Video camera suggestions

[Suki Wingy]

Alright. Right now the only video camera I have is the clips that my still camera takes, and I'm getting fed up with it. It's time to start saving for a new one, but I have no clue what I want! I have this camera right now.
http://www.kodak.com/eknec/PageQuerier.jhtml?pq-locale=en_US&pq-path=1337

My poor video capabilities:
320 x 240 pixels at 20 fps
:(


Is there a super big difference between the $200 range and $400 range, as far as quality goes?

[Shelteez2]

Are you looking for just a video camera or a regular camera with the video option? If just a video camera I've heard many many good things about the Flip camera. I guess its fairly cheap and really easy to use.

[Suki Wingy]

I'm looking for a digital camcorder. Eventually I'm looking to replace my digital camera also.

[Shelteez2]

This is the one I've heard good things about from some people on another board I'm on.

http://www.theflip.com/

[Suki Wingy]

It has no zoom. :( I'm looking for at least 12X zoom.

[Suki Wingy]

bump

[Hellow]

Have a look at this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16830120247

I really have next to no clue about what I am doing with Digital Cameras and Camcorders, I am mainly going by the reviews of that camera.

[Catlady711]

It has no zoom. :( I'm looking for at least 12X zoom.


I'm looking for a digital camcorder. Eventually I'm looking to replace my digital camera also.


Why not do both at the same time in one unit?

The Canon S3 or S5 have 12x zoom and is a great still camera, as well as video capabilities with sound up to the space available up to 1GB in most cases or more (no clips) and at full setting can do 640x480 30fps

The S5 is the newer one with a bit more features, but likely to cost a bit more
http://www.steves-digicams.com/2007_reviews/canon_s5is.html

The S3 (which I own also) is fairly comparable and likely to be cheaper by being an 'older' model, but may be harder to find.
http://www.steves-digicams.com/2006_reviews/s3is.html

[Suki Wingy]

Thanks. I think that is what my dad has, or something very similar. I'll play around with his. I was thinking I wanted separate things so that I could record a whole lot more but I guess I could just buy a few memory cards. This is the camera I was looking at, it has interchangeable lenses.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/olympuse410/
http://www.photoaxe.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/olympus_e410_400.jpg
It's a DSLR and doesn't have video capabilities.

[Catlady711]

Thanks. I think that is what my dad has, or something very similar. I'll play around with his. I was thinking I wanted separate things so that I could record a whole lot more but I guess I could just buy a few memory cards. This is the camera I was looking at, it has interchangeable lenses.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/olympuse410/
http://www.photoaxe.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/olympus_e410_400.jpg
It's a DSLR and doesn't have video capabilities.

If it's a DSLR you're interested in for the lens choices available, you might want to go with either a Canon or a Nikon. Not only are those two brands the top selling overall, but have the widest choices available for lenses vs any other brand.

I think it all depends on what you want to do with it long term that's going to make the decisions for you. If you just want a DSLR with only a couple lenses that you won't be changing much, then probably anything in your price range that you find comfortable to operate will do the job just fine. If you're wanting to do much more on down the road with more lenses I'd have to recommend either a Canon or Nikon.

And no, DSLR's don't do video to my knowledge, only the Point and Shoot cameras can do both.

[BitsyNaceyDog]

We have a Panasonic HDC-SD1 (http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-HDC-SD1-Definition-Camcorder-Stabilized/dp/B000LO92EK/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1219276072&sr=8-1) and it's such an awesome camera. It couldn't be any easier to use and it takes really really great video. Both the sound and picture are amazing. It's a little grainy in really dim light, but it does way better than any other video camera I've seen. The down side is it's quite pricy. We got ours on sale for $1000 at Circuit City about a year ago.

[Suki Wingy]

That one is definetly out of my price range.