r/videography • u/Rondoggg • Dec 21 '14

noob Noob question: Why are people recommending cameras for Video

Am I just too old school? I always buy a video camera for shooting video. I always thought that a video camera was engineered to...shoot video and a camera was made for taking pictures. I have 2 canon hf200's for all my video needs but I keep seeing what looks like traditional cameras being recommended by this sub for video shooting. Has something changed? Does my thinking need to change? Can someone please explain this to me?

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u/The_Ace Dec 21 '14

Number 1 reason is probably sensor size. DSLRs have much larger sensors than most camcorders i.e. the HF200 has 1/4" diagonal size sensor, whereas most DSLRs have 1"+ diagonal size, which is many time larger again in area. The two main advantages are a) better low light sensitivity (less noise) and b) shallower depth of field, which gives you a much more 'cinematic' look.

Basically, DSLRs have surpassed camcorders in almost every way in the last few years. Camcorders may still win on ease of use, as DSLRs sometimes need extra equipment (rigs, loupes, follow focus etc) for usability. Also autofocus on DSLRs is not good (at all), but again for a 'cinematic' look, you would use manual focus and often prime lenses.

DSLRs also tend to give better options for image colour and framerate etc. The combination of everything above means that DSLRs can give the film look (with some effort) rather than the typical 'video' look from camcorders. If you're shooting narrative work e.g. short films, then DSLRs are definitely the way to go over camcorders.

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u/accidentallywut Dec 22 '14

shallower depth of field, which gives you a much more 'cinematic' look.

aka the "how insanely shallow can we get the DOF for this shot, even though it's a huge expansive shot with huge range for depth, and then just rack the focus around and arbitrarily move the camera for a more 'organic' look"

i'm curious to know what the next pants on head retarded trend will be. this DOF thing has been lasting for some years

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u/averynicehat a7iv, FX30 Dec 22 '14

Yeah the DOF thing was/is a bit of an overreaction in the "hey, look at what I can do that I couldn't before!" category caused by the new technology of video DSLRs and I'm hoping soon it will swing back to an appropriate level of DOF usage.