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Poll suggests most people don't shoot video with DSLR afterall

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[S] Morpho Hunter said:
More to the point, most people don't shoot video, whatever the device.
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Most people don't shoot high end macro, either. Maybe they should strip the mirror lockup mechanism to deliver better value to the "average" photographer.

Better strip the 5-10fps motors, too, cause most photographers don't need more than 3.

--
Rahon Klavanian 1912-2008.

Armenian genocide survivor, amazing cook, scrabble master, and loving grandmother. You will be missed.

Ciao! Joseph

http://www.swissarmyfork.com [/S]
 
jazza said:
I hope the manufacturers are getting the message.
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Well, the overwhelming majority of people don't shoot in the rain either, or rarely do so. Does that mean manufacturers shouldn't bother with offering weather-resistant bodies? Most people rarely use mirror lock up, too. Does that mean that manufacturers should have removed that feature long ago?

For many people, certain features are useful to have, even if they are rarely used. It's like having a spare tire in your car. You don't see polls asking "How often do you use the spare tire in your car?" Most people would vote "rarely". Would you then say, "I hope the car manufacturers are getting the message"?

Even if I only used the video feature a couple times a year (in other words, rarely), that would still make it useful to me.
 
Victor Engel said:
As of this writing, it looks like about 80% of those with video-capable DSLRs use the video feature. That is a large majority.
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The pole isn't changing fast. It might be changing slowly, but that's not the issue.

The OP looked at the numbers for who shoots video frequently, without any regard for whether the camera even had the feature. So, he added up these three numbers:
  • All the time (daily) 1.8%
  • Very often (more than once a week) 6.6%
  • Sometimes (more than once a month) 10.8%
That totals to 19.2%. So, he concluded "most people don't use the feature", then went on about a "message" that camera companies should be getting from this.

He didn't even take into consideration the number of cameras that didn't even have the feature, 38.1%. Which means that it's not 19.2% that use the feature frequently, it's 31.0% of the people that have the feature.

That's pretty remarkable for something that's still pretty crude, and has only been on DSLRs for 2 years.

And, if you look at it the way you did, how many use it occasionally, yup, a whopping 80%.
Victor Engel said:
I wonder what a similar poll would look like regarding shooting raw files or ANY kind of stills, for that matter.
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;)

--
Rahon Klavanian 1912-2008.

Armenian genocide survivor, amazing cook, scrabble master, and loving grandmother. You will be missed.

Ciao! Joseph

http://www.swissarmyfork.com
 
Christoph Stephan said:
synp said:
Then there's manual exposure, different flash modes.
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Tripod socket and manual exposure is an absolute MUST!!!
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I use them too. But I'd bet that all the D90 or 5DII cameras (those being the oldest DSLRs with video) shot more video than pictures on a tripod.

That's the point that Joseph didn't make hard enough: you put in a lot of features so that the camera fits as many people as possible. True for even the entry-level DSLRs, even more so for the middle-level DSLRs and definitely for the pros.

I also agree that scene modes are an abomination and should be stamped out.
 
A feature that potential buyers find desirable doesn't have to be something they use "all the time" or "half the time" or even "ten percent of the time."

"Percentage of use" is a meaningless thing. There are LOTS of features we rarely use but insist on having for those times we need them. The airbag on your car is a good example of this.

My Olympus E30 (which doesn't have video) has a ton of features that I use very rarely, but am still glad I have. These are features I like so much that I will want them in my next camera:
  • Dustbuster.....................(used 100% of the time)
  • IBIS..............................(used 97% of the time)
  • Exposure compensation.....(used 30% of the time)
  • Digital leveler...................(used 10% of the time)
  • Custom white balance.......(used 10% of the time)
  • Liveview.........................(used 8% of the time)
  • Tilt and swivel LCD............(used 5% of the time)
  • Dual card slots.................(used 4% of the time)
  • Scene Modes...................(used 3% of the time)
  • Built in flash.....................(used 2% of the time)
  • Multiple aspect ratios.........(used 1% of the time)
  • AE bracketing...................(used 1% of the time)
  • DOF preview....................(used 1% of the time)
  • Spot metering..................(used 1% of the time)
  • Hot shoe.........................(used 1% of the time)
  • 1/8000 sec shutter speed...(used .05% of the time)
  • Art Filters........................(used .01% of the time)
  • Mirror lock up...................(used .01% of the time)
  • AF Micro Adjust................(used .001% of the time)
  • Multiple Exposure..............(used .0001% of the time)
  • 60 sec shutter speed.........(used .00001% of the time)
  • Pixel Mapping...................(used .00001% of the time)
  • PC flash synch.................(used .00001% of the time)
  • IR remote ability...............(used .00001% of the time)
If my E30 had video ability, then it's usage would be somewhere halfway up that list.

