Best digital video (and stills) camera

[Rudi]

Hi,

I have a digital video camera and two digital stills camera's. They were purchased about 2-3 years ago. I am planning a trip to St Petersburg in Sept. and want to trade in my old gear to buy a new technologically up-to-date camera. I have been interested in the cameras that can video tape and take good quality stills in one. My question to any of the loungers is to point me in the direction of the best buy out there. Please provide me with the brand name and code of a camera that you are aware of that has both video and stills in one camera and does both in decent quality.

Appreciate the help before I go to the market...

TX

[HansV]

Many digital photo cameras can record decent quality video nowadays. They record to memory card, so you need to buy high-capacity cards if you want to shoot long videos.

SLR cameras provide the highest quality, but they're big, heavy and expensive. Nikon D90 and Canon EOS Rebel T1i are highly rated.
Micro four thirds is a relatively new format, intermediate between SLR and compact cameras, in size, performance and price. The Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1 is a good example.
Digital compact cameras have the advantage of being small and light, and the best have decent image and video quality, but not on a par with the previously mentioned ones. For high-end compact cameras, Canon and Panasonic seem to have the best ones, for example Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ35, or even smaller,the Panasonic DMC-ZS3 (TZ7 in Europe).

[Rudi]

Thanks always for your informative input and for those pointers and the brand names Hans. I had a look at those models you pointed to and like the DMC-FZ35 model as a stills camera. It looks good and has a large LCD display, unlike the stills camera I have currently. However, I have had my eye on a video camera that also can take stills too (not the other way around. Sorry if I was not clear on that!).

Having Google'd briefly for something like this, I came across the JVC Everio X (or GZ-X900) which is a video camera that takes stills (up to 9 megapixels). The price tag is a bit pricey and I don't think that it is currently available in RSA, but this is just proof that these cameras exist. So if any loungers have this video/stills technology to their disposal, I would like to get your input on the device you are using, just to point me to some good buys before I hit the market. TX