$200 dslr?

[Chamber005]

So I was wondering if one of the techies here could give me an idea on the Kodak Z1015SI.

10 megapixels. 1/2" CCD. 80 - 1600 ISO. MPEG4 Codec. Shoots 720p.

I'm looking for something that can hang out with my HF200 but maybe operate better in low light as well grabbing some easier images with strong DOF. I'm new to DSLRs so I wanted to sort of tread lightly, not jumping right into the Mark 5D or GH1, etc.

I've seen this cam around pretty consistently for $200.

http://www.camera-catalog.com/digitalcameras/manufactures/camera/kodak_z1015_is

Not a lot of footage out there --

http://www.vimeo.com/6535303

[ydgmdlu]

It's not a DSLR. It doesn't have a big sensor like the DSLRs. Carefully read the page that you linked.

[Chamber005]

Oh, because DSLR means interchangeable lenses? Would this lens then just be comperable to a typical camcorder (unable to achieve a greater DOF like a typical camcorder)?

[bwwd]

no big sensor ,no shallow dof ,this sensor is like in typical camcorder,tiny as baby fingernail.

[ydgmdlu]

DOF = depth of field. Greater DOF means that more of the scene is in focus at one time. What you want is less DOF, shallow DOF.

DOF is determined by four factors: focal length, aperture, subject-to-camera distance, and image format size. Long story short, you need a large chip to achieve the kind of shallow DOF that you see in the movies. The camera that you linked does not have a big chip. Its chip is only 1/2.33". By comparison, Four Thirds (the image format of the GH1) is 4/3". That's more than four times the image area. The 7D's APS-C chip is even bigger than that.

DSLR means "digital single-lens reflex." It means a digital camera that has an optical viewfinder that uses the light that goes through the objective lens (i.e. the main lens that you attach to the camera), accomplished by a mirror and/or prism, instead of a completely separate, non-connected viewfinder. Before digital photography, the other common type of still camera was the rangefinder, which has a completely different type of viewfinder and focusing system. Rangefinders also use interchangeable lenses. And there is such a thing as a digital rangefinder (Leica makes them). There are also non-DSLR, non-rangefinder interchangeable-lens camera systems, such as Micro Four Thirds. (The GH1 is not technically a DSLR.) A DSLR only uses interchangeable lenses because it inherits the body design from film SLRs. Technically speaking, a DSLR does not have to have interchangeable lenses.

The real issue is that this Kodak camera is a compact camera. The page that you linked says so. Virtually by definition, a compact camera will have a small chip, as well as a fixed zoom lens. That's why it's compact. This camera is arguably what is known as a "bridge camera."

[ydgmdlu]

Here are some relevant articles for you:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depth_of_field
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compact_camera
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DSLR
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bridge_camera (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bridge_digital_camera)
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=185061

Please carefully read them all.

[j]

Even still, 1/2" sensor, 720p, $200...

3 years ago the mention of that would have made me spit milk thru my nose in laughter.

[ydgmdlu]

Even still, 1/2" sensor, 720p, $200...

3 years ago the mention of that would have made me spit milk thru my nose in laughter.
Wow, very good point. And it's a CCD chip to boot; no rolling shutter!

[Jackson Miller]

It's not 1/2 inch. It is 1/2.33. Not too bad but you definitely wouldn't notice a huge difference between it and your HF200. There are much better options out there. Save up.