i think i found my new camera

[hayaku]

thanks to iop9000 for the link to steves-digicams.com for the M1 review.

I'm down to 2 camera choices:
Sanyo VPC HD1 versus the Toshiba GSC-R60. both about the same size and in the same price range

http://www.steves-digicams.com/2006_reviews/hd1.html
Sanyo is a HD recorder (1280x720 9mb/s) but it uses SD memory cards. fortunately there is a 4GB card available that will hold about 2 hours of HD video (mp4), up to 14 hrs in lesser modes. Its also a 6megapixel camera, so its truly a dual purpose device that does fit in your pocket.

no formal reviews for the toshiba yet.. still very new...
The Toshiba is a DVD recorder (also 1280x720 9mb/s) and uses an internal hard disk with 60gb storage for a max of 13.5 hrs in DVD mode (mpg2), 55 hrs in lesser modes. but its camera function sucks at a 2megapixel camera.

so the real question that i'm twisted with is capacity versus camera performance...

what do yo guys think?

[asawadude]

I think it's really based on the intended use of the camera.

If you have kids and they play sports, you'll need every bit of capacity that you can buy. One basketball or soccer game can fill up an entire 4GB card and you'll end up having to dump the contents of the card onto a hard drive to be ready for the next recording event. Or you can buy multiple SD cards, which quickly can get very expensive. There are also 8 GB cards (big bucks).

If it were me, I'd go for the Toshiba DVD recorder to get the video recording capacity and buy a separate high pixel rate digicam for still shots. I would have some concerns about the lifespan of the 60GB hard drive and whether or not the drive is replaceable. There are alot of personal devices that use the IBM/Hitachi micro drives that fail (iPods are the exception, they are fairly durable). It's like buying a new car - if the product is brand new, I'd wait until the user reviews start trickling in for signs of positive experiences - especially if the product relies on a micro-drive.

I don't know anything about Sanyos - they have not been a major player in the digital photo and video market. I would stay with the brands that have been around for awhile like Canon, JVC, Sony, Panasonic.

The last issue is the dual use vidcam/digicam function. Vidcams are optimized for video, so features and functions that you might want from a digicam might be missing. A digicam uses different CMOS sensors, have different lenses (wide angle to telephoto zoom + macro), have different programmable exposure settings, has a built in flash, and can accept camera type attachments. If still photography is one of your main priorities, it's probably better to buy one vidcam and one digicam, rather than converge the two.

That being said, keep in mind that I'm a lay person talking off the top of my head.

I would implicitly trust Steve's Digicams website. I've used his website several times for purchasing decisions. The guy leaves no stone untouched in his camera reviews. He probably has the best product reviews of all on the internet.

[hayaku]

thanks man.. appreciate the feedback!

i've seen the video and pic samples from steve's site and that high quality 9mb/s sample is better then my minidv stuff... my fuji 6megapixel camera does the same as the sanyo in picture mode, but the sanyo does a 10x zoom versus my 6x still camera... steve does recommend the sanyo tho...

i've yet to see a sample of the toshiba... so i'm still completely undecided...

alot of friends are telling me to ebay my fuji6900z and just get the sanyo since it does the same or better quality in pictures and great video from the samples that we've seen.... the fuji has served me extremely well over the years tho...