Not seeing the forest for the beautifully out of focus trees

Posted by Steve Hull on Thursday 20 January 2011 at 11:47am
Tags: camcorder | cameras | hardware | slr | video |

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For some months there have been articles praising the incredible footage obtainable with these video-capable still cameras. There have also been a number of remarkable looking videos shot under a variety of conditions that provide 5 or 6 minutes of lovely images -- and the most important part of that phrase is "5 or 6 minutes." As a few commentators have pointed out, some lovely shots with extremely short depth of field do not a feature make. In fact they don't even make a short.

When people have got over the initial wonder at these short exercises they should start asking some questions. How easy are these things to use? What sort of camcorder could I get for the same price? What does a DSLR give me -- that I need -- that a camcorder doesn't?

This is not to rubbish DSLRs: they are remarkable tools capable of some great things. But, like all new things, people are seeing them as the be-all and the end-all rather than recognising them for what they are: yet another tool to choose from, one which may be just what you need -- or may be an unnecessary and irrelevant expense.

BTW places are still available on the next Video Production 1 course, coming up on 22-23 February here in Bristol. This two-day course provides a solid grounding in the basics of video production with an emphasis on the recording of lectures and interviews.

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