Ask Engadget: Which digicam takes the best video?

We know, we know -- a camera is only as good as the images it produces, but this week's Ask Engadget question revolves around an oft overlooked video function. (Psst... feel free to shoot over your own inquiry to ask at engadget dawt com, but only after you check out Jonathan's question below.)

"What's a good camera that takes great quality video for at least 30 minutes (yes, I know I'd have to buy an extra memory card)? So many of the cameras I've messed with have a limit on how much you can record in one session, even if you have enough storage space. Thanks!"

Here recently, a few cameras have surfaced with 720p video capabilities, and there's a plethora of options if VGA is good enough. What camera is best for snagging those candid videos that inevitably end up on YouTube / Facebook / etc.? Don't lead the man astray, now.

[Mike10010100 @ Sep 11th 2008 6:45PM]

My mother owns a Sony Cybershot DSC T200, and it takes amazing quality video and excellent sound, even in low light situations.

I'm pretty sure you could get the same out of a newer model of cybershot (they go up to something like 10 megapixels, while my mother's is only 8.1).

It's really compact, and it takes a great video.

[JerseyBricklayer @ Sep 11th 2008 6:57PM]

INSERT 'mom joke' here *

[Josh @ Sep 11th 2008 8:34PM]

It's illegal for you?

Hell she consents just fine when i come knocking! (bit of a double entendre there too :P)

[Mobile Phone Diva @ Sep 11th 2008 9:23PM]

To the OP, thanks for the recommendation! I was looking at a "T" line Sony camera.

[JerryA @ Sep 11th 2008 9:40PM]

I have sex with your mother.

/get it?

[Mike10010100 @ Sep 11th 2008 9:42PM]

Average intellect of reply posters: 1
Range of intellect: 0-10
We have one person who took my suggestion seriously, and 6 people who took it stupidly. Jerks.

[bstring @ Sep 12th 2008 12:26AM]

For extremely sharp 720p video with amazing ability to shoot in low light indoors or out, Panasonic Lumix LX3 is the one. f/2, 24mm lens!!!
http://vimeo.com/1493447

[[e-mail] @ Dec 3rd 2008 5:37PM]

Canon PowerShot A590 IS Black Digital Camera. 8MP sensor, 4x optical zoom lens and good video shots. It's sick and under $200. More info.....http://bestcovery.com/node/7645?whybest=1&best=8543

[websyndicate @ Sep 11th 2008 6:47PM]

iSight

[deyanimay @ Sep 11th 2008 6:57PM]

SPAM!

[ehru @ Sep 11th 2008 6:49PM]

I would say just SD camcorder like the ones that have a swivel screen make good camcorders. Especially in regards to price, and they usually don't have video limit -At least the one I have (an old SD Canon).

[yyan @ Sep 11th 2008 7:30PM]

I use my cake cam.

[deyanimay @ Sep 11th 2008 6:50PM]

Go take your piss pants attitude somewhere else, like gizmodo.

[Eugenia Loli-Queru @ Sep 11th 2008 6:50PM]

I usually use bigger cameras for my music video shoots with local rock bands, but when I feel like playing a bit, or hitting hardware limits that challenge me, I use the Kodak V1233 or Kodak V1253 (I own 3-4 models from them).

The camera records 720/30p in MPEG4-SP format, and is especially easier to edit with Apple products rather than PC editors (just because Apple re-encodes during import to their AIC format rather than editing natively like PC video editors do). When I edit with Sony Vegas on my PC, I have to create proxy files to edit that format, or I have to face 1 fps performance.

In terms of quality, I am happy with it. Only things missing is exposure control (you have zero control over how over-exposed something might come out at the end), and also focusing control would have been nice too. Other than that, I am cool with it, especially for the price ($150).

I have shot some small samples with these Kodak HD cameras, and have uploaded in HD format too (original file also available for download if you want to check the original quality):
http://vimeo.com/766593 (with the V1233)
http://vimeo.com/435035 (with the V1253)

[Taylor @ Sep 11th 2008 6:51PM]

high def is useless if the quality bites. That's the reason I stuck with Canon's SD850. It's amazing really. I can shoot higher than 640x480, but then you can only do a max of 15fps. I almost got the Lumix/Leica camera that did 720p, but it just wasn't worth the crazy cost and didn't have the image quality of the canon's. Not to mention the canon is way smaller and lighter.

[Who Knows @ Sep 11th 2008 6:51PM]

Im still waiting for an Ask Engadget: How would you change Engadget? article.

[exthuse @ Sep 11th 2008 6:54PM]

Hey hey, this isn't TUAW!

