Comments on: Will VdSLRs Drive Prosumer Camcorders to Next Level?

By: Ralf.

Ralf. — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 09:41:24 +0000

Hello,

I know this is a little bit off topic here, but this blog is frequently visisted by Canon ownders that are filming hobbyists – so it might be of interrest.
I learned today from a german news site, that a firmware update for the 5D MK II is in the works that will enable 24, 25 and 30 FPS during HD recording! Expected release Date: first part of 2010.

Source (in german)

By: 3pointedit

3pointedit — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 04:28:37 +0000

I live in PAL land and h a t e 30fps on my P&S Cannon but I l o v e the pictures. The colour and shallow depth is great. They all, dslrs, still need better audio but with mic jacks coming along that will improve.

Variable compression rates would be a boon too.

I think that our news ENG crews should take these along for interview reverse angles of the journalist. Even shot wide they could be reframed in post to match the SD broadcast camera.

By: RP

RP — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 01:33:49 +0000

I’ve been considering a Panasonic HMC150 for our small wedding videography business, but maybe I should hold off and see what is on the horizon. It’s been well over a year since that cam has been announced, so I would think Panasonic would be up to something. If anything, doesn’t Canon usually make their big announcements in January? Ah, it’s so hard to be patient sometimes!

By: Eugenia

Eugenia — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 01:55:15 +0000

No, 720p is not enough for most uses, sorry. And especially not Nikon’s kind of 720p, which looks really bad with that archaic MJPEG compression, and terrible rolling shutter (much more than any other DSLR).

By: Mike Dean

Mike Dean — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 01:25:38 +0000

Actually, the Nikon D90 was the first DSLR to feature video. The Nikon D3S which just was announced features an ISO range which goes all the way up to 102,400, which can make for some incredible videos. At ISO 102,400 the camera can see better in the dark than the human eye can. You seem to be a Canon fan from the compact digital market. Nikon has always made better SLR’s than Canon. Who cares if it’s 720p? 720p is enough for most uses anyway.

By: Tony Bourke

Tony Bourke — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 17:22:11 +0000

It’s amazing what’s coming out lately. The 7D (along with the 5DMkII) were used to create the intro footage for the new season of Saturday Night Live, and some of the digital shorts/commercials. A $2,000 camera used in place of cameras costing 100x as much.

And the footage is beyond beautiful. CMOS/progressive really makes it look like film, and they rolling shutter issues are going away with each progressive camera.

I can’t really justify a 7D, but oh how I lust. Instead, I’m going for an HF200 for underwater and aviation photography/videography.

By: James Benet

James Benet — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 16:46:59 +0000

Panasonic is already working on a 4/3s camcorder with interchangeable lenses. Canon is rumored to be working on one also to replace the XL series.

I think we are in for an interesting future in camera development very soon! If dSLRs downsampled correctly we would be 1/2 way there already!

By: Danny

Danny — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 15:58:28 +0000

Luis, 1080p because that gives you the most resolution to play with later. We output to the web at 720p. Here in the UK blu-ray has really taken off so full 1080p HD is a must now.

By: Luis

Luis — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 14:59:20 +0000

I guess that camcorders will stay for a while the way they are now. They still fit most users’ needs, and for those with more artistic interest they now offer the VDSLRs. So I’m not sure if it’s worth for them to offer camcorders with DSLR-like image capabilities.

One question regarding VDSLRs: Why 1080p?

I understand it as a feature for camcorders for those who shoot their wedding and trips and want to see it on their HDTV with their friends. But for video artists who depend on the web to distribute their work, isn’t 1080p just an unnecessary PITA?

Wouldn’t it be better to simply shoot 480p? More runtime in a memory card, easier and faster editing/exporting, faster upload (and download) and still great quality. What’s the thing about 1080p?

By: Andreas

Andreas — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 08:59:27 +0000

Yes, you are right. It seems that it was a google reader problem.

To the point now: I thing that the camcorder market will eventually fade out. You can see this already. P&S cameras have excellent video capabilities already. Video taken from a camera like Canon SX200 or Panasonic TZ7 is good enough for the average consumer who does not care (or does not know) about frame rates, DOF etc. Even the camcorders look more like cameras now and are actually quite good hybrids (for example the Sanyo Xacti camcorders). In one/two years from now camera and camcorder will be synonyms.

The same will happen on the prosumer / professional level after the the mirror-less cameras with interchangeable lenses become mainstream. It started with microFourThirds, eventually all big players will join the club (actually it started with red on the pro level). m43 cameras and all upcoming similar systems can do everything a camcorder can, much better.