Which non-camcorder gadget is best for video capture?
August 8, 2012 7:11 PM Subscribe
How do point-and-shoot cameras, laptop cams, webcams, and phone cameras compare in terms of video capture and streaming capabilities?
Like many people, I have about a dozen things in my home that record video one way or another. They all seem to do 720p but I feel like there are other qualitative metrics of quality.
The better cameras I seem to have are: the Macbook Pro Retina's new HD camera, my "1080p" Microsoft LifeCam Studio, a Nexus S phone, and Lumix DMC FX01 standard camera.
Out of these devices that record video, which one should I use for video chat? For recording video?
Like many people, I have about a dozen things in my home that record video one way or another. They all seem to do 720p but I feel like there are other qualitative metrics of quality.
The better cameras I seem to have are: the Macbook Pro Retina's new HD camera, my "1080p" Microsoft LifeCam Studio, a Nexus S phone, and Lumix DMC FX01 standard camera.
Out of these devices that record video, which one should I use for video chat? For recording video?
I record video on my 16mp 16x optical zoom sony point and shoot all the time. The video is exact quality as my actual hd camcorder. My point and shoot even allows zooming in and out while taking video (some point and shoots and dslrs do not allow this).
If your point and shoot takes good video I would use that to record video. If I am not carrying my point and shoot I use my iphone 4s. Both my phone and point and shoot film in 1080p 30fps. My point and shoot can also film in full avchd 1980 x 1080 60 fps and highest bitrate avchd records at BUT bluray discs do not go that high so usually I do not record in the cameras full quality.
If your not at your computer your point and shoot will have better quality video since your nexus s has to be moded through software to get 720p video, I would think at the computer the lifecam will have the better video.
posted by majortom1981 at 10:44 AM on August 9, 2012
If your point and shoot takes good video I would use that to record video. If I am not carrying my point and shoot I use my iphone 4s. Both my phone and point and shoot film in 1080p 30fps. My point and shoot can also film in full avchd 1980 x 1080 60 fps and highest bitrate avchd records at BUT bluray discs do not go that high so usually I do not record in the cameras full quality.
If your not at your computer your point and shoot will have better quality video since your nexus s has to be moded through software to get 720p video, I would think at the computer the lifecam will have the better video.
posted by majortom1981 at 10:44 AM on August 9, 2012
Response by poster: Thanks Rhomboid, majortom1981.
Comparing sensor sizes seems like a nice idea. I originally read that using a point-and-shoot to record video for an extended period would overheat the sensor, but maybe that information is out of date.
I'll use the Panasonic for recording video, and I guess the LifeCam Studio for video chat since the Panasonic doesn't seem to support streaming.
posted by lpctstr; at 11:18 AM on August 9, 2012
Comparing sensor sizes seems like a nice idea. I originally read that using a point-and-shoot to record video for an extended period would overheat the sensor, but maybe that information is out of date.
I'll use the Panasonic for recording video, and I guess the LifeCam Studio for video chat since the Panasonic doesn't seem to support streaming.
posted by lpctstr; at 11:18 AM on August 9, 2012
This thread is closed to new comments.
- Lumix DMC-FX01: 1/2.5"
- Nexus S: looks to be 1/3.6"
- MacBook Facetime HD: I can't find anything definitive, but most likely 1/3.2" (as used in the iPad 3 and iPhone 4)
- LifeCam Studio 1080p: also can't find anything definitive other than it's claimed to be bigger than previous versions, so perhaps 1/2.7" or 1/2.5"
But even an entry level APS-C DSLR is going to have a sensor roughly 14 times larger than the largest of the above, and a full-frame DSLR will have one roughly 35 times larger, so let's be clear that all of these devices are just downright puny compared to something designed for quality without compromise. A larger sensor means more light is available to be captured, which means that the amplification (gain) of the sensor does not need to be turned up as high, which means there's less visual noise, just as how if you have to turn up the volume of a stereo to hear a faint recording you also hear a lot more hiss from the amplifier.Certainly however you'll need to experiment and see which one works best subjectively. Also, you can improve the quality of practically any camera by simply adding more light.
posted by Rhomboid at 4:52 AM on August 9, 2012