Looking for a nice compact camera with great image quality and HD video recording

I'm currenty using a Canon Digital Rebel XTi, it's quite good despite it's age, and takes very nice pictures, but it's quite a hassle to carry around.

So, now that 14mp+ compact cameras are cheap I want to buy one to carry around easier.

I'd also like to use it to record some videos so it must have at least 720p video recording, best if it can record 1080p.

I've seen the WX7 but I've read it's not very good.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

I like the Panasonic ZS7 that I bought for my wife
--
My photos http://brianshannon.smugmug.com/
My photo blog http://brianshannonphotography.blogspot.com/
My Flickr stream
http://www.flickr.com/photos/brian_shannon_photography/

all you will find are a bunch of compromises to choose from. perhaps the best camera that fits the bill of IQ and video is the LX5 - but that cam is a bit bulky for easy pocketability.

the nicely compact s95 has great still image IQ, but only shoots video at 24fps and doesnt offer avchd - only mp4 which limits your video length to 2gb chunks - that did not fit my needs.

i tried a sony wx1, but still IQ was unacceptable to me.

i coudl not find a single compact (pocketable) camera that had a 1/1.7 or 1/1.6 sensor for good still image IQ and at the same time offerd the video abilities i needed. i wound up buying a panny ZS7 - the still image IQ is not as good as i would like, but the video is incredibly good, rivalling most mid-priced dedicated HD camcorders. it shoots avchd lite and video length is only limited by the size of your SD card.
--
jnorman
sunridge studios
salem, oregon
D2x, nikon 12-24mm ED-IF AF-S DX, 18-70mm DX
Cambo 45NX, nikkor SW 90/8, 135/5.6, 210/5.6
Graflex Crown Graphic 4x5 (1948 model)

the Nikon P300 might do the job.

The question is, do you want a higher megapixel count camera, or do you want more actual details in your pictures?

And I'm not one of those "theoretical argument" people - you can search for "imaging resource comparometer" and compare studio shots yourself. But currently, the best cameras for real resolution are the "serious compact", lower megapixel cameras.

The current king of compact resolution in it's size is the Canon s95, a 10mp camera. A ton of people, including Nikon dslr shooters, get one to compliment their dslr so they have a camera that fits in their pocket. It has the best real image resolution you can get out of a compact camera of any sort (anything smaller the micro four thirds or a dslr) you can get today.

It has some competition, but they're all bigger, and some of them are even believed to use exactly the same sensor - the Olympus xz-1, Canon g12, Panasonic lx5, Nikon P7000, Samsung tl500...but they have the same real image resolution as the s95. Here's a pic of the size difference -

(ok, dpreview's gallery stuff is just being a pain and not working, the s95 is about half the size of the other cameras, while a little bulkier than the "deck of cards" sized cameras I carry mine in my jeans pocket all the time).

However, the drawback of the s95, and all these cameras, is that they don't do high resolution video. The s95 is 720p@24fps. So is the g12 and p7000 (same sensor). The lx5 does 720p @ 30fps with manual controls...probably the best, but not that much better. The xz-1 does the same as the lx5 except it has a poor reputation for video quality in comparison.

If video is your priority, on paper the officially announced but not yet released 12mp Nikon p300 is probably your best bet -

http://www.nikonusa.com/Nikon-Products/Product/Compact-Digital-Cameras/26246/COOLPIX-P300.html#tab-ProductDetail.ProductTabs.TechSpecs

It does 1080p video at 30fps. Despite having a higher megapixel count, it probably won't have quite the real resolution of the s95. But it's designed as an s95 competitor so it will probably be about as good as you can get with that sensor. According to the specs it will also do a 7fps burst in continuous shot mode (at full resolution), which is waaaaaaay faster than the s95's "2fps in continuous at best" shooting speed.

So basically it would be between the Canon s95 and the Nikon p300, in my opinion.

P300 specs looks great, but I think there's no release date yet here in Spain.

Thanks for the "imaging resource comparometer" tip, great site to compare cameras.

I'm not looking for tons of megapixels, just nice image quality, no aberrations or excessive noise, good color, dof, etc.

I must say I don't want to expend a ton of money, since this will be my second camera ( I'll keep using the Xti as my main one ).

It looks like the P300 will be a fair bit lower in price than the S95. If it's important to you, the S95 shoots RAW, but the Nikon doesn't.

With the DSLR I always shoot RAW, it would be nice to be able to shoot RAW on the compact, but I think there are very few compact cameras that allow RAW, and they are too expensive for my budget.

I've been looking and found these ones, are they any good? anyone that has one can share some thoughts?

• Olympus VR-310 or VR-320
• Canon Powershot A3300 IS
• Canon IXUS 130
• Sony DSC-W530 or DSC-W570

Thanks in advance.

Take a look at Samsung WB2000/TL350, it´s a hidden gem in this camera group.

Optimized for the good quality still image quality you seek ....check out Sigma's DP 1 or 2 series compact cameras. (You choice of lens being the main determinate. All have the same large sensor in the Sigma SLRs.)

The Sigma SLR forum has many examples from serious amateurs and pros.

OniShiroX said:

I'm not looking for tons of megapixels, just nice image quality, no aberrations or excessive noise, good color, dof, etc.

Click to expand...

Then the Canon G12 is the best choice, period.

The best compacts regarding IQ are currently G12, S95 and LX-5. But the LX-5 doesn't have the really natural colors of the Canons and S95 has more CA, than the other two, especially in wide angle.

Regarding CA comparisons check the reviews of this site:

http://www.photographyblog.com/reviews/

Regarding DOF no compact can compete with a DSLR.

--
Greetings from Germany

Chris™

Chris ™ said:

Regarding DOF no compact can compete with a DSLR.

Click to expand...

Sigma DP2 can, but it's pretty useless for video so not interesting here, I guess (love mine, though). The new Olympus XZ1 also has similar DOF to a DSLR kit lens. Both of them are bigger than a Canon S95, but smaller than a Canon G12.

OniShiroX, there was a time when high-mp cameras were more expensive. Back then, more pixels were only put into the most expensive cameras, so they were good. Now you find 14 or 16mp in cheap cameras. That doesn't mean the good cameras are cheaper, only that they put more pixels into cheap cameras. They are still cheap and you get what you pay for. Forget the pixels, the price is a better indicator of quality, unfortunately.

specs on the fuji f550 & f500 models look promising too.

The Samsung WB2000 looks good, thanks

Yeah, they look very nice.

Man, too many options

I tested P300, it is available in Sweden from 5th March. Video suberb, but picture quality bad. All ISO have problem.

Try a Nikon L22 for your shirt pocket, does great.

The Samsung tl 350 does 1080p at 30 fps, but I haven't heard back from anyone about the still picture IQ. Also it is only $ 239 at Beach Camera.

DaveO