Making movies on Sony Cybershot DSC-W200

I have been trying out the new Sony Cybershot DSC-W200, and I like this
little camera and its sharp 12 mp stills. The movies, when taken at the
highest resolution (VX Fine 640 x 480 at 30 frames per second) are also
pretty good, given the tiny size of the camera.

I was told by the sales person that you can use the zoom feature when making
movies with this camera. However, I have found that I can't actually zoom in
and out while the camera is recording movies. I can select, BEFORE
recording, either a wide angle, standard, or telephoto view, and take movies
at these different scales. But it won't zoom in and out while recording. Can
anyone tell me please whether this is a common limitation of movies taken on
digital "still" cameras, or do some models allow you to zoom in and out
while recording?

Another unexpected movie limitation is that the Sony W200 limits the size of
movie files to 2GB, after which the camera stops recording automatically. At
the highest resolution, a 2GB movie file would take about 25 minutes to
record. Is this a common movie limitation with small digital cameras of this
type? I was told that movies are only limited in size to the capacity of the
memory stick, but this isn't the case with the W200.

Regards, MM

Moviemaker wrote:
I have been trying out the new Sony Cybershot DSC-W200, and I like
this little camera and its sharp 12 mp stills. The movies, when taken
at the highest resolution (VX Fine 640 x 480 at 30 frames per second)
are also pretty good, given the tiny size of the camera.

I was told by the sales person that you can use the zoom feature when
making movies with this camera. However, I have found that I can't
actually zoom in and out while the camera is recording movies. I can
select, BEFORE recording, either a wide angle, standard, or telephoto
view, and take movies at these different scales. But it won't zoom in
and out while recording. Can anyone tell me please whether this is a
common limitation of movies taken on digital "still" cameras, or do
some models allow you to zoom in and out while recording?

Another unexpected movie limitation is that the Sony W200 limits the
size of movie files to 2GB, after which the camera stops recording
automatically. At the highest resolution, a 2GB movie file would take
about 25 minutes to record. Is this a common movie limitation with
small digital cameras of this type? I was told that movies are only
limited in size to the capacity of the memory stick, but this isn't
the case with the W200.
Regards, MM

I will follow this thread as I am curious also. I can say that I have a
Sony Camcorder with a mem stick and the quality sucks compared to a Nikon
Coolpix 7600. You can record a movie onto the stick the same way you do to
tape but it is limited to 15 seconds. Zoom and everything works fine while
recording. I also have a cheap $99 AIRTEK that has better quality than the
Sony DCR730. The AIPTEK records to SD card and will be as large as the card
will hold. IMO the same old recommendations stick. For movies get a
camcorder or plan on only using the movies in small size for web publishing
maybe.

On Tue, 26 Jun 2007 20:40:25 +1200
"Moviemaker" wrote:

I have been trying out the new Sony Cybershot DSC-W200, and I like
this little camera and its sharp 12 mp stills. The movies, when taken
at the highest resolution (VX Fine 640 x 480 at 30 frames per second)
are also pretty good, given the tiny size of the camera.

I was told by the sales person that you can use the zoom feature when
making movies with this camera. However, I have found that I can't
actually zoom in and out while the camera is recording movies. I can
select,

Just think 'Horses for Courses'
Use a still camera for stills and a movie camera for movies if you want
convenience.

--
Neil
Reverse ie and delete l for email.

Moviemaker wrote:
I have been trying out the new Sony Cybershot DSC-W200, and I like this
little camera and its sharp 12 mp stills. The movies, when taken at the
highest resolution (VX Fine 640 x 480 at 30 frames per second) are also
pretty good, given the tiny size of the camera.

I was told by the sales person that you can use the zoom feature when making
movies with this camera. However, I have found that I can't actually zoom in
and out while the camera is recording movies. I can select, BEFORE
recording, either a wide angle, standard, or telephoto view, and take movies
at these different scales. But it won't zoom in and out while recording. Can
anyone tell me please whether this is a common limitation of movies taken on
digital "still" cameras, or do some models allow you to zoom in and out
while recording?

