During the 2000s a revolution in camera development started. The former analog SLR (single-lens reflex) cameras were slowly replaced by DSLRs (digital single-lens reflex camera). Roughly ten years later DSLM (digital single-lens mirrorless) entered the camera market and started to compete with the DSLRs. With this new digital revolution more and more features were packed into the camera bodies. One of this features is the ability to shoot video on your DSLR/DSLM. In this series we want to take a closer look on the video settings of a digital camera.
Before we can start pressing the record button there are several things which needs to be checked. First of all: Does your camera support recording video? In 2008 Nikon’s D90 was the first DSLR which was able to record a video. Nowadays most cameras support a video mode and compete with camcorders in terms of recording video. If you’re not sure if your camera has a video mode read the manual or search in the Internet.
Is your SD card able to save the data which is produced by your camera? When you record a video a big amount of data is going to be written on your SD card. If you have a slow card probably you won’t get videos because of the speed of your SD card. There a several cards and classes on in the SD universe, but I can recommend SanDisk Ultra and SanDisk Extreme PRO series for capture your clips and safe them.
Now we have the pretty basic hardware. A DSLR/DSLM and the suitable SD card. Depending on your project you may need special lenses or an external microphone recorder, but with your standard Kit set and a SD card you are ready for being a filmmaker.
In the next post we will take a closer look on how to set up your camera settings and different styles.