Stills from 5d2/7d Video - Anyone doing it yet

[Ken Diewert]

Thanks for the feedback everyone,

I'm not going to aggressively market the 5d2 video stills, though i do have some brides interested in the concept.

I will continue to pursue the fusion concept, but preferrably working with an in-house photographer. I realize that I can also click the shutter, though this does require a different thought process, and when I've done it in the past, I find the interuption to the 'video flow' to be distracting. However I think I'll practice some solo fusion on a wedding that I have in a couple of weeks, and see how it works.

[Dimitris Mantalias]

It may be just me but I think it's not very professional to sell 1920X1080 photography in 2011 to any couple, even as an ultra-budget alternative. Don't forget (and I suppose this is a universal rule for brides) that regardless if a bride pays 100 dollars for her photography, she will be expecting something adequate (it doesn't make sense, but try to explain that to her, if you dare). Surely printing some 20X30 cm photos or bigger (something that many brides ask for) from that footage will give you more trouble than needed. But it's not only the resolution that matters. It's also that I believe that the majority of videographers don't have what it needs to take the photographic approach. As Spiros said, there are so many commons and so many differences, but to make a long story short, I find it near impossible for the average videographer to offer some stills that a good photographer will offer, regardless if you have in your storage some tens of thousands frames to choose from. It's not only the camera settings that require different adjustments in every case, but also that special talent that makes a good photographer able to capture a right moment from the right angle (and with the right settings), especially when we are talking about photojournalism.

Of course the same goes to photographers who try to sell video. Despite the fact that they know how to shoot a proper video technically, I very much doubt that most of them have the ability to know what to shoot in order to create a smooth and story-driven edit. Of course, one can learn many from the other in order to improve (especially the videographers can learn amazing stuff from studying the photographers, since from the beginning of cinema, cinematography used photography rules), but it would be better for the sake of world peace, that one should stick to what does best.