POLL: How much do you use the video function?

[bakubo]

Can't answer the poll because my a55 just arrived and I haven't taken *any* photos yet. OTOH, maybe that means I'm equally interested in stills and video. More seriously, saying, "If you have 1000 still photos and 1000 video clips then you use the still and video functions equally," is, IMHO, incorrect. If one is telling a story, then a minute of video is equivalent to more than one still.

Yes, video and still photos are different animals, but with the A55/NEX 5 you can do them both. Hard to compare them, but I stand by my statement since what I want to know is when using your A55/NEX 5 how many times you choose video mode and how many times you choose still photo mode.

[mike2008]

May I ask what it is you find so interesting in this question? Are you looking for evidence to justify some preconceived notion you have, or what?

If I may point out, the question has been up for several days now and you have less than 20 responses, so if you're hoping for any significance to the answers you're SOOL IMO.

Cheers.

[bfitzgerald]

He's not out of luck as DPR had a poll up about this too and with a fairly large response. The vast majority of users responded by saying they used video fairly infrequently or very little. The conclusion was that video is not a "must have" for most folks who are interested in stills photography.

Of course some are but they are a minority of users v the mass of people who don't really care for it that much. Now I'm not suggesting makers rip video out clearly they need it there for marketing reasons it's just not a big deal to "most" that's all.

Some of the supporters of convergence are treading on dangerous grounds the needs of stills shooters are not the same as video ones thus the all in one wonder "swiss army knife" camera/video machine will never really happen. With this in mind it's fairly clear to me Sony and their SLT strategy are not targetting enthusiast photographers they're courting consumers who want a bit of both.

[Scooterman]

Of course they are targeting the majority; they are not in it for doing favours for the minority. The A-33, 55 and NEX were all aimed at mass market, and it worked for them.
The A 580 was aimed at people who wanted a DSLR, now when the A-77 or what ever it will be called that may be aimed at an even wider market Semi Pros down, If it works it may just boost Sony into the top league, Time will tell.
Richard

[InTheSky]

With a new baby on the way and no video camera, video was a big reason I got the NEX5.

As a new Dad, this is the reason why I have bought the NEX 5 mostly for video, and second utility for taking real Photo. Outside the need for taking good moment with my family, I probably be able to live without any video function.

Other Sony/Canon video camera was on my target, but nothing was able to match the video quality of the Sony NEX 5 in low light for the price. Other point is that any Video camera (standard like handycam) are able to provide great picture. I have to admit that I bought directly the adapter for Sony Alpha and this was probably a not fair (NEX + expensive Alpha lens cost much more than high quality camcorder) comparison of good depth of field effect.

Most of my best kid movie have been took with the 58mm F/1.2, for those like me use to do manual focus, this lens is a no-brainer to invest on.

Regards,

Frank

[Birma]

While I agree that some part of having the video function on a still camera is a 'me-too' feature, there are also additional feature sets and benefits that still cameras are getting through the convergence with video, e.g. improving live view, multi-frame hdr, sweep panorama. This convergence has much further to go (e.g. full sensor size 60 fps).

I also think that "enthusiast photographers" are also sometimes part-time "consumers photographers" and "consumer videographers". I would much rather have available a video function on my dslr/t than have to carry a further device for the odd video-snap. (I can't answer the poll as I currently don't have one of the new camera bodies.)

[bfitzgerald]

Scooterman McDonald's is aimed at the mass market too but I'll just as happily ignore that!

[Jasper_D]

I cannot vote, as said earlier there´s one possibility missing: ´never´, as I don´t have a NEX nor SLT, and my A100 nor A900 cannot do it. Glad to say..
However, I have started video recording several times, on several compacts we own, lately on the LX5. Same for several mobile phones, and other electronic gadgets. Once on each I´d say, to check that it works, and that was it. I do occasional video conferences over Skype though, but not sure that qualifies.

[Dusty]

Of course they are targeting the majority; they are not in it for doing favours for the minority. The A-33, 55 and NEX were all aimed at mass market, and it worked for them.
The A 580 was aimed at people who wanted a DSLR, now when the A-77 or what ever it will be called that may be aimed at an even wider market Semi Pros down, If it works it may just boost Sony into the top league, Time will tell.
Richard

If that's the case, they'll soon be at near 0 market share, as cell phone cameras will soon be good enough for the mass market consumer.

Even though all the camera companies produced cheap consumer 35mm 126, 110 and APS film cameras, it did them no good in the long run. Consumer who are casual shooters don't care so much for quality, and don't buy into systems. When the market is saturated with upscale P&S shooters having SLT, what's Sony going to sell then?

People who are fairly happy with their P&S cameras are not going to buy Zeiss lenses, or any lens other then the standard zoom. MAYBE a superzoom, but no macro lenses, high end flashes, of other accessories. And as long as their camera works, why buy another? It's good enough.

It's the Pro, Semi-Pro and Enthusiast markets that have always driven SLR sales. Loos them, you loose your market.

Dusty

[Scooterman]

Of course they are targeting the majority; they are not in it for doing favours for the minority. The A-33, 55 and NEX were all aimed at mass market, and it worked for them.
The A 580 was aimed at people who wanted a DSLR, now when the A-77 or what ever it will be called that may be aimed at an even wider market Semi Pros down, If it works it may just boost Sony into the top league, Time will tell.
Richard

If that's the case, they'll soon be at near 0 market share, as cell phone cameras will soon be good enough for the mass market consumer.

Even though all the camera companies produced cheap consumer 35mm 126, 110 and APS film cameras, it did them no good in the long run. Consumer who are casual shooters don't care so much for quality, and don't buy into systems. When the market is saturated with upscale P&S shooters having SLT, what's Sony going to sell then?

