VGA vs HD video resolution on a P & S... How important...???

"BIG DAVE" wrote in message
...

I am thinking of spending about $100 (give or take) on an entry
level point and shoot digital camera. Lots of the features of these
cameras are quite similar however there is one difference that I am
curious about. Video resolution.

Some cameras have a video resolution listed as VGA and some
claim to have HD resolution. Almost all of them say 30 FPS.

How much better would the quality of the video be on the cameras
that have HD video capability? Should it be a deal breaker/maker?

All I intend to do is perhaps shoot some home video clips or maybe
even upload a clip or two to YouTube etc...

Are the so called HD clips gonna be that much clearer? Are they
much bigger from a technical standpoint?

Again, the specs of these cameras as far as shooting stills are very
similar. Is it worth the extra $20-$40 for the HD?

Thanks...

DAVE

What the others said...;-) With a few additions: Even for YouTube,
the 16x9 format and larger playing size can "present" better. I've
been doing some editing for a friend using AVCHD-Lite and Mov
material (plus stills), and while the stills can look spectacular in the
video from a *good* pocket camera (after a little work...), the video
from the 720p material was marginal at best, even with MUCH work,
when viewed on a good 1080p TV. If the camera will AF, AE, AWB,
and also permit zooming while shooting, get it (but at $100?????), but
as an experiment, I placed on a timeline 640x480 WMV (with the
resultant black bars all around), the same blown up to fit the 16x9
format, MOV, AVCHD-Light, and HDV files and rendered them to
one HDV file. To my surprise, the first two looked better than I thought
they would (and, OK, but...), the next two were better (in different
ways, but not by as much as I had expected), and not surprisingly, the
HDV (video camera only) was the best. BTW, better yet is the new
Panasonic 60p 1080 format - it is SHARP in their TM700 camcorder.
And, BTW, I have available a mint, low-use HV20 (HDV - easy to edit)
and a mint, low-use AVCHD 60p Panasonic (I just acquired a second
one in a trade for lenses, and I don't need two...;-).
--DR (My email address can be had at www.donferrario.com/ruether
if interested in either camcorder...)