Reading mode: Light Dark

Worth buying a F717 for movie?

Go to last post
J

John Lai

Veteran Member
Messages
2,579
Reaction score
0
Location
MU
I already have a Nikon CP5000 and I am looking for a digital camcorder (movie). The F717 is about the price of a camcorder, takes continuous movie with sound plus can be used as a digicam to complement the short tele of my CP5000.
My question is how good is the F717 for movie compared to a real camcorder?

Best regards
John
 
The video on Sony cameras (and most others for that matter) are not nearly as good as a real camcorder. The captured picture is too small and not a full frame rate.
John Lai said:
I already have a Nikon CP5000 and I am looking for a digital
camcorder (movie). The F717 is about the price of a camcorder,
takes continuous movie with sound plus can be used as a digicam to
complement the short tele of my CP5000.
My question is how good is the F717 for movie compared to a real
camcorder?

Best regards
John

--
Click to expand...
--
TurboTed

(It's easier just being insane than acting insane)
 
Thanks.

John
TurboTed said:
John Lai said:
I already have a Nikon CP5000 and I am looking for a digital
camcorder (movie). The F717 is about the price of a camcorder,
takes continuous movie with sound plus can be used as a digicam to
complement the short tele of my CP5000.
My question is how good is the F717 for movie compared to a real
camcorder?

Best regards
John

--
Click to expand...
--
TurboTed

(It's easier just being insane than acting insane)
Click to expand...
 
John Lai said:
I already have a Nikon CP5000 and I am looking for a digital
camcorder (movie). The F717 is about the price of a camcorder,
takes continuous movie with sound plus can be used as a digicam to
complement the short tele of my CP5000.
My question is how good is the F717 for movie compared to a real
camcorder?

Best regards
John

--
Click to expand...
Hi.

Also remember that Sony digital still cameras use memorysticks. You won't be able to record a movie for very long on a 128mb stick!

Check this out, http://www.imagestation.com/shop/product/sony/?prodID=10218

"DCR-IP5 - Choose the smallest and lightest camcorder in the world. It is packed with amazing features, like a Carl Zeiss™ Vario-Sonnar lens and a 2-1/2" SwivelScreen™ color LCD, 10x optical/120x digital zoom."

--
-Johan

Where are those polar bears?
DSC-F717 (soon)
 
Hi everyone,

I was wondering, did anyone try to connect the f7x7 (or any other digital camera) with a analog video recorder and use it as a video camera that way? Does f7x7 even have a live preview output to TV? (like I know a lot of other cameras do, Canon for example). Thanks!
J R said:
John Lai said:
I already have a Nikon CP5000 and I am looking for a digital
camcorder (movie). The F717 is about the price of a camcorder,
takes continuous movie with sound plus can be used as a digicam to
complement the short tele of my CP5000.
My question is how good is the F717 for movie compared to a real
camcorder?

Best regards
John
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
You buy a 717 for it's still picture capability. The movie mode is just an added bonus -- good for emailing a short clip of Jr. to a family member.

Same goes for the camcorder. You buy it for movie making and the still capture mode is just a bonus (although some of them are getting quite good!)
John Lai said:
I already have a Nikon CP5000 and I am looking for a digital
camcorder (movie). The F717 is about the price of a camcorder,
takes continuous movie with sound plus can be used as a digicam to
complement the short tele of my CP5000.
My question is how good is the F717 for movie compared to a real
camcorder?

Best regards
John

--
Click to expand...
 
By the topic I mean that the 717 creates a small, compressed movie that might be good for sending across the net or viewing on your computer but it won't fill the screen on a TV with anything approaching DV quality. It creates small, compressed file that is better than many current digital cameras but nothing approaching a real video camera. Just like video cameras can take still pics but none can take a 5MP still. Short answer: no.
 
John Lai,

I've made short (15sec) videos on a CD-1000. I have even imported them to iMovie to edit via Quicktime Pro (just to see if it works). It does, but audio has to be demuxed. End of that experiment.

If you are buying the F717 anyway, its a nice bonus. And it is quite useful for website development and short web clips.

This camera will be an excellent choice for all around use, I think, but with Sony mini-DV cameras available for around $700 (as well as models of many other brands), I would recommend purchase of one of these for video.

I suspect that full "convergence" cameras (both high quality video and digital images) are not far off (there have been attempts) but, for now, there are few options. The arrival of the Foveon imager, 1.8 inch hard drives and MPEG4 all would seem to point to something in the future.

tom
 
Thanks JR,
The model you linked to looks very interesting.

John
J R said:
Check this out,
http://www.imagestation.com/shop/product/sony/?prodID=10218
"DCR-IP5 - Choose the smallest and lightest camcorder in the world.
It is packed with amazing features, like a Carl Zeiss™ Vario-Sonnar
lens and a 2-1/2" SwivelScreen™ color LCD, 10x optical/120x digital
zoom."

