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I am generally not of a conspiratorial mindset, but in the very particular case of these photography-centric cameras, I can’t help but wonder if these video fea

I am generally not of a conspiratorial mindset, but in the very particular case of these photography-centric cameras, I can’t help but wonder if these video features are purposefully subpar so as to not steal market share away from their more expensive cinema cameras. The real reason is probably much more along the lines of “oh, that’ll be a nice bullet point to have on the marketing site, let’s throw it in and not really test it that much in the field”, but still, leaves a bad taste in the customer’s mouth.

tgb 6y ago
Apparently at least some of the limitations are actually due to an EU import tax on video recorders but not on cameras. [1] Though this also says that that will be fixed in 2019, so I don't know what the current situation is. [1] https://www.borrowlenses.com/blog/video-recording-limits-in-mirrorless-and-dslr-cameras/ https://www.borrowlenses.com/blog/video-recording-limits-in-...
- sschueller 6y ago
  Manufacturers usually just disable or limit features to get around this in markets like the EU. For example you can not sell a new device that has FM only radio without support for DAB. So many manufacturers of mp3 players etc. disable the FM radio feature firmware for those markets.
- perardi 6y ago
  That’s well known, and not what I am thinking about. More like… • Dumb frame rates. • Lack of good flat color profiles. • Lack of clean HDMI output. • Dumb codecs.
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
dylan604 6y ago
There are so many things about a photo camera that can record video that makes a a workflow PITA for video only shoots. The small form factor alone makes these cameras difficult. There's no rooms for buttons to easily adjust settings. You get at best a single micro-HDMI port. Yes, it is getting better with all of the 3rd party devices that have been created to specifically address the fact that the form factor is so small it would be impossible to use without them. These cameras and their smaller form factor do lend to some very interesting things though, so please don't think I'm crapping on them. Their prices also make them nearly disposable for decent budget shoots meaning much more interesting shots can be captured. TL;DR Big video cameras have their places that smaller photo-centric cameras can't replace.
- perardi 6y ago
  All good points. It just feels like all this video stuff…I don’t know, since the 5DmkII came out, I can’t figure out the marketing strategy. You’ve got big-sensor beautiful video, and then a whole bunch of weird limitations that make them a pain in the ass to use. (Going back to that camera: the literally exactly 30-frames-per-second frame rate.) Video feels like a thing they put in there because it sounds good to influencers, but then it’s all half-baked and everybody ends up getting proper video cameras.
  - ghaff 6y ago
    My impression, which could be wrong, is that the strong videographer uptake caught Canon somewhat by surprise. After that, depending upon your level of cynicism, they either decided to remain focused on still photographers and everyone else was incidental. Or they decided to deliberately nudge serious film people to their videocams. The EU tariff situation further complicated matters.
    - perardi 6y ago
      That’s about what I hear. The video on the 5DmkII was apparently something they popped in without much thinking. Like, just capture the Live View video and dump it to the card.
crazygringo 6y ago
Professional cinema cameras have totally different interfaces and requirements optimized for what video needs. Photographers and videographers have totally different priorities. Even if the sensor and lens is the same, everything else about it is different. Zero conspiracy needed. Just meeting what the market wants.

tgb 6y ago

Apparently at least some of the limitations are actually due to an EU import tax on video recorders but not on cameras. [1] Though this also says that that will be fixed in 2019, so I don't know what the current situation is. [1] https://www.borrowlenses.com/blog/video-recording-limits-in-mirrorless-and-dslr-cameras/ https://www.borrowlenses.com/blog/video-recording-limits-in-...

sschueller 6y ago
Manufacturers usually just disable or limit features to get around this in markets like the EU. For example you can not sell a new device that has FM only radio without support for DAB. So many manufacturers of mp3 players etc. disable the FM radio feature firmware for those markets.
perardi 6y ago
That’s well known, and not what I am thinking about. More like… • Dumb frame rates. • Lack of good flat color profiles. • Lack of clean HDMI output. • Dumb codecs.

deleted 6y ago

[deleted]

dylan604 6y ago

There are so many things about a photo camera that can record video that makes a a workflow PITA for video only shoots. The small form factor alone makes these cameras difficult. There's no rooms for buttons to easily adjust settings. You get at best a single micro-HDMI port. Yes, it is getting better with all of the 3rd party devices that have been created to specifically address the fact that the form factor is so small it would be impossible to use without them. These cameras and their smaller form factor do lend to some very interesting things though, so please don't think I'm crapping on them. Their prices also make them nearly disposable for decent budget shoots meaning much more interesting shots can be captured. TL;DR Big video cameras have their places that smaller photo-centric cameras can't replace.

perardi 6y ago
All good points. It just feels like all this video stuff…I don’t know, since the 5DmkII came out, I can’t figure out the marketing strategy. You’ve got big-sensor beautiful video, and then a whole bunch of weird limitations that make them a pain in the ass to use. (Going back to that camera: the literally exactly 30-frames-per-second frame rate.) Video feels like a thing they put in there because it sounds good to influencers, but then it’s all half-baked and everybody ends up getting proper video cameras.
- ghaff 6y ago
  My impression, which could be wrong, is that the strong videographer uptake caught Canon somewhat by surprise. After that, depending upon your level of cynicism, they either decided to remain focused on still photographers and everyone else was incidental. Or they decided to deliberately nudge serious film people to their videocams. The EU tariff situation further complicated matters.
  - perardi 6y ago
    That’s about what I hear. The video on the 5DmkII was apparently something they popped in without much thinking. Like, just capture the Live View video and dump it to the card.

crazygringo 6y ago

Professional cinema cameras have totally different interfaces and requirements optimized for what video needs. Photographers and videographers have totally different priorities. Even if the sensor and lens is the same, everything else about it is different. Zero conspiracy needed. Just meeting what the market wants.