Digital cameras that shot movies?

[Luis_Felipe]

Hi,

I am a beginner underwater photographer who sometimes takes little video clips with my digital camera. I enjoy taking these little clips and then editing them on i-movie, but the quality is obviously not great (I had a Canon Powershot A80 that could take great pictures and 320x240 short clips). I want to take better videos but do not think I am ready to dish out $ for a HD video camera.

What do you think about newer digital still cameras with better movie capabilities (I am thinking about the Canon SD950 or the G7, which can shoot movies at 1024 x 768 /15 fps and 640 x 480 /30 fps)?

What is the trade off between 1024 x 768 at 15fps and 640 x 480 at 30 fps?

Should I get a 7 mp digital camera instead and save for a videocamera down the road, or can something like the SD950 do a decent job for short video clips?

Thanks for any comments,

Felipe

[acelockco]

I don't know the answers to your questions, but a company by the name of Bonica makes something that you may like. It is an underwater video cammera and housing for pretty inexpensive price. I think they start at $799, but I have seen them in the $500 price range at Leisure Pro and such. They also have a new HD model for about $200 more. I don't think it is anything like HD TV, but it is higher definition.

Anyone have any info on these or have use these, please post a report.

[sjspeck]

What do you think about newer digital still cameras with better movie capabilities (I am thinking about the Canon SD950 or the G7, which can shoot movies at 1024 x 768 /15 fps and 640 x 480 /30 fps)?

1024x768 at 15fps will be YouTube quality footage. Not enough frame rate to produce smooth results. Your Powershot is likely shooting at 30fps - at least the A6XX series cameras do. I have some decent 640x480 30fps clips my buddy shot with his A620. They pixelate at larger resolutions though.

The Bonica shoots at 30fps also. Not sure about the HD version as I've never seen one. I think they only produce .avi's though. so they're not going to look especially good on a HDTV. If you have the technology, burn a good quality .WMV file to DVD and then play it on an HDTV to see similar output.

Should I get a 7 mp digital camera instead and save for a videocamera down the road, or can something like the SD950 do a decent job for short video clips?

It probably mostly depends on your budget. New single chip HDV starts around $1500 for a camera/housing combo. Double that if you need lights. New MiniDV SD is closer to $1200 but you're buying yesterdays technology.

btw the new A650 still camera is 12.2MP for under $500. And the A640 is 8MP. Canon housings for either are $159-169 at Adorama.

[acelockco]

So would the Bonica unit be good for YouTube and other internet quality videos? For the price, that might be a good option for some.

BTW, Which Mini-DV systems w/housing cost about $1200 which is more than double the price, but I am sure the images would be really nice.

[Luis_Felipe]

Thanks, I was thinking about an ikelite housing for the SD950, is there much difference between ikelite and the canon housing (which is more expensive)?

[sjspeck]

So would the Bonica unit be good for YouTube and other internet quality videos?

IMO that's all it would be good for. But I shoot HDV. I think the end quality of video after compression on Youtube is appalling. For comparison, look at Divx compressed files hosted on stage6.com. Those are done with a $20 add-on codec.

BTW, Which Mini-DV systems w/housing cost about $1200 which is more than double the price, but I am sure the images would be really nice.

Pretty much any $300 MiniDV camera you can currently buy. The base Ikelite housing for any TRV or HC series(non HDV) camera costs $800. An Ocean Images Dolphin Pro or the TopDawg II universal electronic housings list at $899.

If you can at all afford it, there's several HDV housing/camera combos starting at $1449 at B&H. For $1459 you can get a Sony HDR-HC5 - the current HDV model - in an Equinox Pro6 housing. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/shop/1...mera_Kits.html

[sjspeck]

Thanks, I was thinking about an ikelite housing for the SD950, is there much difference between ikelite and the canon housing (which is more expensive)?

I don't shoot stills so I'm not completely familiar with them. But my two regular buddies shoot Canon cameras so between the two of them, I've handled both options.

I've never heard of an Ikelite housing leaking - ever. I personally know two people who've flooded their Canon housings. Human error? possibly...

I don't think there's a lot of difference in the control set for either housing but I think Ikelite has more options when adding an external strobe.

And you're getting 70 more feet of depth rating with the Ikelite - 130 vs. 200'. My buddy once said that his Canon housing made the "creak of death" at about 122'. Didn't flood though, it waited until a 25' dive later in the week...

[hbh2oguard]

I thought when refering to hand-cam size cameras HD meant hard disk not high def???

[seasnake]

720 x 480 @ 30fps is broadcast quality ... at least until HD is the mainstay in the market. The higher frame rate will look better on your tv than the higher resolution will. I think the new canon still point and shoots can record up to an hour in one clip.
The Ike housing has a better depth rating than the Canon housing.

[sjspeck]

I thought when refering to hand-cam size cameras HD meant hard disk not high def???

HD is High Definition
HDV is what most consumer/prosumer "HD" cameras shoot - mpeg2 or AVCHD format depending on whether it's tape or disk/dvd/solid state media storage.
HDD is Hard Disk Drive

It really has nothing to do with "hand-cam size' The pro HVR-V1U or HVR-Z1U cameras also shoot "HDV" tape. All HDV tape is is a better grade of MiniDV tape. I shoot MiniDV tape in my HDV camcorder almost all the time anyway.