People who are fairly happy with their P&S cameras are not going to buy Zeiss lenses, or any lens other then the standard zoom. MAYBE a superzoom, but no macro lenses, high end flashes, of other accessories. And as long as their camera works, why buy another? It's good enough.

It's the Pro, Semi-Pro and Enthusiast markets that have always driven SLR sales. Loos them, you loose your market.

Dusty

All the manufactures sell to the masses with lower end products including Pentax Barry, as do the others, as for McDonald’s I agree and the rest of the junk food places.
What I said if you read my entry was, the lower end of the market is what Sony have aimed at, the next lot should be aimed at ones who take their photography more seriously the A-77 and up, Canon have done this strategy for years the lower end 1.6 crop sensors are aimed at “Happy Snappers” where as the 1.3 and above (1D) series are aimed at the pros, also the ones with strong arms.
So will soon see if Sony’s marketing strategy will work.
Sorry Barry it does look like EVF’s are in from now on.

Richard

[longvale]

I find the video option on my A33 handy to have. But as for making a video I would rather use a dedicated camcorder. My greatest bugbear with the A33 is the noisy AF on the SAM lens which clicks loudly on continous autofocus. Using manual focus is of no use unless you have a focus puller standing by like they do in Hollywood!! Also the kit lens zoom ring binds when I start to zoom so the resultant camera shake needs to be edited out which is ok but if you are using sound this is not going to work unless you halt any dialogue until you are focussed and the scene is framed right. No good for spontanaiety! Even zooming with a smoother lens you still shake the camera when you grasp the zoom ring. Shooting video and zooming at the same time creates this awful camera shake as you simultaenously juggle the two operations. The P&Ss and vdeo cameras have that nice zooming lever its a pity they can't incorporate that into the SLT bodies and couple it to a motorized lens like the Minolta Xi range although the zooming motor noise would need to be totally muffled.
I think I should have bought the last of the A550's for stills and a separate Sony HDRXR350V or HDRXR550V camcorder for video work although like I said intially the video feature on the A33 is handy if you need to video a scene quickly while shooting stills.
On the positive side you obviously have a better quality video picture which is why I shall stick with the A33 and save my pennies for the camcorder.

[tom power 53]

The question asked by the OP to me is not a good one. Apples and oranges. When walking around with a DSLR many folks will take various shots just for something to do or on the off chance some will turn out good. Not all people prowl around only taking shots they think have a chance of being good (more my style - maybe 12,000 clicks on my 3 year old A700). I think the video function is used quite differently also by people. Some will want to use it to record an important event and some just to put up something fun on YouTube. Comparing shots versus videos just not comparable IMO.

Many people who want to record important events on video will only use this function occasionally but it will be an important reason for them to pick a still camera that has this capability but it's importance is not associated with use compared to still use.

How fast will your car go? 90 MPH - 100 MPH - 150 MPH? How often will you use the AWD or 4 wheel drive if you have it?

In buying a car many buying decisions to get features will be made by people that will never or seldom use these features in their cars - but the features will still be important to them - in fact important enough for them to pay extra for those features.

Now on a camera the actual price increase to add video is nearly nil or actually negative since if they don't include video then the sales volume will be much much smaller and the stills R&D, sales cost etc. must be spread over many fewer camera units sold.

Things always more convoluted than they seem. I don't have video in my A700 and will seldom use it in my next camera but absolutely would not buy a new camera without it - even if it cost more - which it won't.

Not sure if this commentary is actually in the vein of the OP but think it applies. JMO

[gio67]

I have a panasonic GF1 which I use quite a lot,today my son said "what's the video like dad" and after having it for three months today was the first time I tried it, actually he tried it,I have never been a fan of video , still photography for me captures that split second in time that video cannot

[WaltKnapp]

Of course they are targeting the majority; they are not in it for doing favours for the minority. The A-33, 55 and NEX were all aimed at mass market, and it worked for them.
The A 580 was aimed at people who wanted a DSLR, now when the A-77 or what ever it will be called that may be aimed at an even wider market Semi Pros down, If it works it may just boost Sony into the top league, Time will tell.
Richard

Actually availability of the a580 has been much more limited than SLT. Something that seems quite deliberate on the part of Sony, to produce false statistics.

Sony is boosting itself into a new category that sits on top of consumer cameras, but below the DSLR market which grew by over 30% last year, not the top level of photography at all for Sony.

Walt

[stevecim]

What I said if you read my entry was, the lower end of the market is what Sony have aimed at, the next lot should be aimed at ones who take their photography more seriously the A-77 and up, Canon have done this strategy for years the lower end 1.6 crop sensors are aimed at “Happy Snappers” where as the 1.3 and above (1D) series are aimed at the pros, also the ones with strong arms.
So will soon see if Sony’s marketing strategy will work.
Sorry Barry it does look like EVF’s are in from now on.

Richard

Sony have no interest in the top end of the market. Can/nik first built up the top end of the market and then used it to drive mass sales into the low end.
One of the main selling point for Can/Nik is "it's the cameras that the Pros use" many buyers will buy a low end DSLR because it based on the same tech that's found in the high end models. No Pro user is going to buy a high end camera because it's based tech found in the low end bodies.

Sony will never compete with Can/Nik for the top end of town, they are not interested in setting the rest of the systems needed to support the Pro user. They are not even willing to have International warranty on the G/Z lenses like Can do on the L lenses. The whole point of the SLT is to take low end users away from Can/Nik it's not about Pro users. No Pro user is going to buy a SLT9xx type body because it can do video with AF a Pro user make his money out of taking photo's not video. If you had to make money from video , high end video camera will always out do a high end SLR when if comes to taking video.