DSLRs Ups and Downs

DSLRs have become key to the film makers tool kit. They are cheap for what they do in comparison to other film cameras. You can get a decent DSLR for under a 1000 dollars. Now saying this though they do have clear ups and downs for what they do.

Ups
- Cost (Again you can get a decent DSLR for under a grand)
- Ability to take pictures (always a plus when on set)
- 24p and many have 60p options (high speed shooting always has a unique look to it and can be fun if done right)
- Interchangeable lenses (this is a great feature to be able to change lenses for whatever you need, fun fact you can even make that telescope a lens if you have the right adapter)

So with all of these great options what could be the negatives.

Downs
- Monitoring audio (Most DSLRs don't offer live audio levels as you record, which means two things you will not know how strong the audio levels are during recording and generally mean that you have to record separately. This is because a DSLR is just that a DSLR, it was created to be a photo camera and the video part was put in after the fact.)
- Rolling Shutter (because DSLRs record top to bottom in every frame instead of exposing a frame all at once like you would see in a traditional film camera, you have to deal with rolling shutter issues which happens when you pan across something to quickly.)
- Recording Times (Many DSLRs have restrictions on time that they can record per clip. An example is that the Canon line has a 12 minute limit as to the length of each clip.)

At the end of the day though each person has to make the choice if the DSLRs are worth it.

I personally think that they are, though I will admit that they have put me in sticky situations at times and to show this I've linked a clip from today that happened when my mic battery ran out of juice and because I wasn't able to see the levels I didn't realize that I missed it. Good thing the project I'm working on will be just fine.

The video is of the first place winner of the Monster Dash 5k coming across the finish line.

Also for those that are wondering, I use the Canon 7D, which you can check out here.