Regarding to the .mov file

[coody]

When using a digital camera to take a video, the video is always uploaded and saved as .mov file in the computer. Is it correct? If so, what is the difference between copy Digital Video movie and Digital Camera video into a DVDR disc then? Is the picture quality same?

[tinker]

What type of software do you use for capture?
The best is to download as DV Avi (very large file), edit that one and export to DVD compliant (mpeg2) file to burn DVD, unless you want to use other format, like DivX or format for web.
MOV is already compressed format, not the best one to use.

[coody]

What type of software do you use for capture?
The best is to download as DV Avi (very large file), edit that one and export to DVD compliant (mpeg2) file to burn DVD, unless you want to use other format, like DivX or format for web.
MOV is already compressed format, not the best one to use.

The Windows XP just automatically downloadd the video from a card reader and it was automatically saved as a .mov file in my computer. Do you mean it is not the best but download as DV Avi is? Can you tell how to do it? My project is to download the video to my PC, that I took it with my digital camera and then copy it into a DVDR/W disc so that I can watch it on a TV. What tools do I need and how to do it?

[tinker]

Did you do your video with digital video camera or digital still camera.
From your post it sounds like a still camera. In that case a video will not be very good on TV screen, because it is already very compressed format to start with.
DV Avi is a very little compressed video and about one hour of video will come to 30-40 GB file size.

[guns1inger]

Many still cameras record video using mjpeg compression inside a MOV container. The quality is rarely as good as video taken with a dedicated video camera, because that isn't what the device is really designed to do.

[coody]

Yes, I am talking about the digital still camera and try to compare its video quality with if I take it with a DV. I have different questions. What will have an effect on the video quality taken by the digital still camera, the MP, brand/manufacturer, optical/digital zoon or what else? In addition, do all the digital still cameras compress the video as a .mov file or it could have a different file depending on the brand/manufacturer?

[guns1inger]

All the good ones appear to use mjpeg compression. Some of the no-name brands use other formats. Also, not all still cameras allow you to use other functions, such as zoom, when capturing motion, and most (all ?) capture at 30fps or 15 fps, regardless of where you are situated, or what output format you select. This makes conversion for PAL very difficult.

Bottom line, I guess, is what do you really want. If you want high quality video with reasonable stills, look at some of the new HD video cameras. Some of them take very good stills at 5 - 7.1 MP. Or do you want a good still camera than can grab the occasional quick video clip ? There is no camera that does both very well. One always compromises the other.

[tomlee59]

Guns1inger's advice is spot-on. A still camera is optimized for...still pictures, and a movie camera is optimized for movies. No big surprise there, yes? There will be a compromise when you use a device for a function other than what it was optimized for. So, if you want to stick with only one device, select the one that does best that thing that you prize the most, and just accept whatever it does with the other function. If you don't like the resulting compromise, you have no choice but to buy two separate devices that are individually optimized for each of the two functions.

[guns1inger]

FWIW, if I were limited to having to choose a single camera for a trip, and I needed both video and still functionality, I would probably opt for a HD Video camera that records HDV to mini-DV tape, and records still images to memory card. Many of the HD camera have very high megagpixel counts and are capable of taking pretty good still images. They are nowhere near as versatile as a dedicated still camera, but they are a long way ahead of the still capabilities of the older DV cameras.

Of curse, if given a choice, I would take one of each (possible 2 still cameras - something bigger and nicer for really good shots, and something smaller and quicker for the unexpected opportunity)

[coody]

What is the main difference between an image/picture recorded/taken by a digital video camera and a picture taken by a digital still camera assuming both of the devices have the same MP? Is it the digital still camera needs compression but digital video camera doesn’t? So the DV can produce a superior still picture than digital still camera. Is it correct?

[tinker]

Digital still camera is made for still pictures and has different compression sitings for JPEG and usualy higher megapixel count. Some, more expansive cameras, can produce picture in uncompressed format like RAW or TIFF.
All Digital video cameras are made for video and can produce more or less compressed video file.
Still picture made by video camera is a secondary feature and is a highly compressed JPEG to be able to fit a few pictures on a stick.
Still picture taken from a digital video footage will never be as sharp as picture taken by still camera. Resolution is not there.

[edDV]

What is the main difference between an image/picture recorded/taken by a digital video camera and a picture taken by a digital still camera assuming both of the devices have the same MP? Is it the digital still camera needs compression but digital video camera doesn’t? So the DV can produce a superior still picture than digital still camera. Is it correct?

Current digital cameras use the JPG compression engine repeatedly to make "movies". The format is known as MJPEG and it is placed in a *.mov or *.avi file wrapper. Digital cameras have limited storage to flash memory so extremely high compression is used for each frame (~30-70x) compared to DV's 5x intraframe compression. Also, digital camera chipsets are not able to produce locked frame rates to NTSC 29.97 or reach 59.94 field per second motion accuracy. The more expensive models can reach 640x480 square pixel resolution @ 30 fps which is NOT a supported DVD format so all frames must be scaled for DVD to 720x480 or 352x480. Audio sync for longer clips is also an issue. Digital camera audio is usually 8 bit mono to save flash memory capacity vs. 16bit uncompressed stereo for DV format.

So, use a camcorder if you want quality movies to DVD. If you want short highly compressed clips for a website, the digital camera offers a smaller, lighter case for that. The consumer is usually willing to give up video quality for a compact case.

For stills, the digital camera has limited zoom but sharp focus for 5-8 Megapixels stills. Camcorders usually have a larger lens capable of >8x zoom and better low light performance. If an HD model such as the Canon HV20 is used, the lens is nearly as sharp as a digital camera. SD camcorder lenses will be less sharp.

Bottom Line: An HD camcorder doubles as a very good still camera. A digital camera doubles as a very poor SD camcorder.