Camera for Newborn?

[naamanf]

Not for the newborn to take pictures:D, but for us to take pictures and video. My wife was thinking that we might want to get a dedicated video camera and I am on the fence. I have a Sony HX5V that does decent 1080p with okay image stabilization. The plus is that it's pocket-able and takes pictures. The minus is that it doesn't do video as well as a dedicated video cam. Oh what to do?

I also want to get a new DSLR, hopefully the D400 it it ever comes out. How do you with DSLRs that do video feel about the video quality?

[n_maher]

My 2

[Voltron]

I'm going to second the no-dedicated-video-camera-option. We have had two over the years of our kids' youth and now we have a bunch of crappy long videotapes of soccer games and the like that have never really been watched. The video capability of DSLRs is pretty spectacular imo, and a good new p&s can do seriously good photos and HD video. The Lumix ZS7 is damn good for both.

[jinp6301]

The Canon T2i seems to be a great option for photo and video if you can stomach the price

[tyrion]

I have the Lumix ZS7 and it takes excellent pics and video. I second Nates comment as you are looking for something thatnwill capture the moment. Far more likely that you will have a good point and shoot than a DSLR when many of these moments take place

[morphsci]

I'm going to also say go with something you are likely to carry with you. Most of our pictures are stills and they are taken with our phone cameras or my wifes Nikon P90. If I was looking for a camera now I would probably get a micro 4/3 like the Panasonic Lumix DMC-G10.

[naamanf]

For the first 6 months it's just going to be my wife using the camera so I want something that is easy to take along. So I think a P&S will be the way to go. I currently have a FX500 that she is using at home but I was never super impressed by it's pictures or video. There is a new FX700 on the horizon that looks promising. Or I might just leave her the HX5V since I got work to purchase them along with the 7D. I might try out the 7Ds video shooting when I have a chance. Thanks for the help guys!

[Salt Peanuts]

For video camera, I'd get something economical like Flip HD (we have Kodak Zi8 ) so you won't feel annoyed about it if you find yourself not using it all that much. Seven and half weeks in, we've taken the video of our newborn twice - once with the Kodak camera and another time with my iPhone.

I second (or third, or fourth, etc) about having a camera that you'd carry with you. For me, it's been my Canon DSLR (I got into a habit of taking it virtually everywhere I go), but for my wife, it's a P&S.

[episiarch]

I know you're mainly asking about video, but FWIW here's my advice on still: get a DSLR, a bounce-capable flash, and an eye-fi card. This is how we shot all the pictures of our (then) newborn that are any good (well, at least good in a technical sense).

- DSLR because it focuses faster and has less shutter delay than any point-and-shoot I've ever used, and babies won't hold a pose.

- Bounce flash because your indoor pictures will look far better with proper illumination.

- Eye-fi card because its automatic wireless upload (to your computer and optionally to photo-sharing sites*) is IME indispensable when you have your hands full with a newborn.

If I were buying today I'd get a Nikon D5000 (for its quiet-mode shutter and repositionable viewscreen) and the SB400 flash (bounce flash that's small enough and light that we leave ours on the camera full time).

*We set ours up so that everything got uploaded to SmugMug, but so that uploads weren't visible until we approved them. This saved the trouble of manually uploading but still gave us the chance to edit what the world saw.

[naamanf]

I currently do have a D80, SB600, and original Eye-Fi card. I have been thinking about getting the new pro x2 card but really wonder if paying the $100 premium is worth it. The original eye-fi card is to slow for video.

[The Monkey]

My experience has been as follows. I got the D50 to photograph the little monkey and I'm glad I did. However, I also wish I had a good, small P&S so that I would take it everywhere. To me, the keys for cameras and babies are convenience, speed, low-light capability. Convenience because you never know when you'll want to snap a pic; speed because that first smile is fleeting and then later the kid moves really fast, and low-light capability because it's nice not to have to use the flash.

I've found video to be a pain in the ass.

[naamanf]

Played a bit with the 7D today in movie mode. Yeah it looks great but unless I set up every shot with my dolly boy and key grip I would be better off with something better. P&S it is for now. Looks like the D90 replacement is on the horizon with some sweet rumored stats.

[Fing]

Looked into the Olympus Pen EPL1 or Panasonic GF1? Close to DSLR quality in a format that is pocketable (if you have large pockets).

I've got the GF1 but if I was shopping for a camera now, I'd probably get an Olympus EPL1 + Panasonic 20mm F1.7 pancake and the add-on view finder, as the Olympus has built in optical stabilisation, better high ISO quality and a better add-on view finder for bright light conditions. For depth of field purposes, the 20mm acts like a F3.4 so the focus won't just be on the tip of the nose but should cover the whole face but still allows you to shoot in low iso. You'll rarely need more than 400 ISO indoors and the pictures will look virtually noise-free.

I've also taken some very good outdoor pics with the Panasonic 14-45mm kit lens which has silent focus for video purposes, but it's a high F-stop lens so not so great for indoors unless you have a good sensor. I'm seeing what the GF2 will look like - hopefully close to the new GH2 sensor, though I may still move to Olympus because of the superior add-on viewfinder.