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General discussion

Need some help - Digital camcorder vs. camera

by willjohnson33 Apr 25, 2005 4:36AM PDT

I am looking for something that just may not be possible. I would like a digital camcorder (something not too big) that can get me decent quality pictures. Or if there is a digital camera that can get me decent video I would be ok with that. As far as the digital camcorder, I will be using it more for short clips than for long videos. When I have looked at cameras, it looks like the most they can get as far as video is 640x320 which probably too low (right?). I would like to be able to play the clips on my TV. When I have looked at some of the digital camcorders it appears that they are usually just 2 megapixel cameras which is probably going to be too low. Am I screwed or is there a particular model camcorder or camera that can be used to get decent video clips and pictures? Thak you for your advice/suggestions.

Will

Discussion is locked

8 Posts
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How do you figure that? (2MP too low)
by r. proffitt Forum moderator Apr 25, 2005 5:24AM PDT

NTSC or PAL is some under million pixel display. It's very hard to nail it down because you count it in lines but do a little math and you end up below 1 MP.

dvspot.com has reviews and some example pictures from various camcorders.

Bob

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Huh
by willjohnson33 Apr 25, 2005 9:55AM PDT

I'm not very familiar with all this stuff, but at 2MP I thought you can only produce photos that are around 4x6. Is that not the case?

Thanks

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Don't look too close at that TV "quality".
by r. proffitt Forum moderator Apr 25, 2005 12:02PM PDT

A moving image hides many sins.

Bob

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That's correct. A 2MP will not do a very good job on a 4x6
by Kiddpeat Apr 25, 2005 1:44PM PDT

photo if it is being printed. If it's being viewed on a screen, it is sufficient. 4MP is needed for a good 4x6 print (150x4x6).

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Check the latest issue of Sharper Image Mag.
by hh Apr 25, 2005 12:25PM PDT

They have couple of products there that sells for $800. The one by Sanyo sounds like what you want. It is a tapeless camcorder and it has a 5.25MP camera and all is stored in an SD card. Souds pretty good but I don't know about the quality of the pictures or movies.
It is small, compact and does both still and movies and looks neat.
There is also one by Sony but I think the Sanyo one sounds cooler.

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Try the Canon S2 IS
by tomh Apr 25, 2005 11:01PM PDT

It's the just-announced successor to the Canon S1. The S2 is 5 megapixels, 12x zoom, and takes 640x480 30fps video with CD-quality stereo sound. The video is very good for such a camera (if it does at least as well as the S1 did). It will be out in June. Or, you can get an S1 now and save some money. At full res, you can get 8 minutes of video on a 1GB card.

I think it will be the best hybrid out there.

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Thanks
by willjohnson33 Apr 26, 2005 1:27AM PDT

Thanks for the suggestions.

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Canon S1/S2 IS
by mdx1 Apr 26, 2005 2:57AM PDT

I agree with the previous poster. I got my wife the Canon S1 IS to replace her A80 mainly due to S1's superior video capabilities. The new S2 IS has improved upon that. You might still be able to find S1 IS for a much lower price that the S2 IS. From what I read, the S2 IS has the a better (stereo CD quality) sound, slightly longer zoom and more MP for photos. The video resolutions remain the same between the two.

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Nelson

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