Notice how many features I use less than 10% of the time.
But... I want my next DSLR to have every one of these features, and more.
--
Marty
http://www.fluidr.com/photos/marty4650/sets/72157606210120132
http://www.flickr.com/photos/marty4650/sets/72157606210120132/show/
my blog: http://marty4650.blogspot.com/
Olympus E-30
Olympus E-P1

 
No, it means he is using it because he wants to use it once a month.
Jules
rrr_hhh said:
RedFox88 wrote:

Using that feature once a month, that is only casually, doesn't really count.. it means you are using it because it is there.
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Good point. Also the poll was a bit badly phrased, "sometimes, once a month" makes it difficult. I used the video on our DSLR a lot in February, and July but not at all the rest of the year, that still doesn't mean I use it rarely, or maybe it does?
Neil
 
jazza said:
Poll suggests most people don't shoot video with DSLR afterall
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I would like to rephrase that: the poll suggests that most visitors to this site do not use the video mode on their dSLR ...

But how relevant is this for the complete photographic market place? A different poll here suggest that aperture priority is the primary chaoice for the visitors to this site, when other customer sttudies suggest that a majority of entry level buyers leave their cameras on full automatic - even automatic programme selection.

I think these polls say more about the visitors to this site than about the photographic market place as a whole.
 
rrr_hhh said:
For instance, my dSLR came on the market 5 years ago which when even before live vie was a standard feature. If my dSLR had video, I would probably use it a few times a year but not every month.
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Agreed. Neither liveview nor video are reasons for me to upgrade a dSLR.
rrr_hhh said:
Yes, but if that feature was so critical, why did those people not upgrade to the video capable cameras ? In the early days of digital dslrs, people would update almost with each year or each two years. So the feature was probably not judged that important.

Using that feature once a month, that is only casually, doesn't really count.. it means you are using it because it is there.
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I disagree: just because a feature is not used often doesn't mean that it is not deemed important. I do not use DOF-preview more than about 10% - 20% of the time but I have insisted on having it since the firts SLR I bought knowing what to look for (i.e. my 2nd camera) Some features are important to you not because you use them a lot but because when you use them you need them (such as high ISO) I'd be quite interested in a poll on how often people use the really high ISO settings.
rrr_hhh said:
Not that you really care for it; and they amount to less than 20% (17.7% right now). Those who use it very often (aka more than once a week) are only 7.5%.

It is not easy to learn how to postprocess your still pictures, but it is even more difficult to learn video.. Personnally I've tried once or twice and gave up. There were two problems : 1) you can't hold the camera steady without using a tripod, which I don't want/like 2) Mounting a good movie clip is difficult, requires pro softwares which I don't have. so I really don't care. At the beginning I thought that I might use the feature to document busy streets better than with stills, but I gave up, because it was too difficult. Nowadays I don't even use it twice a year. So I don't want to pay for it. Neither do I want to aquire expensive software and hardware to deal with it.
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Here I buy into again. I have barely enough time to postprocess all my stills to the level which I find satisfactoy, sort them, select them ... and present them. Years ago I played with the idea of going into moving pictures but refrained because I did not see how I would find enough time.
 
I saw a crew shooting a movie with DSLRs in Thailand the other day - however the DSLRs were nested in enormous rigs that took up about as much space as a small car (and probably cost several times as much) and each had 3 people to operate them.
  • C
 
If that is true, why didn't they buy a camcorder then?
Jules
Jon Rty said:
It would be interesting to see a pol asking how often people use their DSLRs at all. That someone uses the video mode once a month could for some users mean that they shoot video every time they use their DSLR.
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Because they also shoot stills? There's a difference between shooting videos every time you use your DSLR, and only shooting videos. Using something every day isn't the same as using something all day. Even if I take more pictures than video, I can still use both daily, or once a month, or rarely, and that's what the poll's about.

