Should I buy a digital DVD camcorder or a digital camera?

just askin

I wanted to buy a SONY Cyber-shot digital camera (7.2 megapixels) for a long time. Not only did I wnat great image quality, but I wanted to capture movies too. Now I'm confused. Camcorders capture still images too and of course, videos. Which one should I buy? I want a functional, easy to use and affordable thing I can take to school sometimes as well.

Answer
Camcorders do a lousy job of capturing still images. No matter what the marketing specs of the camcorder say, you will always get better still images from a digital still camera. If your primary reason for wanting a camera is to take photos, get a still camera that also takes video.

On the flip side of this, digital still cameras tend to take reasonably good video in addition to shooting great still photos.

Whatever you do, don't buy a DVD camcorder. They are a nightmare to use if you ever want to edit the footage on your computer. Tape-based camcorders or camcorders that use flash memory will provide a better editing experience. Here's a partial list of some of the frustrations with DVD camcorders:

http://www.jakeludington.com/digital_lifestyle_report/20051202_dvd_camcorder.html

should I buy an expensive camcorder or an expensive digital camera?

guy3090

I want to take quality pictures & videos with no intentions of doing one more then the other but when i got to "best-buy" it seems like both(camcorders & digital cameras) can shoot video as well as take pictures. so i don't know which one to choose over the other since i know nothing about either.

Answer
Digital cameras take video nowadays. You don't need camcorders anymore!! Go with the digital camera! I haven't heard of camcorders taking pictures. But digital cameras are also smaller (from what I've seen).

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HDD Camcorders vs Digital Cameras?

girlproble

I noticed that I can get a digital camera with 13.6 Megapixels for about $150 and I can get a HDD Camcorder with 30 GB HDD space and 2.0 Megapixels for $140. I want to know, are megapixels calculated differently for video and images? Will I get good quality pictures and videos with a 2.0 Megapixel 30 GB HDD Camcorder? Will it be as good as a 13.6 Megapixel Digital Camera?

Answer
Photos on a camcorder won't be good as photos on a still camera.

Video on a still camera won't be as good as videos on a camcorder.

In short, you have to figure out which is more important to you. Camcorders have fewer pixels because video has fewer pixels. Even the highest-resolution HDTV (1080 lines) is 1920x1080, or about 2 megapixels. Camcorders will have fewer pixels because more pixels are unnecessary, and would actually decrease the quality of the video. By packing more pixels into that small space, the pixels have to be smaller, and they won't perform as well. That's why you'll typically have relatively few pixels on a camcorder.

So, if you get the digital still camera, you'll get better quality photos, but the video will be mediocre. If you get the camcorder, the video will be better, but the photos will be mediocre.

Which is more important to you, photo or video? That's what your decision will likely come down to.

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask.

Why is a camcorder better than a digital camera?

HtownChick

Answer
Better? For what? Camcorders are video cameras and are also digital. A digital camera can be a camcorder or a still camera. Clarify.

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Which is better, a camcorder or a digital camera?

Belle W

Basically, I have got a new job and wish to start saving up for a camera. I'm trying to decide between buying a digital camera to plug in my laptop and upload pictures and films, or a camcorder thing, like the kind you can put on DVDs and plug in the TV etc.
We have a family digital camera, and I hardly ever get to use it because someone else has it for some reason. My uncle has a camcorder that takes pictures that are very decent quality.
It's just for home use, you know going out with friends and things like that, nothing professional.
Any ideas?

Answer
Go with the digital camera. You will generall use it a lot more and pictures are much easier to share (online especially), browse through etc. than movies are (it's a lot less hassle).

Digital camera's tend to be smaller than camcorders - and you can take them with you adn carry them around much easier. In case you want to shoot a (short) film; you can use the digital camera too. The quality may not be as good as a good camcorder, but it's still quite decent on most cameras.

Tip: A good site to check out various cameras is dpreview.com.

sell camcorder and buy digital camera?

Reza

I know the newest digital camera have video recording capabilities (in HD). I have an older camcorder (about 2 years old), not even HD. I was thinking of selling the camcorder and get one of the new digital camera. Are the movie capabilities of the digital cameras on par with camcorders? What is the advantages of keeping both?

Answer
You may not get much for your current camcorder (standard definition) as nearly all camcorders sold today record in HD (720, 1080) and the prices are affordable too. Many point-and-shoot digital cameras record only in SD as 640x480. Then there are some that record HD as 720p. But to get a digital camera that can take high resolution images and full HD video, consider some of the new HD-SLR cameras like the Canon EOS 5D Mark II or the Canon EOS 7D. Nikon makes combo cams too. They have 35mm sized sensors and you can change the lenses. The only draw-back is that they have limited audio control so a separate audio recorder is best to use to compensate for that. I have a Canon G10 (replaced by the G11) which takes 14.7MP still images and can record video as 640x480 which is okay for those times 'I wish I had a video camera'. But I prefer an HD camcorder for it's features and having more control(s), etc. over a digital camera that is limited as far as video. Someday I would love to own a HD-SLR.

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What is best for getting a decent guitar sound for covers?(Camcorder, digital camera, webcam etc)?

best camcorders and digital cameras image

Mitchell C

I am looking to start recording guitar covers soon and I was wondering what will I get the best quality recording my videos with. I plan to do this a very basic way and record the audio of my guitar and video all at the same time. What will give me the best sound? A camcorder? A digital camera? A webcam? Thank you!

Answer
On board microphones on cameras don't have great audio quality. In my opinion, the sound is the key for music covers so you should think about getting a decent camera and a nice microphone or recorder. I am a big fan of Canon S100 so you should look into that. S95 used ones are nice as well. As for the sound, check out the Zoom H1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pA-Qo1ebDSI

A camcorder like the Sony Handycam should have a stereo microphone on board. If you don't have much to invest, check out some camcorders. They have pretty decent sound coming out from their on board mic.

should I buy an expensive camcorder or an expensive digital camera?

guy3090

I want to take quality pictures & videos with no intentions of doing one more then the other but when i got to "best-buy" it seems like both(camcorders & digital cameras) can shoot video as well as take pictures. so i don't know which one to choose over the other since i know nothing about either.

Answer
Digital cameras take video nowadays. You don't need camcorders anymore!! Go with the digital camera! I haven't heard of camcorders taking pictures. But digital cameras are also smaller (from what I've seen).

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