Movie and Video modes have been on digital cameras since around 2003. It was not until recently that SLR cameras have incorporated a movie mode. The latest versions of this compare favorably with some of the best HD video camcorders in terms of resolution and video quality. The current leaders in SLR movie mode technology are Canon SLRs. The Canon 7D, 5D Mark II, and the Canon Rebel T2i all have a 1080p HD video mode capable of 24p and 30p (24 and 30 progressive frames per second). 24p is the same framerate as motion picture film, so many indie filmmakers like to see this capability in either camcorders or these new digital SLR cameras. All of these Canon SLRs provide video at a 1080p or 720p video resolution. 1080p will give you full HD 1920x1080 at 30fps (blu-ray quality). 720p video is the same as regular HD on cable TV. Nikon SLRs as of this article can only do 720p video, but we expect them to catch up with Canon shortly.

The advantage of having an onboard movie mode is convenience. Having an SLR that takes high quality pictures along with a video mode means that you could carry just one camera to do both. This means less equipment to carry. The disadvantage to an SLR being used as a camcorder is that there are less dedicated buttons for camcorder use, and the ergonomics are different (how you hold a camcorder versus an SLR). SLRs usually are held close to your face to see through the viewfinder, while camcorders are held in your hand away from your face and you view the video thru the LCD screen. (Most newer camcorders have done away with viewfinders).

The video from these latest digital SLRs has been good enough to be used for HD production on TV shows. The best example of this was the season finale of the show "House" on fox. The producers shot the entire episode using Canon's EOS 5D Mark II Digital SLR. One reason was that one of the key scenes involved a very cramped space under a collapsed building that regular video equipment could not fit into. The small size of the Canon camera provided the perfect solution, and its video was superb. The Canon SLRs were also used to film part of an episode of Numb3rs, driving scenes on the show 24, and the tonight show opening shot.

If buying an SLR for video, it is most important to make sure that the SLR has a microphone jack. There are a lot of choices that will give you much better sound than the built in mic that is on the camera body. The mic can mount on the flash shoe on the top of the camera which is a perfect spot for better sound quality.

All in all the future is bright for these new SLRs and we can be sure that we will see better features in the future, and more use of these cameras to be used in TV show production as well as for home use.