Why the DSLR?

For my scene assignment, we decided to shoot with the Canon 7D. There were many reasons for this decision, but the main selling points were its availability, portability, and its treatment of light, color, and depth.

First of all, I own this camera. Even though that's not a good enough reason of its own, I still made the purchase decision based on a lot of research, the main points of which I will list in proceeding paragraphs. However, it was easy to choose this camera over the others available to us because of the ease of being able to use equipment I already owned.

Secondly, this camera is pocket-sized. Not literally, but it's a heck of a lot smaller than the other cameras in the TCF department. We changed locations three different times for my shoot, so having a camera (and accessories) that could easily be moved from point A to point B (to point C) was a huge plus.

Now let's get to the actual functionality of the camera. This camera renders color, light, and depth beautifully (with the help of some Zeiss primes, of course). It is characteristic of DSLRs to have a very shallow depth of field, which is both a blessing and a curse. It's great because you get that beautifully creamy bokeh, but at the same time, you've got to have a focus puller. And that focus puller has to have the eyes of a hawk and the hands of a seasoned artisan.


DSLRs are also incredibly sensitive to light, which, again, can be a good and bad thing. It's great for low light situations, but when it's bright out, you can run into problems. With no built-in ND filters, you are forced to close down the aperture to correctly expose your image; which, in turn, can eliminate that gorgeous depth of field that DSLRs are so good at. 


Paired with this camera, the Zeiss lenses produce a rich and deep color spectrum that appeals to my aesthetic taste. The high contrast and crisp focus is exactly what I look for when choosing a camera -- and the DSLR has that.


The other cameras that were available are all great, but did not make the cut for various reasons. The non-DSLRs are bulky and do not handle light and color the way that I would like (and no interchangeable lenses). When it comes to other DSLRs like the T2i and the 5D, it mainly came down to what I was experienced with and what I already owned. Even though the 5D is a better camera all-around, I am in love with my 7D, and I wanted to continue working with it since the 7D is likely what I'll be using until I can afford something better.

I'll close this post with a teaser for my upcoming scene assignment. Enjoy!