[thibs]

I love the bit where they're totally criticizing the video performance but then offhandedly say "But as a stills camera it still looks very promising." HELLO, the camera is made for that, still photography. That is it's primary function NOT shooting videos. The fact that it offers the ability to take short video clips, decent ones actually, is a rather nice bonus for some people. It is not more important than the camera doing still photography. No offense but I absolutely hate it when reviewers go there, even suggest a still camera lacks somehow because it's video capacity is secondary to it's stills capacity. It's a freaking DSLR not a video camera and if the video is THAT important to you then go buy a darned video cam and stop expecting a DSLR, a camera made primarily for still shots, to work miracles in terms of video performance. This camera is made to do maybe a 15 minute clip. That's it, period, and it shouldn't be expected to compete with hand held video cams. This obsession some people seem to have with making a DSLR into a full on video camera really annoys me....

Competely agree but the market is changing and as true as now a P&S HAS to have a x3 zoom minimum (usually better), a DSLR might soon HAVE to provide proper Video support. I don't say I agree. I think it will become so though.

[ENicolas]

A lot of Canon 5D MKIIs were sold purely for video work. People like being able to use different lenses - an ability you can't get on a true video camera at such a low price. Also the photojournalism market is changing and demanding great video capabilities in a still camera. Eventually these cameras will only take video and we'll be picking our stills from video clip frames. There's already a move toward that with the limited clip feature that only shoots like 10 seconds of video per trigger. The actual image quality is uncompressed so you can extract stills.

[ElJamoquio]

Well, if assignable to anything useful, why would you care?

If everything else is the same (rarely true), I wouldn't care.

[Warpig]

As magkelly said, video is just a perk.

demanding great video capabilities in a still camera

That is very wrong in my opinion, not for you saying that, but for it maybe true. If video is what some people are really looking for, then Canon should make their still cameras with ergonomics to do video. I name Canon because I think is a brand with a "I do lots of stuff" thinking, same as Sony or Samsung. Maybe these brands will eventually do as you say, video only interchangeable lens cameras. I doubt companies dedicated to photography and with long tradition (Pentax, Nikon, Leica, Mamiya, etc) will ever take this route.

[UdonUdon]

As magkelly said, video is just a perk.



That is very wrong in my opinion, not for you saying that, but for it maybe true. If video is what some people are really looking for, then Canon should make their still cameras with ergonomics to do video. I name Canon because I think is a brand with a "I do lots of stuff" thinking, same as Sony or Samsung. Maybe these brands will eventually do as you say, video only interchangeable lens cameras. I doubt companies dedicated to photography and with long tradition (Pentax, Nikon, Leica, Mamiya, etc) will ever take this route.

Canon is only about 20 years younger than Nikon and Pentax, and they all began making photography equipment around the same time. Plus, the photo gear industry has had a long time for the different brands to converge into a similar market.

You can't deny that Pentax and Nikon are putting a lot of effort into improving and marketing their video capabilities in their photography equipment.

How many promo videos for the new Nikon full frames are showcasing their video capabilities?

You Tube

You Tube

,

You Tube

You Tube

It's funny you mentioned how Canon is a brand with a "I do lots of stuff" thinking because Nikon has explicitly advertised the Nikon D4 as a "Multi-Media DSLR".

Pentax is not taking the pure photography route either. The new Prime M engine is advertised as a major improvement in video and live view capabilities, and Pentax has also sponsored video projects to showcase the K-01's video capabilities as seen in other parts of the forum.

The major advantages of shooting video with DSLRs over traditional video cameras is ergonomics, specifically size, and price for decent quality, and that's why movies such as The Social Network, Black Swan, The Avengers, Captain America, Iron Man 2, Act of Valor, and so on have scenes shot on DSLRs. The interesting thing is that a good majority if not all of cinematic movie scenes shot on DSLRs are shot with Canon 5d Mark II's and 7D's. You don't think Nikon or other photography-centric camera brands would want a piece of that action?

Video is also on the rise in photojournalism with press companies finally embracing the internet as their main source of views and revenue. With embedded video technology and easy media sharing, it would make sense for photojournalists to be able to take photos and shoot video with the same gear. A small indicator of this is Adobe introducing video capabilities with Lightroom 4, a photo workflow and editing software mainly for photography.

There will be a push for video from most major camera brands.

[Warpig]

By "do lots of stuff" I mean that these brands don't only do cameras and equipment for that, but also lots of electronics (tv, phones, printers, video cameras, etc).
And by ergonomics, I doubt the SLR shape is the best for video shooting, even with a articulated screen. That's why there are a lot of accesories for focusing, LCD shades, etc. And that add a lot of bulk.

[ogl]

Pentax Russia has another specs about speed and buffer of K-30

HI: 6 fps till 176 images(JPEG ***), 21 image (RAW)
LO: 3 fps till the card full (JPEG ***)

[monochrome]

Pentax Russia has another specs about speed and buffer of K-30

HI: 6 fps till 176 images(JPEG ***), 21 image (RAW)
LO: 3 fps till the card full (JPEG ***)

Pretty impressive for a mid-range camera!!

[ogl]

Pretty impressive for a mid-range camera!!

I hope that it's not mistake.

[7samurai]

Pentax Russia has another specs about speed and buffer of K-30

HI: 6 fps till 176 images(JPEG ***), 21 image (RAW)
LO: 3 fps till the card full (JPEG ***)

Wow, those are some crazy numbers.
This is soundlng more like a baby K-5 than a mid-tier camera.

I wonder if the 12-bit raw is what's contributing to the performance at this price point.

[monochrome]

Wow, those are some crazy numbers.
This is soundlng more like a baby K-5 than a mid-tier camera.

I wonder if the 12-bit raw is what's contributing to the performance at this price point.

I wonder what the difference between the K30 buffer and the K-01 buffer is? Did they just electonically eunuch the K-01 buffer?

P.S. - best UserName ever. I'd like to see 7 Pentax shooters . . . .

[Fontan]

Pentax sure is drumming up the excitement level to potentially of biblical proportion for the K-5 replacement. It almost has to out perform 645d (no it doesn't - I know).

[mee]

Pretty impressive for a mid-range camera!!

Indeed! Really hope this is true.

[Col]

What a bunch of morons. Idiots. And trying to stay polite...

Well they are polite but lazy. That's the same guy who confirmed to me that he would correct the misstatement in the K-5 review that it only displayed thumbnails as a 3x3 grid... never happened...polite though

Do you think the K5n could turn out to be a K5 with K30 AF?

[zekewhipper]

I think the new body texturing will go by the wayside when the successor to the K30 is introduced. Why? Bcause I am predicting complaints about all the holes and ribs being too difficult to keep clean.