JasonB
07-16-2007, 02:11 PM
First, my responses to the questions. :)
1. Budget - $250-300 maximum
2. Size - Doesn't really matter although I don't want something real huge.
3. Features - I want decent video quality.
4. How many megapixels will suffice for you - 6/7 is fine.
5. What optical zoom will you need - 10X is what I'm looking for.
6. How important is “image quality” to you? 8
7. Do you care for manual controls? I'm a beginner so mid-level with a few manual controls is fine.
General Usage
1. What will you generally use the camera for? - Candid family shots inside and out (mostly out though) and candid videos of softball games, music programs, etc.
2. Will you be making big prints of your photos or not? - Not really.
3. Will you be shooting a lot of indoor photos or low light photos? - No a lot, but some.
4. Will you be shooting sports and/or action photos? - Not a lot, but some.
Miscellaneous
1. Are there particular brands you like or hate? - Not really, I'm open to whatever meets the majority of my criteria the best.
2. Are there particular models you already have in mind? - Right now I've narrowed it down to the Canon S3 IS, Panasonic DMC-FZ8 and the Kodak Z612/Z712.
My research this afternoon has indicated the Canon is the best video quality overall but it has the limitation of basically 8 minute clips at a time with the 1GB limit. Most of the stuff I'll be recording will be longer then that, so that's my major concern with the Canon.
As far as the Panasonic, my parents have a DMC-FZ7 and have been very happy with it and I've seen the video quality and it's not bad. Sounds like with a 2GB card it will record 22 minutes of video, which would probably cover most situations I'll encounter but I was hoping for right around 30 minutes minimum.
Which brings me to the Kodak Z612/Z712. The reviews I've read seem to indicate the video is above average, just not quite at the Canon level, which seems to be the best video. If it's at least as good as the FZ7 I'm happy. The other thing that really interests me is the information I saw said it could record at the same resolution/fps as the other two (640X480 30fps) but for significantly longer (almost 60 minutes with a 2GB card). That would definitely cover any video needs I have. I mention the Z612 because I can get one locally for around $220 and it sounds like the Z712 actually has a lower resolution LCD and is basically the Z612, just with another 1 megapixel.
From reviews it sounds like all 3 will meet my picture requirements as far as quality, so I'm focused some on the video quality/length.
We have a Hi-8 camcorder and don't use it a ton, really only for programs, but would do more video if it was easy to get onto the PC. It's a huge pain in the butt to import them into the PC real-time to make movies to send to family so that's why I'm looking for decent video quality. Life will be much easier just copying the file and editing as needed in a third party application.
I know video on a digital camera will never replace video a digital camcorder but I don't have the budget for both.
1. Budget - $250-300 maximum
2. Size - Doesn't really matter although I don't want something real huge.
3. Features - I want decent video quality.
4. How many megapixels will suffice for you - 6/7 is fine.
5. What optical zoom will you need - 10X is what I'm looking for.
6. How important is “image quality” to you? 8
7. Do you care for manual controls? I'm a beginner so mid-level with a few manual controls is fine.
General Usage
1. What will you generally use the camera for? - Candid family shots inside and out (mostly out though) and candid videos of softball games, music programs, etc.
2. Will you be making big prints of your photos or not? - Not really.
3. Will you be shooting a lot of indoor photos or low light photos? - No a lot, but some.
4. Will you be shooting sports and/or action photos? - Not a lot, but some.
Miscellaneous
1. Are there particular brands you like or hate? - Not really, I'm open to whatever meets the majority of my criteria the best.
2. Are there particular models you already have in mind? - Right now I've narrowed it down to the Canon S3 IS, Panasonic DMC-FZ8 and the Kodak Z612/Z712.
My research this afternoon has indicated the Canon is the best video quality overall but it has the limitation of basically 8 minute clips at a time with the 1GB limit. Most of the stuff I'll be recording will be longer then that, so that's my major concern with the Canon.
As far as the Panasonic, my parents have a DMC-FZ7 and have been very happy with it and I've seen the video quality and it's not bad. Sounds like with a 2GB card it will record 22 minutes of video, which would probably cover most situations I'll encounter but I was hoping for right around 30 minutes minimum.
Which brings me to the Kodak Z612/Z712. The reviews I've read seem to indicate the video is above average, just not quite at the Canon level, which seems to be the best video. If it's at least as good as the FZ7 I'm happy. The other thing that really interests me is the information I saw said it could record at the same resolution/fps as the other two (640X480 30fps) but for significantly longer (almost 60 minutes with a 2GB card). That would definitely cover any video needs I have. I mention the Z612 because I can get one locally for around $220 and it sounds like the Z712 actually has a lower resolution LCD and is basically the Z612, just with another 1 megapixel.
From reviews it sounds like all 3 will meet my picture requirements as far as quality, so I'm focused some on the video quality/length.
We have a Hi-8 camcorder and don't use it a ton, really only for programs, but would do more video if it was easy to get onto the PC. It's a huge pain in the butt to import them into the PC real-time to make movies to send to family so that's why I'm looking for decent video quality. Life will be much easier just copying the file and editing as needed in a third party application.
I know video on a digital camera will never replace video a digital camcorder but I don't have the budget for both.