In my opinion the people who always state that "you should buy a camcorder if one would want to shoot video" just donīt get what is so special about a dslr that is able to shoot video: it is the shallow depth of field, the main reason why we have chosen a dslr over a simple point and shoot camera for taking pictures. Right now there simply is no camcorder that can provide such a shallow dof, you just can achieve this look by getting a camcorder+35mm-adaptor, a combination that is as expensive as 2 or 3 canon 5d mkIIīs. The people raving about the video functionality mostly use this for scenic productions, which look a lot more like "movies" with the dof you get from the large sensor. If I would just need a video-device to shoot some family-videos, I agree one should get a camcorder with auto-focus. It all depends on what you plan to shoot.
And maybe the "video-sceptics" should take a look at this site:
Which “Video DSLR” to buy? | Philip Bloom. Dslrīs are used on professional movie- and TV-productions, for example some shots of the series 24 or the season-finale of House! As you can see in the linked article (a guide to what dslrīs are good for video), Pentax is not mentioned with one word* (neither is olympus). Thatīs mainly because without manual control, you canīt use the camera on "professional" productions because the output canīt be calculated properly. This is just one site of many that focus mainly on video in dslrīs, and it lately hit the 10.000.000 visitors-mark. So donīt tell me there is no market for video in dslrīs!
So I understand Dandeīs frustration with Pentax, and I very much feel the same (got a k7 myself). If Pentax would have allowed manual control on their cameras with a later firmware-update, these cameras would have appeared in several video-specific comparisons between the current dslrīs with video in a time where no brand was favoured by video-people because there werenīt earlierer models to migrate from. The problem is that I fear now it is too late, as Canon already is too far ahead (2 generations?!) and many people have changed brands or not even considered Pentax for their video-productions. And I donīt think that when Pentax is going to release a new model, that this one is going to be on par with the newer models of other brands (video-wise). Pentax with all the old manual glass could have been a really interesting brand for video-people in this early days of dslr-videography.
The rising of video in dslrīs is inevitable and even today is already a huge selling-point (look at the recent ads from Canon/Nikon/Panasonic). As soon as all companies are going to realize that, itīs getting interesting on the market. I guess companies that donīt offer a competitive video-mode will face serios problems in the future. I hope Pentax isnīt one of them, because I really love Pentax
* Edit: The k7 is mentioned somewhere in the comments, but the author clarifies that "
Until it gets full manual control it can’t play in the sand pit with the others. It’s a basic fundamental thing, that was also lacking on the 5DmkII when it came out". So I assume that IF Pentax would have updated the firmware with manual control, their sales would have increased by a fair amount also (as they did with the 5D)!
Last edited by dom777; 06-07-2010 at 02:55 PM.