Canon Rumors

Everyone got all excited today about the rumor that Canon might build a camcorder around an APS-C sensor. APS-C is the sensor size that Canon uses in everything from the Digital Rebel line to the 50D, and it’s not that different from Super 35 motion picture film, or the RED One. It’s only a little bigger than the Four Thirds size that Panasonic is using in the GH1.

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Canon Rumors then posted a follow-up with more alleged insights into Canon’s strategy, including this gem regarding DSLRs:

People in charge think that 30fps on 720p and 1080p is very good and will not improve it on this generation. PAL 25p is too close to 24p and is not contemplated as an option for now.

Hear that? It’s the sound of every filmmaker on the planet flipping off Canon with one hand while they Click To Buy a GH1 with the other. Except those that weren’t planning on making any films until 2010 that is.

These are just rumors, of course—and unattributed, incoherent non-quotes that don’t ring true to me (and are widely regarded as sketchy), so I’m holding my tongue (and my new 5D Mark II, more on that later). I wasn’t even going to post anything about this, but folks were starting to post comments about the camcorder rumor, so I thought I’d give y’all a proper place to do it.

Attention Canon, Nikon: Video DSLRs Are Not For Who You Think

There’s a lot of talk about how the video features popping up in our DLSRs mean that photographers all need to become videographers. Alex Lindsay went on about it in TWiP #72, “The Death of Still Photography,” stating that photographers need to learn to shoot video, because their cameras now have that feature.

Bullshit.

Saying that photographers need to learn video because their cameras now feature video is like saying that you need to start a rock band because you bought an iMac that ships with Garage Band.

It is entirely possible that you are a still photographer who has no interest in video. That is OK. You know what’s pretty cool? Photography.

The only reason for a photographer to start doing video is an interest in shooting video.

And that has nothing to do with the convenience of a crippled video mode on the camera you were already going to buy.

Look at the photo below. On the left is a Canon video camera. Here are some of its features: 1920x1080 video at 60i, 30p and 24p, image stabilization, a crazy-long zoom range, mic input, lightning-fast autofocus. On the right is a lens that many Canon shooters are likely to have in their bag: the 85mm f/1.2L.

The lens is bigger, weighs more, and costs three times as much as the video camera, which is two years old.

Why do we expect stills shooters to suddenly take up video, when—if they had the slightest interest—they could have been carting around an HD camera for two years without taking up any more room in their bag than a prime lens?

Especially when you look at the specs of Canon DSLR video: Non-standard frame rates that don’t work for many countries and distribution methods, poor audio sync, overly compressed video that’s impossible to edit, zero manual control. Except focus, which is 100% manual with few tools to help you.

I said above that photographers should not feel any pressure to learn video if they don’t feel like it, but there is one class of shooter who might feel a legitimate pressure to add video to their toolkit: those photojournalists who are journalists first and photographers second. If you see your job not as bringing back photos but as bringing back a story, then by all means, you should probably be embracing video.

But not the crippled, crap video that your SLR just happens to have.

Get a video camera!

You’re a journalist. Capturing the event is all that matters. You don’t want to be fussing with manual focus and fiddly menus. You don’t want that mirror slamming down on you right in the middle of a once-in-a-lifetime-shot. You want perfect autofocus, fingertip manual control, instant-on video and a killer zoom range, in a form factor designed for what you’re doing. You’re also about to learn the hard way that whenever video is important, audio is twice as important, if not more.

You want a video camera. You could start with the one above that costs less than your cheapest lens and fits in the mesh bag you use for a water bottle. After that, if you like it, you might find out a secret: there are some really great professional video cameras out there that do even more.

The video mode on these DSLRs is exactly wrong for photojournalists.

But it’s exactly right for filmmakers.

Filmmakers have time to set up a shot. They control their environments. They can try a few different primes before settling on one. They expect to use manual focus. They plan on dual-system sound recording that involves a whole extra person who thinks only about sound. And they are gaga for shallow depth-of-field.

Filmmakers, at all levels from pros to wannabes, are thrilled about video DSLRs. They get it, they want it, and they know how to work around the limitations—if they even think of them as limitations.

Everyone else is scratching their heads wondering if they suddenly need to learn to pull focus, and if photography is dead. They’re so busy hating on the crippled video in the new 500D that they’ve overlooked that it’s a great stills rig at a great price.

Photographers: Don’t let gear define what you are. Do what you love. Cameras are cheap.

Filmmakers: Your camera will come, someday.

SLR manufacturers: You are making these things for filmmakers whether you think you are or not. Start listening to us. We want so badly to give you our money.

