"Holy cow. Time to throw my 7D in the bin."

[wellfedCanuck]

http://vimeo.com/30578363

While I don't necessarily agree with the producer of that video, (and I think he was being somewhat facetious) -this is the future. I share this link in response to that guy berating "iTards" or the many comments here about unwanted/unneeded features such as GPS and WIFI in the next batch of DSLRs.

The point is- if Apple can include these features in a tiny little phone that sells for $169 under contract- then Canon better start placing them in larger, multi-thousand dollar cameras.

Yes, there will always be a need for pro gear with interchangeable lens. But, you top-end guys need the great unwashed masses to subsidize your toys. Canon, Nikon, et al, need their point and shoot markets to fund R&D. Joe Hobbyist (and I just got off a cruise ship loaded with 7Ds and 5D2s) wants his toy to do everything an iPhone can and more. At that price point there's no excuse for less.

 

[htjunkie]

Wow. That is quite amazing from a phone. Makes me hopeful for the future.

 

[Loswr]

"Siri-MarkIV, set aperture to 2.8, set shutter speed to 1/1000, set ISO to 800, take picture...NOW. Tag with location and keywords Serengeti, cheetah, and gazelle, upload to NatGeo.com, and transfer royalties to BofA account."

Great possibilities, can't wait... ;D

 

[bwhitz]

Yea, this is kind of a dumb statement. I don't think he realizes why people use 7D/5D's for video. It's not that the "quality" is that outstanding... it's because it allows you access to the coveted 35mm cinema look. The iphone video could even be 4k, but it doesn't matter if it's still got that tiny chip on it. Tiny chips will always have that flat small-sensor look.

 

[bvukich]

Ok. It was good for a phone, but not good in it's own right. I'm not sure why he's so impressed with the colors, it looks washed out to me, lacking in contrast and saturation.

If his 7D puts out worse footage than this he seriously needs to take it in for service, because it must be broken.

 

[seakuders]

quick question - i read that the aperture on the iphone camera lens is f/2.4... is that variable at all, or is it ALWAYS 2.4?

do phones have variable aperture?

 

[wellfedCanuck]

I think that some of you have missed the point- that this is a phone- that has climbed an impressive way up the food chain and is now poised to start eating the "serious" camera manufacturers lunch, granted at the present time at the bottom to mid range of the market.

And, two of you "smite" me for pointing out the obvious? Really...?

Geez. Tough crowd. ???

 

[Kamera Obscura]

I am sorry. That just a phone and This is a Canon 7D camera. Two totally different products.

Looking at the footage, it didn't impress at all. Well not bad for phone, but not even remotely close to 7D.

Sorry,
dario.

 

[dr croubie]

Can I mount a Tokina 11-16 or an EF 1200mm to my iToy?
no.
pass.

It may be impressive compared to other phones, even to some P&Ses, but it's not impressive in absolute terms.

*owner of a phone that is actually a phone, and a camera that is actually a camera*

 

[rocketdesigner]

I think that some of you have missed the point- that this is a phone- that has climbed an impressive way up the food chain and is now poised to start eating the "serious" camera manufacturers lunch, granted at the present time at the bottom to mid range of the market.

And, two of you "smite" me for pointing out the obvious? Really...?

Geez. Tough crowd. ???

Dont take it personally ... some are quick to smite based on philosophical differences alone.

But, it is a fairly absurd claim - taken in the literal context - that the iphone will replace a pro video camera.

That said, I don't think any can really argue with your basic, overall premise .... re: the improvement of phone camera technology.

 

[wellfedCanuck]

What I was trying to say was that the "just a phone" has managed to do many things very well. Someone has found a way to engineer an impressive piece of technology at a very low price. If the producer of a sub-$200 (okay, $600 if bought outside of contract) phone can shoehorn HD video, GPS, WIFI and many, many other features into the device- then why shouldn't we expect much, much more out of a 5D3?

