Extracting still images from HD Video

[shuttertalk]

Video is basically a whole bunch of still frames, right? Theoretically you should be able to take stills out of HD video and use them. The benefits are many - the subject doesn't hear constant shutter clicking, and you can use the footage for dual purposes.

Well Kevin Arnold puts that theory to the test, using a RED EPIC camera capable of outputting 5K raw video and 14-megapixel stills.

http://kevinarnoldphoto.tumblr.com/post/...vent-of-hd

The conclusion?

Quote:Like I said, it wasn’t all rosy. The EPIC’s sensor, while amazing for video, just isn’t on par with top end DSLRs and certainly not even close to medium format digital cameras when it comes to still images.

The bigger challenge – especially when shooting fast moving lifestyle or sports action – is achieving fast shutter speeds. The great majority of the frames we shot were soft due to either camera movement, or subject motion blur. This is the single biggest issue with pulling stills from video. The fact is that video looks best when shot with a shutter angle of 180 degrees, or double the frame rate. Shooting at 120 frames per second, means you’re really limited to about 1/250 of a second– not nearly fast enough to achieve 100 percent sharpness on every frame. In theory, you can crank up the shutter speed on the EPIC to freeze motion, but the video will suffer as a result. Moreover, motion blur is actually what makes video look smooth and pleasing to watch.