Thank you VERY much for the very prompt response.

And once again, you have added a HUGE amount to my education in photography.

Thanks.

Regards,

plevyadophy

The Press users were frustrated in the extreme – if they shot video, the images were sharp enough to extract for half page newspaper use, but they could not freeze movement. Canon then introduced new firmware which allowed the 5D MkII videos to be shot with full control over shutter, aperture and ISO instead of programmed control. The camera can now be safely used to film video-takes of events, knowing that if a really great moment happens, a pin sharp 2 megapixel frame can be extracted with 30 fps ‘drive’ to catch exactly the right expression or action.

The EOS 500D is not much use as it lacks the firmware and shoots everything at slow shutter speeds – bump up the ISO, and it just stops the lens down more! The Nikon D90, D5000 and D300S are all pretty useful as using A mode can force fast shutter speeds in video. Regular video producers do not like fast shutters, they think it makes action look jerky and prefer slight blur. I love video with fast shutter speeds.

Press shooters are often being trained up to shoot video clips, newspapers can syndicate to TV or use vids on their websites. But the majority of shots continue to be still frames. There are predictions (not mine) that one day, it will all be video, and all still frames will be extracted from even higher quality HD video than we have today.

If you want to analyse someone’s golf swing, 5fps is useless, 10fps is nearly useless, 24fps is acceptable, 30fps is good and 60fps is perfect.

David

Thanks VERY much for the article, it really was an education. It really is interesting how many of us, myself included, hanker after this spec and that spec without really FULLY understanding what the benefits may or may not be. So now, thanks to you I am no longer that impressed by 9fps and 11fps cameras, nor will I feel short changed if my cam does 5fps and my pal’s does 7fps.

You stated that: “I’m not confirming anything (I have no more information than others), the article is intended as a general discussion of the value of higher fps rates and the big difference which HD video makes to catching the right moment – as the press is finding out mainly with the 5D MkII at 30fps and 1080p.”

Sorry for being a bit dim but what do you mean exactly? What is the big difference that HD video makes to catching the moment? And what is it that the press are finding out with the 5D MkII?

Thanks in advance.

Regards,

plevyadophy

The 5fps of the A700 is strictly limited to MANUAL focus (not even locked AF-S) and shutter speeds of 1/250th or shorter. Of course, it does C-AF during sequences, but you don’t get 5fps. You get whatever it takes to maintain focus, and even that is not always guaranteed. One of the main problems with AF-C plus Hi sequence shooting is that if the focus accidentally shifts to a different plane (background) while following a subject, it thinks the focus is confirmed and you get a useless frame – it then has trouble getting back to the subject.

David