Yes, the DSLR takes superior photos and shoots better video than the iPhone. For now. And, at an astronomically higher price. Yeah, I know that we're all fanboys here, wanting only the elitist product. But how many of those old guys on the cruise ship I mentioned will stop buying Canon if Canon rests on its laurels, pooh-poohing non-core features and upgrading its products only every 3 or 4 years? And, if those old guys stop buying- how will that affect the unit-cost for Canon and the end price for the rest of us? Recognizing an obviously forthcoming erosion in the point-and-shoot market, how does that even affect the over-all viability of Canon Inc? Canon could be the next Nortel for all any of us know.

BTW, thanks Neuroanatomist for getting it.

 

[djw]

wellfedCanuck, I am right with you! A camera is an optical AND electronic device. If you can fit in an electronic level there's plenty of room for GPS, WiFi, Bluetooth, .... Why can't I use a wireless display (pc, phone or dedicated panel)?.

I think you are 100%--if a good feature can be in a P&S it should be in a dSLR. There's very little additional R&D. In fact, dSLR sales have already contributed to P&S R&D so why can't dSLRs benefit from these developments?

 

[Loswr]

I think Canon 'gets it', too. The new S100 (sidebar: reportedly Best Buy has some stock, and I'm still waiting on my pre-order from Amazon...) shoots HD video, has built-in GPS. If they can fit GPS into that compact of a camera, they can find room in the larger case of a dSLR - I fully expect it to be in forthcoming bodies. Canon, are you listening? :

 

[DJL329]

The original 5D didn't have "live" view (that's why I didn't buy it). Does the 5D2 have a better focusing system that the original? Nope. Do you want GPS or Wifi on your 1D/1Ds Series or 5D2? Well then you need to buy an adapter. OTOH, did the original iPods have built-in FM tuners? No, you had to buy an add-on. Is there a built-in Optical drive on the MacBook Air? Nope. Does the iPad have a built-in USB port or SD-card slot? No, you need an adapter or, in the case of USB, you can use the included proprietary cable. So please don't tell me that Apple devices include *every* feature or does things the best way possible for their consumers. They, like Canon, do what's best for their bottom line.

Both companies know that by leaving out certain features, they can get us to buy add-ons and/or a newer version down the road. And they know we'll keep coming back, because we've been doing it for years or decades. Only until we stop buying, will they be forced to change. Of course, if they ever built the "perfect" device, we'd never have to buy another one and then they would go out of business. So that's why we get incremental, instead of monumental, changes. Does that mean we have to buy each new version? No (I certainly didn't). We will still complain about it? You betcha!

 

[Kamera Obscura]

We all get it. I guess I don't get the header. Just because I phone can shoot a mediocre video, you want to trow your 7D in the Bin.

I took that literally, Silly me!!

Fellow Canuck,
dario.

 

[Jedifarce]

I think that some of you have missed the point- that this is a phone- that has climbed an impressive way up the food chain and is now poised to start eating the "serious" camera manufacturers lunch, granted at the present time at the bottom to mid range of the market.

And, two of you "smite" me for pointing out the obvious? Really...?

Geez. Tough crowd. ???

Hmmm, no doubt Benjamin Dowie accomplished what he set out to do, generate some interest in his video by using a cheap marketing ploy. "Really, the Iphone is just as good as a DSLR?"

The only people that would believe this are all the apple drones Steve Jobs created before he died, and folks that really have no interest in serious film making whatsoever.

To be honest, the Dof is not bad for a video phone, but you can see the flaws of not having a manual setting for exposure. There's constant light shifts in the videos exposures as though the ISO on a DSLR were set to Auto. Also I'm not sure I'd want to see another Iphone video like this again with all the bouncing around of the video.

The most amusing part of this subject has to be when I searched google for information on the new Iphone, the search engine kept coming back with several links on, 'iPhone 4S vs 5DMarkII.' There's some pretty stupid people out there.

 

[Jedifarce]

What I was trying to say was that the "just a phone" has managed to do many things very well. Someone has found a way to engineer an impressive piece of technology at a very low price. If the producer of a sub-$200 (okay, $600 if bought outside of contract) phone can shoehorn HD video, GPS, WIFI and many, many other features into the device- then why shouldn't we expect much, much more out of a 5D3?

