© Jon Day Photo

Now Vincent LaForet (whose work and blog is a great resource and inspiration) was one of the first photographers to receive a 5DMkII and within 72 hours he had devised and shot a 2 minute movie using the camera. He is not a wedding photographer per se but used the genre to produce his first story set in NYC.

I see the the main advantages are that the 5D weighs no more than a hardback book, there are wide range of lenses readily available to a stills photographer (super wide to long zoom) and it records in high definition format. Until now most video cameras were bulky and came with one fixed lens but the flexibility of the 5D MkII system allows additional creativity in a compact familiar package already carried by a typical wedding photographer.

I can see possibilities to combining moving and stills images into one package – it isn’t a new idea. But there are disadvantages too, I think it is a two person job – one to shoot still photos, one to shoot movie. The camera needs to be kept still and that means a tripod being used. Quality audio recording requires lavalier mikes (clipped onto the groom usually) and the whole lot needs to be edited and output onto DVD which means more time and higher costs.

Photographers and videographers were not always the best of friends at a wedding, one accusing the other of permanently being in the way. Perhaps now the two formats are moving a bit closer together. Of course, adding Fusion to a wedding package won’t make an average wedding photographer great and could dilute their skills further as they struggle with the challenges of two formats. Until now I’ve only seen prototypes shot with models and high production methods so let’s see how it pans out in the next 12 months before getting too excited.