How can shooting on a DSLR boost your marketing video?

Setting up the Cannon 7D next to a Sony Camcorder.

Setting up the Cannon 7D next to a Sony Camcorder.

Last month on our blog I talked about why Skillman Video Group embraces trends and developments in camera technology. A major trend in videography in the past two years has been the adoption of DSLR’s. Cannon, and others, have produced still cameras capable of capturing 1080P hi-def video. The quality of the video is so great that many videographers, marketers, students, and filmmakers started using them for all manner of projects that the manufacturers hadn’t anticipated. SVG has caught the bug and and we used a Cannon 7D the Hebrew at the Center  video. What a difference it made! Our client received a high quality, cinematic-looking  video.

There are many excellent examples of the high quality image of the 7D hereherehere, and here. The difference in quality compared to a camcorder might not be immediately noticeable, but here are a few comparisons of DSLR vs. HD camcorders. Hebrew at the Center loved SVG’s DSLR footage, which made their video surpass their previous camcorder shoots.

What makes the DSLR image so great, so much more cinematic? Shallow depth of field. Motion picture film and still photographs often have a very shallow depth of field, which means that only certain objects are in focus while the background and even foreground objects are blurred. It focuses the viewer’s attention to the important parts of a shot and closely resembles how our eyes perceive the world. Camcorders, on the other hand, just look unnaturally sharp. This is one reason why your home videos never look as good as your grandparents 8mm home movies. Some also laud the colors, contrast, full frame image of DSLR’s, but the depth of field is the most noticeable difference.

DSLR’s still have a long way to go: they lack stereo audio capture, lack power zoom, lack zebra patterns, poor low-light performance, require expensive cumbersome rigs, inefficient or difficult to use codecs, etc. The lenses, essential to the depth of field, and rigs often cost more than the camera itself, but as more videographers have used them, manufacturers and third parties have found solutions.

If you want a cinematic looking marketing video a DSLR, like our 7D, is definitely your best option. A DSLR will make your social video look more professional and stand out.

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