Hybrid digital cameras let you go pro on video

LOS ANGELES -- Commercial photographer Vincent Laforet just moved to L.A. to embark on a new career as a director of photography on movies.

But he won't be using a video camera for his efforts. Instead, he plans on shooting everything on a digital SLR (single-lens reflex) camera — the Canon EOS 5D Mark II, which takes both stills and video.

Working with one of the new hybrid stills-plus-video cameras — two were just released — "is one of the most dramatic things to happen in the history of video," says Laforet, a former Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times staff photographer. "Now, for a small investment, you can shoot videos that look as good as (shooting) film with motion-picture equipment that sells for hundreds of thousands of dollars."

But to get there, you must be willing to put in considerably more effort than you would with a standard video camera, add several expensive tools to your bag and learn how to shoot video in an entirely new way.

For the consumer or pro looking for a good general-purpose digital SLR that takes great photos — and high-definition video — Canon and Nikon are happy to fit the need.

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The Japanese camera giants started the hybrid SLR movement last year with the $999 Nikon D90 and $2,799 Canon 5D Mark II. They recently brought prices down to consumer levels with the debuts of the $749 Nikon D5000 and $799 Canon EOS Rebel T1i.

The Rebel shoots high-definition video at 720p resolution, 30 frames per second, compared with higher-resolution 1080p/30 frames per second video on the pricier 5D. Nikon's video on both models is the same: 720p video at 24 frames per second.

SLR has an advantage

Consumers have been able to shoot video on their point-and-shoot cameras for years, and many offer decent quality. The advantage of an SLR is that the imaging chip is much larger, producing dramatically sharper video. Additionally, instead of the cheap lenses offered on point-and-shoots, with an SLR you can choose among many high-quality, interchangeable lenses.