Digital Camcorders

[noobcruiser]

Has anyone used one of these newer compact digital camcorders that boast a 30x optical zoom (or higher) during their Alaska cruise?

 

Any positives or negatives to speak of?

 

I thought an investment into one of these would be more useful in the long run instead of replacing our fairly new digital camera.

 

If anyone has any insights, I would appreciate your viewpoints.

 

Thanks!

[ukbballfan]

Has anyone used one of these newer compact digital camcorders that boast a 30x optical zoom (or higher) during their Alaska cruise?

 

Any positives or negatives to speak of?

 

I thought an investment into one of these would be more useful in the long run instead of replacing our fairly new digital camera.

 

If anyone has any insights, I would appreciate your viewpoints.

 

Thanks!

 

Not exactly answering your question but I decided to go with the Panasonic DMC-FZ28 digital camera. It has 18 optical zoom and the kicker for me was it takes HD movies. I already had a fairly new Canon Powershot A640 but, like you, also wanted to shoot video. I'll keep the Canon on my hip for unexpected shots and carry the FZ28 for the prime time places that I know I'll want to shoot video....whale watch, float plane, glacier landing, etc.

[compulady]

What model are you refering to?

 

Did you try the photo Discussion area here?

 

Has anyone used one of these newer compact digital camcorders that boast a 30x optical zoom (or higher) during their Alaska cruise?

 

Any positives or negatives to speak of?

 

I thought an investment into one of these would be more useful in the long run instead of replacing our fairly new digital camera.

 

If anyone has any insights, I would appreciate your viewpoints.

 

Thanks!

[noobcruiser]

ukbballfan, that panasonic is a viable candidate. I was looking into that before I started looking at camcorders....

 

compulady, thanks for the suggestion, I never noticed that discussion area before...Thanks!

[SeattleCruiselover]

Has anyone used one of these newer compact digital camcorders that boast a 30x optical zoom (or higher) during their Alaska cruise?

 

Any positives or negatives to speak of?

 

I thought an investment into one of these would be more useful in the long run instead of replacing our fairly new digital camera.

 

If anyone has any insights, I would appreciate your viewpoints.

 

Thanks!

 

I have two digital camcorders: a Kodak Z16, which is HD, pocket sized and has SDHC card memory up to 32 GB. Takes up very little space and, if shot at the proper fps rating, has very acceptable video.

 

The other is an Everio HDD camcorder, which is also small, but you can't put it into your pocket like the Kodak. This year, I am thinking about taking only the Kodak, because I want to have my DSLR at the ready when I go whale watching for the first time (sixth trip, first whale watching excursion, simply because I see them around here so much).