Take a look at this LINK and watch the video before reading further. My commentary follows.
If you are a amateur shooter or professional, one can not help but be impressed at this video when we consider (what) was the prime image capturing device. A DSLR that costs about $3,000! Wow!
We have certainly come a long way baby since the old panaflex movie cameras.
Yep; it's amazing footage. Yep; the image quality just blows us away. Yep; the technology is almost mind blowing.
A Disturbing Trend
That being said; I see a disturbing trend. A trend I hope many will not fall into. Years ago a camera body provided years of service before another one was introduced. Photography maintained a high level of excellence with these old film cameras. Digital can also produce high level images and they do; often better than their film counter parts.
While the video we saw in Nikon's commercial is amazing, it does not represent what you and I can do with this latest generation of DSLR's. That's right. We did not just watch a movie. What we saw was a commercial produced and no doubt paid for by Nikon to sell their cameras to the masses..it is little more than a marketing vehicle.
This type of marketing to photographers/videographers I find disturbing on several levels.
Camera companies now pump out a new version about every 18 months. Why? Profit..sheer profit.
While I see no evil in profit (I am a capitalist at heart) I DO see deceptive marketing practices.
The camera being advertised in the video is being aimed NOT at the Hollywood film maker, but middle America. "Spend $3,000 and shoot a video like the one you just saw" Come on; really?
Does anyone reading this blog entry believe one could produce such a video if you buy this camera? Highly unlikely.
If you watch "Joyride", pay particular attention to the ending credits. Many people, (experts) were involved in this short 5 min movie. Care to guess what this movie cost to produce from start to finish? Personally I have no idea, but you know it was in the hundreds of thousands; probably more.
So here we have many people making this movie, all are paid.
Other costs in this movie?
Days upon days of shooting. This 5 min movie took a little longer than 5 mins to produce & edit. LOL
Check out the "Making of Joyride" movie.
You don't think all that extra equipment is free do you? As I looked at the "other" equipment, Dolly's, mobile platforms, external monitors, sound recorders, steady cams, lights, camera cages, security personnel, licenses etc..etc. The ancillary equipment alone would be cost prohibitive to the average person.
So before you peel off three grand for a camera in the hopes of producing stunning video and still images, give some thought into what you need. Don't expect to get home movie results that equal what you just saw in Nikon's commercial. A primer to choosing a camera. LINK
Nikon is a great company. They make great cameras. It is all I shoot.
Nikon is no different than most advertisers. Perhaps they all need to place a disclaimer on their ads
"Your Mileage May Vary"
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