Digital Camera VS. Digital Camcorder --- which is better??

[applesseed]

I'm trying to figure out which one has better quality in taking still picture. With digital camera, all I can take is shots, but with a digital camcorder, I can do video, as well as taking still picture. I want to buy a digital camcorder so I can do two functions. I'd like some feedback. What's your suggestion and which is better. Any brand name you recommend? Thanks in advance.

 

[vi edit]

For stills? CAMERA!!!

The most I've seen a digital camcorder take a still at was 1.3 megapixel. That's 4 year old technology, and very low res.

 

[Ornery]

Can't have your cake and eat it too. 20 years from now it will be really cool to look at the old videos. Snapshots are nice, but just not as nice as video. You'll want both camcorder AND digicam, but I'd buy the camcorder first.

 

[Vinny N]

For stills, the camera is definitely going to win unless you buy some INCREDIBLY expensive Sony Digital camcorder with progressive scan and other goodies for stills.

Admittedly, sometimes I wish I had a digital camcorder instead, there's times when you wish you could just completely back into where you were one day, and a camcorder does the trick nicely But then I'd kick myself for not being able to get nice stills.

 

[vi edit]

Oh, most digital cameras on the market will do video and sound...albeit poorly, but they will do it.

$800 should get you both a nice camcorder and respectable digital camera.

 

[RossMAN]

Camcorders CAN take still pictures but they're usually low res crappy quality, on the plus side you can both record video AND take pictures but a good camcorder is around $800.

On the other hand you can find a nice 4MP digicam which takes short video with audio (compressed) for around $400.

It depends on which is more important to you and which you'll actually USE ... don't buy a digicam if you're going to mostly record videos, if you have a low budget of around $400 buy a digicam but if you want to record videos then definitely get a camcorder.