Admin note:  Read 2 messages down for official intro to this topic.  Merged these posts but couldn’t change date order.

Rezwan, you tweeted about what camera to get

I think the Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3 is good.  Have a look at
Steve’s Digicam review

See sample shots on Flickr

It has a very wide zoom range 25-300mm equivalent, and yet very little distorion or chromatic aberation for such a complex lens. Can record HD video as well.

Much more versatile than a DSLR.  the SLRs from Nikon are very good but with a couple of lenses you looking at 4 or 5 times the price

James

And another tweet about a camera:

Breakable@focusfusion I would choose http://tinyurl.com/n5cngw for a rugged inexpensive stills camera.

How about a movie camera?  Is it better to get that separate?

Things are moving along for LPP, and Focus Fusion is right there to report on it.  But we are hampered by lack of good equipment. 

We’re asking our users for recommendations on a good camera to be documenting all this with.  Both still camera and video/motion camera.

Better yet, any donations? We are a 501c3, after all.  You can be the official video camera and/or still Camera for Focus Fusion’s ongoing documentation.

Another possibility - if you are in the New Jersey/tri-state area and have some above and beyond documentation equipment (camera, lights, mics, booms, what have you) and want to come down to capture key events - we may be able to arrange that.  Outsourcing.

You need to be clear what the use will be to get the right tool for the job.  If you want an everyday camera to post images & short video clips then a compact stills camera with some video capability is fine.  Obviously budget is an issue so getting a bargain on last years model or dropping some fancy features may be needed, but concentrate on optical quality. Features to look out for are the wide angle limit & good macro performance - good for getting photos of the equipment from difficult angles.

However, if you want to shoot a promotional video that needs editing and higher production values then compact ‘stills’ cameras are definitely not suitable. So you may be better off getting a cheaper stills camera and dedicated video camera.

The key to getting good video for editing into a professional looking production is first choose the right format - that means plain old normal DV.  The fancy MPEG4 & AVC codecs are a pain to edit.  The next thing is a camera with external microphone inputs - preferably XLR.  I would recommend getting lavalier lapel mics as you’ll want to cut out as much background noise as possible, and means you don’t need an extra person holding a boom.  The sound quality is as critical as the pictures, if not more so. When shooting always listen through headphones to pick up the stray fridge or AC unit rumbling away (turn them off when you do a take).  Lastly once edited all together, de-interlace it before encoding a version that will be uploaded to the web ( a dvd version can remain interlaced).

It would be better to get an old semi-pro video camera off ebay than buy some fancy new one that hasn’t got manual controls or decent mic inputs.  Something like the Sony PD170 or the Canon XL2 (or HVR-Z1 & XH A1S for HD versions).  These are obviously not cheap cameras, but as far as producing a professional quality production I think they are worth it. A good standard def camera would be a much better choice in my opinion for a promotional video than a cheap HD one.

NB. my previous job for 8 years was video/systems engineer for a post production company in London: GoldenSq

Maybe also a tripod?

John’s camera is a Nikon D60 and it’s been great to work with.  Check out our latest pictures in the gallery.  Alas, he’s leaving tomorrow and taking his camera with him.  I’m hooked.  it’s a D-SLR, with lots of control.  My delight in taking pictures is re-awakened with that manual control. 

So…gotta get my own, I guess.

And it doesn’t have the “face recognition” of the panasonic lumix.  That’s a trip.