I am writing this post as a caution to point and shoot users who are accustomed to easy to use video mode on their little cameras and who are thinking about moving up to a DSLR and using that DSLR to take video. This cautionary tale is especially important if the video they plan on taking is of fast moving, unpredictable subjects, like kids! Let’s start by talking about using a point and shoot for taking video, this is after all, where most users are coming from. Recent point and shoot cameras make it easy to shoot decent video. Switch the dial to video and press a button to focus and start recording. Recent P&S cameras do continuous auto focus (AF) during the filming and because of the small sensor size usually have a large depth of field, meaning most of the scene is in focus. The lens in P&S cameras is so small it takes small and quiet movements to refocus- these often happen so quickly you don’t even realize the camera is doing any work. On the audio side recent high end P&S have offered stereo mics for decent sound but many P&S are still mono audio. Let’s recap – you whip out your P&S, press the shutter button and start recording, the outcome is usually a movie that is in focus even if your subject is running zig-zags across the living room. Shooting video with DSLRS is very different. The design and processing power of a DSLR means they are much faster to focus when they take photos. The problem is that the design requires the mirror to be down to use that fast focusing, but for video recording the mirror needs to be up so the camera switches to a different type of AF which is a good deal slower.  Also the lens on a DSLR is large and requires potentially large movements to focus from near to infinity. Those movements are mechanical which means slower and with some lenses, especially the kit lens, noisy as it rotates to focus. Another challenge when shooting video with a DSLR is the potential of shallow depth of field which can make for beautiful video and or make it a serious challenge keeping a moving subject in focus. So you have two choices when it comes to focusing when using a DSLR- manual focus during the video or press the shutter button halfway to force the camera to refocus.  But wait, there is now a third option, the new Nikon D3100 and the just announced D7000 are capable of constant AF during video, like a P&S camera, so you do not need to press the focus button button as you do in the rest of the DSLRs that currently shoot video. But the AF is still slow, it just does it for you automatically, continuously and in an unhelpful manner likely to accidentally focus on something other than your subject if you are moving or panning the camera. Example with the new Nikon D3100, constant AF on- - you can see that sometimes it jumps and occasionally you can hear it autofocus. At this point you might wonder why does anyone bother? Yes, it takes more work but the payoff is very high quality videos, higher quality low-light videos, very shallow depth of field and the ability to switch lenses for a totally different look to name a few. Those benefits to shooting video w/ a DSLR should look very similar to the benefits you get from shooting stills with a DSLR. Just like picking up a DSLR doesn’t make you a photographer, picking up a DSLR with video capabilities doesn’t make you a videographer. A couple of quick tips that will improve your videos 1. Use a tripod Manfrotto 785 Video Grip If your lens has stabilization turn it off when on the tripod 2. Use the manual settings – Aperture around f/5.6 and shutter speed double your frame rate 3. Aperture of f/5.6 to f/8 will give you decent depth of field, requiring less refocusing during the shot 3. Manually focus and leave the lens on manual (this will take some practice) but eventually you will be able to keep a moving subject in focus smoothly and without errors. 4. If you are serious about the audio quality use an external mic like Sennheiser MKE 400 or Rode VideoMic If your DSLR does not have an external mic port (D3000, D3100, D5000) you can pickup Zoom H4n Portable Digital Recorder Some folks prefer this even with an external mic jack because it gives them more control over the audio. 5. Practice Finally – Take a few moments to watch this Tongue and Cheek DSLR Video. . ah um Video   This post wasn’t meant to scare anyone, rather to make folks aware of the differences and what they can do to start down the path of beautiful HD video from their new DSLR. I have a run down of the current video capable DSLRS Find me on twitter @camerarec to ask any questions about this post or anything else digital camera / digital video related.