Canon consultant Patrick Reese demonstrates shooting video with a Canon EOS 7D
I went to a conference last weekend that was being video recorded. Instead of the typical DV cameras I’ve come to expect, though, the videographers were moving around the room with DSLRs. Curious that they were doing this with what I thought were still cameras, I went up to ask about their equipment.
It turns out the higher-end DSLRs (also known as HDSLRs) from Canon and Nikon are now being widely used to shoot high-quality HD video, often to the chagrin of more traditional HD camera manufacturers. A DSLR’s relatively small size and its ability to make use of exceptionally high-quality lenses makes it ideal for shooting HD.
Some models offer more features than others, mainly in the audio and compression categories. Some of the Nikon’s I’ve seen support more consumer-grade formats for their video, like Motion-JPEG, MOV, and AVI. Others put out H.264 video. Most have SDHC card support and some go one further with CompactFlash. Audio seems to be all over the place, too, with some Nikons offering full 1080i HD video but only monaural sound (or stereo but no external mike).
I found it intriguing that the camera lenses I already own could be used to shoot high-quality video. It sure would be nice to have one camera that does it all.