Moonrise & Aurora

Moonrise & Aurora

by Jakub

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Having recently bought a high end DSLR with exceptionally capable full HD video capability, and discovering that there is next to no in-shooting auto-focus ability that can actually be used (it hunts and doesn't track objects), then discovering to my amazement that you could run the camera in full manual mode (shutter speed, aperture, ISO etc etc) and the exceptional depth of field offered by wide lenses and FX sensors, that only RED (and similar) cameras could produce and at 20x the price.

It got me thinking that a lot of the skill of old manual cinematography has been forgotten by all but the elitists.

Would you agree that this situation could bring a resurgence in real (and new) cinema talent?

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I suspect that this would be more suited to the AVP site avp.stackexchange.com/?as=1 . However, I'd read the FAQ first, they may view it as not-constructive, since it's more of a discussion than and answerable question. – forsvarir Jul 18 '12 at 8:58
Yes i thought it may not be fully answerable after a submitted it.. lets see what people think anyway. Feel free to migrate or close :-) – Darkcat Studios Jul 18 '12 at 9:09

closed as not constructive by Nir, Imre, rfusca♦ Jul 18 '12 at 13:53

As it currently stands, this question is not a good fit for our Q&A format. We expect answers to be supported by facts, references, or specific expertise, but this question will likely solicit debate, arguments, polling, or extended discussion. If you feel that this question can be improved and possibly reopened, see the FAQ for guidance.

1 Answer

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Yes and no:

Yes - you can already see many people who never had access to high end video gear learning skills like manual focus tracking.

No - the newest cameras already have auto-focus that works better in movie mode, another generation or two and you won't need any of the classic cinematography skills to shoot video with a DSLR (having those skills would make you better at shooting video but you won't need them)

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Re "newest cameras" - i have tried a Nikon D3100 And D800, both lack usable autofocus during recording. – Darkcat Studios Jul 18 '12 at 9:53
@DarkcatStudios - the technology isn't there yet - but I bet that 3 years from today with the newest camera and one of the new optimized-for-video lenses (Canon is already producing a new kind of focus motor specifically for focusing during video recording) focusing during video recording will work at least as well as continuous focus/ AI servo focus works today (I don't mean it will behave like continuous focus, I mean it will work as well as - that is, much better than just "usable" in most cases) – Nir Jul 18 '12 at 12:23

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