[giuliop @ Sep 11th 2008 7:06PM]

Me too. In the meantime, why not fire that imbecile(s) that thought it's better to have 95% of the comments grayed out in one way or another?

[yyan @ Sep 11th 2008 8:11PM]

I totally agree. Why the fuck is the comment system retrogressing in terms of usability? The unnecessary eyestrain sucks. I'll take some time off until it gets fixed.

[JerryA @ Sep 11th 2008 9:47PM]

@yyan: It's so I can ignore people like Sexy-Erik-the-iPhone-Wizard trolling in every single thread. They do need to do a better job of only blurring the really low comments so I don't have to strain on the semi-low or neutral ones.

[Matt @ Sep 12th 2008 1:45PM]

Amen. If you really want to play with the colors, don't gray out the low ranked comments; HIGHLIGHT the highest ranked comments. A subtle green background might work very well.

[El Taco @ Sep 14th 2008 4:20PM]

or "How would you change Ask Engadget?"

[Spongebob Happypants @ Sep 11th 2008 6:51PM]

The Kodak Zi6 has been awesome. It blows away the crappy Flip.

[Jerome @ Sep 11th 2008 6:52PM]

I have my sony DSC-W1 digital camera 5mega and it take descent video in 640 x 480 (VGA fine), Approx.30fps.

Perfect for youtube and computer. 640x480 is getting small

www.youtube.com/jeromedemers for video example


I might get the new DSC-T500 taking 1280x720(Fine), Approx.30fps
http://www.dpreview.com/news/0808/08082801sony_cybershot_DSC-T500.asp

The sony HDRTG1 is really nice but the files are .MTS and nothing on this planet can play them. ( for now )
You need the camcorder to install the software. I have tried it!
I am thinking of buying a real camcorder.

[Darren @ Sep 11th 2008 6:52PM]

I've been very happy with my Casio S-10. It's ultra portable and shoots decent movies that play nice with iTunes and AppleTV.

848x480 and it will record until my card is full which is over 30 mins.

http://www.casio.com/products/Cameras/Exilim_Card/EX-S10BK/

;D

[Adam @ Sep 11th 2008 6:55PM]

Panasonic's DMC-TZ5....10x optical zoom and 720p HD recording baby! Woohoo!

[j @ Sep 12th 2008 2:52AM]

Finally some 1 mentioned it . killer cam . and not too expensive either

[ChaBonOR @ Sep 17th 2008 1:11PM]

A good choice. I am using the Panasonic DMC-TZ3 which also has the 10X optical but does not support 720P. I wanted to add that my TZ3, with a 4GB SDHC card, has a movie time limit of 22m 43s. This seems to be based on a 2GB file size limit. Perhaps the TZ5 has gotten around this.

[world @ Sep 11th 2008 6:55PM]

Canon G9 does HD video, up to 30min on a 4GB SD, high quality sht, i;ve used it for vids just as much as stills

[Stan Winsome @ Sep 11th 2008 6:56PM]

Great question- Panasonic has a bunch that shoot nice looking 720p HD video- FX35, FX150, FZ28 etc. These look better than many 'consumer' camcorders due to their bigger chips and better optics. Only caveat is audio sucks. We shoot separate audio using an Olympus LS-10. It looks like a pocket tape recorder but it records uncompressed 24-bit/96Khz wav.

[dasparkus @ Sep 11th 2008 6:59PM]

couldn't agree more with Adam. Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ5 takes AWESOME video.

[aaron @ Sep 11th 2008 7:03PM]

I *love* my Canon TX1. 720p video. 7megapixel stills. 10x zoom. Tiny. If you don't mind the tradeoffs of small cameras (ex. poor in low light) and large video files (high quality MJPEG) this is a great camera.

[Jezlyn @ Sep 11th 2008 7:06PM]

I'm curious, do people really shoot clips of video with digicams or camcorders for longer than 30 minutes? Why? I think it would be more efficient and interesting to shoot several shorter clips and merge them together in post, rather than having a static shot that lasts over 10 minutes. If you watch most TV/movies, scenes don't often last a full 30 minutes without cuts. When they do, it's because the director does something amazing with the cinematography, which, no offense, is not what the average Joe Schmoe does.

For people who do shoot longer clips, do you just post them up as is, without editing for brevity? Most online videos (not that I think all videos should be short, mind you) are shorter than 10 mins, and even then, the longer clips don't hold people's attention as much. Just curious about what the thinking behind longer shooting times is.

[Farris @ Sep 11th 2008 7:15PM]

I don't think the asker intends to take 30 minute long shots. The question was just worded somewhat akwardly (juxtaposing the 30 minute time comment and the clip length was a bad idea).

