Point-and-Shoot's vs. Pocket Cam's for Video?

[Khryz]

Hey guys. I'm really in the market for a small video camera with a lot of storage [or capacity for a lot of storage, i.e. expandable memory]. I liked last "generations" pocket cams like the Flip HD's and the Creative VadoHD, Kodak's, etc -- but the features missing on them were the image stabilization, ability to store a lot of video, picture stills, etc.

But then now I am reading a lot of articles and blogs about people recommending everyone who wants to take HD video at good quality and ease to skip the "pocket cams" like the Flip's and go for typical Point-and-Shoot's like the new Canon SD960 IS, which shoots in 720p HD, optical image stabilization, wide-angle lens etc.

Of course they're about $100 more expensive, but if they have 10x the features ontop of the pocket cams, it's worth it.

Can someone shed some light on this? I liked the Flips and the like because it's so quick to pull out of your pocket and just start recording in HD with hitting 1 button, etc.

UPDATE: Did some searching on YT, found this video of the Canon SD960IS, it looks absolutely amazing in HD with the Optical Image Stabilization on. This is night and day when compared to videos with the Flip HD's and those pocket cams with no stabilization.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_S4MPaCivVs

 

[matteusclement]

canon slays.
go for that one.
storage is SD right? if so, 8 gig cards are kicking around.
But I can imagine that HD video is going to burn through that pretty fast.

 

[xStep]

Kodak is coming out wit their new Zi8 which has image stabilization and 1080p video. Search for some test footage on that. It has a line-in which can be handy as heard in this sample. In the videos I reviewed on YouTube, I wondered if the image stabilization was good.

The SD960is has a neat color accent feature.

To me, the Canon looks like it takes better video over all.

 

[Khryz]

Thanks guys. The Kodak Zi8 has "digital" image stabilization, which is barely noticeable from all the clips I have seen of the user walking or moving with it. Compared to the videos with the Canon with "optical" image stabilization, it's a huge difference.

The Canon SD980IS is the new revision of the 960IS that was just announced last week. No release date yet but if that thing improves on the 960IS (which just came out in late winter/early spring) then I am definitely getting it.

And I think I'd get a 16 GB SD card for the camera, it's more worth it for me.

 

[tabasco70]

You could also look at the Sanyo Xacti.

It's a dual camera, with a camera and video buttons right next to each other so you don't have to switch modes.
The newest one can shoot in HD.
Stores on an SD card, and with the included cable you can very quickly import your videos.

It's very compact too and can fit in your pocket.

 

[matteusclement]

in response to the XACTI:

i dont believe they have IS which is what the OP asked for.
Also, the one that owned (couple years back) took good video but the photos were kinda of blah.

 

[ftaok]

Take a look at the Panasonic ZS3. It is a very capable P&S camera with excellent video capabilities. On the camera side, it's a 10MP, 12x (wide angle) zoom, compact body, excellent screen.

On the video side, it does 1280x720/30p with stereo sound, zoom and O.I.S. during shooting. It records in either M-JPEG or AVCHD-Lite. It's also now compatible with iMovie in both formats.

I don't have one, but we've been thinking about getting it. There's a thread here with sample footage linked.