The overwhelming majority of P&S cameras have this limitation when
recording video. The only ones that I know of that doesn't is Canon's
S3, possibly the S5 and TX1.

Another unexpected movie limitation is that the Sony W200 limits the size of
movie files to 2GB, after which the camera stops recording automatically. At
the highest resolution, a 2GB movie file would take about 25 minutes to
record. Is this a common movie limitation with small digital cameras of this
type? I was told that movies are only limited in size to the capacity of the
memory stick, but this isn't the case with the W200.

If Sony says the W200 supports memory cards up to 2 gig then they are
technically right about the video only being limited by the size of
memory card. I agree though that this is misleading to most buyers.

A number of Nikon point and shoot cameras allow zoom while taking movies,
including the S10 Coolpix and Coolpix 8800 which I own.

The 2 GB limit is usually imposed since the file system required to read and
write larger files which are Windows-compliant (called NTFS) takes a lot of
complexity to implement versus the simpler, older FAT file system used in
most cameras. The physical memory of 2 GB may therefore not be the "true"
reason why this file size is limited. The camera could write multiple files
for a movie, breaking the movie into 1 or 2 GB chunks, but they do not seem
to allow this work-around, probably since it also introduces further
complexity.

Smarty
"Michael Johnson" wrote in message
...
Moviemaker wrote:
I have been trying out the new Sony Cybershot DSC-W200, and I like this
little camera and its sharp 12 mp stills. The movies, when taken at the
highest resolution (VX Fine 640 x 480 at 30 frames per second) are also
pretty good, given the tiny size of the camera.

I was told by the sales person that you can use the zoom feature when
making movies with this camera. However, I have found that I can't
actually zoom in and out while the camera is recording movies. I can
select, BEFORE recording, either a wide angle, standard, or telephoto
view, and take movies at these different scales. But it won't zoom in and
out while recording. Can anyone tell me please whether this is a common
limitation of movies taken on digital "still" cameras, or do some models
allow you to zoom in and out while recording?

The overwhelming majority of P&S cameras have this limitation when
recording video. The only ones that I know of that doesn't is Canon's S3,
possibly the S5 and TX1.

Another unexpected movie limitation is that the Sony W200 limits the size
of movie files to 2GB, after which the camera stops recording
automatically. At the highest resolution, a 2GB movie file would take
about 25 minutes to record. Is this a common movie limitation with small
digital cameras of this type? I was told that movies are only limited in
size to the capacity of the memory stick, but this isn't the case with
the W200.

If Sony says the W200 supports memory cards up to 2 gig then they are
technically right about the video only being limited by the size of memory
card. I agree though that this is misleading to most buyers.

Smarty wrote:
A number of Nikon point and shoot cameras allow zoom while taking movies,
including the S10 Coolpix and Coolpix 8800 which I own.

I don't know much about the Nikon P&S cameras. There aren't many that
allows zooming while recording. I read somewhere that one reason for
this is the motor noise from zooming would be recorded and cause too
many complaints.

The 2 GB limit is usually imposed since the file system required to read and
write larger files which are Windows-compliant (called NTFS) takes a lot of
complexity to implement versus the simpler, older FAT file system used in
most cameras. The physical memory of 2 GB may therefore not be the "true"
reason why this file size is limited. The camera could write multiple files
for a movie, breaking the movie into 1 or 2 GB chunks, but they do not seem
to allow this work-around, probably since it also introduces further
complexity.

That is a limitation on FAT systems but with FAT32 they could go up to
4GB.

Smarty
"Michael Johnson" wrote in message
...
Moviemaker wrote:
I have been trying out the new Sony Cybershot DSC-W200, and I like this
little camera and its sharp 12 mp stills. The movies, when taken at the
highest resolution (VX Fine 640 x 480 at 30 frames per second) are also
pretty good, given the tiny size of the camera.

