Comments on: DSLRs and video to converge

By: New DSLR: Canon EOS 5D Mark II by Raoul Pop

New DSLR: Canon EOS 5D Mark II by Raoul Pop — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 13:48:36 +0000

[...] And I also wrote another article a little over a month ago, on August 28, where I talked about the coming convergence of DSLRs and video, and predicted that after the launch of Nikon D90’s 720p HD video capabilities, 1080p HD [...]

By: Anthony Citrano

Anthony Citrano — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 08:19:58 +0000

Great piece, Raoul, and I think it’s headed in that direction - more blending of the lines between still photography and videography. So, I think the devices are not only going to get more interesting, so is the art!

By: Evan

Evan — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 05:11:57 +0000

Completely agree. I bought Canon a couple years back after talking with a bunch of people in the field and they all said the same, that canon had a significant dominance in the field, was the established name, a slight technical edge. Nikon has definitely evened themselves up in terms of name, and now has the technical advantage. Canon has some caught up work to do, seems like they’ve gotten complacent. I’m going to take a serious look at the D90 though.

By: Raoul

Raoul — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 19:05:15 +0000

Wirehead, I’m not sure about Canon’s claims, and look forward to seeing photos taken with the 50D. Having taken photos at 1600 ISO with the 30D and its kit lens, which starts at f/3.5, so it’s not a fast lens, I was surprised at how little noise that camera had for a cropped sensor.

Then the 40D came along, and its ISO range extended to 3200 natively (without setting the camera on High ISO). I’ve seen photos taken at 3200 ISO with the 40D, and I thought they looked great.

Now the 50D has come along, and I have to assume the photo quality at high ISO in low light situations is even better than that of the 40D. A good place to look for 50D photos is Flickr. Just do a search for the camera model and 3200 ISO, there’s a way to hack the search to let you find those photos.

By: wirehead arts

wirehead arts — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 18:30:57 +0000

I’m in total agreement with you on video.

I’m concerned that the claims of “15 megapixels but one and a half stops less noise!” that Canon makes are kind of like the people who claim that they get 20 extra horsepower with an exhaust tip on their car. And given that most sites are not equipped to properly judge noise (the amount of noise on a gray card is not a good way to do this) I’m not even sure if we’ll really know when the reviews come out.

By: Raoul

Raoul — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 18:10:23 +0000

Evan, I agree with you. Not sure why it comes across differently in the article, but the only standout feature on the 50D is the resolution. Nikon has won this round against Canon. They’ve been lax in their R&D, and if they don’t do something really amazing with the next 5D, they’re going to lose market share.

By: Evan

Evan — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 18:01:21 +0000

I’m not so sure that the 50D eclipses the D90. If by mega pixel count, then yes. But the D90 breaks the barrier with video capability. Canon has really been lagging and Nikon is blowing them out of the water. The 5D hasn’t been updated in 5 years!!! The D90 is $300 cheaper than the 50D with true live preview and video (Canon’s live preview is a joke). Also, Canon finally got on board 4 years after Nikon introduced the 18-200 VR and did the same, 4 years later. I’ve bought into the Canon system three years ago and am now considering jumping ship to Nikon. I can’t think of a single advantage Canon has.