digital camera vs camcorder

[hrmom26]

OK sorry about the stupid question but before my last trip to Disney i bought a new camera it cost me about 300 dollars. my sister in law just bought the throw away kind. my pictures came out like crap hers were great :brick: . now its time for me to buy another camera for my next trip to Disney. i don't want to mess this up again i think part of the problem last time was i couldn't figure out how it worked ( still can't) . now i was told by a co-worker to stick to Sony it is the best i would like to spend around the same amount 300 maybe up to 500 if its worth it. now my ?, is a camcorder that takes pictures better than a camera that shoots video? also does anyone have any suggestion on a good camera that is easy to figure out. or should i just get the throw away kind. i noticed at Disney there was a lot of places that had low light last time i took a picture with my daughter and ariel we waited forever for her to see her and the picture didn't come out my daughter still mentions it! so if you could help me out that would be great . thanks
p.s. i wanted to thank everyone you guys have helped me answer a million ?'s
over the past months and have been so helpful to me while i have been trying to plan this vacation thank again!:wave:

 

[Monty]

I have a Kodak EasyShare [DX4330] that is fairly easy to use. It has six manual settings [close up {macro} for very close, sport for moving subjects, night for flash shots, landscape for distance, auto for general use and video for short video clips] and can zoom in and out fairly simply. I love the pictures it takes [fireworks it has to be stabilized, but otherwise it's fine].

I call it my digital "PHD camera" [Push Here, Dummy :animwink:].

Best advice: Read the manual!

 

[tigsmom]

I have a feeling that the quality of picture had more to do with the person taking the photo than the camera itself. I have taken some great shots with the throw away cameras and some lousy shots with my more expensive ones...what you need to do is practice with the camera that you already have, not buy another. I have a few expensive cameras but my favorite is my Kodak EasyShare DX6340... it has quite a few auto settings and manual ones as well for the times I feel adventurous.

My advice would be to take the camera you have and practice with it. It doesn't matter what you take pictures of, just get used to using it.
We have some great photographers here...take a look at the Digital Media section, I'm sure you will find what you need.

We don't take the camcorder with us when we go to WDW because of an evening I spent at a friends house... they showed us their tape and all the dad kept saying was "I don't remember that!" He was so busy filming that he didn't enjoy the visit. :wave:

 

[dolbyman]

well my camcorder does very nice pictures (1.5MP the ccd's resolution)

not incredible high resolution but the videos are perfect .. so I guess the camcorder wins hands down against the camera (I wouldn't use it for anything else then point and shoot when I have no camera at hand)

here a sample: (click to enlarge)

 

[bob0012]

I have a canon powershot, that also does short videos and I've found that works quite well. Honestly, your probebly better off going with a camera that has auto flash and such instead of a bunch of settings if your not going to have time getting comfortable with it before your trip.

 

[Craig & Lisa]

ok, this is simple, it would seem that the most used camera is kodak, I sell them, I use them, the camera's are easy to use hence easyshare, for example, my first one is about 5 years old, kodak, 2.2 mp, not the greastest but it did the job. Now I buy another one, it was a display, cost next to nothing no paperwork, cable, software, just the camera, I took it home put batteries in took a couple of pics, then plugeed the old cable intit, yes it fit, the software recognized it and downloaded the pic's, again easyshare. I have both video and still cameras, why I didn't have them sooner is beyond me, but everything takes time to learn, but do it before you leave for Disney. hope this helps.

 

[mrtoad]

I personally prefer Canon products but have tried Kodak and Sony as well. The Sony over sharpened the photos and I did not like them. The Kodak was ok but I just think the Canon shots were nicer. If you do get a new camera, get it well before your trip to practice with. Get something with both full auto and manual control so you can learn as you go. The Canon A series are nice, I have owned but the A80 and A95 and they take great shots at a great price.

I would not buy a camcorder to take photos or a still camera to do movies. Neither does the other very well.

 

[crazycalf]

I like Canon. We just got a new 5mp digital camera.

As for a digital video camera that also takes pictures. The pictures are ok but mine is only 1mp. On the computer it looks fine, but once you print them out, you can see the difference between the video camera pictures and our old 4 mp canon pics. 1mp are not very good pictures, my first digital camera that I got in 1999 was 1mp. Now my cell phone even has 1mp.

As for print quality. We have a photo printer, but the pictures never look as good as when they are printed out from snapfish.com or one of the kodak kisoks. Was your quality problem just with the printed picture?