Welcome to the Equipment Shed,a continuous monthly item that will appear on this blog aimed to tell both readers and journalists the secrets behind Montgomery Media's multimedia pieces.

I've always felt that newsroom photographers and writers should always carry a digital camera that shoots both video and photos. Video recording capabilities are always a must because at the very least you can take a still frame image from your video clips and use them in your photo spaces.

This past Tuesday, while covering the grand opening of Whole Foods Market in Plymouth Meeting for The Colonial, I came upon further evidence proving my theory.

I noticed customers aiming their mobile devices at the bread breaking ceremony while photographers were standing on produce displays in order to snap their photos for the next day's front page. Strangely enough, the customers were the only people (besides myself) in the room shooting video.

Mind you, I was not carrying a bulky $10,000 Philadelphia news station camera. Instead I was shooting 720p high definition video using my new Canon PowerShot SX20 IS. Canon has done something remarkable with this addition to the Canon PowerShot camera line. They have offered a photo camera that shoots great quality photos at up to 4,000 pixels in width that also shoots incredible HD video all for a price of under $700.

Further, this camera features an image stabilizer for minimal motion blur and a 20x Wide-Angle Optical Zoom.

Considering the price, image quality and HD video quality, I hereby add the Canon Powershot SX20 IS to the Equipment Shed.

Labels: canon, digital camera, hd video, photography, powershot, sx10 is, sx20 is