Convergence
August 30th, 2008 — 2:54pm
And Resistance To The Changes That Result
I'm sure many of the photographers (and some videographers) who are reading this right now, and who happen to keep up on current camera developments have heard of the Nikon D90.
The Nikon D90 is an otherwise unremarkable upgrade of the Nikon D80, basically, take the guts of the D300, downgrade a few of the components by using some of the components that can be found in the Nikon D60, and there you have it, a new Advanced Amateur camera. The type of camera a Nikon owner would buy as their second Nikon dSLR, someone like myself, for example, considering an upgrade from a Nikon D40/D50/D40x/D60/D70/D70s (phew, not so much the D80 though, since the advantage isn't as great for the upgrader).
Nikon, of course, had to throw a curve-ball (to use a common American vernacular 
), something that they seem to be in the habit of doing recently (what with the announcement and subsequent release of cameras like the D3, D700 and D300, all of which have helped to tip the balance of power somewhat).
See, the Nikon D90 is the first dSLR with the ability to record video.
It's a text book example of convergence, everybody knew that, with the dawning of digital SLR's, that video on dSLR's was inevitable.
Evidently, knowing that it will occur is completely different to actually seeing it occur.
With the announcement of this feature has come a slew of people coming out of the woodwork that want to say their piece on how wrong it is (and a handful who think it's a good thing, such as myself).
I mean, naturally, dSLR's are cameras, they can't possibly be used for the acquisition of video, it's sacrilege to very notion of photography.
In the same way that phones with cameras in them are sacrilegious, or how games consoles can access the internets is wrong, or how printers can now scan, copy, or even fax documents (srsly, who uses a fax machine any more? :B).
Hell, even MP3 players that also have the misfortune of being able to play video is wrong too.
Okay, I'm getting carried away, but I think I've made my point all the same.
Convergence is the very essence of technological development.
Those who are against cameras like the D90 being able to take video don't seem to realise the advantages that having video on a dSLR would bring. And they frequently forget that Nikon aren't holding a gun to their heads and forcing them to use the video feature (since the video feature itself adds no hardware to the camera (save a microphone and speaker) to let it record video, the fact is that Liveview, and the camera's JPEG engine gives all the tools needed to acquire and store a video stream, meaning the addition of video is effectively free).
I like that Video is finally been included, I'm actually surprised it hasn't been sooner.
The fact is, is that, if you want a large sensor video camera, you'd need to spend close to $20,000 to get one (go google 'Red One', you'll see how expensive it can get).
Now, I'm not saying the D90 is perfect, it records to Motion JPEG (hardly the most efficient format to record to), it has no Audio inputs, and on that note, only records Mono audio. The camera also lacks autofocus, something that even £100 video cameras have available (I'd point that virtually no point and shoot allows you to focus or zoom in video mode, something that the D90 at least allows the option of).
But, on the other hand, the D90 offers a few things that most consumer level video cameras can never offer, things like Depth of Field control, interchangeable lenses, and superior high ISO performance.
Convergence is a good thing, but it's people stuck in the past, with antiquated ideas of what things should be like that restrict the development of technologies that fun, useful or, even, important.
I personally welcome the change, and I hope the ones stuck in the past get their heads out of the sand and realise that that change will come, whether they like it or not.
), something that they seem to be in the habit of doing recently (what with the announcement and subsequent release of cameras like the D3, D700 and D300, all of which have helped to tip the balance of power somewhat).
See, the Nikon D90 is the first dSLR with the ability to record video.
It's a text book example of convergence, everybody knew that, with the dawning of digital SLR's, that video on dSLR's was inevitable.
Evidently, knowing that it will occur is completely different to actually seeing it occur.
With the announcement of this feature has come a slew of people coming out of the woodwork that want to say their piece on how wrong it is (and a handful who think it's a good thing, such as myself).
I mean, naturally, dSLR's are cameras, they can't possibly be used for the acquisition of video, it's sacrilege to very notion of photography.
In the same way that phones with cameras in them are sacrilegious, or how games consoles can access the internets is wrong, or how printers can now scan, copy, or even fax documents (srsly, who uses a fax machine any more? :B).
Hell, even MP3 players that also have the misfortune of being able to play video is wrong too.
Okay, I'm getting carried away, but I think I've made my point all the same.
Convergence is the very essence of technological development.
Those who are against cameras like the D90 being able to take video don't seem to realise the advantages that having video on a dSLR would bring. And they frequently forget that Nikon aren't holding a gun to their heads and forcing them to use the video feature (since the video feature itself adds no hardware to the camera (save a microphone and speaker) to let it record video, the fact is that Liveview, and the camera's JPEG engine gives all the tools needed to acquire and store a video stream, meaning the addition of video is effectively free).
I like that Video is finally been included, I'm actually surprised it hasn't been sooner.
The fact is, is that, if you want a large sensor video camera, you'd need to spend close to $20,000 to get one (go google 'Red One', you'll see how expensive it can get).
Now, I'm not saying the D90 is perfect, it records to Motion JPEG (hardly the most efficient format to record to), it has no Audio inputs, and on that note, only records Mono audio. The camera also lacks autofocus, something that even £100 video cameras have available (I'd point that virtually no point and shoot allows you to focus or zoom in video mode, something that the D90 at least allows the option of).
But, on the other hand, the D90 offers a few things that most consumer level video cameras can never offer, things like Depth of Field control, interchangeable lenses, and superior high ISO performance.
Convergence is a good thing, but it's people stuck in the past, with antiquated ideas of what things should be like that restrict the development of technologies that fun, useful or, even, important.
I personally welcome the change, and I hope the ones stuck in the past get their heads out of the sand and realise that that change will come, whether they like it or not.