LF/Recommend me a good digital camera that ALSO takes decent video.

[jaszy]

Right now, I have an a95 Canon that I am trying to sell, to make way for either a smaller Canon camera (one of the SD models, small, pocket-size) or a camera that can also take decent video. I'm not looking for a camcorder that takes HQ video but, doable video/audio, a sort of "hybrid", digital camera/video camera.

Do you guys have any models/brands to recommend? Something under the 300$ CDN range. (or even more, if it's really that good!) Thanks!

[ShadowVlican]

my SD700IS takes great videos (highest quality is 640x480 30fps progressive mjpeg format)

however, mjpeg is a pig and takes up tons of disk space.... that's where casio comes in... they've got MPEG4 compression in their cameras and are pretty good P&S too

that's all i know off the top of my head

[jaszy]

Thanks! I'll check out the reviews for those. I'm also taking a look at Sanyo's Xacti C6 and the Sony M-2 but these will cost me a ton, around 500+ dollars.:-0

Does anybody else have any suggestions.

[Daijoubu]

Sony that use regular MS? Or MSDuo, M2 is indeed really expensive

Takes a lot of space, records AVI at 640x480 (forgot the codec, will take a look when I get back home) @ 30fps, unlimited lenght (!) and audio is compressed (MP2 mono 32kbps IIRC)

Canon can only records short clip with crappy PCM (uncompressed) audio at very low sample rate

[jaszy]

ttt

[hightech]

The Canons take very good video. I have the S3 and the video quality is very good with image stabilization. The S3 is a larger camera but the IS800IS is a good choice too.

[Aske001]

I agree that the Canon cameras capture good video, but I think most digital cameras do pretty well these days. Just look for one with at least the following specs:
- 640 x 480 resolution
- 30 frames per second
- continuous full-rate capture up to capacity of memory card

Cheaper cameras sometimes have smaller frame size, slower frame rate, or limitations on the maximum length of video they can capture.

You might want to consider some of the following issues:

- Type of memory card on the camera. CF cards have the biggest capacities, but they're pretty much limited to larger pro camera models these days. SD cards are cheap and commonly available in sizes up to 4 Gbytes. Other card types are not quite as popular and tend to be a little more expensive.

- Capture format. Most cameras capture in avi format with MJPEG compression. A few use other formats like QuickTime which are a little harder to find the editing tools for. Some cameras now offer real-time capture with MPEG-4 compression, which results in much smaller files sizes.

- Zoom capability. Most small cameras don't offer optical zoom during video capture because the microphone would pick up the noise. A few offer digital zoom.

- Low-light capability. None of the digital cameras have a built-in lamp, but a few cameras (like the Fuji models with SuperCCD sensors) can capture better video in low light by using pixel-aggregation across the whole CCD instead of just limiting the capture area to the central 640x480 pixels.

- Stabilization. A few cameras offer optical or digital stabilization during video capture - a feature whose importance you will realize if you've ever watched handheld video.

Individual brands and models have their own quirks, so it's always best to try before you buy. Both of my Canon cameras have the same video defect: whenever there's a bright area in the picture (like a sunlight reflection off glass or chrome, or a bright light bulb), it creates a bright red vertical line in the frame with a pink area around it. My Fuji camera doesn't have that problem, but its constant adjustment of the exposure in noticeable jumps as the picture pans around can be quite annoying.