Besides, even would they shoot only video, a DSLR in capable hands can produce better video than any consumer camcorder. The reverse with stills isn't true.
JulesJ said:
Jon Rty said:
It would be interesting to see a pol asking how often people use their DSLRs at all. That someone uses the video mode once a month could for some users mean that they shoot video every time they use their DSLR.
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Click to expand...
 
JulesJ said:
Jon Rty said:
It would be interesting to see a pol asking how often people use their DSLRs at all. That someone uses the video mode once a month could for some users mean that they shoot video every time they use their DSLR.
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Because there are no camcorders with APS sized sensors, interchangeable lenses and 24fps shooting for $800?
 
jazza said:
I hope the manufacturers are getting the message.
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See that, people! Just one line in the post, just 8 words, and another 10 words in the subject, and this one is going to hit the 150 post limit. No sign of the OP, he did his work and sat back to watch the flames.

Now that's world class trolling.

--
Rahon Klavanian 1912-2008.

Armenian genocide survivor, amazing cook, scrabble master, and loving grandmother. You will be missed.

Ciao! Joseph

http://www.swissarmyfork.com
 
ie in the same circumstances as shooting film

how anyone should dare then saying that someone should "not be competent enough" to shoot video with a DSLR, is at best, very impolite, and preposterous.

clearly DSLRs are NOT meant to shoot video. And they are POOR at it for all practical purposes. Sure with a film crew and rehearsed actor and camera position, and a person to do the focus manually, it works.

for anyone WITHOUT A CREW, who means to shoot good quality video, any good P&S camera, any good superzoom camera, and of course all the mirrorless cameras, offer much superior ease of use, and even real-time AF. And many also offer manual controls, too.
 
so we take a pro, likely with a team of assistants, doing paid-for work, paid by Nikon evidently.

we then film ONLY STUFF THAT DOESN'T MOVE, or at least doesn't move towards or away from the camera - so that the camera's gross inability to AF while filming, is not made obvious

we then add to this a probably expensive and large stereo microphone. Indeed the camera's on-board mike is only MONO (yes, in 2010!), and PICKS UP ALL THE NOISE from the camera's pathetic on-board contrast-detect AF engine hunting while desperately attempting to focus (maybe they should ask Panasonic for algorithms).

and the we edit a lot, and we sound-filter a lot

which proves what? That a pro with lots of toys, time and money, and paid to advertise, can shoot a video that, using a PROPER camcorder, or a camera meant to shoot video from the start (Panasonic GH1/2, Sony A55, etc), would be doable with much smaller means.
 
68% according to the poll you refer to, admit to shooting video, if their camera has video. Not sure how that got to be most no using it.
jazza said:
I hope the manufacturers are getting the message.
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--
Everything happens for a reason. #1 reason: poor planning
WSSA #44
 
Good luck filming that with a A55 that lacks manual controls in video.

And you should maybe re-watch the On the road one, if I'm not mistaken he explicitly says that it was shot running and gunning, without crews.
antoineb said:
so we take a pro, likely with a team of assistants, doing paid-for work, paid by Nikon evidently.

we then film ONLY STUFF THAT DOESN'T MOVE, or at least doesn't move towards or away from the camera - so that the camera's gross inability to AF while filming, is not made obvious

we then add to this a probably expensive and large stereo microphone. Indeed the camera's on-board mike is only MONO (yes, in 2010!), and PICKS UP ALL THE NOISE from the camera's pathetic on-board contrast-detect AF engine hunting while desperately attempting to focus (maybe they should ask Panasonic for algorithms).

and the we edit a lot, and we sound-filter a lot

which proves what? That a pro with lots of toys, time and money, and paid to advertise, can shoot a video that, using a PROPER camcorder, or a camera meant to shoot video from the start (Panasonic GH1/2, Sony A55, etc), would be doable with much smaller means.
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below are two videos, in VGA resolution.

The one shot with a humble Panasonic FZ-10 pocketable superzoom, shows fairly good AF on a not so easy subject (moving a lot at close range). It is also QUIET.

The one shot with the Nikon D7000 shows a PATHETIC INABILITY TO AF on a moving subject. It is also NOISY because the camera's MONO microphone picks up the noises made by the lens while focusing.

This proves very clearly, that the D7000 (1) is NOT meant at all as a video camera, despite what Nikon or sales reps might tell you, (2) is a POOR video camera.

FZ-10 video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tb-9e01pchI
 
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