The movie option on Canon PowerShot A540 has this discription that I do not understand... HELP?

Question

Shoot in VGA and QVGA (30 fps/15 fps for up to 1 hour or 1GB), QVGA (60 fps for up to 1 minute) or QQVGA (15 fps for up to 3 minutes).

ALSO...


on this link

http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=ModelFeaturesAct&fcategoryid=145&modelid=12942&pageno=1


it says that you can do all these cool things with the camera is that true?

Answer 1

What this means is the following:
- You can shoot video (probably with sound) using the following different resolutions/modes and frame per second rates (FPS) combinations, the higher the FPS rate, the smoother the video motion.

So according to what you wrote, this model is capable of shooting:

1 hour video (probably with sound) on High: VGA 640x480 resolution with a rate of 30 frames per second if you use a 1GB memory card. (this resolution is equivalent to a 14" monitor resolution but not of full high PAL TV quality.

1 hour of video (probably with sound) on Medium: QVGA 320 x 240 resolution with a low rate of 15 frames per second if you use a 1 GB memory card.

3 minutes of video (probably with sound) if you shoot on Low: QQVGA 160 x 120 and 15 frames per second (very smell size similar to a small square Google ad)

Or 1 minute of QVGS 320 x 240 resolution on 60 frames per second.

Check the Nikon CoolPix 7900 or 5600 as a better option with unlimited Video time.

Answer 2

The movie choices are to select the quality (clearness and smoothness) of the video clips you take.

The best videos are taken at the highest level of VGA and most frames per second (fps). But the highest quality uses up memory cards very quickly. A 1 GB memory card will only hold a few minutes of high quality video (and then you won't have space for more still shots).

So you have to choose which video performance you want: great but short or not-so-great but longer. (Or buy lots of large memory cards) Remember, a digicam is not a camcorder (and vice-versa).

Yes, some affordable cameras today have lots of custom settings that enable you to take remarkable pictures. This one does too!

However, you have to learn how and when to make all those settings. It's fun if you enjoy photography and learning a combination of technology and art.

If you do, you might also consider the Canon Powershot S3 IS or the Sony Cybershot H5. Both of these have all the custom settings along with 12x zooms and image stabilization for $400 to $500.

Look at

http://www.aakatz.com/h1whitepaper/homepage.htm

for a good mini education in the possibilities, with examples of results. The paper is written for last year's Sony H1 model, but the concepts apply to the Canon and Sony H5 too.

Have Fun!