[Mark @ Sep 12th 2008 2:29AM]

I can tell you've never starred in a home porno.

[Demo @ Sep 11th 2008 7:09PM]

How does one stick something up their at sign-dollar sign-dollar sign?

[Poom @ Sep 11th 2008 7:10PM]

The DSC-T500 also shoots 720p.

[KEVIN @ Sep 11th 2008 7:10PM]

Canon and Sony still reign supreme

http://www.camcorderinfo.com/ratings.php#

[Farris @ Sep 11th 2008 7:13PM]

The cheapy Samsung D50 that I bought at Wal*Mart almost two years ago shoots 640x480 at 30 fps, and it looks stunning in full light. It gets a little muddy at night, but other than that, great quality, and I spent 88 bucks on it two years ago.

[RyanTV @ Sep 11th 2008 7:14PM]

I'm crushing on the D90 and it's video capabilities.

[niio @ Sep 11th 2008 7:18PM]

Fuji S8000FD. Only VGA resolution, but it has a wide 18x zoom (27 - 486 mm) and uses AA batteries and SD cards. Nothing proprietary. I have an 8gb card which allows about 2hrs of video. I've never run out of storage or power.

[Nimajus Bagdonavicius @ Sep 11th 2008 7:20PM]

I've used a lot of points and shoot; out of Canon/Fuji/Pentax/Nikon/Samsung

Fuji was a winner. By quite a bit.
Even though the resolution is quite low on most Fuji cameras in video mode,
other higher rez cameras compressed the image too much and was pixelated,
or had weird light trails etc. Fuji had much better quality.

It's weird how a stupid $70 worth very compact fuji with their damn xD card
produces better video (much worse images) than competition with much more
expensive cameras.
Note all the cameras are used are spring 07 models or earlier. I wonder how things changed now.

[markyd @ Sep 12th 2008 8:43AM]

it's funny you mentioned Fuji. I had a FinePix S5200 that took awesome video at dark concerts. What really set it apart was its ability to capture un-distorted audio at a loud concert...something I've not yet seen in any other digicam.

[Tim N @ Sep 11th 2008 7:22PM]

I'd go with the S5, it uses optical zooming during video recording unlike many other digicams that use digital zoom.

[KilgoreTrout @ Sep 18th 2008 6:37AM]

And the newer finePix S5800 got even better.
I would'nt change it with cams costing more than twice as much.
I wonder why Fuji did'nt corner this market yet.

[KilgoreTrout @ Sep 18th 2008 6:37AM]

And the newer finePix S5800 got even better.
I would'nt change it with cams costing more than twice as much.
I wonder why Fuji did'nt corner this market yet.

[Jezlyn @ Sep 11th 2008 7:26PM]

@Farris: If it is true that the person who originally asked the question will not be taking shots longer than 30 minutes, or even shots longer than 10 minutes, then I have to ask why does any artificial clip length limitation matter? It seems like a bit of a knee-jerk reaction to look for a camera that has no clip length limitation when the limitation is moot.

At any rate, last Tuesday I went to my local Sony Style store to see a preview of the new Cybershot DSC-T500 that shoots 720p HD video, and was pretty impressed with the video quality. It's not going to rival true HD camcorders, but for a relatively tiny P&S that you can carry with you always, the video quality is pretty great. You can also use the 5x optical zoom while shooting video, which is a rare feature on digicams now. The video looked very good on a 40-something-inch HDTV. The clips are limited to 10 minutes, presumably because of sensor heat issues. But I thought it was a pretty impressive little camera.

I'm interested in researching more about the Panasonic Lumix TZ5. However, I don't think its video is truly HD, rather interpolated up to 720 (I think all of the Lumix line shoots 800x480?). But if the interpolated video is good, it seems like a decent contender, especially with the 10x optical zoom.

[loosely_coupled @ Sep 11th 2008 7:33PM]

Are there any digicams that shoot AVCHD ?

[aj_robins @ Sep 11th 2008 7:34PM]

I like my older Canon SD870 IS digital camera, which takes image-stabilized VGA video: 640x480x30fps. It's a nice, midrange camera. It's compact, has a large 3" display, and has a wider lens than many other cameras. There's also a time-lapse movie mode, where one frame is taken every 1 or 2 seconds (but there is a 2-hour limit, for some reason).

For those people looking for movie mode in a digital camera: pay special attention to the fps at max video resolution. Some cameras can't handle high fps at max resolution.

[aj_robins @ Sep 11th 2008 7:35PM]

Also, the zoom is functional during movie mode on the SD870 IS. On some cameras, you can't adjust the zoom while recording a movie.