I want to buy a camera...

[Steve Vasdekis]

I have been looking into buying a digital camera and i would like to know which is better? I want to get clean crisp pictures with good amount of clean zoom and be able to upload to the net without too many problems. I also want to be able to record video as well. Do i get a still camera with movie capabilities, or do i get a camcorder with still photo capabilities? Which one? Which brand? Any help is appreciated.

Thanks,
Steve:shrug:

[JimClark]

Steve if you check this link out you will see what a video capture from a Digital video camera looks like. http://www.classicthunder.org/classic/photof.htm

I think you will get better pictures from a true digital camera but you are limited to the movie 's you can take to about 40 seconds worth. How much do you want to spend?
Jim Clark

[Andrewg]

Steve hi

the limiter on the qulaity of web shots is usually what you choose when you convert the video from tape to web format.

With the pics these usually go on a card and you choose the image quality in the camera setup

an equally important determinat of pic quality is whether or not you use a tripod - these make a big difference to sharpness

I thought about it for a while when I purchased - this area is progressing very quickly - Value models today were top of the line 1 year ago. I decided on panasonic video with a 8meg flash card for stills - it is 880k pixels

After having high end Canon EOS gear (flourite lenses etc etc) for several years I decided to get a just above a base model. Not quite as many pixels as a topper - 880 vs 1.3meg but in two years I will buy another and it will probably be three megs and these things are under $1k and turn out a better quality video than a lot of tv - and in any event handheld and it doesnt matter much how many pixels it is and on a tripod its better than tv broadcast quality

plus you get slo mo and a playback zoom - neat for analysing hull issues - both at once if you want remote - spend a third the moeny backthe other $2 grand and in 2 years buy what will be a monster compared to anything around today

[Steve Vasdekis]

Jim, these were taken with a camcorder? If so, which one?

[Paul]

Hello Steve,

My recommendation Olympus C-700, really nice piece and does what your looking for.

Paul.

[JimClark]

Just the link in the body of the text. My new unpainted boat. One note after reading Andrews response The picture was given to me and I do not know the quality levels the person used on the camers. It is very possible the results could be better.
Jim Clark
this link http://www.classicthunder.org/classic/photof.htm

[JimClark]

Paul the Olympus C-700 is one I was thinking of getting. Shooting with the highest resolution what is the largest size you can print a good quality picture with a 2.1 pixel camera? Also the main reasion I was interested in it was the 10X optical zoom. How much does the picture degrade when you use the digital zoom?
Thanks
Jim Clark


Originally posted by Paul
Hello Steve,

My recommendation Olympus C-700, really nice piece and does what your looking for.

Paul.

[AndyKunz]

Jim,

The one magazine I write for says 2Mpixel shots are good for in-the-article photos, and 3M pixels for the cover shots.

Andy

[Andrewg]

1 meg is a 5*4
2 meg is a 8*6
3 meg is a 10*8

approx - I have attach a 1 meg camera pic

as important as pixels are the software and the lenses - then handshake is more important than everything.

[Chris S.]

If you want a great still digital camera check out the Olympus 510 - c i believe. you can get it from samsclub.com for i think 275.00 it is a 2.1 meg. you dont really need anything higher unless you plan on doing large prints. An alternative would be a digital camcorder preferably DV. since it is technically a CCD camera the quality of the pic would be great as well as long as you dont plan on doing huge prints. it is hard to choose to go still or motion with a digital camera as the prices are starting to plane out. Cannon DV for around 400.00 or olympus 3.1 -5 for around the same price?

[Sheltered]

I hope this post is not too late. I have a Canon ZR 25 digital camcorder. It includes a still capture setting and a small 8 meg multimedia card. I really enjoy the camera.

For me it currently works well. The Video quality is great. I edit on a Mac. Capturing still images (from tape)and exporting them is pretty good but not spectacular. http://www.angelfire.com/fl5/sheltered/hydrosite/sea011.htm

The still captue to the MM card is better, but not the quality of a better digital still camera. I'm guessing that they are around 1 megapixel. This is an example: http://www.classicthunder.org/classic/links.htm

One of the neat things about this camera is that I have found some great site to by additional lenses and assesories. the above photo whas shot with a $35 fish eye lens.

I find capturing motion difficult with most digital cameras.