Can the 5D or 7D eliminate the need for a traditoinal video camera?

[DavidPartington]

The bad news is it looks like the AF-100 does not have any motorised zoom function  .   While I don't use this very often, it's nice to have when you need it.

[kwshaw1]

I took my Canon 7D and a Sony HC1 camcorder to a family wedding this past weekend, and did what I could to test them under casual circumstances - plus some additional experiments after I got home. Two main things I ran up against were (1) too small a memory card to record much video on the 7D, (2) overheating when running in 1280x720 mode. Plus zooming was jerky with the lens I was using on the 7D, so I tried to just shoot each clip at a single focal length.

I also skimmed David's article on the WVDR home page and think he did a good job of addressing many issues, but perhaps overstated the notion that many videographers are considering abandoning traditional video cameras. The practical issues of using DSLRs are still significant and there are new "crossover" cameras coming which have DSLR sensors in a camcorder body, so this debate could be moot soon. But hey, anyone who can make DSLRs work for shooting a whole wedding, go for it!

[DavidPartington]

Interesting that you saw overheating in 720p mode. How long were you shooting before this happened, and what was the ambient temperature? 

BTW - 'many' does not mean 'majority'.  Many people are already using DSLRs exclusively, and 'many more' are considering it, but the majority won't change for a long time, either because they don't like the DSLR solution (too many issues to work around) or they just can't afford it.   The cost of a Canon body is cheap relative to a good camcorder, but when you start looking at the lens options the cost soon spirals.

[kwshaw1]

Interesting that you saw overheating in 720p mode. How long were you shooting before this happened, and what was the ambient temperature? 

I got overheating after about 12 minutes in 720p mode, and that was shortly after running for ~25 minutes in 640x480 mode. This was indoors at a room temp ~72 degrees Farenheit. Haven't seen overheating yet in 1920x1080 mode, but will test more thoroughly for that when I get a chance.

As you noted in your article, it would be unusual to see overheating issues on traditional video cameras - so that's a good reason to keep one running as a backup when shooting video with a DSLR.

I don't personally know anyone shooting exclusively with DSLRs for weddings and would say the number of videographers successfully doing that is miniscule, not many. But as I said before, if someone can do that and make it work for them as a business decision, go for it.

[DavidPartington]

I know of at least half a dozen people shooting DLSRs exclusively for weddings (I'm not ready to go there yet!).

I also know of lots of others who are shooting DSLRs along side regular camcorders, choosing the right tool for the job, on a job by job or even shot by shot basis.   The numbers are increasing more and more as time goes by.

The indie film people are also all over the DSLR stuff, but of course they are not real time, one take kind of people like weddings and events.

[kwshaw1]

I know of at least half a dozen people shooting DLSRs exclusively for weddings

Would be interesting to hear some of their "lessons learned" in getting to that point - perhaps another article?   :-)

I also know of lots of others who are shooting DSLRs along side regular camcorders, choosing the right tool for the job, on a job by job or even shot by shot basis. 

That much certainly makes sense for those interested in making use of new tools, especially as DSLR technology continues to improve.

[kwshaw1]

I found a note on DVinfo about upgrading the 7D firmware to help with the overheating issue, and am testing the results now. Anyone with a 7D can find the new firmware and instructions here:

http://web.canon.jp/imaging/eosd/firm-e/eos7d/download.html

[kwshaw1]

The firmware update seems to have helped: I've been running my 7D at 720p/60 for over half an hour with no overheating warning, which is an improvement over previous tests. Not sure whether the update actually reduces heating issues or just adjusts the shutdown sensitivity, but either way it's running longer.