OP
Bird
Rest in Peace
Yep, Eddie, you do make some good pictures.
Which Camcorder to Buy
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aczlan
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We have had similar experiences with our Canon A1100IS.
That has been our experience as well. We have an older Canon DSLR with several lenses and it is great for some things (like shooting pictures from the top of the stands at the demo derby), but it is too big and inconvenient to take everywhere. The little camera gets at least 5x the use that the big one gets and will take better pictures in many situations (indoors or low light).
The little camera also takes pretty good video (better than the and it is stored as a digital file right on the SD card (which makes it much easier to use to make movies of Zoe (our 2yo) which we try to do a couple of times per year).
Aaron Z
Bartcephus
Gold Member
I agree, the easier it is to carry the better the chances of using/having it when you want/need it. When I went to get a digital camera, one of my concerns was batteries. I wanted one that uses standard AA or AAA batteries so when I went on backpacking trips etc, all I had to carry was spare AA or AAA batteries for my GPS, Camera, mini-mag light etc. Size had to be a little bigger, but the standardization of the batteries made it a winner with me.
EddieWalker
Epic Contributor
I have been a HUGE supporter of cameras that use AA batteries. I've been around the world, and know how hard it is to find a specialty battery in some places. Everyone has AA batteries!!!!
This was the biggest hold up on me when upgrading to the Canon SX30. It uses a lithium ion battery. After reading the reviews, and priceing extra batteries, I went for it and bought the camera. Two things surprised me. The litium ion battery lasts forever on a charge. I can't say for sure, but my guess is that I get as many pics out of it as I did with three sets of Duracell batteries. I also found that Duracell is by far the best brand out there after wasting money on other brands.
I have an extra Canon brand battery that stays in my charger. If I go away, I bring it and the charger with me, but so far, have never had to use the second battery. It's just in my pocket for piece of mind. I can take pictures all night, with and without the flash, and never run out of power. It's really a very good battery!!!
The reviews of other brands, and cheaper batteries where not very good on Amazon, so I spent the extra for Canon.
Eddie
This was the biggest hold up on me when upgrading to the Canon SX30. It uses a lithium ion battery. After reading the reviews, and priceing extra batteries, I went for it and bought the camera. Two things surprised me. The litium ion battery lasts forever on a charge. I can't say for sure, but my guess is that I get as many pics out of it as I did with three sets of Duracell batteries. I also found that Duracell is by far the best brand out there after wasting money on other brands.
I have an extra Canon brand battery that stays in my charger. If I go away, I bring it and the charger with me, but so far, have never had to use the second battery. It's just in my pocket for piece of mind. I can take pictures all night, with and without the flash, and never run out of power. It's really a very good battery!!!
The reviews of other brands, and cheaper batteries where not very good on Amazon, so I spent the extra for Canon.
Eddie
troutsqueezer
Veteran Member
Nobody is mentioning the quality of the video and how that plays into what you intend to do with it as well as how much computing power you have at your disposal.
Do you want to make DVD's, Blu Ray (highest quality), YouTube? Different camera and computing requirements for each, to say nothing of the movie making programs themselves. The proper camera for Blu Ray should be full HD 1080P. Those don't cost much these days, maybe around $250. The Flip camera does not shoot full HD and it is going out of business since Cisco dropped it.
If YouTube videos are your goal, the camera can be of less resolution and you don't need much of a computer to handle it.
If you plan on watching the videos on your new large 1080p flat screen, cheaper cameras and processing equipment show their limitations.
I wouldn't go into it blind. There is a lot to research from a number of different angles. Most learn what they can and can't do after they spend the money and I'd venture to say that many of them are disappointed when their videos come out rather fuzzy.
This might not be the right forum for this query.
Do you want to make DVD's, Blu Ray (highest quality), YouTube? Different camera and computing requirements for each, to say nothing of the movie making programs themselves. The proper camera for Blu Ray should be full HD 1080P. Those don't cost much these days, maybe around $250. The Flip camera does not shoot full HD and it is going out of business since Cisco dropped it.
