On 30 Aug 2001 07:56:11 -0700, jrrcat@yahoo.es (JOANR) wrote:

>I was searching for a lightweight, good-quality video camera capable
>to take still shots. For professional and personal use.
>
>I liked the Sony DCR PC110, however, the stillshot resolution is about
>1 megapixel. In the shop told me that mentioned resolution would be
>not enough for my purpose. So they showed me the JVC GRDV2000E "with
>similar or even better video quality than the Sony, and far better
>quality for stills(2 megapixel)", the seller said.
>
>I took the JVC. It is nice, not very heavy, plenty of features. The
>video quality is good indeed. But the quality of still pictures, is
>far away of what I expected from declared 2 megapixel. In the PC
>screen the pictures look quite good, but when printed they look
>horrible. I tried everything: maximum resolution (the camera generates
>about 700K JPEG files), laser color printer, inkjet high quality
>printer with best quality paper, ... and the results are not good.
>
>In princip I tried to avoid to purchase (and carry on) 2 devices: the
>video camara and the camera, so the (wrong, very wrong) decision to
>take a combo.
>
>I considered to keep the JVC for video only and purchase a DSC85 sony
>still camera. According to all the reports, it is excellent. But the
>batteries, the battery charger, cables, software, memory (stick or
>card)are different from Sony to JVC, and I'm not willing to carry so
>many things whan travelling.
>
>So, why not take 2 cameras by using the same accesories/peripherals?
>
>Since I need both medium to good video quality and good picture
>quality, I'm thinking in returning the JVC back to the store, and then
>purchasing a Sony DCRPC110 for video and also a Sony DSC-85 (4.1
>Megapixel).
>
>But I do not know if this a smart and convenient decision. I see
>excellent opinions on both sony video and stillshot camera, but I´m
>confused. Will I get noticeable better results than now with the JVC?
>
>According to the store, with the JVC GRDV2000 I have the best I can
>find. But it does not satisfy me, after several weeks of use. Neither
>I find users of the JVC to discuss results.
>
>I´m asking to any DCRPC110 user, or video/camera expert to help me, in
>order to choose the good camera. It`s urgent.

The best stills from video cameras I have seen have all been
from the megapixel Sony and the VX2000, but ALL ***only***
at 640x480 resolution, too low for printing but good for web
work. Any good 3+ megapixel still digital camera will
produce FAR better 8x10s than any video camera. The PC110
(and similar Sony cameras) produce excellent video in light
appropriate for their rather contrasty and artifact-heavy
images (the 3-chip TRV900 is better in a wider range of
lighting conditions, not much more expensive [in the US],
but does not share accessories with the DSC-85 [are DSC-85
batteries the same as for the PC110?]). I would look also at
the tiny PC9 for video (same battery size, smaller package,
less-sharp-but-sometimes-more-pleasant-picture compared with
the PC110, and cheaper...).