Digital Camcoder??

[prohunter]

What about a digital camcorder that can take still pictures? I was in Target today just browsing & saw a Sony camcoder with 20x optical & 700 digital zoom. It said it can take still pictures also. What is everyone's thought on this idea?

 

[BuckSnort]

I think it's a good idea to be able to take still photo's while taking video,but I also think you wont be able to do alot of things w/ it like you could with a seperate digital camera.

A while back before I had a digital camera I took alot of video of animals.When I got home and would watch the video's I would wish I had pictures of them also.You can have alot of fun with a digital camera cause you can do alot of neat stuff with them.

If it were me I would buy a digital camera first,but that's just my opinion.Good luck and what ever you decide don't get in a hurry and get something you are not happy with.

 

[spectr17]

I started with a Sony camcorder and taking stills off the tape. The stills look okay but I wanted better images so I bought a dedicated digital camera. You can see the pics from the Sony camcorder here http://www.jesseshuntingpage.com/video.html.

That camcorder was 640x480 and under 1 megapixel so it is not the best available now. I believe the newest cams are over a megapixel.

The other drawback to using a camcorder is most of the camcorders under $1,500 use an interlaced scan method to capture the image. This means it has two fields overlayed to create the picture. When you grab a still from this type camera it's hard to grab at the right time to get a clear image. There are tools on image editing software to fix the slight funkiness, they call it deinterlacing.

The better camcorders over $1,500 use a progressive scan method and the image you see is easier and better for capturing still images.

I know I butchered up that explanation of interlaced vs. progressive so if you do a search on th topic they have better explanations out there.

The one big advantage I've found of using a camcorder over a digital camera is when you film with a camcorder you get the whole 15 minutes of the deer on tape. You can then go back and pic out every image you want over the whole time you filmed with no missed shots. With a digital camera filming say 15 minutes, you're clicking and waiting which means you'll miss some shots.

:xmas hat:

 

[prohunter]

Thanks for all the info. I am still looking & haven't really decided.

 

[BuckSnort]

Hey prohunter I just checked out your photo album,Man you guys got some dandies! I like the "5 guys and 5 bucks" picture.

 

[prohunter]

Thanks! Merry Christmas! Maybe someday we will cross paths. You just live up the road (Valley) from me.
Phillip aka prohunter :xmas hat:

 

[glen71]

Prohunter - Where in Colorado do you hunt? Those are some great bucks.

 

[prohunter]

BLM land unit 40.