Update

on 2014-05-04 05:57 by Stu

Thanks John.

Canot

The 500D, AKA the Digital Rebel T1i, was indeed announced, and as expected it features various things, and stuff, and what the fricking hell?

That was my reaction anyway, when I got way, way down to the bottom of the specs, to the place where the leaked details of its “video” are confirmed: 720p at 30fps and 1080p at, seriously: 20fps.

I know I keep saying less is more, but there is such a thing as too much less.

Oh, whatever. I feel like the nerdy kid played by Michael Cera who finally realizes that the popular girl has been mistreating me and I need to get on with my life. I’m tired of hanging out on your lawn with a boombox Canon. Where the heck is Kat Dennings?

From cameratown.com’s post entitled Canon EOS Rebel T1i HD Video Misses the Mark:

While the EOS Rebel T1i does indeed capture HD video, it does so with lackluster monaural sound. If that isn’t bad enough, Canon decided NOT to add an auxiliary audio input, making the video mode on the Rebel T1i less useful to virtually anyone interested in capturing high quality footage. Canon also didn’t place any emphasis on getting full-time AF working in video mode, so the average dSLR user who might buy this camera in hopes of capturing precious family moments in HD will be disappointed when they realize that they’ll have to set up focus prior to recording. This was barely acceptable on the professional 5D Mark II and is unacceptable for a second generation model aimed at the consumer market.

It is also surprising that Canon crippled the video mode of the Rebel T1i knowing that Panasonic will start shipping their Lumix DMC-GH1 this summer. The DMC-GH1 promises cinematic 24fps 1080p video, 60fps 720p video, a more advanced auto focus system, internal stereo microphone, AND an auxiliary microphone input.

It seems that Canon was more focused on getting the phrase ‘HD video’ into their literature and less on actually creating a usable HD video mode.

The article continues with the popular theory that Canon is intentionally crippling the video on their SLRs to avoid sabotaging their camcorder market. Because, uhm, it’s bad when people buy one Canon thingy instead of another? Or instead of a Panasonic thingy? Or a Nikon one?

Whenever I hear a conspiracy theory like this, I think of Hanlon’s Razor. Never heard of it? Oh, it’s good. It goes like this:

Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity.

Canon is not shrewdly crippling this to protect that. They are blindly stumbling into this “video” world. Which is fine, but what’s not fine is that they are blatantly ignoring their flagship users who are patiently explaining to them the few simple things they need to do to wipe the floor with the comptetion in this new space that everyone is certain marks the future of making pictures.

Update

on 2009-03-25 08:50 by Stu

I type too much. Eric over at Prep Shoot Post nailed it in far fewer words, and still managed to point out the tragic irony that this misstep is named "Rebel."

Canon 500D

The rumored next-gen Digital Rebel, AKA the 500D, now has a face to the name. I don’t ordinarily post camera rumors, but I got excited when I saw the flip-out screen.

1080p HD video is one of the rumored features of this camera, and after my experience shooting with the 5D Mark II, I must say that an articulating screen like this is a must-have for a video-equipped DSLR.

Fortunately, it is probably also an easy case to make that an articulating display makes sense for any live-view DLSR, whether you’re shooting video or stills (the GH1 has one, but so does the video-free G1 of course), so let’s hope we see more screens like this.

Via canonrumors.com via zoomonline.dk.

Panasonic Talks GH1

Digital Photography Review has an epic interview with Mr. Ichiro Kitao, General Manager of Panasonic's DSC Product Planning Group. DPReview asks some good (if gramatically malformed) questions, including "What's the reception been in the camcorder division been to the GH1?" (sic). In general I love DPReview and admire how they ask tough questions when they get these interviews, but there's one point on which I disagree with them:

We're not big fans of the dedicated movie button. Would it be possible to allow the main shutter release to optionally be used to stop and start movies?
No, but we will consider this option for the future.

What happens if you press the shutter button when recording a movie?
It activates a one shot AF operation.

Panasonic's design sounds spot-on to me. Of course, I haven't used it, but the GH1's dedicated video start/stop button strikes me as preferable to having some kind of mode switch, and using the shutter button as push-to-focus seems ergonomically perfect to me.

Stills folks might be predisposed to place too much importance on the ergonomics of the video start/stop button. I guess if you're not planning on editing your video, you might want hairtrigger control over video recording—but I would much rather have my index finger hoving over something that is of use while I'm recording, like focus.

In stills, capturing "the decisive moment" is all that matters. In motion, precisely when you began recording is meaningless—but managing your dynamic composition during a take is everything.