matt_d3

Paul:

Wow, the Fuji S602 is quite the camera. A little thicker/deeper than what I had in mind, but other than that it is quite amazing. However, I guess I underestimated the size that the video clips would be. For 30 minutes of video, I would need 2GB of space! and that doesn't include space for pictures!

Now I'm thinking, maybe it is better to go with two seperate cameras. Or maybe find (or wait for) a camera that makes better use of space with videos. After all, a DVD can fit 120 mins of high quality video and sound in ~4.7 GB. Therefore I would hope they could get 30 mins of video and sound down to ~1 GB, and even less with higher compression.

Yes, I've seen the video cameras that take (bad) pictures. They are not quite what I am looking for though. I'd rather have good pictures and poor video than the other way around. Plus, still cameras are smaller and more portable.

I realize I would need a major huge memory card if I plan on taking a decent length video. I suppose it would probably cost just as much to buy a smaller mem card and a seperate cheap video camera + tapes... but it's just the convenience of having a video camera right there all the time (I take my camera pretty much everywhere). Most video cameras aren't small enough to take everywhere... and I'm already carrying a camera everywhere, so it would be nice to just be able to take decent quality video clips as well.

I want a still camera and video camera, it would be nice to have it

all rolled into one. I'm not looking for anything fancy in a video

camera... just that it takes videos. I've used online guides and

looked around but could not find a camera that meets these

specification requirements. Does anyone know of a camera that meets

theses requirements (or knows where to look)?

- Compact

- 3MP or more

- 3X zoom (or more)

- performs well in low light

- Takes good quality (low compression) 640x480 videos

- videos are, at the very least, 15fps, but preferably closer to 20fps

- no limit on video clip length. (only limited by the amount of

memory)

I know, I'm a picky person. If there is no such camera, I will

probably just buy a cheap still cam and a cheap video cam.

I was wondering what peoples opinions are on which is an overall

better point-and-shoot camera, and why. I recently purchased an Optio

S but noticed there is quite a huge amount of distortion (barrel

distortion?) in the pictures so I am returning it, and am wondering

if upgrading to the S400 would be a better move.

I heard the S400 takes much better pictures than the Optio S. I've

also seen that the S400 takes much better quality and longer mini-

movies than the Optio S which is something I like.

Things that would concern me are:

- focusing time in low light. The S400 has that focus assist beam

thing. In low light, how long does it take to focus with it on, and

with it off?

- shutter lag (after focus lock)... the Optios is very good (IMHO)...

well, except for the fact that is does a double flash.. it would be

much better if it was a single flash so there wasnt as much lag. But

in macro mode where it only flashes once, or when the flash is off,

it's pretty much instant, which is great.

- will it still take the picture if it cant lock on a focus? the

Optios S will when taking normal pictures, but wont in macro mode.

- how much heavier and clunkier is it than the Optio S... I love the

size and weight of the Optio S... the best that's available at any

local store here (IMHO).

Thanks

I currently own a Pentax Optio S. I have had it for about 3 weeks but am returning it tomorrow (possibly exchanging it for a Canon S400) because I recently noticed there is quite a bit of distortion (barrel distortion?). Try taking a picture of something square that takes up almost the entire screen, and it's no longer square. I'm not sure if there is something wrong with my particular camera, or if it happens with all of them. One review I saw said there is above average barrel distortion, so maybe that's what they were talking about?

Some things that I don't like:

- The movie mode is crap quality. There are no settings for movie quality, all you get is 320x200 with high compression. This is an issue for me because I've been taking more short videos than I had expected.

- Continuous shot mode is useless at high resolutions... It seems like there is no buffer, and you have to wait for it to copy the picture onto the SD card before you can take the next picture.

- Focus time in low light (small bedroom room lit with 2 60W bulbs at night) is quite bad.. it can take up to 2 seconds before it focuses, if it can focus at all. In sunlight, however, it's great.. less than a second (~3/4 sec? usually) to focus and take the picture.

- Shot to shot time is slow... but this is due to the time it takes to write to the SD card (this is really only an issue when you have image resolution and quality set at maximum). I'd expect this out of just about any digital camera.

- The joypad style control is hard to use... you've got to be careful that you dont press it straight down, when you mean to press it to the side... If you've tryed it out, I'm sure you know what I mean. I didn't think it was going to be that big of an issue, but there are quite a few misshaps, especially when other people are using it.

Some things that I really liked:

- I've heard image quality is poor compared to other 3MP cameras, but as far as I can tell the picture quality is great, even in low light (NOTE: I always shoot at full resolution, full quality).

- It's amazingly small. Fits in my jeans pocket no problem. (This was a huge selling point for me)

- You can set the joypad arrow keys to have them change the White Balance, EV Compensation, or just about any other setting (only 1 at a time thow). I have it set to change White Balance and it is incredibly handy when moving from indoors to outdoors often. I wish every camera had that.

- There are some other features which are neat but I never use, such as the panaramic assitant (you have to take 3 seperate pictures, but it shows a shadow of the last picture while taking the next picture to help you line it up), and taking 3D pictures (comes with 3D glasses to view them once you print them). But I suppose these features may come in handy some day.