Meatcurry said:
lw said:
Woody said:
douglaurent said:
How cool is that. A 2017 camera model with 1080p video. Go Canon! Because who needs more than 2 megapixels?
Errr... how many people have 4K TV at home?
Deja vu... Roll back just 10 years to when HD was introduced and the cry was "how many people have a HD TV at home?"
3 or 4 years later and you couldn't buy an SD TV anymore.
The same is happening again. Walk in to any TV retailer and its wall to wall 4K and they are no more expensive than good HD sets were last year.
3 or 4 years from now, 4K will be as ubiquitous as HD was. The same pattern will be followed.
Plenty of 4K content here in the UK including live sport like football and F1 www.sky.com/shop/tv/uhd/
Whilst you're not wrong regarding the availability of 4K TVs, I don't think that sales are in the same league as they were when we moved to HD, just because all TVs for sale now are 4K doesn't translate into everyone has a 4K TV. Also the price of subscribing to Sky in general puts 4K content in the luxury bracket. Canon has a good grasp on what the market actually wants and frankly my guess is that 4K video is low on the list right now.
4K is overrated for the time being.
Here's why - like you've said, most people don't have 4K TV's and here in the USA, I would guesstimate that 1/3 or more of new TV sales are still 1080. When I walk the stores, there are still many 1080 selections and they still have to mark the 4K TV's with a sign saying they are 4K.
Now, when will everyone get 4K? I think sooner than later. This isn't because of a need, but because the reliability of these electronics is pitiful these days. Very cheap and poor components goes into these, and people are having to replace 3-5 year cycle. That and at least in the US, there's that desire to have the latest and greatest even though it doesn't matter.
It doesn't matter because there's almost no 4K content available yet. In fact, when it comes to cable packages - they aren't close to getting full 1080 content, heck, there's a lot of stuff that isn't even 720.
So, let us assume for a moment that finally - all TV channels are 1080 finally once and for all. Are they really 1080? They are in RESOLUTION, but not in QUALITY. There's a lot of compression and processing going on - and none of the on-air or cable stuff is true 1080 high def quality as you would get with say a Bluray video or PC video mastered at top quality.
That said....
Watching a 1080 video at it's absolute best potential is pretty amazing, many years after this became the "standard" ...and I believe more than satisfies the vast majority of end users.
Thus, people are really limited to professionally shot and produced content delivered to their TV via Blueray or PC to be able to take any advantage. A 4K GoPro does not count. These lower level video recording devices, including most DSLR and mirrorless are not capturing the quality necessary to take full advantage. They are recording to that resolution, but not to the quality level that resolution is capable of.
That explains my hostility toward all this 4K stuff in these forums. It's pointless to some extent. Unless you buy high end professional video gear, use the best lenses, use professional technique and support equipment - the end result will look like ass. Sorry for the crude expression, but 8K wouldn't help one bit if not shot to the capability of the format.
Why are people paying top dollar for access to something that doesn't exist?
The TV's in the stores look amazing, because they are looping a promotional video shot in 4K with the best possible production. Then consumers take the TV home to watch highly compressed 1080 cable or netflix, and an occasional Bluray.
By the time enough real 4K comes around, the TV's will have dropped in price - or there will be much newer models with superior LED technology.
In short, to maximize 4K capability requires professional production. Whether people like to hear it or not - that's the facts. It's the same situation with high resolution DSLR. The 5DSR, to really take advantage of it for stills requires proper technique. Running and gunning with it diminishes its max potential quite a bit. Same with medium format. For video, the quality is so high now - that for the first time a threshold has been reached where higher production standards are necessary to take advantage. It's not like the VHS days where perfect technique could be overlooked because the format just couldn't capture the quality and detail.
This is why 4K isn't a big deal in DSLR or Mirrorless cameras. Canon, being a PRACTICAL company - knows this. But marketing hype and consumer craze and drive is not practical thinking. It just wants numbers.
Want great 4K? Canon offers it in the proper place - within their professional line ups, where you could actually make use of it to deliver.
