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Bear with me while I explain.
I remember when I plunged into the wide world of digital photography and bought my first SLR. One of the things I noticed and was concerned about was no live preview and lack of movie recording. Asked a few questions and was told that SLR's concentrated on taking pics and not packing in gimmicks and thats why they're better at it. Now when I look throuh the specs my glorious SLR's now have live preview and HD video recording. I appreciate I may have become a bit of a purist, but havent they started to lose their way a bit.
Oh and guess what, I havent missed either feature 
Just curious as to what others think.
Chris
The HD movies is interesting.
In the old days your sports camera shot 10 frames per second and that's how you got your sports shots. Apparently now they use the camera to record a small HD movie of the event and they can then pick out a frame and send as a jpeg to the paper. Similarly we see wedding pros using the HD to provide a value add of the actual ceremony when no videographer is present.
Live preview maybe good for stuff like macro, but I can't say I've ever used it myself.
Have SLR's lost their way? - no, they're just evolving.
Quote: Oh and guess what, I havent missed either feature
Its a bit like having " AirCon " in your car, If you have never had it, You don't know what your missing....
That said I could live without " Live View ", Although as with most gimmicks you either like or loathe them.
Should I decide to employ HD video at anytime, I would buy a proper made for the job HD Video camera.....
Everything Vince said - in spades.
I think you make some valid points - and I am watching dSLR developments with interest over the next few years as I left the 'MEGApixel' train back in the station a very long time ago.
Liveview has never interested me (although live histogram has) and as for video - Vince has nailed it already as far as I'm concerned.
The future is noise control in still image terms for me - and my D300 will fill that requirement for quite some time to come... until Nikon bring the noise capabilities of the D3s into the DX format...
Then I could be tempted again.
We have SLR's that take HD video, and we have camcorders that take ever improving quality stills!....I can see the time coming when "stills" cameras no longer are made, everything will be on HD movie. As has already been mentioned, some sports photographers now "movie" everything and leave the picturedesk to sort out a still from it.
The art of picking the "decisive moment" is becoming lost.
Quote: ..... and a Cup holder.
Would that be a Canon 36DD ?
The crossover began years ago i think.
Just finished reading an article on the RED camera, their website.
Ok, its expensive at £25,000 but this is the future of photography i think. SLR's and compacts are already merging into one another, stills and video too.
Its a powerful tool, even Spielberg has shot two films on it, so it must be bloody good, and its considerably cheaper than most movie camera's out there. The quality is apparently very impressive.
But the SLR shape has remained more or less unchanged for decades, the shape of the RED looks like the shape of things to come in my opinion.
There's a good reason for DSLRs to keep to the good old SLR shape - so that old hands like me don't get jolted out our comfort zone! Camera shape need to be evolutionary rather than revolutionary.
When Leica introduced the M series, back in 1954, they were nervous that the new shape would frighten their loyal followers so they continued the screw-mount line. They even introduced a new screw-mount model. Basically nothing has changed.
However good the four-thirds system, or the RED, the majority will prefer to stick to the familiar.
Quote: There's a good reason for DSLRs to keep to the good old SLR shape - so that old hands like me don't get jolted out our comfort zone! Camera shape need to be evolutionary rather than revolutionary..
I'll drink to that!.....There is something very ergonomic about the traditional SLR shape....everything seems to fall to hand easily. Remember the old Pentax Spotmatic?...It was a joy to handle, it felt almost like an extension to your hand.....Pentax had a slogan at the time....."Just handle a Pentax"....it was absolutely true. You could easily make exposure changes while shooting, with the camera still to your eye.
By comparison many of the high end digital cameras handle like big plastic puddings.
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