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by SantaFeJoe on Thu Sep 14, 2017 10:22 pm
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I have had many situations over the years when I wished I had a good video camera along to capture special action. Some examples of these situations are:

1. A coyote dancing circles around a bobcat (captured on low grade video of a superzoom).
2. Elk dancing and splashing in the water at Rocky Mountain NP, seen twice (once in stream and once in ditch) (captured    on stills only).
3. A Western Red-sided Garter snake catching multiple tadpoles and swallowing them in a drying-up ditch puddle      (captured on stills only).
4. Hundreds of hummingbirds flying in and out to feeders with no ending time (captured on cell phone video).
5. Ten tom turkeys strutting in unison in front of 21 hens (captured on stills only).

This type of situation comes up when you least expect it to happen. When I first started shooting in 1989, I was torn between video and stills. I went with an SLR, but still like capturing certain action on video, since stills can't tell the story in the same way. It makes me wonder what you think of the newer DSLR's having  decent video abilities built in. Do you ever desire to shoot similar action?

Joe
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by Kim on Fri Sep 15, 2017 12:57 am
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Yes I do at times but I find it frustrating as I am mostly a hand held shooter with no straps of any sort attached to the cameras I use. Only time I have a tripod is when I am doing morning/evening landscapes and the car is close by.

For example I came across a mob of Walleroos and my dog chased after the females for a limited time as a token effort, she is old and small. The male entered a small pond and stayed back to try and entice the dog into the water to drown her. The dog knows not to enter the water with the roo.

I stayed still and got a lot of stills with my Tamron 150-600 handheld. Would have loved to do a video but I know from past experience it would be rubbish without the tripod.

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by OntPhoto on Fri Sep 15, 2017 3:34 am
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The only time I take video is of family.  From a memory keepsake perspective, I much prefer video to photos.  Video captures multiple dimensions, sound, movement and the real essence of the moment.  Mostly with the iPhone these days although I have drawers full of Hi-8, D8 and Mini-DV tapes.  Also in digital format with digital camcorders.  

If I am outdoors doing photography and I need to take a video for something really worth taking a video of, I take out the iPhone.  I can take video with the DSLR too but haven't so far. Although I have dedicated camcorders at home, seldom are they carried with me in the field.  Some of the camcorders are small enough to put into a coat pocket.

Think many of the camcorders I have either do not have the reach or the image quality or the image stabilization that I need.  The Sony AX53 looks like it may fulfill all the aforementioned requirements.  The zoom is 20x, image quality is really good (with 4K) and one of the very best image stabilization systems, BOSS.  

If I can pull high quality still images from the video, that’s awesome. It’s a camcorder that is worth taking into the field.  In addition the AX53 has Night Shot for recording in the dark.  Nocturnal owls and mammals come to mind although you may need a stronger infrared light to capture action further away.
 

by Mike in O on Fri Sep 15, 2017 10:18 am
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Like most Sony cameras, video is a big part of the camera. My 99II is able record in many ways stabilized but it is almost too complicated for my wee brain to master. I find video kind of boring in the long run, something that takes up a lot of space on my computer that I rarely look at again where as stills can be enjoyed on the wall forever or traded out to be brought out again. Those special moments that you speak about are the exception especially if you can share them.
 

by E.J. Peiker on Fri Sep 15, 2017 1:42 pm
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I don't mind that it's there but I must admit, when I need to shoot a quick video, it's usually on my iPhone - just simpler and immediately shareable.
 

by SantaFeJoe on Fri Sep 15, 2017 3:31 pm
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Interesting story, Kim. I never knew roo's were so calculating!
E.J., I also use a phone (S8) to shoot video, but find it would be nice to have a quality zoom and viewfinder available. Wildlife photographers never seem to have enough reach at the right time for lots of action shots. I am impressed with the quality of stills and video from the tiny sensor of the better phone cameras, but looking at a screen in bright daylight just doesn't cut it.
Thanks for the replies so far.

Joe
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by DChan on Fri Sep 15, 2017 3:48 pm
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I guess its easier if you're shooting m43.
 

by Richard B. on Sat Sep 16, 2017 1:38 pm
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OK, I am old enough not to be *too* embarrassed to ask a dumb question. I haven't used the video function on any of my dslr's other than to see how to turn it on. Why can't you just use your video equipped dslr with which you are shooting stills to record the scene in front of you? It would seem that it is only a matter of turning it on and perhaps sending the video to a second memory card slot. Granted, most of time if I am shooting wildlife I am on a tripod and that would certainly seem to be one requirement.

OK, be kind.
 

by SantaFeJoe on Sat Sep 16, 2017 2:03 pm
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Richard B. wrote:OK, I am old enough not to be *too* embarrassed to ask a dumb question. I haven't used the video function on any of my dslr's other than to see how to turn it on. Why can't you just use your video equipped dslr with which you are shooting stills to record the scene in front of you? It would seem that it is only a matter of turning it on and perhaps sending the video to a second memory card slot. Granted, most of time if I am shooting wildlife I am on a tripod and that would certainly seem to be one requirement.

