Point and Shoot that does video suggestions needed

[mfer]

Guys and Gals-

Looking for a Point and Shoot that does HD video as well. Looking for one that is best bang for the buck with good features and high FPS in video capture. It is mainly for my wife who doesn't really take that many pics, but she wanted to get one of those "flips", but I'm thinking the P&S would be so much better in quality.

Thinking about:
PowerShot SD4000 IS
PowerShot SD1400 IS
PowerShot S90

Like I said, I'm more worried about video capture and it looking smooth,etc. Want HD as well. 720P and up.

Thoughts?

 

[MohaimenK]

Sony Cybershots are pretty good for vids. I have the T900 and does very good 720p hd capture. But the newer models will give you the easy pano shot feature if you like that? Can come in handy.

 

[rallysman]

I've been really happy with my SD780is.
Photos are a bit noisy when there's low light, but the video is fantastic. With a fast memory card it's very smooth. The microphone is incredible too. It's tiny, which is good and bad. It's good because it's smaller than my cell phone and easier to put in my pocket, but it's bad since the tiny lens flares a bit too easily. Here's a couple videos that show how well it picks up sound, and how smooth it is. Be sure to click HD. (preferably out of the embedded window).

Here's a low light video. IMO it does pretty well and isn't too noisy on video:
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TeE_Muqul4[/ame]

Here's a clip from a NIN concert. If you've never seen NIN live, it's effing LOUD!:
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJULAEFW-Zw[/ame]

And this is a clip of Tom Morello kicking ass:
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDqb50kg8kE[/ame]

If you want any videos with softer sound let me know. Somehow this thing was able to handle being right in front of the speakers at this concert and actually did very well. The bass in the exhaust in the subie was picked up, but it can pick up very mild sound as well.

 

[HarlemBoii]

i use a nikon coolpix L110

 

[Juice]

The question that is jumping out at me is why not get a video camera that takes pics? It seems like picture taking would be a secondary feature, so why not get a camera that primarily takes video?

 

[usayit]

^^ agreed... most P&S cameras have a limit on the length of the video.... you should check into that prior to purchase.

 

[mfer]

The question that is jumping out at me is why not get a video camera that takes pics? It seems like picture taking would be a secondary feature, so why not get a camera that primarily takes video?

B/c all point and shoot cameras have their limitation. She wants pictures too and I know that there isn't a big difference for my wife with pics. More interested in the video capture.

Also, she was thinking of a "flip", so she wants something small, that'll fit in a pocket or purse, or diaper bag.

 

[mfer]

^^ agreed... most P&S cameras have a limit on the length of the video.... you should check into that prior to purchase.

I did, I'm not trying to make a full length movie here....

 

[Juice]

The question that is jumping out at me is why not get a video camera that takes pics? It seems like picture taking would be a secondary feature, so why not get a camera that primarily takes video?

B/c all point and shoot cameras have their limitation. She wants pictures too and I know that there isn't a big difference for my wife with pics. More interested in the video capture.

Also, she was thinking of a "flip", so she wants something small, that'll fit in a pocket or purse, or diaper bag.

You just argued for my point, I was asking why she doesn't get a video camera.

There are many hand-held, flip, video cameras that can easily be carried in your pocket, yet are designed for video capture.

 

[mfer]

I've been really happy with my SD780is.
Photos are a bit noisy when there's low light, but the video is fantastic. With a fast memory card it's very smooth. The microphone is incredible too. It's tiny, which is good and bad. It's good because it's smaller than my cell phone and easier to put in my pocket, but it's bad since the tiny lens flares a bit too easily. Here's a couple videos that show how well it picks up sound, and how smooth it is. Be sure to click HD. (preferably out of the embedded window).

Here's a low light video. IMO it does pretty well and isn't too noisy on video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TeE_Muqul4

Here's a clip from a NIN concert. If you've never seen NIN live, it's effing LOUD!:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJULAEFW-Zw

And this is a clip of Tom Morello kicking ass:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDqb50kg8kE

If you want any videos with softer sound let me know. Somehow this thing was able to handle being right in front of the speakers at this concert and actually did very well. The bass in the exhaust in the subie was picked up, but it can pick up very mild sound as well.

Thanks for your constructive feedback. It looks like it does very well in good light. I had it in 720p and full screen on my 24" lcd and it was pretty impressive considering it came from a P&S. Canon is looking pretty good.

 

[mfer]

Sony Cybershots are pretty good for vids. I have the T900 and does very good 720p hd capture. But the newer models will give you the easy pano shot feature if you like that? Can come in handy.

Appreciate the thoughts, but I've had some pretty bad luck with Sony equipment, and their memory is $$$$$, especially considering I'll be getting some larger sticks for video.

 

[rallysman]

FWIW, Video length is only as short as the card will allow on my camera. I have a 4g extreme III in mine and I can shoot ~40 minutes of video on HD with no length limits.

 

[rallysman]

I've been really happy with my SD780is.
Photos are a bit noisy when there's low light, but the video is fantastic. With a fast memory card it's very smooth. The microphone is incredible too. It's tiny, which is good and bad. It's good because it's smaller than my cell phone and easier to put in my pocket, but it's bad since the tiny lens flares a bit too easily. Here's a couple videos that show how well it picks up sound, and how smooth it is. Be sure to click HD. (preferably out of the embedded window).

Here's a low light video. IMO it does pretty well and isn't too noisy on video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TeE_Muqul4

Here's a clip from a NIN concert. If you've never seen NIN live, it's effing LOUD!:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJULAEFW-Zw

And this is a clip of Tom Morello kicking ass:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDqb50kg8kE

If you want any videos with softer sound let me know. Somehow this thing was able to handle being right in front of the speakers at this concert and actually did very well. The bass in the exhaust in the subie was picked up, but it can pick up very mild sound as well.

Thanks for your constructive feedback. It looks like it does very well in good light. I had it in 720p and full screen on my 24" lcd and it was pretty impressive considering it came from a P&S. Canon is looking pretty good.

Also keep in mind that it's still better when it's straight off of the card rather than uploaded to youtube.

 

[rallysman]

For being smaller than a pack of smokes this thing still surprises me. I'm sure there's better cameras out there, but I still love this one. Here's a pic of mine that hopefully demonstrates its size.

Sorry for posting so much, I just can't help but recommend this thing. (and I'm a Nikon guy)

 

[mfer]

Also keep in mind that it's still better when it's straight off of the card rather than uploaded to youtube.

Oh yeah, nice Subaru by the way! Yeah, I assumed the video would be better on the hard drive. Good to know for sure. Have you burned any blue rays or DVD's with it? I read some things that the .mov files can be hard to work with or something like that.

That sd1400 is looking pretty good for only $200. The flip is $100 and it can't zoom, is bigger, has fixed memory, etc.

Still curious if anyone out there has used the sd4000. It looks like it has manual setting for aperture and shutter priority, but wondering if the video is worth the $120 jump from the sd1400.