I got an email this past Friday from the folks at Zacuto telling me about a test they've done that pits the following cameras against one another in a sort of Battle Royale:

Kodak Vision3, Red ONE, Panasonic HPX3000, Panasonic HVX200, Panasonic HVX200, Panasonic HVX200, Sony PMW-EX, Panasonic HPX170, Canon XHA1, Canon 5D MarkII, Nikon D90.

You may notice that a couple of those cameras are DSLRs. I've been waiting for someone to put together a test like this - same scene, same lighting, lots of different cameras. And I'm happy to see that the pros think the 5D Mark II's video is worthwhile. On the other hand, they basically say the D90 is useless to them for pro video largely because there is no audio-in, so you're forced to use the D90's built-in mic for your audio. Drew agreed, for more than one reason, in his article: Nikon's D90 Through the Eyes of a Video Pro.)

If this is something you're even vaguely curious about, check out the video below, and for a full list of specs etc. of the equipment used in the test, check out this page.


Zacuto's Great Camera Shootout '08 from Steve Weiss, Zacuto USA on Vimeo.