best hybrid camera to buy

[UnknownVT]

Originally Posted by UnknownVT

FujiFilm seems to have an XP range that are low priced -
eg: FujiFilm FinPix XP10 msrp $150 can be found for ~$100
BUT the zooming noise seemed obtrusive on videos -
that alone is a deal breaker for me.

Newly released (so prices haven't dropped yet) -
XP20 (msrp $200) and XP30 (msrp $240) apparently the same except the XP30 adds GPS.
I hope they have cured the video zooming noise problem -
but it's hard to see how, if it is mechanical and the microphone is close by........

Well OK there might be some hope after all - I found the respective pdf manuals online and the location of the microphone has changed the newer XP30 (XP20) may be better located so it doesn't pick up as much zooming noise - here are the respective diagram of parts:

Fuji XP10 (noisy zooming)


Newer Fuji XP30 (XP20 = same without GPS)


Having an optical zoom can make a lot of difference to a video -
obviously as long as there is no zooming noise recorded.

[UnknownVT]

Originally Posted by UnknownVT

Well OK there might be some hope after all - I found the respective pdf manuals online and the location of the microphone has changed the newer XP30 (XP20) may be better located so it doesn't pick up as much zooming noise
Fuji XP10 (noisy zooming)
Having an optical zoom can make a lot of difference to a video -
obviously as long as there is no zooming noise recorded.

Actually according to the Fuji XP10 pdf manual the optical zoom canNOT be adjusted during videoing:



But the zoom is actually operable during videoing -
as shown in these YouTube test videos:
Fujifilm FinePix XP10 720p Video Test
Fuji XP-10 test

The problem is that it is noisy and the footage goes noticeably out of focus -

Perhaps that's why Fuji worded it the way they did -
"Optical zoom cannot be adjusted once recording begins"
not that it is inoperable -
but the camera wasn't designed/supposed to be zoomed during recording as it is noisy and goes out of focus!!

Whereas the Fuji XP30 pdf manual (& XP20?) explicitly says that zoom can be adjusted during videoing.


So perhaps Fuji were aware of the noisy and out of focus zooming problems to say that zoom was not adjustable during recording on the XP10,
whereas they may have cured the noisy and out of focus for the XP30 (& XP20) to say that the zoom can be adjusted during recording?

I hope so - this then makes the XP20 quite interesting as an everything proof HD cam/camera..

EDIT to ADD -

Nope unfortunately zooming is still noisy, and the footage still goes out of focus -
see:Fujifilm XP 30 Review the last few seconds 11:42-11:59.

So it looks like that where recording sound is important like a music clip - one really should not use the zoom on these Fuji XP series cameras.......

[ApG]

Canon - PowerShot ELPH 300 HS just came out and I just played around with it at Best Buy. I think it replaces the SD1400. I'd go for this as a great hybrid camera.

Very compact, 12MP, 5x optical, 2.7 inch LCD, Full 1080P, optical zoom while recording video, Stereo Sound, and optical image stabilization.

The video and picture quality is much better than my Zi8.

[qv98]

Originally Posted by ApG

Canon - PowerShot ELPH 300 HS just came out and I just played around with it at Best Buy. I think it replaces the SD1400. I'd go for this as a great hybrid camera.

Very compact, 12MP, 5x optical, 2.7 inch LCD, Full 1080P, optical zoom while recording video, Stereo Sound, and optical image stabilization.

The video and picture quality is much better than my Zi8.

the 1080p is only 24fps which is laughable

640x480 @ 120 fps is pretty cool tho