What They Say
An article on PetaPixel looked at the Canon EOS R3 camera could make a change to still and video photography. The new device can capture still frames at 30fps, typically the frame rate used for broadcast video. A researcher has suggested that Canon’s market share and influence could mean that there is a change in the market, with photographers avoiding a need to choose whether to choose to shoot in a video mode or a still image mode.
What We Think
This is not a display story, but I’m sure plenty of my readers are also interested in this topic (and it’s the end of the week!). This idea is not new, Panasonic was, I think the first firm to suggest this idea to me several years ago. One of the key issues is whether the image can be captured in RAW format. If you are a serious still photographer, you will work in RAW to get the maximum range of adjustment after capture. If the image is processed with a codec, then the image quality will suffer. Sony’s A1 full frame mirrorless camera can capture at 30fps, but only in lossy compressed Raw, JPEG or HEIF. That’s better than no RAW but not as good as lossless compressed RAW.
Cameras often have a burst mode that is fast but has a maximum capacity of shots, which has often been just a few seconds or less in the past, as a buffer fills up, so the capture also needs to be sustainable for longer periods to make this work. The other issue is memory. I work with a sports photographer and he never uses RAW because of the image sizes and memory capacity needed. It’s frustrating when I’d like to be able to process a borderline image to adjust the exposure or try to reduce noise, but it’s already in JPEG. Personally, even using a good compact camera, I use RAW and post-process. (BR)
