Looking at getting a video camera

PC person · 09-10-2009, 03:44 PM

I'm wondering if there's any reference material I could read on them. I'd prefer also something visual (such as video's) showing the different modes on a video camera.

I have several simon mall gift cards that I have saved over the last few years, in total, they add up to about I think $350 dollars. I went to our local best buy looking for a video camera to buy, and even though it would be free for me to buy a camera under that resolution, it's certainly a big buy and I don't want to be disappointed. Though, I probably would be able to bring it back, I kind of wanted to do things right the first time. Though, using the simon gift cards I'm not sure if I could get the money back.

I thought about looking online for a camera, but I like the ease of buying it at a brick-and-mortar store, and being able to physically go there and return it. Whereas if I ordered one, I'd have to ship it back and pay the money to do so.

I asked a few questions of them, about optical image stabilization, the person told me that at max zoom, or even no zoom at all it would be very shaky.
I read an article on howstuffworks.com about why our eyes never shake when we look at an image, it's because they take pre-pictures and post pictures as we look at something http://health.howstuffworks.com/steady-view2.htm. I'm not sure how far until we can make camera's that do this.

Another thing I wondered about was resolution. Youtube isn't really a priority for me, though I may put some of video's on it. The thing with youtube is it's not that great quality, it's a small window (does anyone know how to make it full screen and get good, sharp video?) and I wondered how these video's would look on my desktop computer and TV if I was to put them on it. I'm looking to get good looking video there too. I'm looking mainly to take some home movies (we just got a new dog and want to take some pictures of him before he gets older)

**WereBo** · 09-10-2009, 06:59 PM

Allo PCperson

I'm not really up on the various video cams, so I can't recommend any specific brands or models, but in general, I'd recommend going to a 'bricks & mortar' store so you can actually feel the camera and see how it fits your hand - Do the important buttons fall easily to your fingertips? Is it too heavy for long useage? Is it comfy in your hand? That's the sort of stuff you can't find out online.

Once you've found the camera that fits the above criteria and has the specs you're looking for, check online for cheaper prices of that model.

Youtube now has HD video capabilities, and there's usually a little button on the bottom-right corner of the video, to switch to full-screen

**blah789** · 09-11-2009, 01:20 PM

First you'll have to decide whether to get a digital camera or a digital camcorder. Digital cameras can shoot movies too. From experience I've liked the videos from digital cameras much better because they're progressive instead of interlaced (but that's just a personal preference). However camcorders tend to have more bandwidth so can record at higher resolutions (HD even; like 720i or 1080i). A few digital cameras do record in HD, but you have to look closely at the specs.
If you buy a digital camera for its movie taking capabilities, check what format the movie comes out in (MOV, AVI, MPG, something else).
Also check how much zoom you want (optical zoom only - digital zoom is crap)
And decide whether you want a SLR camera, or point and shoot.

http://reviews.cnet.com/digital-camera-buying-guide/
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/e...ng-started.htm
and more if you google

Last but not least:
http://www.steves-digicams.com (click select brand on the left, then pick a camera)
For every camera review, there is a samples page, with videos shot straight from the camera. Those are excellent samples to decide whether you like the movie quality.

P.S: Personal opinion: I think when it comes to digital cameras (not camcorder), Canon produces the best cameras. The videos are really nice. One caveat is whether you pick a Canon camera that shoots in AVI MJPG (Motion JPEG) or MOV avc1 (H.264). Both have really good quality. AVI makes huge files, but are easy to edit. MOV H.264 compresses well, but is harder to edit (but because of the extra space, can sometimes shoot in HD). Here's some samples
AVI MJPG:
http://www.steves-digicams.com/camer...-review-7.html
http://www.steves-digicams.com/camer...review-14.html
MOV H.264:
http://www.steves-digicams.com/camer...review-14.html
http://www.steves-digicams.com/camer...-review-7.html
http://www.steves-digicams.com/camer...-review-7.html (some very high definition samples)
And more HD samples from a poster in this thread

P.S. #2: H.264 is rather processor-intensive, so you'll need a pretty beefy processor.

PC person · 09-24-2009, 06:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blah789

First you'll have to decide whether to get a digital camera or a digital camcorder. Digital cameras can shoot movies too. From experience I've liked the videos from digital cameras much better because they're progressive instead of interlaced (but that's just a personal preference). However camcorders tend to have more bandwidth so can record at higher resolutions (HD even; like 720i or 1080i). A few digital cameras do record in HD, but you have to look closely at the specs.
If you buy a digital camera for its movie taking capabilities, check what format the movie comes out in (MOV, AVI, MPG, something else).
Also check how much zoom you want (optical zoom only - digital zoom is crap)
And decide whether you want a SLR camera, or point and shoot.

http://reviews.cnet.com/digital-camera-buying-guide/
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/e...ng-started.htm
and more if you google

Last but not least:
http://www.steves-digicams.com (click select brand on the left, then pick a camera)
For every camera review, there is a samples page, with videos shot straight from the camera. Those are excellent samples to decide whether you like the movie quality.

