If you are like me and have largely ignored the advances of video cameras and their technology over the past few years, then you might like to have a read of this summary of the current status:

Video Primer – posted on Luminous-landscapes

From it, you will see that a 720p gives better motion images than a 1080i but the holy grail is a 1080p which shoots 1920×1080 progressive scan. Also the current video codec AVCHD is maturing and requires 6-10Gb per hour of shooting hence the need for 32Gb SDHC cards and this is taking over from tape BUT requires a LONG time and a high end computer to edit.

From an Olympus users point of view, you will note the convergence of video and dSLRs, with the main need for this being shallow depth of field as most camcorders use small sensors, smaller than Four Thirds and thus have difficulty producing shallow depth of field.

Now, perhaps you can see one avenue where Olympus is heading with the Four Thirds Micro system – a camera with HD video capability with shallow depth of field such as could be obtained using the ZD 50mm f/2 macro or the ZD 50-200mm lens.

Of course, they will not be alone now that Nikon has added a movie mode to their new D90 dSLR but the Four Thirds Micro system without being weighed down by the disadvantages of a reflex mirror might just come up with more innovative solutions.