--
-Johan

Where are those polar bears?
DSC-F717 (soon)
Click to expand...
 
John Lai said:
I already have a Nikon CP5000 and I am looking for a digital
camcorder (movie). The F717 is about the price of a camcorder,
takes continuous movie with sound plus can be used as a digicam to
complement the short tele of my CP5000.
My question is how good is the F717 for movie compared to a real
camcorder?
Click to expand...
Hi John

IMHO the F717 movie clips are only suitable for basic web video delivery.

What is more important to you - a hi-res still camera with limited video capability OR a good video camera with medium-res still camera capability ?

If the latter sounds more useful, then check out Sony's latest two handycams (DCR-IP220E & DCR-IP210) which are the first to offer 2MP (1600x1200px) still shot capability.
http://www.sony.com.hk/Electronics/pr_t/pr/ip220e_eng.htm

Hope this helps,
Andy
 
John -

Having read all the replies thus far, I'm going to throw in my comments.

I love multimedia-enabled devices. Love 'em. Love 'em. Love 'em. :)

Currently, the only other company that puts the premium on a movie mode in a digital camera is Fuji. Sony and Fuji are the only ones who currently allow you to fill up a memory card with one continuous movie, if that's what you want to do.

The movies are suitable for the web and for streaming, possibly even for sending via e-mail if you have broadband. The Fuji movies are higher resolution than those of the Sony (up to 640x480 with a 30fps frame rate, but their files are HUGE... only 15 minutes for a 1GB Microdrive).

With the Sony camera, you can take 320x240 at 16fps for up to 23 minutes. That's not bad. And then you can always resave it in the WMV mode using the ordinary Windows Movie Maker or some other video editing software.

I personally wouldn't want to be without some camera that includes a movie mode. Even if I moved on to a camera other than the high-end Sony F-series, I'd still want one brand or the other for the movie capability. I have friends and relatives scattered around the globe with whom I enjoy sending clips, some as short as a few seconds, and others as long as 1/2 hour. Matter of fact, I've sent movies as long as a whole hour (heavily compressed, but still great fun!)

If you are a purist, then get a camcorder for movies, and a digicam for stills. If you can tolerate the compromises of the digicam movie mode, then there is nothing more fun and easy to use. :-)
John Lai said:
I already have a Nikon CP5000 and I am looking for a digital
camcorder (movie). The F717 is about the price of a camcorder,
takes continuous movie with sound plus can be used as a digicam to
complement the short tele of my CP5000.
My question is how good is the F717 for movie compared to a real
camcorder?

Best regards
John

--
Click to expand...
--

Ulysses
 
Not quite true

my Kodak DX 3600 allows me to fill up a memory stick, although the film itself is limited in resolution and refresh rate.

James.
Ulysses said:
Having read all the replies thus far, I'm going to throw in my
comments.

I love multimedia-enabled devices. Love 'em. Love 'em. Love 'em. :)

Currently, the only other company that puts the premium on a movie
mode in a digital camera is Fuji. Sony and Fuji are the only ones
who currently allow you to fill up a memory card with one
continuous movie, if that's what you want to do.

The movies are suitable for the web and for streaming, possibly
even for sending via e-mail if you have broadband. The Fuji movies
are higher resolution than those of the Sony (up to 640x480 with a
30fps frame rate, but their files are HUGE... only 15 minutes for a
1GB Microdrive).

With the Sony camera, you can take 320x240 at 16fps for up to 23
minutes. That's not bad. And then you can always resave it in the
WMV mode using the ordinary Windows Movie Maker or some other video
editing software.

I personally wouldn't want to be without some camera that
includes a movie mode. Even if I moved on to a camera other than
the high-end Sony F-series, I'd still want one brand or the other
for the movie capability. I have friends and relatives scattered
around the globe with whom I enjoy sending clips, some as short as
a few seconds, and others as long as 1/2 hour. Matter of fact, I've
sent movies as long as a whole hour (heavily compressed, but still
great fun!)

If you are a purist, then get a camcorder for movies, and a digicam
for stills. If you can tolerate the compromises of the digicam
movie mode, then there is nothing more fun and easy to use. :-)
John Lai said:
I already have a Nikon CP5000 and I am looking for a digital
camcorder (movie). The F717 is about the price of a camcorder,
takes continuous movie with sound plus can be used as a digicam to
complement the short tele of my CP5000.
My question is how good is the F717 for movie compared to a real
camcorder?

Best regards
John

--
Click to expand...
--

Ulysses
Click to expand...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Keyboard shortcuts

f
Forum
m
My threads
Mobile site
About
Editorial content
Cameras & Lenses
Community
All content, design, and layout are Copyright © 1998–2025 Digital Photography Review All Rights Reserved.
Reproduction in whole or part in any form or medium without specific written permission is prohibited.
When you use DPReview links to buy products, the site may earn a commission.
©GPS Media - Guides, Products, Services.
Back
Top