HD video: How important is it to you in a DSLR?

cody007 · Sep 8, 2009

If I want a video recorder I will buy one!

I buy a digital camera to be a digital camera. I think that this along with many other items are nothing more than marketing tools. Just like the megapixel war that is on going we will now witness a video recording war on digital cameras!

The sad thing is this adds money to the camera. In order to keep cameras at a certain price they have to cut back somewhere! You and I may not ever know where that cut back is made but believe me....you can't add something and then keep it in the same price range. Not to mention more time and resources are being used less and who knows it could be the IQ sector!

I think it is a nice feature don't get me wrong....but leave it on the entry level cameras! I want nothing more than a light capturing box!

BungHole · Sep 8, 2009

The HD quality is terrific from the 7D and 5D compared to my Canon HF100. You dont know what your talking about as far as the video quality is concerned. The audio though is just in need of work arounds, and professionals have that ability, just takes more time in post, but they would probably be using other audio solutions even if the on camera audio was perfectly implemented. For hobbyists and vacationers, who cares if the audio is perfect, they will get great HD clips with good sound and a little AF noise. I will be thrilled to get some high quality indoor footage while in Russia next time, hoping my Tamron 17-50 2.8 will work well on the 7D for this.
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BungHole · Sep 8, 2009

Love it, the big sensor is there so why not use it. I hate carrying two devices on a trip.
--

I take pictures of beautiful things, ....but what I want to take is beautiful pictures.
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Tom C11968 · Sep 8, 2009

not just a teeny weeny bit? After looking at that video button staring you in the face and make you wonder what would happen when you press it and just make you curious what the video will look like with your "L" lenses on your big HD TV?

iMac said:
I will never use it. Ever. No interest in video in the least.

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Tom

boriszulj · Sep 8, 2009

I have great full HD Sony camcorder (model HDR-ux20) with CMOS sensor for that. Smaller, lighter with articulated wide screen LCD, internal memory, memory card slot and also DVD writer. All in one. Top of the line for year 2008. Bought it new on great sale 2 months ago for 500 usd . Much less than 7d upgrade would cost.

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Boris
Degustibus non disputandum est!

foggy · Sep 8, 2009

I’ve read every thread on this and this point hasn’t come out. I’ve been into still’s for 39 years as an art form. So I would get the 7D mostly for stills. A few years back I bought my wife a nice 35mm slr and she never used it. It became a 2nd body for me. She got a mini DV vid cam and was happy. Her DV is old now and she has lost some memories with a jammed cassettes. So she would be open to a new vid camera. I have been trying to float the idea of a new still camera with her to replace my 20D and was taken back with the jump in price of the 7D as I had been pushing that $1300 price point with her for the body. Now I’m going to approach her with the fact we can hit 2 birds with one stone. If it gets to a point, that she wants to use the camera when I do. I will float getting her a Rebel body of her own with video down the road. Then I will sail off into the sunset with my 7D. This is a case of making lemonade out of cost increase lemons and working marital bliss..! “For us non professional married camera junkies”..!

Foggy

mike kobal · Sep 8, 2009

for me its about equal now. I want the option to shoot high quality images and high quality hd video with the same camera.
it is convenient, saves times and most importantly - feeds off each other.
this is an example shot during a photo shoot with the 5D2
http://www.mikekobal.com/blog/?p=169

you can check the photographs in the photo section, it ran as a 10 page rocknroll spread

Eug said:
It seems the 1080p24 video is what all the 5D owners who dabbled in video were after. For me, I'm just happy I'll have HD video to play around with on the 7D when I get it, but I'm still primarily interested in the still camera capabilities of the 7D. In fact, I didn't really understand just how much support for 1080p24 specifically was sought after until I started reading the video-oriented posts about the 5D.

I have a DV camera as well, but almost never use it, because it's annoying to use tape-based systems and it's annoying to carry around both my still camera and my DV camera. So, I just carry my still camera. Now I'll have a superior video camera, and a superior still camera all in one package. However, for me video is just something to play around with.

How many of you will be more seriously using the video? And how many of you will be depending on the 7Ds video support to make money?

I can see some of you getting it for wedding videos, etc. although I'm thinking for those who are seriously into shooting video for broadcast, etc. would probably rather use other higher end video solutions when possible.

--
Everything Apple - http://everythingapple.blogspot.com/

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mike kobal
http://www.mikekobal.com

bradstaylor · Sep 8, 2009

I see zero need for video on a still camera.

I have a camcorder for that.

SelNZ · Sep 8, 2009

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Sel ................

http://flickr.com/photos/selsphotos/

ohyva · Sep 8, 2009

cause newer had that in any of my dSLRs, so no use experience. I have thought not so important, but may turn to be usable when I someday have that in a dSLR.

7D with 720p60 may have a lot more use that the previous pretty limited videos in other dSLRs. 1080p24 perhaps as well.