If YouTube videos are your goal, the camera can be of less resolution and you don't need much of a computer to handle it.
If you plan on watching the videos on your new large 1080p flat screen, cheaper cameras and processing equipment show their limitations.
I wouldn't go into it blind. There is a lot to research from a number of different angles. Most learn what they can and can't do after they spend the money and I'd venture to say that many of them are disappointed when their videos come out rather fuzzy.
This might not be the right forum for this query.
OP
Bird
Rest in Peace
My old Olympus uses 4 AA batteries. I got 4 Maxell MiMH batteries and a Maxell charger when I bought that Olympus 10 years ago last January. A short time later, I went back and bought a set of 4 Rayovac Ultra batteries. Those 10 year old rechargeable batteries still work just fine. I'm not sure how I did it, but I broke my charger last month, so I bought a new Energiser charger that came with 4 AA MiMH batteries. And yesterday I found an unopened package of 4 AA Rayovac Ultra batteries in the closet; can't remember where they came from.:laughing: So, yes, I have only considered cameras that use 4 AA batteries, since I'm overstocked on rechargeable AA batteries.:laughing: Son-in-law says the ones that only use 2 AA batteries run the batteries down too fast.
OP
Bird
Rest in Peace
It's the right forum for me, 'cause I'm trying to learn. My old Olympus is only 3x zoom and 1.3 megapixels, but it usually serves my purpose for still photos. So you might say my primary interest is in a camera that will take moving pictures/movies/videos or whatever the right term is.
Now, as for what kind of videos . . . well, I don't know. I have a VCR tape that I made some years back at my wife's parents' home in West Virginia. I walked around outside and inside "narrating" as I went; sort of an inventory/memory thing. Her parents died some years ago and that house was sold, but we wouldn't want to get rid of that cassette even though I consider myself to be a lousy photographer. I'd like to do something similar with a video inventory of our property. Who knows? I might someday want to send something to Americas Funniest Home Videos:laughing: although I'd consider that to be a remote likelihood at best.
In other words, I know I want moving video capability, with sound, but beyond that . . . well, I wish I knew.
As for computing power . . . I'm not very knowledgeable there, either. I'm using a HP desktop AMD Athlon 64 x 2 Dual Core processor, 32 bit operating system, 3 GB memory, 456 GB drive C with 418 GB free, an internal and an external CD/DVD/RW so I think I've got enough.
But I'm sure willing to read any recommendations.
jinman
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If you have a big photo shoot coming like at a wedding, get yourself four lithium batteries and you'll have plenty of power for the whole thing. We use and love lithium batteries for their up to 7x power. Unfortunately, they can't be recharged, but if you have a long shoot and don't want to change batteries, they are just the ticket.
troutsqueezer
Veteran Member
KennyG
Elite Member
Since this thread is still going, I thought I would weigh back in. I recently got a Canon Vixia M400 and am completely blown away. The secret is that it has a lens that is near pro quality and it has a sensor that is just about 2 megapixels. That doesn't sound like much when you can easily buy 10 and 12 megapixel still cameras, but the sensor is exactly HD resolution (1080 x 1920). As a result, the large pixels are very sensitive to lower light.
I've taken night videos of football games and a demolition derby and they look as good as anything you'll see on a HD newscast. I've got a projection media room with a 10 foot diagonal screen and the videos are excellent.
Based on what I've learned, for the best video look for a large sensor (1/3 inch instead of 1/4 or 1/5 inch) and actual HD resolution on the sensor pixels.
I've taken night videos of football games and a demolition derby and they look as good as anything you'll see on a HD newscast. I've got a projection media room with a 10 foot diagonal screen and the videos are excellent.
Based on what I've learned, for the best video look for a large sensor (1/3 inch instead of 1/4 or 1/5 inch) and actual HD resolution on the sensor pixels.
