DSLRs That Shoot HD Video - A Different Kind of Camcorder

Technology is converging - consumer digital cameras now shoot HD video and video camcorders shoot multi-megapixel photos. And the trend has continued into professional digital SLR cameras, which have evolved to add the ability to shoot HD video.

Sometimes called a video or HD DSLR, this idea was originally conceived as a way to help photojournalists expand their repertoire and has grown quickly to become attractive to videographers as well.

Video DSLRs
With a video DSLR, you can carry one camera for shooting both photos and video, and shoot video unobtrusively and in difficult environments. The big bonus, however, is the glass - the ability to use the extensive collection of photographic lenses available for DSLR cameras, giving you amazing flexibility in controlling focal length and depth of field. Combined with high ISO ranges from image sensors much larger than typical camcorders, the result is great flexibility in shooting in low-light situations.

However, these cameras are still primarily designed for still photography, and not for studio or event use, so they don't have features like built-in stereo microphones, and they typically shoot only short clips, around five to ten minutes. In addition, the video modes do not provide the full capabilities of the traditional photographic modes, with limited manual control and/or limited auto focus or exposure options. read more...