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General discussion

What is the best digital camera for video capture?

Mar 15, 2005 9:39AM PST

I'm trying to find a good camera to get the best video capture on it. I don't want to spend more than $400 on it though. I hope to take some good pictures, but dont want to spend more money on a video camera too. Any suggestions?

Discussion is locked

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Canon PowerShot S1 IS
Mar 15, 2005 10:49AM PST

The one camera I read that takes DV-quality movies is the Canon Powershot S1 IS. It can record that quality of video footage until there is no more room to record video on on the memory card, which in this case, is CompactFlash.

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How to compare vs Olympus C-770 Ultra Zoom ?
Mar 16, 2005 1:19AM PST

Hi, I am also in the same market (Dig camera with video capabilities with 10x optical zoom, budget ~400 USD).

How does the Canon PowerShot S1 IS compare to Olympus C-770 Ultra Zoom (CNET editor's take)?
I read that a disdvantage for the Olympus is that autofocus and microphone don't work at the same time, and in addition the Olypmus does not have image stabilization (nice for a 10x). On the other hand, the 4,000,000 pixels are better than the 3,200,000 Canon's pixels. A COnsumer opinion quotes for the Canon:"The indoor automode is terrible",another: "Does not focus effectively in low-light - either takes a while or does not focus at all"
SHould we consider any other choice in addition to these 2 top picks for the criteria we might be interested? (video, 10x optical zoom, price range)

Regards!

Antonio

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Konica Minolta Z3
Mar 16, 2005 6:40AM PST

The Z3 has the same video options (640x480/30fps, etc).

It is 4 meg, 12X with image stabilization.

The Z3 produces .mov files which can be played with Quicktime, Irfanview and others.

The Z3 will let you zoom and use continuous autofocus while using video mode, but you will hear the motors in the audio.

You can find a sample movie at:

http://www.steves-digicams.com/2004_reviews/z3_samples.html

Just right click on the thumbnail and then click "Save Target As" and you can download the movie.
It is 6 seconds and is 9 meg.

If you want more megapixels, Konica Minolta has announced the Z5 which is about the same as the Z3 except it has 5 meg and a larger LCD (2.0 inches).

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Video Mode on Digital Camera
Mar 15, 2005 11:14AM PST

The best movie clips I have seen are from the Canon S1-IS. That camera also has a 10X zoom and Image Stabilization. It is one of the few cameras that will let you use the zoom while filming, that does not pick up the noise of the zoom motor.

It sells for under $400.

You can see a sample video clip at:

http://www.steves-digicams.com/2004_reviews/s1is_samples.html

Bottom of page, file name MVI_1871.avi
It is a large file (12 meg) and lasts for 6 seconds.

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Which brings up a limitation:

If you have a 1-GIGabyte memory card
You can record for a total of:

9:09 (nine minutes and nine seconds) before you run out of space on the memory card, when recording at fine 640x480/30fps (30 frames per second).

fine 640X480/30 - 09:09
reg. 640x480/30 - 12:23
reg. 320x240/30 - 26:41

You can also shoot at 15fps and record for a longer time, but the results will be a bit jumpy.

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For a smaller and lower priced camera that produces similar results, check out the Canon SD200 or SD300.

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Thanks
Mar 16, 2005 4:59AM PST

Thanks everyone for your help.