[Recovered Thread: 26844]

[h-guy]

BB wrote:

If you insist on getting a camera that is equally good at both, I feel your only two real choices are the Canon S1 IS or the Olympus C770. I would like to see Steve do a head-to-head comparison of these two models.

me too! i would especially want if steve could make a comment on a camera which is good at both without needing a 4gb flash card (if there is one).

BB, thanks for sharing your thoughts about the models. those are the ones i went through too. my opinion about them are:

MinoltaZ2:looks great in price/performance comparison buti didn't like its video performance especially while zooming (thanks to steve for testing that in his sample video). another thing is it takes 72dpi pics and the quality in them i saw adds not too much to my recent cam olympus d490z.

Fuji S5000 (coz S7000 is overpriced in my consideration): the videos it produce are good but i didn't like the picturesfrom this cam. maybe it can be a good 'first cam' for someone but not for me.

Olympus 770: i wanna changethe brand. i've been using olympus like forever and now i want something 'new' u know? so i skipped all olympus modelsthis time. ironically, i had not evenone single problem with my D490Zoom. it's solid as a rock.

Panasonic FZ10: i am biasedat 72dpi photos. i want at least 150. maybe it's just pschological but i feel better looking at them. but the main reason i skipped that model was its not having a 640x480 option as video. still, i agree with you, its 320x240 videos are sharp and vivid besides it has this amazing 12x zoom! with a reasonable flash card addition, it becomes pretty expensivetho.

Canon S1 IS: still 'the one' for me. the only reason i cannot make my decision is budgetary. if i buy that one i need at least 2gb of memorywhich exceeds my limits summing up two.the pictures it can produce are awesome and the videoslook like DV (even when you are zooming, thanks to steve again). my dream cam is this one with a 16gb ultra2 (yeah dreams haveno limits)

thanks for your additions to the subject

h.

[BB]

Large memory cards for hi-res video... that's the rub... and that's another reason I passed on the S1 IS. It just seemed like I would have to invest quite a bit of money in order to really make good use of the video capabilities. I'd end up having $800 into a camera setup that is still only 3MP. :roll:

Another possible downside is the S1 IS doesn't support an external flash, making it a far less flexable still camera.

[h-guy]

hi,

if i buy a ntsc camcorder from usa, (i live in a 'pal' country) can i use this camcorder to record from my digital tv satellite receiver? or ntsc becomes a problem here?

now i do record with a pal camcorder but i dont know what would it be with a ntsc cam. has anyone tried such a thing?

thanks.

h.

[Mikefellh]

h-guy wrote:

if i buy a ntsc camcorder from usa, (i live in a 'pal' country) can i use this camcorder to record from my digital tv satellite receiver? or ntsc becomes a problem here?

now i do record with a pal camcorder but i dont know what would it be with a ntsc cam. has anyone tried such a thing?

Your TV signal would be PAL, so you would have to buy a PAL to NTSC converter first which is big money. And of course, your satellite receiver would have to have an output that the camcorder would be able to accept. Also, what would you view the tapes on...you'd need an NTSC compatible TV.

Another reason NOT to buy an NTSC camera if you live overseas, flicker...your lighting system operates at a lower electrical frequency (25Hz vs. 30Hz that is used in North America)...if you do a lot of indoor recording you would notice this problem more.

BTW, regarding the 72dpi, it's just a number that's almost meaningless...the only thing it effects is printing and that is the ratio of the size of the print; a 2dpi 1600x1200 picture and a 200dpi 1600x1200 picture will look exactly the same on the monitor.

[h-guy]

thanks, i was expecting such a problem with pal vs ntsc but i had no idea about that lighting difference. so ntsc cam is not an option for me. let me check pal camcorders in b&h.

h.

[thkn777]

I tested Fuji F700 (same CCD as the Fuji 5000) and the Canon S1 IS. The Fuji compresses higher - ok. So in bright light the Canon movie looks a bit better. But when you have mixed lightning or even a bit dim the Fuji movies are a tad better to my mind.

Personally I'd go for 640x480 with 15fps. Afterall it's not a camcorder - and if you have a more fixed camera position movie quality is ok. Pan Shots is where 30 fps are a must or action movies...

Due to the bad focussing of the Canon in dim light (i.e. indoors, shadows) I gave it back am still sad about it since it is a very good digicam for outdoor.

I am now looking for the Oly 5060 which has (on paper) good AF, movie up to 640x480 at 15fps, wide angle optics (complements the static cam position for 15 fps) and more stuff I am looking for.

I know you want a change of brand ... but hey - you are satisfied with your current Oly - aren't you?