Recommend me a digicam...

[boykun]

...that I can use for concerts.

That's right. The camera in my phone simply does not suffice, I get terrible picture quality and crappy sound from videos. So, I'm looking for a compact digicam that I can bring along to shows that has considerably good picture quality and video recording features. I don't care too much about megapixel resolution, somewhere over 4 or 5 will do fine. I also prefer one that doesn't have a protruding lens, so one with a faceplate that covers the lens would be nice. The lens on my old digicam got pushed in accidentally when I was at a show. It won't start up because the lens is jammed in. It's actually cheaper to get a new one than to get that one fixed. Help me out! I've been looking at some Sony and Fujifilm ones, but I want some suggestions.

[StreakInTheSky]

I'd get one that uses SD cards as you can get some pretty big memory cards for pretty cheap

Nikon has some cameras you might want to check out

[edhead999]

They have that new sony camera that's superthin... it's very good quality too... the only problem is it's also very expensive. I'm not sure if it comes in silver in the US, but in Japan it comes in black.

I'm pretty sure it's this one: http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/T50/T50A.HTM

Then again, I could be wrong. My ex's roomie had one and that was when I first started college... yeah..

edit: it was very expensive at the time.

[Guchi_Jnr]

Being a Nikon fanboy, I would recommend the Nikon COOLPIX S50c.
--Review--



Since you want to use it at concerts, this camera is sweet because you can manually up the ISO to 1600.

40,000yen for the wifi model, and 35,000 without.

[shift_gc]

I worked at compusa for about 2 years. Having had a decent amount of time to mess around with all the digicams there, I would say cannon is one of the best quality cameras for digital pics. I ended up buying a casio because the size of the Camera and the megapixels are what i wanted, I wouldn't suggest sony just because their cameras tend to be overpriced for what you actually get not to mention you have to use a memory stick duo, which only works in sony products... whereas an SD card is universal to the vast majority of smaller digital cameras.

[jimmydotnet]

u want it profesionally or just for having fun??

[thatguy]

i can't vouch for /any/ consumer digicam that has good video recording capabilities. most have one limitation or another, such as not being able to zoom while recording a video, or only being able to record to the camera's buffer and not directly to the flash card (which means you have to record lots of short segments), or having a poor recording/encoding format, etc. if your primary concern is video recording, then you need to get a camcorder--and if that's what you're going to go for, any of the new panasonics or sharps should do (stay away from sony--they're good, but memory stick cost a lot).

if you want to stick to a regular digicam and deal with the limitations, i'll have to recommend going with a canon (any of the SD series is fine, the new SD1000 is actually quite cheap). the recording format kinda sucks (the encoded files are quite big), but canon makes some of the best image sensors ever, which perform exceptionally well in low-light (like at concerts). plus, taking normal pictures is amazing, esp considering that you want to step up from your camera phone.

[kwanleekwan]

I am using Canon for several years, the picture quailty i squite good

[Since1983]

For the mainstream consumers. check out this site http://www.dpreview.com

[thatguy]

^ i wouldn't consider dpreview to be exactly "mainstream"... some of its reviews are very technical--but they do a good job of reviewing most major cameras (just about every camera i've ever been interested in they've reviewed). dpreview is an excellent resource... just don't expect to understand everything it says unless you've taken photography courses before or are into semi-professional photography.

[Dizzy]

Thin, Lens Cover...sounds a lot like a Sony but having to buy a Memory Stick Pro Duo seems like such a huge waste.  I bought a Canon and I absolutely love it.  It's cheaper, has better quality for Sonys around the same price and takes an SD card (cheaper and more widely used).  But if you are using it for video in a place that isn't well lit...yeah maybe you want a camcorder of some sort.  I actually bought my digi cam MAINLY for the use of video and even in not to well lit areas (pubs, karaoke, etc) it takes very nice videos at 640x480 in MPEG format, so I'm happy.

Here's a screencap from a video I took in karaoke with no lights on



Oh to be exact it's a Canon Powershot.  Also has the zoom function for video...4x optical I believe?  I got it on sale during Boxing Day from Future Shop and with a 1GB SD Card I got it for around $350.00 CDN, not too shabby.

[boykun]

I'm not gonna use it seriously. If I wanted to do that I would just go for an SLR. But anyway, it's just for whatever use. I already have a camcorder, but that's not ideal for sneaking into a live house, lol. Most of the cameras recommended has manual ISO control, pretty sweet. Gonna take some looks around. Thanks for the recommendations.

[thatguy]

sounds a lot like a Sony but having to buy a Memory Stick Pro Duo seems like such a huge waste.

just fyi, these things do exist. i picked one up the other day for my sony ericsson phone (au/KDDI W43S). works like a charm, though i'd be a little hesitant to use it for recording movies--the adapter might be a little slow for that.

[StreakInTheSky]

never seen that adapter o_o

know where I can get one this side of the pacific?

[chera]

I wouldn' bother with getting an expensive camera for recording concerts. 

Low light + crappy digicam quality at high ISO + far away + lots of people jostling you + difficulty in controlling your personal urge to dance + audio that's usually distorted and too loud = crappy quality no matter what. 

Ideally, you'd want a camera bolted to a large and heavy tripod, with a fence around it so nobody could kick it over, with a light sensitive telephoto lens. 

[thatguy]

never seen that adapter o_o

know where I can get one this side of the pacific?

probably your standard place for buying odd japanese things: ebay and such. i did some searching and found at least 3 different companies that manufacture the adapter, so one way or another you ought to be able to get your hands on one.