Dirk Halstead has a review of the video capabilities of the Canon 5D MkII over on Digital Journalist. The issues he identifies are ergonomics and exposure control. You can't hold it steady because of how the controls are set up, so it's pretty much a tripod only video camera. That's largely the case with pro video anyway, so it's not necessarily a deal killer. The biggest drawback that I see is that video is captured with the lens at maximum aperture, with no manual control over your lens setting. You have no control over depth of field--you only get a thin slice of in-focus image. That's great if you want the Hollywood look for close-ups, but it's going to be a serious limitation in the field.
The still capabilities alone would justify the upgrade, but this is no replacement for professional video.
It's not completely impossible. Just awkward. Well, pretty darned awkward.
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1032&message=30074189
Maybe there's some value in pulling out some of those cheap lenses with small maximum apertures. :)
Posted by: Tommy Williams | November 22, 2008 at 07:16 PM