Production Notes: Canon and Nikon Put On THE BIG SQUEEZE

Posted on October 22, 2008 in Cinematography | No Comments

A great article by Stefan Sargent on DV.com.

…Way back in 2002, I’m having lunch with Jeff Cree, Sony’s HD camera expert. He worked with George Lucas on the Sony/Panasonic F900 Star Wars shoot and later, with James Cameron on the Titanic underwater HD videos.

At fruit salad time, I say to Jeff, “Why can’t SLR digital cameras shoot HD?”

Jeff, who knows everything HD, launches into a 10-minute talk explaining the difference between a three chip 2/3rd inch HD camera and a digital SLR camera with just one sensor. The gist is: It’s easier to build a perpetual motion machine than to make a digital SLR camera that records HD movies.

Now, only six years later, it’s happened. Both Nikon and Canon have released digital SLR cameras that can shoot HD video. The Nikon D90 and the Canon EOS 5D Mark II digital SLR cameras. Googling will get you all the specs, no need for me to repeat them. That said, Nikon’s brochure is here.

Interesting that in the eight-page brochure, the Nikon D-Movie mode only rates one small mention. Nikon obviously don’t understand their entry into the moviemaking world:

— DV.com | Read The Full Article