“Manufacturers of HDSLRs are either going to have to continue to compete against this new wave of small, hybrid HD video cameras, or they will eventually fade back into still-photography land as video creators move on to bigger and better things”
Many of us have been shooting video with the existing lot of DSLR’s for the past 3+ years. By now, we’re well aware of the advantages and limitations of these cameras. What started as a neat gimmick has since bloomed into an almost universal adoption amongst small video productions. Some of us have grown into the film/video world as a result of these cameras, and they deserve recognition for that.
But with a number of large-sensor video cameras now hitting the market (such as the Panasonic AF101, Sony F3, Red Scarlet/Epic, etc), it’s easy to find oneself losing some interest in HDSLR’s. But while our choices in cameras are greatly increasing, our wallets are not necessarily keeping pace. Not all of us are in a place where we can afford to drop $13k on a new camera every year. But in some regards, manufacturers of HDSLRs are either going to have to continue to compete against this new wave of small, hybrid HD video cameras, or they will eventually fade back into still-photography land as video creators move on to bigger and better things.
Rumors of the next-gen HDSLR cameras are beginning to surface, so perhaps it’s time to get excited about DSLR’s again. At the current price-point, it’s hard to imagine these devices becoming obsolete just yet. Canon engineers, I hope you’re reading this. What DSLR’s really need now is just a handful of video-oriented improvements in order to stay competitive, yet not so much that we’re getting completely removed from the current DSLR form-factor and price-point.
Therefore, I present my modest little wishlist for the next-gen 5D Mark III (or similar):
- One balanced audio input (perhaps a TA3 connector), software-switchable between mic and line level, stereo and mono.
- Switchable 16bit/24bit 48kHz audio track recording.
- A physical fader knob somewhere on the outside of the camera, for quickly adjusting audio levels without having to browse through a software menu.
- On-screen audio meter.
- Headphone jack for monitoring audio.
- Improved audio preamp circuitry.
- Additional frame rates to catch up with the rest of the lineup (50/60fps).
- Improvement or elimination of rolling shutter (jello-cam).
- HDMI output remains full-resolution while recording.
- Zebra stripes.
Again, this is not an all-inclusive list, much of it dealing with audio (which is 50% of any project). Of course I would love to see a game-changing new DSLR with 2 XLR inputs, HD-SDI outputs, 3D-Link, and RAW recording at 2k frame sizes for under $2600. If they can pull this off, great! But I’m not expecting that. This is, after all, a stills-camera first and foremost. And there is a valid argument that HDSLRs should remain focused primarily on capturing stills. But if I am going to spend my money on the next generation of camera for use with video, these are my personal criteria.
Otherwise, I might just have to spend my money for something more appropriate for my needs… and leave the good ol’ HDSLRs for capturing timelapses, stills, and B-cam.