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DSLRs to get video capture function

A Japanese inventor has filed a patent that could lead to DSLR cameras being able to capture digital video footage.

Hiroshi Terada's patent manages to bypass inherent problems of the DSLR design -specifically the mirror set-up and auto-focus system - byincorporating a semi-transparent mirror and dual-function AF systeminto the design.

The semi-transparent mirror would allow acertain percentage - Terada quotes 70 per cent - of lightto pass through the camera to the sensor, in much the same way recentlive view-enabled DSLRs operate. The deflected 30 per cent, meanwhile,would allow the camera's continuous phase-detection autofocus tofunction.

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Thedual-function AF would allow for a wider AF threshold and a slower,smoother AF speed when used in video mode, but would revert to standardAF mode for still photography.

After the advent of live view itwas only ever going to be a matter of time before manufacturers decidedto tack video shooting onto DSLR models. The big question though, iswhether there will be much demand for it. Especially from DSLR puristswho tend to view anything that might even remotely compromise stillimage quality with a high degree of scepticism.

Whinging purists

"Thereare bound to be purists that whinge, but there always are!" says ChrisGeorge, associate editor of PhotoPlus magazine. However at the lowerend of the DSLR market, video capture could well appeal to prospectivenew DSLR buyers:

"Video mode will probably be used as an extraselling point on cheaper SLRs, which is a very profitable andcompetitive end of the market. The key considerations will be theresolution and frame rate - if these are good enough, videocapture mode will be welcomed by most DSLR users."