Need Point and Shoot, small video files

Hi all,

I had a Kodak V1253 that broke. What I really liked of that camera was the video files size, about 100mb for 1:50 min of video, at 1280x720.
Now I need a new nice point & shoot that has at least 10X zoom, and compression like that. Any suggestions?
Thanks in advance!

 

First of all you can reduce the size of video files with Windows Movie Maker, which comes with Windows. Or you can use the free open source program Any Video Converter to convert the video file to one that will produce a smaller file size. See Free Video Converter| Any Video Converter Freeware| MP4 FLV 3GP AVI MKV DVD Android Html5

As to which camera to buy, that depends on how much you want to spend. For about $225, the 20x Canon SX260HS is excellent. There are also good long zoom compact cameras that are less expensive and those that are more expensive. How much were you thinking of spending?

 

Hi Andy, many thanks for your reply.
I know I can reduce the filesize using converters, but it is something I'm too lazy to do with each video I take, plus if the camera has no good compression it records less video on the SD card.
SX260HS seems very nice, $225 is great. How about its video sizes?

 

I bought a 14.1MP Samsung PL120. TERRIBLE MISTAKE!!! 3 minutes of video = +800MB. I thought compression would be better on a newer camera, not worse!!
So I'm looking for a decent one, now...
Thanks again!

 

The Samsung PL120 video is produced in the MPEG format, which uses very efficient compression. Your file size is large because the camera is recording in HD, 1280 x 720, You could substantially reduce the file size by shooting your video in VGA, 640 x 480, or at 320 x 240.

The Canon SX260 HS is an excellent long zoom camera that shoots good looking HD video in the efficient MOV format. The file size will be large if you shoot at maximum resolution, 1920 x 1080, smaller if you use 1280 x 720 and smaller still at VGA, 640 x 480, the minimum resolution.

 

I expect to get at least the same compression as the .MOVs in the V1253, in 1280x720. 640x480 is no good for me. Do you know if the SX260 at 1280x720 is efficient? Or some other camera... 20X zoom is not necessary, 10X is enough I believe. Thanks again!

 

For the highest quality video, AVCHD is probably the most popular format though mpeg-4, while not quite as good, has smaller file sizes. The Canon Elph 520 has a 12x zoom, uses mpeg-4 and is fairly inexpensive. I reviewed it for this website. Canon PowerShot ELPH 520 HS Review: Lots of Zoom, Little Camera

 

That one seems to be what I need. I think I'll love the Movie Digest feature. Plus it costs less than $200 now, great! So THANKS ONCE AGAIN!!!
Greetings from Buenos Aires!

 

I think you'll like it. It's quite a small camera with tiny little buttons. And it needs a micro-sd card. But its image and movie quality are top notch.

 

I asked an owner of the 520HS for the file size of a 2 min video in 720P and it's 350MB. A lot more than my old v1253 in 720P. Any other thoughts? I got interested in the Lumix TZ30 as it uses AVCHD. Any owners that could tell me the size of a 2 min video in that one? Thanks