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General discussion

Newbie Needs Help Selecting Camcorder

Jan 22, 2006 6:35AM PST

Greetings,
I am trying to find a dual Camcorder/Digital Camera. Heres the kicker. I would like to have 30x Optical, a decent enough still megapixel to print out photos, optical image stabilization, true 16:9 ratio, widescreen lcd display, will record to DVD or DVDR, also the capability of shooting a still pic to a memory card while capturing video. I am having a hek of a time trying to find one with these accomodations.

Thank You In Advance !!!!! (im desperate)
Red

Discussion is locked

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All bad.
Jan 22, 2006 7:08AM PST

Every model I tried caused a long pause in the video when you took a snap. Be aware that most will not like this effect.

Bob

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ARG..
Jan 22, 2006 7:32AM PST

Well...that feature is not that important...any ideas on one that has the rest of the features?
Red

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Since that is a non-issue for you...
Jan 22, 2006 9:23AM PST

You'll just want to look for a 30X miniDVD recorder. Almost all can take snaps now.

However, if you read these forums, some pan the miniDV since jostling the camera at the wrong moment will cause loss of what's in the miniDVD in the camera.

Stick with miniDV and learn how to make DVDs.

Bob

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OUCH
Jan 22, 2006 11:31PM PST

Hmm...thats not good news....so what your saying is that there is a chance of "loss recorded data" if the camera is jostled or moved wrong. That kinda sux. ARG.....well.....hmmmm....hek...One of my big concerns is finding one that has a 30x optical and has a good enuf pixel rate to print photos out...
Any thoughts?
Thanks,
Red

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Well, Good luck!
Jan 23, 2006 2:18PM PST

I have searched for a recorder with similar features to tape and then print frames from NHRA races. The best solution I've found is do one or the other. I can't capture a Top Fuel dragster @ 333 mph+ going down the track and switch to photo mode and get enough pixels to get a quality product. I have a digital SLR camera with a lot of optical zoom and high # of pixels. With practice on timing I can focus where the action will be and catch it. There are a # of camcorders with excellent optical zoom but I have only seen decent stills out of camcorders that have a 10X zoom. Now everything I have tried costs$1500 or less. It may exist in the Pro lines or Prosumer lines that cost more.