{"id":10391,"date":"2010-08-13T00:53:24","date_gmt":"2010-08-12T22:53:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/philipbloom.net\/?p=10391"},"modified":"2010-08-13T02:42:29","modified_gmt":"2010-08-13T00:42:29","slug":"the-future-of-video-dslrs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/philipbloom.net\/blog\/the-future-of-video-dslrs\/","title":{"rendered":"The future of video DSLRs"},"content":{"rendered":"

OK…daunting post this…as things are moving so fast. But this needs to be said.<\/p>\n

DSLRs have changed filmmaking for so many and when I say so many I mean an enormous amount. It’s insane just how many people are buying these cameras to shoot video on. It has taken everyone by surprise, including the manufacturers. Canon are of course at the top of the tree and the others are playing catch up. They have to, the market is just too damn big to ignore.<\/p>\n

With the release of cameras like the T2i\/ 550D it has opened up the market to everyone pretty much. So much so that I say to kids who email me asking about film school “have you considered getting together with a couple of mates, buying a T2i and a lens or two and shooting a movie every weekend?”. Best way to learn in my opinion. In my day film school was something I wanted to do (but didn’t in the end as I got a job as a runner at Sky) because I could not get my hands on gear. Too expensive. That has now changed…yes lenses, monitors etc cost money if you want the best. But you can EASILY shoot a movie with a T2i, an old Nikon 35mm F1.4 lens, a tripod and a cheap sound recorder with a shotgun. That’s around $1000 give or take…<\/p>\n

Now we also know these cameras have some massive limitations. Sound recording in cameras sucks more than Telly Savalas sucked on his lolly. Moire and aliasing give me night sweats. Rolling shutter makes me nauseous. Crappy HDMI connections have driven me to hard drugs (joking!). H264 will make me go postal one day!! There are more issues but no point going over all of them, we know them, we live with them, we work around them. That is life. Always has been and always will be.<\/p>\n

Will these limitations go away? \u00a0Sure. Mostly. I think. I hope so. Certainly we will get massive improvements, but I can tell you now…we won’t get everything we want for various reasons. First off we are NEVER satisfied. I know I never am. Give me 100mbs and I say gimme an HD Viewfinder, gimme an HD Viewfinder and I will say gimme a built in Nespresso coffee maker etc…Secondly, cost. THESE ARE STILL CAMERAS. We will not in the foreseeable future get for example XLR inputs and BNCs on DSLRs. In fact, I doubt we will ever see them on these cameras…why? Because THESE ARE STILL CAMERAS! \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

A lot of people forget this basic fact. That is most people who buy, for example a 5DmkII, buy it for stills. They don’t want video, don’t care about video and certainly don’t want the cost of their cameras to go up because of that damn video function. HD-SDI BNC, XLR etc would add a lot of cost and of course bulk. Photographers do not want this. That is why when the Canon 5DmkIII does come out at some point, who knows when, may not be for a year for all I know, then I expect it to be a refined version of the mkII. Less moire, less rolling shutter, clean HDMI out maybe…better audio? Not sure. Different codec? Maybe, but it won’t be a video camera. It will be a stills camera with a video function.<\/p>\n

Of course that moves us onto the next evolution. Video cameras with these sensors in them. DO I WANT THIS?! YES PLEASE! I will be first in the queue. Panasonic and Sony have already announced video cameras with respectively a micro four thirds sensor and an APS sensor in them. Canon have been quiet so far but surely must have something to announce soon with the competition snapping at their heels. These cameras will most likely have HD-SDI BNCs, 4:2:2 hopefully, WAY better codecs, XLRs, no moire or aliasing etc…and of course much more. Downside? Cost. They won’t cost $800 that’s for sure. Yes, Sony have a $2000 camcorder coming out soon but it has none of the cool features we want, it is in fact simply an NEX-5 with a better body and a mic in.<\/p>\n

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