I was told by the sales person that you can use the zoom feature when
making movies with this camera. However, I have found that I can't
actually zoom in and out while the camera is recording movies. I can
select, BEFORE recording, either a wide angle, standard, or telephoto
view, and take movies at these different scales. But it won't zoom in and
out while recording. Can anyone tell me please whether this is a common
limitation of movies taken on digital "still" cameras, or do some models
allow you to zoom in and out while recording?
The overwhelming majority of P&S cameras have this limitation when
recording video. The only ones that I know of that doesn't is Canon's S3,
possibly the S5 and TX1.

Another unexpected movie limitation is that the Sony W200 limits the size
of movie files to 2GB, after which the camera stops recording
automatically. At the highest resolution, a 2GB movie file would take
about 25 minutes to record. Is this a common movie limitation with small
digital cameras of this type? I was told that movies are only limited in
size to the capacity of the memory stick, but this isn't the case with
the W200.
If Sony says the W200 supports memory cards up to 2 gig then they are
technically right about the video only being limited by the size of memory
card. I agree though that this is misleading to most buyers.

"Neil Ellwood" wrote in message
news:20070626155603.360a8e34@neil-desktop...
On Tue, 26 Jun 2007 20:40:25 +1200
"Moviemaker" wrote:

I have been trying out the new Sony Cybershot DSC-W200, and I like
this little camera and its sharp 12 mp stills. The movies, when taken
at the highest resolution (VX Fine 640 x 480 at 30 frames per second)
are also pretty good, given the tiny size of the camera.

I was told by the sales person that you can use the zoom feature when
making movies with this camera. However, I have found that I can't
actually zoom in and out while the camera is recording movies. I can
select,

Just think 'Horses for Courses'
Use a still camera for stills and a movie camera for movies if you want
convenience.

I thought there was a big push towards having one small pocket sized camera
that could give you acceptable stills and movies! It's great to be able to
get a camera out of your pocket and be able to change from movies to stills
with just one turn of a button. I realize, however, that if you want high
quality movies, you are probably best to get a dedicated high definition
camcorder. Some of these camcorders also let you take 6mp stills, so that's
not a bad compromise! But these camcorders usually weigh in at about
450grams or more, but they are still fairly portable!

There is also a big push on to combine bicycles and cars. It would be
really cool if you could drive downtown, and then push a button, and
suddenly your car tilts up, and you can bike through the mall. I
realize a dedicated bike would be better, but you could still, I bet,
make a pretty good bike out of a car with thinner wheels... or you could
put a little motor on the bike and then you could drive on highways
really fast. I mean, it wouldn't be as good as a car, but for most of
us, it would save having to take a bike in your car when you go
downtown, or having to buy a car if you need to go fast....

Moviemaker wrote:


I thought there was a big push towards having one small pocket sized camera
that could give you acceptable stills and movies! It's great to be able to
get a camera out of your pocket and be able to change from movies to stills
with just one turn of a button. I realize, however, that if you want high
quality movies, you are probably best to get a dedicated high definition
camcorder. Some of these camcorders also let you take 6mp stills, so that's
not a bad compromise! But these camcorders usually weigh in at about
450grams or more, but they are still fairly portable!

"Bill" wrote in message
.. .
There is also a big push on to combine bicycles and cars. It would be
really cool if you could drive downtown, and then push a button, and
suddenly your car tilts up, and you can bike through the mall. I realize
a dedicated bike would be better, but you could still, I bet, make a
pretty good bike out of a car with thinner wheels... or you could put a
little motor on the bike and then you could drive on highways really fast.
I mean, it wouldn't be as good as a car, but for most of us, it would save
having to take a bike in your car when you go downtown, or having to buy a
car if you need to go fast....

But to be serious for a moment, when you can now get a 6mp still camera on,
for example, a Sony AVCHD camcorder, this is getting close to what a lot of
people are looking for, that is, just one camera that takes reasonable
stills and movies. I think this is a better option than buying a small point
and shoot camera which takes good stills, but can't produce very good
movies. I saw examples of 6mp stills from the Sony HDRSR7E which is a 60GB
harddrive handycam, and they were very good, and of course the movies are
excellent as well! I think digital stills and movies are quite a bit closer
in functionality than bicycles and cars are, but they have successfully
combined aeroplanes and cars.