Its been 2 years since the start of the HDSLR Revolution so how has it progressed?
After getting 24p for the 5d mkII, nothing much. Audio recording still sucks. Aliasing and moire is still there. But the image that people get from these cams are really gorgeous that they chose to ignore everything else just for that shallow DOF.
Like Stu Maschwitz says, “Buttons and features and resolution charts just had their ass handed to them by sex appeal.”
Recently I was part of a shoot that used the 5D mk II and other Canon HDSLRs for a feature film. Yes, the advantage of it is that its so tiny and handy. But the downside for me out weigh the benefits. First was the separate audio recording. Second was the overheating of the sensor delays the shoot and finally the Aliasing/Moire is rampant. If you have had the chance to shoot a jungle with wide and deep focus with the 5d mk II, DONT. Bring an extra cam. Hell, a consumer HD cam (Canon HF-S20 or Panasonic TM700) would look way better than the aliasing fest that I got.
Of course we did get several really good footages. Mostly are natural lighting and shallow depth of field. That’s what these cams are good at. Focusing was a real pain though. Good luck keeping your subject in focus on handheld/steadicam shots.
I’m not dissing HDSLRs. Not at all. in fact I own one of these. I’m one of the few who jumped through hoops just to get a hold of the only prototype 7D in my country back in October 2009. I love me some HDSLR, more particularly the price point but sometimes people need to know when a camera should and should not be used. HDSLRs wont work at all situations and filmmakers should be aware of that. Some filmmakers see great footages coming from these camera and they think that it will magically make their film look great. If you didn’t do the research on the camera’s limitation and problems, Your films wont look good.
One particular production that used mixed cameras like the HPX500, HVX200, HPX300, Arri D21 and Nikon d90 was able to make a great looking film by doing their homework.
So stop drinking the HDSLR Kool aid and do your homework.
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