# Video camera that takes pictures, or camera that takes video? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 6, 2006, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-camera-that-takes-pictures-or-camera-that-takes-video/375479 "2006-10-06T10:21:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Tomcat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Tomcat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tomcat)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2006, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-camera-that-takes-pictures-or-camera-that-takes-video/375479/1 "2006-10-06T10:21:36Z")
Need a new digital camera. But…thinking about a video camera that takes stills. Don’t know if the differences between the two are worth looking at. I could probably spend around $500 -Tcat ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2006, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-camera-that-takes-pictures-or-camera-that-takes-video/375479/2 "2006-10-06T10:38:41Z")
[QUOTE=Tomcat] Need a new digital camera. But…thinking about a video camera that takes stills. Don’t know if the differences between the two are worth looking at. I could probably spend around $500 -Tcat [/QUOTE] Just went through this myself! The folks at our local camera shop suggested that it is much better, if you have to choose, to buy a still camera that takes video than a video camera that takes still pictures. He said that it is easier to take hi quality video than stills and a video camera won’t have the resolution of a good still camera. However, a good still camera will have the required resolution to take fine video. These folks have been at the camera business for decades and their advice has always worked out for us. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2006, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-camera-that-takes-pictures-or-camera-that-takes-video/375479/3 "2006-10-06T12:17:46Z")
another vote for camera with video. get a 1 nb memory chip. you can take a lot of video. check what video file format is supported. if you’re taking vids of kids, I much prefer the camera with short videos. i’ve never even looked at my daughters first videos. ---
**Author:** ![Lionne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Lionne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lionne)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2006, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-camera-that-takes-pictures-or-camera-that-takes-video/375479/4 "2006-10-06T12:20:54Z")
FWIW, my digital camera takes great videos (6 MP Canon). I have a big memory card, so I don’t worry about filling it up and I probably take more silly videos than I need. How many different ways can my fish swim around a bowl, you know? ---
**Author:** ![Tomcat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Tomcat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tomcat)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2006, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-camera-that-takes-pictures-or-camera-that-takes-video/375479/5 "2006-10-06T13:42:17Z")
The only benefit over the camera that I can think of is the zoom is often much better with the camcorder. The rest of your arguments make sense. Hmmm…Canon SD700…4x zoom and high quality video… ---
**Author:** ![myskepticsight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cc9497/32.png) [@myskepticsight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/myskepticsight)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2006, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-camera-that-takes-pictures-or-camera-that-takes-video/375479/6 "2006-10-06T13:48:58Z")
I sell cameras and camcorders, though I am not an expert yet I heave learned a lot. Most camcorders out there will only take pictures with resolution suitable for email and maybe very small prints. Few camcorders even have a megapixel rating for the still photos they take. The only one we have at my work is over $600 and has a 3.1 mp still camera. If you get a camera that is 6 or 7 + megapixels and you still would like to shoot video, get at least a 1 gig card, if not a 2 gig. Otherwise you’ll have to dump pics/video more often if you give your camera a workout. And $500 would get you a better digital camera than camcorder - the harddrive camcorders are out now (no tapes or discs to buy!) but the ones with the bigger harddives will be obviously more expensive. Point and shoot cameras are getting smaller and have many more manual features than they used to. Look for a memory card sale and spend most of the money on a camera you really like. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2006, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/video-camera-that-takes-pictures-or-camera-that-takes-video/375479/7 "2006-10-06T14:06:02Z")
What is your primary need? There are video cameras that take passable still shots and still cameras that take good (but not great) video. The current advantage is still cameras that take video, but if you are shooting real video it will fall short. Most still cameras will not allow you to zoom while shooting video. The reason is that the mics will pick up the sound of the zoom motor leaving the sound track a mess. So they turn off zoom during fliming. A few have enough soundproofing to allow zoom, such as the Canon S3 IS which probably has the best video mode out there right now. It also takes strereo sound. But, if you plan on fliming a concert or making a real movie, the memory card size will eventually come into play. Tapes are still cheaper and more convienent in the long run, and the ergonomics and zoom of a video camera are much better than a still camera when shooting video.