While I am technically a still photographer, I have dabbled in the video space for years. I’m sure most working photographers, myself included, have run into a job or two where someone needed or wanted both video and stills for their project. It’s times like that when combining the two mediums would be incredibly useful.
Pulling frame grabs from video isn’t exactly a new idea, Red cameras have been capable of this for many years, but the Red is a video camera. With the introduction of 4K video options on DSLR cameras such as the as the Canon 1DX Mark II and the Canon 5D Mark IV, photographers have more flexibility between shooting both professional quality stills and professional quality video.
The Pros of Shooting 4K Over Stills
So what are the benefits of shooting 4K video over stills? Well first and foremost is speed – the flick of a switch catapult’s your frame rate from 14fps to as high as 60fps. This enables all photographers to capture the subtle movements that are missed by even the fastest of cameras and the ability to record those images for longer than ever before. With the Canon 1DX Mark II, the 4K output is the equivalent of an 8.8 MP still in each frame. Now you might say 8.8MP file is not big enough, but let me ask you a question: Where do most of your images end up? If your answer is the internet, or social media, then in reality, these files are still too big. For proper usage on the internet, you would still have to dumb down those files even further. What Canon has done in the 1DX Mark II is cram a very functional professional level video camera into arguably the world’s best DSLR.
Another advantage of shooting in 4K is the possibility of completely silent image capture. You will no longer draw the attention away from the beautiful bride in the middle of a wedding ceremony with sound of your clunky shutter button. Other potential benefits include the video crop factor. The camera only uses part of the sensor to capture the 4k video, and this effectively puts a crop factor on the sensor, giving you more range. Finally, the last major benefit is if you capture both video and stills simultaneously, you can charge your client for both.
The Cons of Shooting 4K Over Stills
This all sounds pretty great, but there has to be a catch. There is always a catch, right? Well, it’s not really a catch, it’s more of a compromise. While the quality of the frame grabs is far beyond what most internet and social sites can handle, it’s not big enough for large format printing or those special jobs that demand Hi-Res still images. You will need to ask yourself what level of image quality your project will require.
The other big drawback to shooting video for stills is the editing process. The 4K clips are massive when compared to raw still images. This means an investment in bigger, faster memory cards like the SanDisk Extreme PRO 128GB, a faster computer, and more storage. Most of the popular editing software out there, including Lightroom and Photoshop, can process video clips, but the process is quite slow and time consuming. This all adds up to more time spent in post and less time shooting in the field.
How to Successfully Shoot 4K For Stills
To shoot 4K for stills effectively, a combination of still /video techniques and hardware will be needed. Image stabilized lenses, ultra fast memory cards, and a solid tripod with fluid head will all go a long way to help you secure good video results. Once you are all set with your gear you now have to think about your camera settings. Traditionally, when shooting video your shutter would be double your frame rate (1/60 @ 30fps or 1/125 @ 60fps) but shutter speeds this slow will not provide sharp images on fast moving subjects. Keep the shutter speed high and the camera as still as possible, these basic principals will help you obtain a higher percentage of sharp still frames.
Are we at the point where photographers can stop shooting stills and just shoot video in 4k? Not quite, but considering the blistering pace of digital camera evolution, I am a firm believer that shooting video with the intent to pull stills is the future of photojournalism and only a few years away from being commonplace.hese are some of my favorite tips, what are some of yours?” Or question asking if anyone else pulls stills from 4k and what are their best tricks etc.
Do you have your own top tips for pulling stills from 4k video? Share them in the comments below!
More 4k camera recommendations from Adorama:
- Nikon D5 FX-Format DSLR, at Adorama and VIP 2 Day Delivery eligible.
- Sony Alpha a6500 Mirrorless, at Adorama and VIP360 2 Day Delivery eligible.
