Where for Video??

We did a 3 week expedition driving through Tunisia into the Sahara and back.
I wanted to film it all so I mounted a video camera on the windscreen.

When we returned I had 60 hours of some of the most boring video possible as it was all filmed from the same point of view. I took months to edit it down and by combining it with still images I was able to produce a DVD of about 100 minutes that was worth watching.

For our next trip I will be using, at least, one Go Pro Hero 2, a Kodak Playsport and the K5ii.

The two smaller cameras will mount in various locations on and in the car and the Pentax will be used for street filming and (hopefully) some artistic shots of the sun and landscapes.

By combining a variety of angles and planning my shots a bit more I hope to make the editing a lot easier and the end result more entertaining.

My mum-in-law filmed crossing the prairies in Canada. After two hours of a four hour tape, mostly of things flashing past on the road, we said we'd watch the other two hours later.

"Oh, there's more than that, it was taped at half speed."

We've not watched one more minute of it yet.

I think it's safe to say the Pentax DSLR cameras are all in the "I'm a photography device first and foremost, and I can take some video if needed too".

Example Link

Personally I'm hoping the video issues, bitrate and lack of focus peaking on videos is all something that a revised firmware will address. I'm not holding my breath, but you never know. Video is of interest to me, but I also knew was I was getting prior to deciding to stick with Pentax and all it's other significant strengths. If video was the sole requirement I would have gone elsewhere.

You should have a look at some of the stunning videos Pentax have commissioned using the K-01, the Q and the K7. I believe they are all on YouTube and/or Facebook.

A great many adverts and shorts are being shot using Dslrs (mainly Canon) primarily because of the variety of lenses available.

We could join in here?

Online Petition to Pentax

"Pentax to improve video mode"

Meaningless and pointless, I'm afraid

It is possible to make excellent movies with Pentax gear. link
There is also a movie on the making of The Letter

I agree that too many movies are too awful for words and best kept for home viewing rather than posted. There are exceptions however. If there was a section for movies, then technicalities and techniques could be discussed, and should someone make an exceptionally good movie film with a Pentax like the one in the link, it could be posted or linked to. The K-5 clearly has the potential to make excellent quality films.

Right, thought I must come back and comment here.

Officially taking everything back. I've recently produced two short 'music video' style clips using the K-30 and have been massively impressed by the results. The clips involve children's activities, such as trips to the park and a birthday party, so I won't be posting publicly on the net.

There are some provisos, as in my results have been due to the nature of the work. By that I mean I've actively wanted to use manual focus etc. There really are 'flaws' to the hardware, as in yes the bit rates are lower than the competition, there is no attempt at autofocus during video recording (useful for a shot where a bride is walking towards you down an aisle etc), the sound is in mono with no external mic offering and focus peaking is only available during the pre shot period (it goes away when you're filming).

I initially wanted still photography quality primarily, so I was aware and accepting of the above prior to purchasing. There is also still hope that some of the issues could be addressed and improved via future firmware updates, though time is marching on so the chances of this are reducing.

Bottom line is though, that facts and figures only take you so far before you have to jump in and start creating. If you are aware of the limitations you can switch to focusing on the strengths and frankly I've been really impressed with what you can do with this gear.

You're right, we can get so obsessed with gear we forget just to go out and make the best of what we have. Any shortcomings can usually be overcome with a bit of ingenuity... I haven't tried the k30 video yet but even the old k7 could produce nice results with the right lens.

I'm trying to think of a clever line here, but yeah:

"Cameras don't make cool videos, People do"

I think by all means go all gear head when you're buying gear, but once you've got it, go out and use it. Something like cameras are tools, and just owning one isn't the end of the race, it's just the beginning. Something like that.