need help sorting out camcorder choice

[Rufous]

I have been wanting to buy a camcorder for a while now and am now really wanting to get one before a trip to Alaska in July. I have a Canon digital camera but it only has 3x optical zoom and is having some problems anyway. In a camcorder I want 30 or more optical zoom and I want image stabilization. I do not know enough to know what else I want except that obviously I want it to also be able to take great pictures and to be fairly light weight and compact and easy to use and hopefully quicker to get into action than my Power Shot 50 camera.

I have done a bit of comparing on some of the Canon models. A friend of mine has a Canon camcorder but I do not remember the model. It is not a very fancy one but seems to work pretty well. He got it a couple years ago. Anyway in the initial research I have done I noticed that the Canon camcorders I have compared seem to have only 0.68 or 1.07 megapixels. My old digital Canon camera has 5 megapixels. Am I not understanding something or why do these camcorders have so few megapixels? Are the photos still good? I am really rather uninformed about the whole area of cameras and camcorders so I am hoping for a bit of an education from someone here. I am not at all set on buying a Canon so if there are better or less expensive camcorder of equal quality I would be happy to consider them.

What does it mean to be a hybrid? Thanks, Brian.

[whacker1]

I am of no help, but let us know what you come up with.  What sort of budget are you looking at?

[JackOfAllTrades]

Just as a Toyota Tercell doesn't haul lumber as well as a Ford F250.. Both will still haul passengers. There are vast differences in digital still cameras and digital video cameras. No, the resolution is not the same in the differen platforms.  

For something like this that has a plethora of choices, you first need to figure what your budget is.

Then research within that budget what is the best bang for your buck.

Pixels is not everything. But, just surfing the net, there are several Canons that have 8+ megapixel as a still camera. What you're looking for in quality video, is frames per second. I'd go with something in the HD price range that records to flash memory. As much memory as you can afford. Sony has one cam that's in the 12+MPix range as a still cam with HD quality for video. No tapes. No dvd's or mini dvd's.  I have a Sony digital that uses High8 tape. While it's nice, it's outdated and certainly not the cat's meow. It's been a battle tank though.  And while I'd love to have a Canon 40D or something like what the Hunt-Wa photo team uses, they are not video cameras. And that's where Sony probably owns home turf.

You're looking for something that's got long battery life, doesn't weigh a ton, and a remote. -Yes, I said a remote control. While the flip out view screen is nice, it robs battery power. Not all Vid cameras have the small peep view finder. I suggest that you get one that does. Make sure something you buy comes with some decent film editing software so you can grab excerpts of a session and dump to Mpeg or some other format so you can share it with others.

That's a start. I'm sure others will chime in.

-Steve

[Rufous]

I am hoping to find what I am looking for in the $500 range. I am not sure what the HD is. Does that mean High Definition? How is it better and would I only be able to use it if I have a High Definition TV? I do not have an HD TV at this time and do not know when I will be able to afford one. This trip is really way over our normal means but we are hoping to make it happen. It is a mother ship kayaking trip from Ketchikan to Juneau along the inside passage. We took a trip with the same folks who are based out of Bellingham back in August of 2008 in the San Juan Islands. The food is great and the boat is truly cool. They take a max of 6 clients and the boat is operated by a husband and wife (she is the most excellent cook) and on this trip they will have an additional crew member to help out. If any of you are at all interested you can check them out at:

http://www.northwestnavigation.com/site/

So adding a camcorder is not easily done financially but I know that having a good one will enable us to come away with photos and videos that will help us to remember a very special trip and time in our lives.

I am a bit confused about something. With a camcorder that has say 1.07 megapixels is that for the video portion only and then if you just take a still photo would it have substantially more pixels? How does one determine the frames/second in the video mode? I have not notice that mentioned. Maybe I just was not looking at the info closely enough. What is the norm for frames/second?

What is Flash Memory? Is it removeable or is it basically like a hard drive within the Camcorder?

I assume that a camcorder with remote control has a separate remote in order to start rolling once I am in position with say my dead animal to discuss the hunt? That would be more convenient than a delay but is it really necessary?

Good tip on getting one with a peep viewfinder to save on battery life.

So it sounds like Sony is the leader in Camcorders- is that right?

Which Sony camcorders should I be looking at considering my budget and desires? Thanks again, Brian.

[Rufous]

I am rethinking this somewhat. I do not take many videos compared to photos. I have heard that photos taken on camcorders tend to be rather poor quality. The main reason I am thinking about a camcorder is for the 40x optical zoom. Lots of times I have taken photos with my Canon Power Shot S50 of animals and then found that at the 3x optical zoom the animal looks awfully small. I do not know that a newer digital camera with 10x zoom would do the trick for me or not but it would probably take adequate videos for my needs as my old Canon does okay. I mostly have taken video clips of kill shots, describing the hunt and such, not videos of fast action.

Any suggestions on whether or not I should go for a camcorder or just a newer, better digital camera with more optical zoom? Thanks, Rufous.

[JackOfAllTrades]

With your retinking, I think you need a DSLR. -and forgo the video stuff.

Question for any of the Photogs on here....  Will something like the Canon 40d do short bursts of video? -Like this? (takes a minute to load)

[http://myweb.facstaff.wwu.edu/~treloas/ShaneBaseball/ShaneDoubleAtState2008.avi]   (cut and paste the link, everything in between the brackets [].

Notice that the camera would only focus on the safety net. Pissed me off.

You're going to get a lot more control over what you want to be the focus/focal point of your image if you go with something like a DSLR and not a little point and click digital.  

-Steve