DSLR movie mode

[greamec]

Hi all

Is using the movie mode the same as using a web cam ? Or not?

Cheers greame

[Atreta]

the principle is the same, but with webcam usually the sensor chip is much smaller, so planets and moon for example looks much bigger  than with a dslr.

[wxsatuser]

Most movie modes are interpolated.

The pixel ratio is not one to one which tends to reduce resolution.

Canon 550D and 60D both have movie crop mode where the centre 640x480 pixels are used for a true one to one ratio.

Using movie crop mode will be like using a web cam.

[greamec]

my d3100 does 640x424 is that any good?

[Owmuchonomy]

As post 3 says its best to use True Movie Crop mode which is 640 x 480 on my 60D but configured to use a true 1:1 ratio. For example, 640 x 480 mode on my other camera, a 600D, is not the same thing. You also need a fast frame rate if possible (60fps on my 60D).