Originally posted by snake You do realize that studios are using 5DII and likely the III for shooting movies and among the most popular shows on TV, right? The last couple seasons of House, for example, were shot with 5DIIs and when there was word of the discontinuation of the II, studios started buying them up like crazy.
Yes, I do. I worked in television for many years and I've followed the industry. But I also assume you do realize that most of the usage of DSLRs in video production has been for drama and series production, requiring extensive additional post processing to create the so-called "film look". And typically the amount spent by the studios or production houses to outfit the DSLRs (hoods, audio adapters, cabling, etc) winds up costing as much or more than the basic body, not to mention the additional costs of prime lenses that are typically fitted. This is why for the typical non-professional user a separate camcorder with superior ergonomics, superior focus tracking and automatic gain control makes far more sense.
You don't see DSLRs being used in any significant manner at live sports events requiring cameras with long range zooms and automatic focus tracking or in any live situation that requires traditional movement during the broadcast. The DSLR ergonomics are too unwieldy for those types of broadcasts. Most of the major broadcast equipment manufacturers have or are in the process of introducing lower cost camera systems with interchangeable lenses. The new crop of cameras and their lower costs than traditional broadcast cameras is likely to lessen the demand for DSLR cameras for professional video production in the future. Finally, just because broadcasters such as the BBC, the US networks, HBO, etc., try out new equipment on a short term basis, it doesn't necessarily mean they become permanent 'go to' pieces of gear for everyday production. And with 4K arriving quickly, the additional internal signal processing for video along with larger battery packs, makes little sense, in my opinion, as a future option to be incorporated in consumer DSLRs...although logic has never stopped manufacturers in the past from answering a question no one asked.