David Pogue's Digital Photography: The Missing Manual

Movies

As late as 2005, still cameras and video cameras were each terrible at doing the other's job. And even today, camcorders still take crummy photos.

But still cameras can now take very high-quality movies. Almost all current models can record video that fills a standard TV screen (640 x 480 pixels) with TV-quality smoothness (30 frames per second). And plenty of them can record in high definition. That doesn't guarantee great-looking video—lots of companies abuse the term "hi-def"—but some cameras produce amazing video.

Canon's S series can even film and snap stills simultaneously, thanks to separate shutter and start/stop buttons.

Early cameras couldn't zoom or refocus while you were filming, as on a camcorder. But that's changing; many models handle those jobs with aplomb.

Note

For years, SLRs could not record video. That's changing, too. In 2008, Nikon and Canon both unveiled new SLRs that take great stills and record hi-def video that'll blow your socks off. The best part: you can use all of those cameras' photographic controls and different lenses for video. Other cameras will soon join them.