Eug said:
It seems the 1080p24 video is what all the 5D owners who dabbled in video were after. For me, I'm just happy I'll have HD video to play around with on the 7D when I get it, but I'm still primarily interested in the still camera capabilities of the 7D. In fact, I didn't really understand just how much support for 1080p24 specifically was sought after until I started reading the video-oriented posts about the 5D.

I have a DV camera as well, but almost never use it, because it's annoying to use tape-based systems and it's annoying to carry around both my still camera and my DV camera. So, I just carry my still camera. Now I'll have a superior video camera, and a superior still camera all in one package. However, for me video is just something to play around with.

How many of you will be more seriously using the video? And how many of you will be depending on the 7Ds video support to make money?

I can see some of you getting it for wedding videos, etc. although I'm thinking for those who are seriously into shooting video for broadcast, etc. would probably rather use other higher end video solutions when possible.

ShahriarCMOS · Sep 8, 2009

pgb · Sep 8, 2009

Eug said:
It seems the 1080p24 video is what all the 5D owners >

24 fps is usefull if you are going to laser record it to film otherwise the bigger
the number the more fluid the motion.

peter

Antoine Khater · Sep 8, 2009

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Scott Larson · Sep 8, 2009

boriszulj said:
I have great full HD Sony camcorder (model HDR-ux20) with CMOS sensor for that. Smaller, lighter with articulated wide screen LCD, internal memory, memory card slot and also DVD writer.

It's about what you would expect from a $500 camcorder. Over twice the compression of the 5D and 7D. Lots of controls are in the menus instead of on a button or dial, even the focus(!). Mediocre low light performance (nothing like the 5D or 7D). No image stabilizer. It's a fine handycam but the stuff you shoot with the 7D will look different.

Michael Kaplan · Sep 8, 2009

I am not buying this because if has video built-in but I love having it. I too like you have an HD camcorder but almost never use it because I am more into still photography but love the idea of being able to do both if I need to. I filmed my nephew's wedding and did not bring my 20D (at that time) to the wedding because I was not going to carry 2 cameras but I did use the camcorder to take some stills. At least I did get some 3MP images and they came out ok but nothing compared to my 20D. Now to be able to do both if I want to is just great and to boot... Better HD video and not comprimised as the stills were in the camcorder. After I get the 7D and play with it for a while I may sell my camcorder although I'd have to transfer all my DV tapes forst or no longer be able to play them.
--
Michael Kaplan
http://www.pbase.com/mkaplan
See my profile for equipment list

Michael Kaplan · Sep 8, 2009

One of the main benefits is the much great control over DOF. You can't get nice blurry backgrounds with the consumer camcorders but you will with your Camera and your selection of lenses... higher quality lenses.
--
Michael Kaplan
http://www.pbase.com/mkaplan
See my profile for equipment list

pgb · Sep 8, 2009

This moves Canon dslr video into another realm -

http://www.redrockmicro.com/redrock_dslr.html

Peter

dbirling · Sep 8, 2009

Seeing the look that you can achieve with the 7/5D is amazing. It really does look much better then most really good consumer camcorders, and starts to rival those costing more than the 7D... and it doesn't take bad pictures. Now do I want canon to just worry about video from now on, no. But if they can continue to make steps forward in photography, I don't mind a leap every once in a while in something else. I have made a huge investment in lenses so far and I love the idea of being able to use those lenses for video as well. And if you don't like it, don't buy it, or don't use it.

Wasim_Ahmad · Sep 8, 2009

You just have to plow through and try it.

I've been successfully using a combination of onboard mic, Sennheiser G2 wireless mics, and a Rode shotgun mic all year. With the onboard auto-gain. I plug the mics into the mic input on the side and then clip the thing to the hot shoe. Same as I would on a video camera.

Is it a pain not to have the headphone jack? Yeah. It means you're placing a lot of blind faith in the camera. But so far, knock on wood, I've placed blind faith in the camera every time and it hasn't let me down.

We're in the first generation of DSLR video, and there will be some growing pains, but remember, we're doing way better than where video used to be just a decade or two ago. And much creative work was done back then, too. So I think we'll survive this round of slow autofocus and potentially hazardous audio solutions.

It's easy to be a naysayer based on what you read in the manual or on paper. Just give it a try in the field and you'll see.

Eug said:
My understanding is the 5D and the soon-to-be-released 7D both have auto gain control that cannot be overridden. Furthermore AFAIK, there is no separate headphone jack that can be used at the same time as the mic input.

If that is true, that makes the video support much less compelling IMO...

How do you compensate for the lack of these two features?

P.S. Where do you mount the external mic anyway?

--
Everything Apple - http://everythingapple.blogspot.com/

--
http://www.wasimonline.com

skanter · Sep 8, 2009

As a photographer AND videographer, this new paradigm is huge. Having a quality still and video camera in one small unit is incredible. The only problem for me with the T1i
is that I don't know which to shoot first, still or video. I often do both.

I find it hard to believe that people say that they are not interested in capturing MOVING images, only stills. Does life not move? I think these new cameras will kindle a whole generation of serious filmmakers - some of whom thought they "weren't interested in video".
--
Sam K., NYC

HD video: How important is it to you in a DSLR?

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