OK, be kind.
Hey Richard
That's pretty much the gist of my question. "Does anybody care if their DSLR is video capable or not in order to shoot quality video in addition to stills?", in other words. My problem is that I shoot a Nikon D700 which is not video capable, so I shoot video with a secondary camera (a Sony DSC-H50). I was curious as to whether some shooters only cared about still images or did they also shoot video occasionally. I really like to capture rare footage when the occasion arises, but I have to switch cameras with my current set-up and my Sony does not shoot high quality video. I bet most people here have it available at their fingertips on their SLR's. The convenience of doing both stills and video with just one camera is nice. I like phone videos too, but the reach is just not there. I really wanted to post this as a poll, but I guess I'm not authorized to post polls anymore, unfortunately.

Joe
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by Richard B. on Sat Sep 16, 2017 3:43 pm
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Hi Joe:

I would like to learn to shoot the occasional video sequence with my dslr just for my own use. I really don't want to buy a dedicated video camera.

I think at one time there was a quality difference between what could be shot on a dslr camera and video camera. I don't think that distinction is as true now as it once was. Also I know there is a sound problem with the dslr if you are only using the internal mic. And at one time there was a restriction as to how long you could shoot the dslr with video. Again, I think that's gone in most current cameras.

Perhaps more experienced people can answer if there are other negatives to vido shooting with my dslr that I am not understanding.

Richard
 

by MalcolmBenn on Mon Sep 18, 2017 9:06 pm
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I have never used the video capability in any camera that I've ever owned and I always wished that when I bought the camera that I could have had the option to delete that functionality out of it and saved a bit of money to be used elsewhere. Having just said that I'll probably go out and find a reason to use the darn function tomorrow.
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by Wade Thorson on Thu Sep 21, 2017 6:44 pm
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I bought a nice used D750 because I wanted good video and stills. I use it to video events, and action shots. I'm really happy with the quality of both. The only thing with a DSLR shooting video is you're limited to 20 minute sequences. Something to do with them being imported as a DSLR rather than a video camera I understand... If you're videoing say a play, or dance performance you have to be aware that the 20 minute mark requires restarting the next sequence, and if not timed properly there is a time gap. Plus you have to stitch them together in an editor. A minor annoyance, since dedicated video cameras with 8mm tapes usually end at 1 hour and the same problem occurs at that time as well.
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by Brian Stirling on Sun Sep 24, 2017 7:38 pm
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I've been shooting a bunch more video in the last couple years and with the advent of consumer priced 4K cameras that actually produce pretty good quality video it's even more a part of my camera usage. My current stills cameras, the D800E's and D7200 shoot video but are limited to HD video and pretty crappy HD video at that so I used my older Panasonic GH2 and then the newer G85 to shoot in 4K. The new D850 appears to offer, for the first time, video quality that is at least worthy of mention with un-cropped 4K video though the live view AF is still not much to write home about. I do hope that the mystical Nikon mirrorless finds a way to achieve something like Canon's dual pixel AF.

It's interesting to note that the 4K video from the G85 is in some sense superior in IQ to the first DSLR I owned -- the Nikon D100. The really high end video cameras from Red with 8K resolution and the highest score ever from DXO suggest that at least someone is taking video serious.


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by Susan Sharma on Sun Oct 01, 2017 11:39 am
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I share the feelings of SantaFe Joe.   My Sony alpha helps me take videos easily.  Since I make educational videos, it serves my purpose to create awareness about issues.  Have a look at my You Tube channel and decide for yourself!
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCng_XfXfguqI-mX1x1xXdWA
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by SantaFeJoe on Sun Oct 01, 2017 11:05 pm
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Thanks to all for your input.

Joe
Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.  -Pablo Picasso
 

by RobtKegel on Mon Oct 02, 2017 12:27 pm
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I flip the switch on my Canon 7d to video when the light is bad or the action is too far away to get a good still shot.
 

by Ed Cordes on Wed Oct 04, 2017 7:54 pm
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My wife and I totally concentrate on stills, but do use the video function occasionally. We like those "special" occasions when video documents things better. Problem is we often forget to use it as we have been concentrating on the still photography aspect of the event.
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by OntPhoto on Fri Oct 06, 2017 8:28 pm
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The thing with video is that for it to be interesting, it has to have an emotional connection for you.  Family videos.  Not many others want to sit thru your home videos.  Professional video takes a lot footage to produce. most of it left on the cutting room floor or editing room.  If you watch a nature documentary, you'll see that the camera doesn't linger on a particular scene for long, maybe just seconds before the camera switches to a different angle or perspective.  It takes a lot of footage just to produce a final one minute clip. 

Then again, there are exceptions like this long extended clip due to its very compelling content.  In the wild, a slight miscalculation in strategy may mean the difference between life or death.  BTW, it's a snowshoe hare.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNZbLxN-eqw
 

by SantaFeJoe on Sat Oct 07, 2017 6:20 am
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In nature, most anything worth capturing is only a fleeting moment, not a full length video feature. What I'm interested in capturing are those moments. When I have shown the short video of the coyote running circles around the bobcat, there has never been a person who was not fascinated by it. Nowadays, everybody seems to have a short attention span. I include myself when I say that. If I Google a video on a subject and several videos come up, I generally will watch the shortest first. That's why it's nice to have tablets and phones capable of sharing those short clips. There are certain subjects that cannot be well represented by still photography. For instance, Starling murmurations. They are spectacular to watch, but boring in stills when compared to video. Many natural events are like that and it's nice to share them with people who will never experience them first hand.

Joe
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by Paul Fusco on Wed Oct 18, 2017 11:01 am
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"Do you care about video in your DSLR?"

Yes, but not at the expense of other technology and features in a still camera.

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