Camera with video mopde

[idbarnett]

Hi,

I'm looking for a new digital camera, however I would like one that has the ability to record video footage with sound. I would like to be able to watch the video footage on a TV so I would need a resolution of at least 640x480. I will use both features equally so I'd rather have one device that does both if possible.

I've looked at the Sony CybershotM2 but it's rather large and doesn't have a great write up either.

Would I be better with a camcorder that can take stills?

My budget is a maximum of £500 but I would prefer to spend around £350.

[Sintares]

Perhaps the Canon S2 or S3?

Both have stereo sound , zoom while recording, 640x480 , 30fps, limited to 1gb files iirc.

Both take resonable pictures have the funky swivel screen, fast burst mode , takes SD cards.

Or the Sony H5 (or H2)

Mono sound , zoom while recording, 640x480 , 30fps (on a pro duo card), can shoot till the memory card is full, uses memory stick duo cards.

Takes excellent pictures, the H5 has a massive 3in lcd (H2 2in), slow burst mode, powerful flash, the pro duo cards are slightly more expensive than SD cards (a 1 GBstick is around £7 more expensive than a 1GB SD card in online shops)

Both the Sony and the Canon have massive reach from, 36mm to 432mm ! Both take accessory lens, filters tcons, wcons etc , the Sony has the excellent vcl1758 tcon taking the lens to 734mm!

The adapter tube (to mount the filters and add on lens) , rechargeable batteries and a charger comes with the Sony , with the Canon you will have to pay extra.

[ssiu]

Many digital cameras can take 640x480 30fps video nowadays (which is a good thing), so you'd want to narrow down your requirements more.

It sounds like you are looking for a compact or ultra-compact size (since you said the Sony Cybershot M2 is rather large)? The suggested Canon S2/S3 and Sony H2/H5 are all larger than the M2.

If you want widescreen video (848x480 30fps), a few Panasonics do that.

Canon S80 can take 1024x768 video but only at 15fps (too choppy for my taste).

Casio Z850 has a video light that can stay on constantly in low light situation.

Only some models can do optical zoom while taking video.

Some models have optical image stabilization; a few more have digital stabilization (not as good as optical).

Only some models record stereo sound.

etc. etc.

[Boily]

Kodak p850 and p880 make some video of 640x480 at 30fps and the p880 have a 24mm wide-angle!!