P.S: Personal opinion: I think when it comes to digital cameras (not camcorder), Canon produces the best cameras. The videos are really nice. One caveat is whether you pick a Canon camera that shoots in AVI MJPG (Motion JPEG) or MOV avc1 (H.264). Both have really good quality. AVI makes huge files, but are easy to edit. MOV H.264 compresses well, but is harder to edit (but because of the extra space, can sometimes shoot in HD). Here's some samples
AVI MJPG:
http://www.steves-digicams.com/camer...-review-7.html
http://www.steves-digicams.com/camer...review-14.html
MOV H.264:
http://www.steves-digicams.com/camer...review-14.html
http://www.steves-digicams.com/camer...-review-7.html
http://www.steves-digicams.com/camer...-review-7.html (some very high definition samples)
And more HD samples from a poster in this thread

P.S. #2: H.264 is rather processor-intensive, so you'll need a pretty beefy processor.

I think a camcorder is what I'm going to get. I already have a camera. Though, it is a 4 megapixel and really not for taking video clips, it can take some.

Is getting a tripod really the only way to record 100% still video (unless you are in an earthquake or something) I wonder if they have any where you can point the camera up and down to some extent, rather than just turn it from left to right. I'm wondering how it would look on my screen, both my tv and monitor screens. I'd record it to a DVD or hard drive to watch on the TV. Do editing on this laptop I'm using.

09-10-2009, 03:44 PM	#1 (permalink)
PC person Registered User Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Northeast USA Posts: 269 OS: XP Home Edition My System	Looking at getting a video camera I'm wondering if there's any reference material I could read on them. I'd prefer also something visual (such as video's) showing the different modes on a video camera. I have several simon mall gift cards that I have saved over the last few years, in total, they add up to about I think $350 dollars. I went to our local best buy looking for a video camera to buy, and even though it would be free for me to buy a camera under that resolution, it's certainly a big buy and I don't want to be disappointed. Though, I probably would be able to bring it back, I kind of wanted to do things right the first time. Though, using the simon gift cards I'm not sure if I could get the money back. I thought about looking online for a camera, but I like the ease of buying it at a brick-and-mortar store, and being able to physically go there and return it. Whereas if I ordered one, I'd have to ship it back and pay the money to do so. I asked a few questions of them, about optical image stabilization, the person told me that at max zoom, or even no zoom at all it would be very shaky. I read an article on howstuffworks.com about why our eyes never shake when we look at an image, it's because they take pre-pictures and post pictures as we look at something http://health.howstuffworks.com/steady-view2.htm. I'm not sure how far until we can make camera's that do this. Another thing I wondered about was resolution. Youtube isn't really a priority for me, though I may put some of video's on it. The thing with youtube is it's not that great quality, it's a small window (does anyone know how to make it full screen and get good, sharp video?) and I wondered how these video's would look on my desktop computer and TV if I was to put them on it. I'm looking to get good looking video there too. I'm looking mainly to take some home movies (we just got a new dog and want to take some pictures of him before he gets older)

09-10-2009, 06:59 PM	#2 (permalink)
WereBo Resident Village Idiot Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: SE London, UK Posts: 14,364 OS: Win-7, XP-Pro SP3 My System	Re: Looking at getting a video camera Allo PCperson I'm not really up on the various video cams, so I can't recommend any specific brands or models, but in general, I'd recommend going to a 'bricks & mortar' store so you can actually feel the camera and see how it fits your hand - Do the important buttons fall easily to your fingertips? Is it too heavy for long useage? Is it comfy in your hand? That's the sort of stuff you can't find out online. Once you've found the camera that fits the above criteria and has the specs you're looking for, check online for cheaper prices of that model. Youtube now has HD video capabilities, and there's usually a little button on the bottom-right corner of the video, to switch to full-screen __________________ I shall meet all of my deadlines directly in proportion to the amount of bodily injury I could expect to receive from missing them.

09-11-2009, 01:20 PM	#3 (permalink)
blah789 TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 2,266 OS: Windows 2000 SP4 and Windows XP SP3	Re: Looking at getting a video camera First you'll have to decide whether to get a digital camera or a digital camcorder. Digital cameras can shoot movies too. From experience I've liked the videos from digital cameras much better because they're progressive instead of interlaced (but that's just a personal preference). However camcorders tend to have more bandwidth so can record at higher resolutions (HD even; like 720i or 1080i). A few digital cameras do record in HD, but you have to look closely at the specs. If you buy a digital camera for its movie taking capabilities, check what format the movie comes out in (MOV, AVI, MPG, something else). Also check how much zoom you want (optical zoom only - digital zoom is crap) And decide whether you want a SLR camera, or point and shoot. http://reviews.cnet.com/digital-camera-buying-guide/ http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/e...ng-started.htm and more if you google Last but not least: http://www.steves-digicams.com (click select brand on the left, then pick a camera) For every camera review, there is a samples page, with videos shot straight from the camera. Those are excellent samples to decide whether you like the movie quality. P.S: Personal opinion: I think when it comes to digital cameras (not camcorder), Canon produces the best cameras. The videos are really nice. One caveat is whether you pick a Canon camera that shoots in AVI MJPG (Motion JPEG) or MOV avc1 (H.264). Both have really good quality. AVI makes huge files, but are easy to edit. MOV H.264 compresses well, but is harder to edit (but because of the extra space, can sometimes shoot in HD). Here's some samples AVI MJPG: http://www.steves-digicams.com/camer...-review-7.html http://www.steves-digicams.com/camer...review-14.html MOV H.264: http://www.steves-digicams.com/camer...review-14.html http://www.steves-digicams.com/camer...-review-7.html http://www.steves-digicams.com/camer...-review-7.html (some very high definition samples) And more HD samples from a poster in this thread P.S. #2: H.264 is rather processor-intensive, so you'll need a pretty beefy processor.