The death of DSLR?

Well my friends, certainly nothing is forever, and less camera technology. Today we can mix and match many cameras, lenses and format flavors, what will always matter is the fact of having the right tool for the job, and having a discrete camera with prime lens will always be handy for those shooting away from home. I bought a new GH1 to hack it, wrong serial, then again bought another 2009 body from ebay, now I'm just waiting for the AF100 to be released, this will be a christmas present to myself and having the two sharing the same lenses (in the end lenses most be the real investment, not bodies) is a dream cometrue for small producers like me.
Modularity is nice, but in my opinion HDSLRs are designed for home use or as B cameras, spending so much money into fashion and accesories has never been the key to good films, so my advice is:
1.- Take the best out there and use it today, dont hold your breath waiting for the next camera.
2.- Invest in lenses, they will always be there and today there's a sea of adaptors.
3.- Do not pay for technology you wont use, extra features always costs extra money
4.- Loose your extra weight, unless you have a big crew and a big budget.
5.- If you spend too many time with the nitty gritty of thecnology is your time to search for another person who writes and directs, is the same with Windows and Mac users, the firsts work ON the computer, the second use it as a tool for creativity.

I swear my english will get better
 
1.- Take the best out there and use it today, dont hold your breath waiting for the next camera.
+1000

2.- Invest in lenses, they will always be there and today there's a sea of adaptors.
Easier said than done, because lens mounts change, but in general I do agree. I've spent more on glass than I have on camera bodies.

3.- Do not pay for technology you wont use, extra features always costs extra money
+1! So what if someone else says "you NEED a Red", you should decide if YOU need the Red, etc.

4.- Loose your extra weight, unless you have a big crew and a big budget.
+10! Not only extra weight in the rig and the equipment you're hauling around, but also any extra girth around your waistline. Extra weight slows you (and everything else) down, and filmmaking is too intensive of an endeavor; getting yourself in great shape prior to doing it can only help. :thumbsup:
 
+10! Not only extra weight in the rig and the equipment you're hauling around, but also any extra girth around your waistline. Extra weight slows you (and everything else) down, and filmmaking is too intensive of an endeavor; getting yourself in great shape prior to doing it can only help. :thumbsup:

Crap
 
Well my friends, certainly nothing is forever, and less camera technology. Today we can mix and match many cameras, lenses and format flavors, what will always matte

You are 100% mistaken. What many people fail to realize is that these cameras ( 7d, 5d etc. ) are professional photography cameras. There will ALWAYS be a place for these cameras on a professional level in the photography department. Now you can only imagine that the video capabilities will only get better.

So yes when I say these cameras will be around forever that's pretty much a guarantee. Now back to work :lipsrseal
 
I'm going to ramp this up with a h*ll no.

a $10,000 camera (without lenses, proprietary memory cards and a reasonable view-finder) is not even competition for HDSLRs. This is more of a (failed) competitor for the Alexa or Scarlet. I don't even think Panasonic is gunning for the HDSLRs with this, I think they are aiming to bridge the gap between HDSLRs and RED/ALEXA-like cameras.

I don't personally feel that they will be successful, since their really only advantages that I can see them having over the HDSLRs is (maybe?) rolling shutter, XLR input and zebra/waveform. The next gen of HDLSRs can easily include all those features. They might not, but they can. And they will still be using non-proprietary data storage and have a HUGE selection of affordable lenses. You can already see Autofocus on the new Nikon HDSLR, so that will probably be standard on all the others soon. Next step is at least mini-xlr inputs, 100 FPS recording and no rolling shutter. =)

Once/if that happends the question will be much closer to HDSLRs, the RED/ARRI/AG-AF100 Killers? =)
 
there is bias and over the mountain bias,anyone who would rather use a DSLR with all the bits for pro work than one of those is sad.
 
DSLRs are already dead for filmmakers. Even if they dont want to hear that, but not Vincent, not Shane and not Philip will shoot on a DSLR anymore in 2 years, maybe even in 1 year.

I did some writeup on that:

Original article: http://frankglencairn.wordpress.com/2010/09/16/vdslr-r-i-p/
and follow-up article: http://frankglencairn.wordpress.com/2010/09/21/is-vdslr-really-about-to-extinct-i-think-so/

Frank

Those who prophesize the future of technology and the direction it takes, always miss the uninteded unexpected. Who saw the VDSLR thing coming when they gazed into their crystal balls and saw only a future of Scarlets ;)
 
Can we have some sort of automatic forum feature that just deletes threads that start with "the death of", "the end of", etc???
 
+1000

This is seriously ridiculous. Nothing is killing anything. People will still use what they can afford or what they need or some combination. Period.

