You thoughts on the big video-function craze?

Got it (5D Mk II), haven't used it, don't intend to.

I don't have it on my 40D, but the more and more my wife asks me about getting a video camera for our nieces birthday parties and our international travel the more I'm curious about it. I do agree that trying to be a still and video photographer at a wedding seems beyond daunting to the point of inane... but whatever the client wants is the motto of some.. Cheers!

For my work I could never get decent video and stills. The moments that I need stills from would be the same moments that I'd need video from. And with video I couldn't move around and take stills from different angles without missing something. AND to get decent video with a DSLR I'd need a better computer to edit the HD footage, I'd need some way to record the sound and I'd need to use a tripod or shoulder mount to stabilize the camera.
I'm sorry but it's a gimmick.

No video for me. I bought a Video camera 15 years ago, used it a couple of times and realized that I really, really suck at it. Haven't touched it since and I sure won't use it in any DSLR camera.

I never thought I would use the video function on my Nikon D90, but I used it once and fell in love with it. I am selling my camcorder. Being able to shoot video using high quality lens with shallow DOF (or extreme wide angle) with very little noise in low light is just wonderful. With the video I was able to capture so much expression of people and interesting moments that would have been lost had I just snap one picture. The video enriches your ability to capture your visual experience. By combining video and still into one camera, you have the freedom to use one or the other, depending on the circumstances. This is particularly true for those who do not usually carry a camcorder. I will not buy another camera that cannot shoot HD video.

Chang is right. If it is implemented well, it could be fun to have in a quality lens camera combo. You are on a trip, let's say. Joe Tourist trip. I think of the Amtrak Cascade run from Oakland to Portland. Sitting in the dome car, watching canyons and whisking at speed through tunnels blasted out of rock, sweeping by steep embankments that seem to make the train hang in space above the railroad bed. No still can capture that experience. Can it, are you sure?

I shot a batch of stills with my Konica Hexar on slide film and got a few keepers. Fleeting seconds of scenery flashing by. Even a 5 second clip can powerfully relive that experience if in motion . Does this diminish the 'perfect moment' represented by a still? I don't. Does video take a different mindset.... Probably. That will be my main effort then, the distillation of experience and versatility to choose. Bottom line=what's to lose? I like the convenience represened by a well designed convergence.For those certain visuals like the one I described. Am open to persuasion is all. -- PS. It might even be fun:-)

Interesting points, all!

And, I notice that the big guns, the top-of-line cameras, for the most part, still do not offer video as part of their specifications.

You "notice" wrong, or at least draw incorrect conclusions. The dividing line is not "where" the cameras fall in a manufacturer's line, but "when" they were released. The Canon 1Ds III, for example, launched in August of 2007, about a year before the November 2008 apearance of the video DSLRs. Nikon D3 was another August 2007 launch, positively stale by "V day". D3X was the only thing close, just on the edge...

In fact, video is refefining top-of-the-line product planning. Canon normally launches their flagships on a 3 year cycle.

• 1D III - Feb 2007
• 1D II - Jan 2004

They pulled the 1D IV ahead a quarter (three months) to October 2009, and launched with video. 1Ds is also on a 3 year cycle: 1Ds IV would normally launch in August or September 2010, but the word on the street is either a 2 or 3 quarter pullahead and a launch with video (and a pixel count higher than Leica S2).

Canon 5D was a well documented example of a failed product launch. It sold well below expectations: Canon set the record for the entire industry for both frequency and size of price reductions and incentive packages, and still had difficulty moving that camera. 5D II took off: Canon sold more of them in the first 6 months than they sold of the original 5D in the first two years.

Nikon D4 isn't due till late 2010, so Nikon grabbed some headlines with a D3s, with video (and better low light capability) at $5200.

And the last wedding I attended, still employed a still photographer and a videographer... two separate people with two separate jobs. I couldn't imagine the still photographer trying to integrate videos with his array of stills for presentation to his clients later. I sure wouldn't want to!

Can you imagine a small company that employs 2-4 shooters training them all for both video and still, so they can book events as photographer/videographer pairs, or just photographers, or just videographes, depending on what the customer whats?

I've read a couple articles now "informing" photographers that they need to embrace shooting videos along with their still work. And now, most all of the camera manufacturers are clamoring to include movie capability on their offerings.

Do you always write with such "sensationalism"? I don't recall articles "informing" photographers of what they "need", just what "could" help them expand their businesses. And the manufacturers aren't "clamoring", they're simply "doing".

Nikon D4 isn't due till late 2010, so Nikon grabbed some headlines with a D3s, with video (and better low light capability) at $5200.

Indeed. If I remember correctly, Nikon D90 was the first dSLR to offer video. D300 is the next line up, but because it came before D90, it does not have video. When it was time for the D300 to be refreshed, Nikon introduced D300s which has video. This allows Nikon to catch up with Canon who chose to first offer video to their up of the line pro cameras. D3 was the latest that was refreshed and the D3s now too has video. The D700 will be updated soon and video will sure to be added.

There were a few PJs posted in the Nikon forum to tell people that increasingly the News organizations that hire them are now requesting them to also shoot videos. This is particularly relevant to those newspapers that have an on line versions, and videos shot by dSLRs are more than enough to be satisfactory in terms of image quality. This saves them big money in hiring a separate videographer.