Digital cameras 101

[LAPIII]

There are some digital cameras with up to 1024 x 768 resolution and many other features that a video camera has. From the description I read, camcorders might only take still pictures at 3 megabytes (that's the highest that I've seen)

[bdery]

Hi and welcome!

If I understand you correctly, you want to know what is the advantage of using a camcorder instead of a digital photo camera to make movies, correct?

The answer is complicated, and it really depends on the products you compare. First, many camcorders come with built-in hard drives, or use mini-DVD, etc. These make recording the data easier, as high-quality movies drink up memory (for instance, my Canon S2 makes great movies at 640x480 resolution with stereo sound, but 8 minutes take up 1 GB of data).

Second, the lenses of a camcorder often (but not always) give you more reach (more "zoom" ) and many photo cameras won't allow you to zoom. Some camcorder have built-in lamps to illuminate a scene. The form factor is different, and apart from some models (mainly Canon) the screen does not swivel like it does for a camcorder.

For occasional film making, a photo camera can work very well for videos too, and now Sanyo and Canon offer true hybrid movies/stills cameras (Canon's last offering has a 6 MP sensor for stills). If you mainly want to make films, I think you will find a camcorder offers more relevant features. It really depends what you're looking for.

[rhinorick]

Great answer bdery.  I had sort of wondered the same thing myself and came to some of those same conclusions.  

I hope LAPIII will return to see your answer.