some of the hard drive based units. Stay very far away from DVD based units. If you want good quality stills, use a good still-camera.

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A quick answer
Sep 29, 2007 7:38AM PDT
Is it better to have a camcorder for video footage only and a seperate digital camera for photos only?

-----Yes. Why? No particular reason except one is designed for one task while the other is designed for another task. The technical reasons would cram this tiny space so I'll leave that for you to find on Wikipedia if you are interested in the meat.

The reason why a device boasts other features? Sounds better to the consumer, does it not?
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Thank you both!!
Sep 30, 2007 5:45AM PDT

Thank you bboy and whizkid for clearing that up for me.It's nice to know that there's a place like this for a novice to come for clear answers.
d.a.grice

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My question to you is
Oct 20, 2011 9:57PM PDT

Hello! can you tell me the difference between the digital camera and a camcorder listing out the pros and cons of both of them?