Been looking into the various models of Sony and Canon camcorders, but no where in their specs do I see much about photo recovery.

We are looking for a nice camcorder that can also be used to take some still photos. Our primary complaint with our existing digital camera is how long it takes to come back after taking a picture (like 5-8 seconds, or at least it seems that way). It seems like a lifetime and you often miss out on other things.

So, of the Sony and Canon models, any one have any info on the speed of recovery or first hand knowledge? We havent zeroed in on a model yet, so we are still kind of open to that (and really even manufatures overall).

Both Sony and Canon are pretty fast at recovering... much faster than 5-8 seconds!. However the pixel count on the canon is not that high. The Sony HC7 is a little better (6Mp if I remember correctly), but still, I don't know what digital cam you have, but mine is a 10MP SLR which makes and the built in still cams on my HC3 and HV20 look pretty much useless. I don't even bother buying cards for my built in cams.

Have you tried a different card on your existing cam? The speed and size of the card makes a BIG difference. The bigger the card, the slower it will be... and the cheaper the card, the worse the recovery time. The auto flash will also slow things down. If you have a cam that refuses to fire until the flash has recharged, or at least have it set that way, then you can figure an average of 5-10 seconds between shots. But this is true with most cams... recharging the flash takes time and that's a fact of life.

The Canon HV20 (when in camera/photo mode) can take up to 3.1mp shots. It's good enough for 4x6 to 5x7 prints, but probably not good enough for the professional photographer. It takes about less than 2 seconds to take another picture after firing one off.

In camcorder mode, the pixel count is limited to 1920x1080 (I think), and the flash won't fire either. However, this does let you store pictures on the memory card while you are videotaping.

The Sony HDR-SR1 takes 4.0 mp shots in camera mode, and is limited in camcorder mode like the Canon. Stills go to 2.3 mp during filming, without the flash.

Recovery time is quite quick between shots compared to many digital cameras I have used, less than 2 seconds like the Canon.