DSLRs Continue to Push HD Video Envelope

By Craig Norris, 08.30.2010
TV Technology

Independent filmmakers never had it so good. And now low-budget television producers are in high-definition heaven too. The reason: 1080p high-quality video recording with impressive low light sensitivity and diverse lens options in terms of focal lengths and large apertures—seemingly for less than the price of a professional DV camcorder.

A Canon EOS 7D DSLR camera outfitted with a K-tek Norbert camera mount system and Marshall monitor.

The enabler is the latest wave of digital still cameras that incorporate HD video recording. Although not the first to offer the feature of HD video recording, the Canon 5D Mark II can be given credit for being the first digital SLR camera to be taken seriously in the TV production community, and for chalking up some impressive credits, like the entire season finale of the popular medical drama “House.”

“Saturday Night Live” has also used the 5D Mark II for some sketches and show openers. It’s not so much that they are short of money and looking for a budget solution; it’s more that they had many ideas for sketches and clips but had to put a lot of the ideas on the back-burner because the production manager calculations proved the cost and effort to be unjustifiable.

The outcome of the calculations changed completely when the 5D Mark II was plugged into the equation in place of traditional broadcast equipment (see sidebar).

Besides the Canon 5D Mark II there are at least 14 other digital still cameras that can be used in a similar way to the 5D Mark II. Most of them are limited to 720p or 1080i rather than 1080p.

Read full article at TV Technology here.