While we've yet to see that most desired of consumer electronics products -- a terrific still camera that's also a terrific camcorder -- cameras seem to be getting much better at doing double duty.
And rather than just trying to cram two sets of features into a single unit, manufacturers are innovatively taking advantage of the speedier innards required for movie capture to transform the paradigm of so-called "still" photography.
For instance, several of these cameras will continuously buffer the streaming movie, then capture an interval before and after the shutter is pressed, making it easy to snap a photo of that decisive moment. True, we're still at the beginning of the curve for this type of combination capture device. It eventually might all end up in your phone, but it has to start somewhere.
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Casio Exilim Pro EX-P505
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This camera comes close to successfully combining high-quality photos with acceptable-quality video.
- Effective sensor resolution: 5 megapixels
- Light sensitivity: ISO 100, 200, 400, 50, auto
- Digital zoom: 8x
- Optical zoom: 5x
- Display: 2-inch TFT active colour matrix
- Dimensions (WxDxH): 99 x 74 x 56 mm
- Weight: 215g
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Konica Minolta Dimage Z2
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A responsive megazoom camera with impressive video-recording capabilities and pleasing output, the Konica Minolta Dimage Z2 makes an excellent travel companion for shooters who don't require a semipro feature set.
- Effective sensor resolution: 4 megapixels
- Light sensitivity: ISO 100, 200, 400,50
- Digital zoom: 4x
- Optical zoom: 10x
- Display: 1.5-inch TFT active colour matrix
- Dimensions (WxDxH): 109 x 79 x 79mm
- Weight: 306g
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Olympus C-770 Ultra Zoom
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Enthusiasts will love this camera's full manual control over exposure and focus, 10X optical zoom, and Super Macro capabilities, but it offers enough automation to soothe neophytes, too.
- Effective sensor resolution: 4 megapixels
- Light sensitivity: ISO 100, 200, 400, 64
- Digital zoom: 10x
- Optical zoom: 4x
- Display: 1.8-inch TFT active colour matrix
- Dimensions (WxDxH): 104.5 x 68.5 x 60mm
- Weight: 280g
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Casio Exilim EX-Z750
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The Casio Z750 marries form and function with a great design and satisfying manual controls.
- Effective sensor resolution: 7.2 megapixels
- Light sensitivity: ISO 100, 200, 400, 50
- Digital zoom: 8x
- Optical zoom: 3x
- Display: 2.5-inch TFT active colour matrix
- Dimensions (WxDxH): 89 x 23 x 58 mm
- Weight: 159g
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