ecka said:
jedy said:
tomscott said:
Again objectively 4K for the average person is not really suitable, the rig needs to be substantial to edit the video and most people wont have 4k monitors but maybe a TV. 4K is well and truly here but I would argue it is still a niche for prosumers delivering content. Saying that I dont see average wedding videographers using canons cinema line because its too big of an investment so most shoot with panasonic or sony cameras which offer similar features at less than half the price. Although their rigs do look like transformers and a complete pain to use as they weren't designed to primarily be video cameras.
I agree that 4K in dslrs/mirrorless is extremely niche in its use - doesn't stop consumers demanding it, sadly. If only camera companies would focus on top notch HD video and leave 4K to the proper video cameras! The internet can't currently cope with huge volumes of 4K streams and TV still only offers a handful of HD channels, let alone 4K. Also, the cost to set up a computer to edit 4K is huge.
I think the question is - Why bother buying new expensive high-res cameras? If you don't have a proper UHD display and a computer to handle it in the first place. You have to upgrade all of your toys accordingly to keep everything in balance. Otherwise some things will always seem like overkill, while other (dated) things will struggle to keep up.
And another question is - Don't you know that 4K is being used for producing superior 1080p content? For downsampling, cropping, stabilizing, etc. It's not a gimmick. You don't need it, because you don't use it. But it doesn't mean that the stuff you are watching in 1080p wasn't shot in 4K or even more K.
Conservatism is bad for progress and development. And who's watching TV in the 21st century anyways?

The Internet can't cope with 4K? Really? Well, maybe in Africa or North Korea. I'm watching 4K regularly (no problem) and it's beautiful on 40"(ish) UHD monitors. Even on 1080p display there's an obvious quality boost when viewing 4K (2160p) or 2.5K (1440p) content.
*Bats away straw men* 4K *in DSLRs* is what was being discussed. Nobody denies higher video resolution is coming, nor that it can have its uses in cropping or stabilising footage. But a point I've seen made here and elsewhere is, are DSLRs the platform to produce good 4K? There was a time - pretty brief, it seems to me - when DSLRs were being used to make some films and tv shows (the 5D2, right?), but I don't think it's unfair to say they are not, and never will be, a major player in that regard.
As for conservatism, sometimes you want a device that, above all else, works well. Innovation is great, but there's a balance to be struck.
And as for your other points, well - actually, 4K content takes a lot longer to download/is much more demanding to stream no matter where you live. Is it worth the extra wait/lower reliability? Is 4K tv worth the extra cost (even assuming it's available, which is not the case in the UK for most content)? I'd argue for most stuff, it doesn't matter. It's not like classic tv and films became obsolete the moment HD came along. Content always trumps presentation. To an extent, higher res *is* a gimmick - when it's presented as an end in itself, rather than a tool to improve content (which is only the case for certain genres, I'd argue).