In June 2009 Canon created the first legitimate HDDSLR for video when they released the manual control firmware update for the Canon 5d MkII which created a monster. A manual exposure, manual control video camera with a sensor that was larger than 35mm film, recorded at 35+ mb/s bitrate and used some of the best lenses ever made. The Canon 5d MkII opened a new world for professional video capture. Eight months later the imaging industry is still trying to figure out how this and the new crop of Canon and Nikon HDDSLR’s will change both photography and videography.

In my world of filmmaking this camera has been transformational as I am now able to bring a level of production quality and portability for a price that has never before been available. Production costs have been slashed and more importantly I now own a high end imaging system which allows me to explore, creatively, material that before I would have avoided because I just couldn’t pull off the look I wanted at the budget provided.

For professional photographers the impact is not as clear. Is it a revolutionary change or just a flash in the pan that will fizzle out as quickly as you could say 3d photography?

The bad news is you cannot avoid it. Canon, Nikon, Panasonic, Pentax; all are racing as quickly as possible to develop video integrations and chances are the camera you have now or the one you will buy next will have a video function. The good news is that you can monetize this feature; video doesn’t just have to be gimmick. With just a few concepts and pieces of equipment you can turn video into an extra stream of income for your business.

You don’t just point and shoot!

One of the first things you might have noticed if you have played around with video on a HDDSLR is that you don’t get high level results out of the box. Everyone is talking about how great the video looks but when you fire up the camera the dreaded jello effect, shaky video, or poor composition reduces your video to a youtube monstrosity.

This is because to get professional results with this camera you MUST treat it as an image capturing component and begin to think about your process in a few new dimensions.

In the film world we always “build” the camera around the central imager, adding things like; viewfinders, tripods, follow focus, or a mattebox. On a HDDSLR, building a rig around it could be as easy as using a fluid-head tripod or as complex as a rail based camera support system such as these from Red-Rock Micro or Zacuto depending on the application.

New dimensions

As a photographer you already know composition, iris, and focal length but now you must re-learn things like shutter speed and manual focus, and learn for the first time frame rate and sound.
Shutter speed in the video world means the amount of time per second each frame is exposed. Consequently as with stills the longer each frame is exposed the more light is let in. This is not to be confused with the frame rate which is the number of times per second the image is recorded onto your card. For the best results the shutter should be set at multiples of the frame rate and obviously cannot be any lower than the actual frame rate. For the most pleasing results a number that is twice the speed of the shutter is ideal. For example in the 5d2 the frame rate is set at 30FPS so for best results the shutter should be set at 60 or at most 125. Any lower than 60 and the image will tend to blur when in motion and any higher than 125 the moving image will resemble a hyper-realistic action movie, capturing any action in a high level of sharpness. This complex concept is explained in better detail here Here

Sound is the final frontier for most photographers trying to learn video and creates a lot of apprehension as it is not comparable to anything you are currently doing. In the HDDSLR world only Nikon currently gives HDDSLR owners a reasonable choice in sound recording in the camera. Most Nikon models allow users to select three different input level settings which must be set before recording. This is much more acceptable than Canon’s poorly thought out automatic volume AGC input that determines the level it deems acceptable and adjusts it in real time. The best professional sound option is a portable sound recorder such as the Zoom H4n which can be mounted onto the camera hot shoe or a second video camera that records sounds in a more traditional manner.

Monetize:

So with these tools and concepts you can begin to shoot acceptable video that a client could use but what are your new selling points to turn this knowledge into job? My recommendation is to look at what you already do and begin to think about how video could apply. For instance, if you are a stock photographer then next time you shoot a stock package try recording some of the action live. In most cases you can sell these videos in the same place you already sell your photos. If you are a travel photographer tell your clients about your new ability to record quick videos for their website or blog. Whatever your industry, with the economic climate the way it is you must find ways to add value to what you do and with the surprising professional ability of the HDDSLR you can really make your product stand out by using a feature you already have.

- AT