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Nov 28, 2014
4:43:52pm
Casual use: you can't go wrong with a cannon vixia.
My wife loves hers, but I despise the AVHCD codec. It saves hard drive space but is horrid in post. The main thing is to determine the "job" and buy the appropriate camera. They are tools, so one time you need a hammer while another time you will need a wrench.

I'm more of a stills guy, and just getting started with video so others can chime in here if I'm wrong:

Camcorder: small, easy to use, great for your needs, I went with cannon vixia, can do 1080p, we don't worry about the sd card, the internal memory is plenty.

Point and shoot combo: I like this better than my vixia. The Olympus tough TG isn't cheap for a point an shoot ($300) but rocks! Crush proof/water proof, excellent macros decent movies in 1080p mov format. We use them for boiler inspections at work (fly ash, water, low light) and they are simply the best compact still/video camera money can buy. It will go with us to disneyland, the vixia will stay home.

DSLR: I use the Nikon D800. As good of picture quality as your lens attached to it. Low ligt rocks, but not for the casual user. Auto focus sucks, the CMOS jello effec is real. I use it on the tripod mainly or for candids when I'm taking stills. I wouldn't recommend a DSLR as an only video camera.

Action camera: owned by go-pro, but I went with the garmin Virb for the GOS overlays. Image quality is ok for the size, compactness is awesome, using an external mic they can even pick up decent sound. The lens and sensor size effects ultimate image quality, I don't care the go pro boasts 4k (at a pathetic 15fps), these cameras are for external mounting of action and hidden videos, not your primary source. I use two, A GPS virb for my Rover's dash cam, and another to capture the kids in the back seats. Not my primary cam, but extremely important as they capture some of my best memories.

pro-cam: I'm sick of the CMOS jello effect (google it), so I won an eBay of a cannon Xh-A1. Sure it uses mini-DV tapes, but it's 33-650mm zoom (35mm EQ.) and f1.6-2.8 is stunning, coupled with a 3-CCD chip will make this camera far superior to my D800 in good light, not to mention the external mic inputs and controls. This will be my primary cam for events like sports meets, programs, plays and stuff

Format: I shoot and edit 720p @30fps. I find it the best balance of quality and archive space. It only takes a couple of 1TB hard drives for one to question the necessity of 1080p for home videos..

I'm typing this all on my phon so sorry for typos. More to come if you have questions.

Personally, I'd either go with a dedicated AVHCD camera like the vixia, or get the Olympus Tough if you are more of a stills guy (I shot my boys haloween program with the Tough and didn't miss my vixia. You will need a monopod though to keep the little point and shoot steady..
Bert609
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Bert609
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