Canon 5DMKII Video - Good enough for professionals, how about amateurs? - Page 2

Well said, ronrosa. Average Joe probably goes as far as reading camcorder reviews on Amazon, maybe Consumer Reports. Average Joe will probably listen to what the salesperson at BB tells him about the camcorders & will learn that since average Joe has a new HDTV, he will need a device that will capture at least 1080i/p. I don't know if it is a trend or not, but it seems average Joe is also in love with youtube for the ease of sharing his/her average video.

Canon 5DMKII is real impressive all around, I just wish it was shaped like a camcorder. It feels real wierd to video with it.

Guys... From the last official numbers that I could find, only a third of "Joes" own an HDTV (1). And a third of them don't even use it to watch HD content (2). And how many of the remaining Joes have an interest in recording videos?

Not sure I buy the idea that a majority of the Joes have $700+ to throw at an HD camcorder either, especially in this economy. I'm sure many Joes already own a DV camera and don't have the itch to upgrade. And if they do, they're probably much more likely to buy a $100-$200 FlipHD toy to do youtube or watch on their HDTV (if they're in the third that have one).

(1) = http://www.leichtmanresearch.com/pre...08release.html
(2) = http://www.comcast.com/About/PressRe....ashx?PRID=831

Look at it this way... Blu Ray and it's rather slow adoption is proof that "joe" cares about PQ only to a certain point..... then it starts taking a back seat to other functions.

Actually, I was surprised to read recently that bluray isn't doing as badly as we all think.

"According to Adams Media Research, the household penetration for Blu-ray Disc players is 8% after slightly less than three years on the market. Compare this to the three-year estimates of about 3% for Color TV, 2% for CDs and 4% for DVDs, and Blu-rays are looking to be a rapidly growing industry.
...
Software sales for Blu-ray Disc players are increasing as well. This past October was the first month to hit 2 million disc sales, which increased to 8 million by December. At the close of 2008, disc sales stood at 24.09 million for the year, bringing the total since launch to over 30 million sales.
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Sales of Blu-ray Disc players are projected to increase two to three fold in the next year, according to Adams Media Research." (1)

With blu-ray players available at $128 at Walmart, Joe's favorite store (http://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ...ct_id=10825995), I am ready to believe the player's sales will grow a lot in 2009.

No, it's not earth-shattering news, but I wouldn't call the format dead just yet.

(1) = http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/sh...ng_Nicely/2425

Look at how many threads have been started, or joined in, with the "I've got a baby on the way, need a camcorder now" topic. I consider myself more of a above average Joe, but I have never owned a camcorder until a couple of weeks ago.

The HDTV bug is in full force, and average Joe has or wants one. I personally don't know anyone who doesn't already have a HDTV, or will be getting one soon. A couple of the employees at my office are collecting Social Security, which means they can only work a certain number of hours & still collect SS. Both of them have little HDTVs at home.

I don't know what the market penetration is for video devices, and frankly I could care less. But, for the average Joe with the HDTV glaring at him every day, I'm sure the thought of having a camcorder of the HD variety would cross his mind (often), especially if he is one of the average Joes who tends to film the family a lot.

The majority of people moved up to DVD only about 5-7 years ago. Maybe they figure in 5-7 years something better than Blu-ray will be out. And if they do think that, then they're probably right.

I know I wanted nothing to do with the "format wars." Had it been just Blu-ray from the start, it would have been so much easier for people to adopt.

So true... feels like competition in some cases really doesn't help (like for format standards).

Well knowing we dont even fill a bluray yet and that the bluray support up to like 3-4 layers (something like 150-200GB...) i dont think it will be death any soon...