Digital still / video hybrid

Captain Ted

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Hi.

Is there such a thing as a good digital camera (5mp minimum) that can also take good quality video clips.

The reason being, when I'm out with the kids, I only ever take the camera due to it's compact size and leave the video in it's "handbag" at home.

I have recently found myself using the still camera more and more for video clips but these are obviously no where near as good quality as the digital video camera.

I am using a Canon Powershot S50 and the stills are excellent.

I do not want to film events, generally 30 seconds to a minute of the brats doing something funny (or the wife!)

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Cheers,
Ted.
 
Price does not matter. I just want the best I can get that can do both jobs in the smallest package.

Ted.
 
Check out the Canon S3 IS, I have one and it takes excellent video as well as still pictures. It has a dedicated video shooting button and unlike most digicams you can use the 12x optical zoom while videoing.
 
Check out the Canon S3 IS, I have one and it takes excellent video as well as still pictures. It has a dedicated video shooting button and unlike most digicams you can use the 12x optical zoom while videoing.


Do the films you take fill the screen in good quality?

Do you tend to find you need a massive memory card?

Cheers,
Ted.
 
I think the answer to the original subject deserves mentioning the following cameras which are more "hybrid". They are leaning towards video quality rather than still quality. I don't think any one camera is 'excellent' in both areas yet, so it depends on your needs. They are also starting to use widescreen formats rather than 640 * 480.
One issue can be that some do not allow zooming while recording video, but some do.

And yes you need a very large memory card. Find some reviews and you will see the Mb per minute needed.
example Panasonic TZ3 File size: 5.45MB, 4.0 secs http://img2.dpreview.com/reviews/TZ3/P1010652.MOV
I think I would be happy with this quality, but no zooming.

Newer compression formats are reducing the file size, so do some comparing.

Sanyo Xacti range. ( http://www.sanyo-dsc.com/english/index.html )
Canon TX1 ( http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/canon/powershot_tx1-review/index.shtml )
Casio V7 ( http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Casio/casio_exv7.asp )
Panasonic TZ3 ( http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/PanasonicTZ3/ )

Casio V7 gets some still comparison with the Panasonic TZ3 here http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/panasonictz3/page10.asp
 
Fuji F30 is great, the video is 30fps @ 640x480 and it takes excellent photos. Pretty cheap now too.
 
Captain Ted,

Yes the vido is good quality virtually up to DVD standard and yes you need a large SD card. I purchased an 8gb SDHC card for £42.00 and this allows for over an hour of video. The spec for the camera says it does not support the newer SDHC cards but the firmware has now been updated and I have had had no problems.

Also unlike a lot of bridge cameras you can use extra lenses for wide angle, macro and extra telephoto

Check out the review on DP review it got a highly recomended http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canons3is/

Alan
 
Thanks for all your replies!

I wouldn't have known where to start looking.

I will research into all models mentioned.

Cheers,
Ted.
 
I had the canon s2 and the video was quite good on that so i'm sure the canon s3 will be the same or better
 
The fuji f31/f40 range take video at 30fps and 640 x 480 resolution which gives good video results. And they take great shots.

See here for video clip, the camera work is a bit shaky but you get an idea: http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/fujifilmf30/page7.asp

Yep, another vote for the f31FD.
After a few years with a Canon Ixus400 i was amazed at the quality of the fuji. video is as good as my oldish Panasonic DV cam although you dont get all the recording features of a proper DV cam
 
The new Sony DSC-H9 has a very capable video mode from the samples I've viewed online. This is the camera I'm considering buying. Admittedly it's not as compact as the other cameras mentioned here.
 
Hey Captain Ted, the TX1 is now starting to pop-up in the UK, mainly from eBay buys. I have one and have been very happy with the results to date.

Main features are 720p high-def widescreen video and 7MP stills all packed into a tiny size.

I have posted a few pics, vids and other bits and pieces about the camera over at the TX1 blog...

http://powershot-tx1.blogspot.com
 

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