No, we shouldn't. People that actually use their DSLR's know why we bought them and what we intend to use them for. Comparing an Iphone to a DSLR is like comparing a swiss army knife to a machete.

Yes, the DSLR takes superior photos and shoots better video than the iPhone. For now.

Making a statement like this only proves you really have no idea what you're talking about. I'm willing to bet you don't even own a DSLR or if you do aren't sure how to use it. Let us know when an Iphone is able to mount a Carl Zeiss CP .2 prime lens to the front of it, only then I'll believe an Iphone or any other smart phone device is capable of rivaling a DSLR.

Until that day let me share with you why it will never happen. Besides the obvious mechanical reasons that seems to elude you, camera technology will always evolve, improve and never stays stagnant. The DSLR sensors will always be bigger than that of a puny camera phone. DSLR lenses will take better images for those larger sensors, and the mere fact you have a device fully dedicated to capturing photo and video imagery pretty much says it all.

Quite simply, the Iphone will always be a million steps behind the capabilities of a DSLR regardless of your fervent belief to the contrary. More likely, the future DSLR will have the capabilities of an Iphone and not the other way around.

 

[wellfedCanuck]

I think that some of you have missed the point- that this is a phone- that has climbed an impressive way up the food chain and is now poised to start eating the "serious" camera manufacturers lunch, granted at the present time at the bottom to mid range of the market.

And, two of you "smite" me for pointing out the obvious? Really...?

Geez. Tough crowd. ???

Hmmm, no doubt Benjamin Dowie accomplished what he set out to do, generate some interest in his video by using a cheap marketing ploy. "Really, the Iphone is just as good as a DSLR?"

The only people that would believe this are all the apple drones Steve Jobs created before he died, and folks that really have no interest in serious film making whatsoever.

To be honest, the Dof is not bad for a video phone, but you can see the flaws of not having a manual setting for exposure. There's constant light shifts in the videos exposures as though the ISO on a DSLR were set to Auto. Also I'm not sure I'd want to see another Iphone video like this again with all the bouncing around of the video.

The most amusing part of this subject has to be when I searched google for information on the new Iphone, the search engine kept coming back with several links on, 'iPhone 4S vs 5DMarkII.' There's some pretty stupid people out there.

I guess I'm not writing clearly enough. This was never a direct comparison of the abilities of either device, I even stated in my original post that I believed that the producer of the video was being facetious when choosing his title.

This was about bang for the buck, about adding features that people want- even if they defy tradition. This was about trends and vision- the pace of advancing technology in two different sectors of the electronics industry.

There was a secondary point about losing the mass-market. Both Canon and you (and me) need those "pretty stupid people" to keep buying Canon DSLRs to keep the prices down.

Some of it is now a moot point with the new camera adding LAN, WIFI, and (shudder) off-camera GPS. Yes, Jedifarce, I own a Canon DSLR. Do I know what I'm talking about? That'll be for someone to judge 5 or 10 years from now. Do you know what you're talking about? History is littered with people who were sure that technology would advance in a certain direction...

Anyway, we've thrashed this subject to death. How about those Blue Jays...?

 

[Loswr]

Anyway, we've thrashed this subject to death. How about those Blue Jays...?

Well then, ok...I caught a nice capture of a blue jay sitting on a tombstone the other day. A metaphor? Back on topic (well, ok, not really, but I agree we're pretty much done here) ...I took the pic with my 7D + 100-400mm, and I have no intention of chucking my 7D in the bin. :

 

[wellfedCanuck]

Anyway, we've thrashed this subject to death. How about those Blue Jays...?

Well then, ok...I caught a nice capture of a blue jay sitting on a tombstone the other day. A metaphor? Back on topic (well, ok, not really, but I agree we're pretty much done here) ...I took the pic with my 7D + 100-400mm, and I have no intention of chucking my 7D in the bin. :

Well, I actually wish I had a 7D (I only linked to the video, I didn't make it), 'cause then I could take some photos of those blue jays making nests out of all those old frayed red sox in preparation for next year...