I think this is true, but the point is still valid - the DSLR craze will die out a bit over the next few years as products like the AF100 are introduced. DSLRs introduced an ability to have a big sensor and interchangable lenses at a very low price - the next step up is really a RED. The price jump is massive from a $1000-2500 camera to a $20K camera, but many smaller players could and would spend a bit more to have a camera that really does work like a video camera instead of a DSLR - while not everyone who can afford a Rebel T2i would spend $5K on an AF100 - a lot of us would, had the AF100 been out at the same time as the GH1, I definitely would have gone that route, I've spent more than that on lenses. HDSLRs are sort of the best tools you can get until you can fork over $20K for a camera. I think HDSLRs will still have lots of uses when shooting in confined spaces, but we're not all using these because we only have $2K to spend on a body. We might not have $20K, but could handle $5K for seriously improved ergonomics and functionality. What's great about HDSLRs is that if they are all that one can afford one can still create awesome video with them when used properly, you just have to play through the pain a bit. I don't think HDSLRs are going anywhere, but I don't see any reason why a guy like PBloom would stick with something like a DSLR when a camera setup much better for video isn't that much more expensive. He does like Canon L lenses though and bigger sensors than the m4/3 sized one so he may wait until Canon has something along the lines of an AF100.
 
I think this is true, but the point is still valid - the DSLR craze will die out a bit over the next few years as products like the AF100 are introduced. DSLRs introduced an ability to have a big sensor and interchangable lenses at a very low price - the next step up is really a RED. The price jump is massive from a $1000-2500 camera to a $20K camera, but many smaller players could and would spend a bit more to have a camera that really does work like a video camera instead of a DSLR - while not everyone who can afford a Rebel T2i would spend $5K on an AF100 - a lot of us would, had the AF100 been out at the same time as the GH1, I definitely would have gone that route, I've spent more than that on lenses. HDSLRs are sort of the best tools you can get until you can fork over $20K for a camera. I think HDSLRs will still have lots of uses when shooting in confined spaces, but we're not all using these because we only have $2K to spend on a body. We might not have $20K, but could handle $5K for seriously improved ergonomics and functionality. What's great about HDSLRs is that if they are all that one can afford one can still create awesome video with them when used properly, you just have to play through the pain a bit. I don't think HDSLRs are going anywhere, but I don't see any reason why a guy like PBloom would stick with something like a DSLR when a camera setup much better for video isn't that much more expensive. He does like Canon L lenses though and bigger sensors than the m4/3 sized one so he may wait until Canon has something along the lines of an AF100.


I'm not sure if it will die out. I think DSLR's will get better at video with time. I think Canon seems like their interested in improving, and frankly, Nikon could really take over the DSLR video market since they don't really have a prosumer video line to jeopardize. The AF-100 is way better than a GH2, for sure, but there is still going to be a place for the GH2 and GH3 and so on.

Everything will depend on what you need and what you can afford. I'll bet in in 5 years when REDs and AF-300's are cheaper and easier to use, people will still find creative uses for DSLR's.
 
Everything will depend on what you need and what you can afford. I'll bet in in 5 years when REDs and AF-300's are cheaper and easier to use, people will still find creative uses for DSLR's.

Totally - their size & cost will always be big strengths - could be the difference between having say, 3 x Canon T2i cameras vs 1 x AF-100, depending on your needs, a 3 camera setup might be more valuable.
 
their really only advantages that I can see them having over the HDSLRs is (maybe?) rolling shutter, XLR input and zebra/waveform. The next gen of HDLSRs can easily include all those features. They might not, but they can.

This is just not going to happen - HDSLRs from Canon/Nikon are stills cameras first and foremost - there's no room to add XLR inputs without drastically messing up the ergonomics of these cameras that primarily serve a professional photographer's market - the only cameras even big enough to stick that input on there would be the 1D/D3 series and guys who shoot with those as tools for making a living with stills surely aren't going to want a big XLR input on their camera and trim pots, what they want are better clean high ISOS. The more pro the body, you find the simpler and clearer the controls and layouts are in terms of switch/dial placement - that's no accident, pros that have been using Nikons/Canons for years get very comfortable with the way these cameras feel in their hands, it matters - you can't just start piling more and more junk on one of these bodies.

Maybe it could be accomplished with a mini-xlr dongle or something, but these cameras serve photographers and they just happen to have video capability - I could envision optional grip-extenders designed to add more audio capability for those who want to record in camera...but I still don't see why anybody would want to do that on a DSLR - you can't possibly fit good pre-amps inside a DSLR - you can do it in something like the AF-100, but DSLR bodies are packed pretty tight with stuff that's designed to deliver great still photographs, Canon/Nikon aren't going to compromise there just so that they can add an XLR input to a stills camera that happens to take video.
 
This thread can be summed up in 1 word. No. DSLRs are photography cameras first if you haven't noticed so how can a camera that shoots strickly video "kill" a camera that does both photography and video? Will the AF-100 stop a drastic amount of people from using DSLRs for video would have been a better question to ask and even then the answer is no. Everyone doesn't have $5000+ to spend on a camera and even tho some do some wont find the extra features you get on this camera worth the extra expense.
 
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