With the release of the HD video capability on Nikon and Canon EOS cameras, it seems that the direction for most DSLR would be to have high megapixel still photos and HD video recording.  For several years now, digital video cameras have had the capability to take still pictures, albeit in lower resolution than still cameras.  In the same manner, still cameras are also capable of low-quality video.

Now, there’s a growing list of digital still cameras which are HD-video capable and there are now video cameras capable of good sized digital pictures.  The only limitation of HD videos from still cameras is the file size.  Since the videos are stored in flash drives, the maximum file size is only 4GB.  For HD videos this translates to about 10 minutes of continuous shooting.  There are some who would say that this is a significant limitation seeing that most amateur videos are not edited.  Also, since this is HD, video editing needs a powerful computer (upwards of 2GB RAM with HD video editing software) which is not normally found in the home setup.

However, a new company called Red has merged high resolution still photography with really high definition video.  The Red One, their breakthrough camera can capture HD video in something called 4K mode.  which is four times the resolution of most other HD video cameras.  This is due to the 12MP sensor size. This is big for a video camera.

Another advantage of the Red One camera is that is can use Nikon or Canon lenses with lens mount adapters.  This is significant as not all HD cameras have interchangeable lenses.  Video cameras which have interchangeable lens capability can be counted with the fingers of one hand.  And to be able to use Nikon or Canon mounts is even more surprising.

For a video camera, it’s a whole lot better to use older lenses - those without an auto-focus feature.  While video the auto-focus function is not necessary; it’s a bother to have the shot blurring and focusing whenever you move the camera.

Given the hardware, the math of frame size and frame rate yields some interesting numbers.  At 60fps, the Red One can shoot at 3k size frames (3072 x 1536 pixels).  This is equivalent to an exposure time of 1/60 second for a comparable still camera.  Extracting the stills from the video is done with software from Red (the company).  The camera also comes with an HD video editing software.  But, of course, you can use any other video editing software capable of 4k-sized frames.  With this size HD-video, the computer has to be really powerful indeed.

The camera is a rugged and bulky machine.  The Red One does not come cheap at the price of $17,000 without any accessories.  But for this size video, it’s about four-times less expensive than other 4K video cameras.

HD video is a growing trend and it will take a while for the equipment and costs to be within reach of consumers.  There is that one other necessary piece of equipment which is not mentioned, or mentioned only in passing when HD video editing is mentioned, and that’s the computer and the video-editing software.  Might as well, as amateur digital video camera users typically don’t bother to edit their video.