It's Not The Camera

There's been a lot of excitement about SLR's that shoot video. Debates over ergonomics, rolling shutter (jello cam), compression, frame rates, and sutibility can be found everywhere. The just announced Canon EOS 7D has included a lot of the features film makers found lacking in the Canon 5D Mark II.


Is this the perfect camera? Nope. There is no perfect camera.

Will someone make a film with this camera that touches, inspires, makes a boatload of money? Maybe.

In the early eighties a good friend of mine made a commercial using a Bell and Howell Eyemo 35mm camera and a sandbag instead of a tripod. His concept was brilliant. The story worked. He won a fistfull of awards and new clients that brought him enough money to buy a few lenses and a tripod.

So what's the point?

The point is that the idea and the execution is more important than the camera. If I land a project where the budget is so limited that I can only aford to shoot ony iPhone then I'll make adjustments and shoot on the iPhone. If there's budget to shoot Panavision then that's my tool of choice. Making movies is and always has been about doing the best job you can with the tools and idea you have.

There may be a digital SLR capable of shooting HD video in my future. If there is it will just be another tool that I use to bring an idea to life.