01 Mar 2010, Posted by David Torcivia in Articles,Filmmaking,General, 3 Comments

DSLR Nomenclature

VDSLR? HD-DSLR? HDSLR? DSLR.

A new class of cameras have carved a niche into the competitive cinema and camcorder market. These cameras, the  latest generation of DSLR’s from Canon, Nikon, and Panasonic, have exploded across the indie film market given budget-challenged filmmakers the shallow DoF previously attainable only with clunky 35mm adapters or expensive 2/3″ and larger cameras (or film itself). In particular, starting with the Canon 5D MkII and followed by the Canon 7D and 550d/T2i, the DSLR has become a standard tool of filmmaking.

But what the hell do you call these things?

The internet is abound with competing acronyms: HD-DSLR, VDSLR, HDDSLR,  HDSLR, MDSLR, and more. Which piece of jargon will become the de facto symbol of a new generation of cameras?

HD-DSLR is the favorite of DSLR mogul Philip Bloom (though he was originally a fan of VDSLR until Brian R. inserted a stray hyphen to create VD-SLR – the bane of promiscuous photographers everywhere), though seems to have failed in garnering too much of a following, despite the efforts of Mr. Bloom. The HD stands for High Definition resulting in a High Definition-DSLR or High Definition-Digital Single-Lens Reflex. In my personal opinion, this combination, while obviously video related, doesn’t make the most sense. There are no Standard Defnition-DSLR’s and HD does not immediately indicate solely video as it is occasionally used for referring to resolution. Furthermore, the hyphen is awkward and eliminates the flow of the acronym.

Vincent Laforet, arguably the initiator of the filmmaking frenzy over the Canon 5DM2 and subsequent cameras with the release of Reverie (filmed with a preproduction Canon 5D Mark II), has no idea what to call the latest generation, switching randomly between the clumsy HDDSLR and HDSLR and occasionally HDSLR Hybrid which makes no sense (as we’ll see in a moment). Conclusion: Laforet is just as confused as everyone else.

Stu Maschwitz, the DV Rebel, has taken a shining to HDSLR for Hybrid-DSLR. This is the most logical acronym thus far, indicating in a mostly clear manner that these new DSLR’s are capable of something beyond photography. In addition, this name hints at the blending boundaries these cameras introduce, bringing features and qualities exclusive to both film and photography together. The name seems solid, clear, and concise but suffers from internet idiots. Too many forum posts have ended in the conclusion that HDSLR stands for High Definition SLR or High Definition DSLR (pulling an extra ‘D’ from nowhere) for the name’s beautiful simple components to shine.

The final acronym, and the one I prefer, is VDSLR or Video-DSLR. Photographer and Director Brian R. (@reubal) is a vocal proponent of the VDSLR acronym (though not the technology) playfully berating Stu and Philip over their inferior acronym selections. Why VDSLR? It’s readily obvious that the ‘v’ is video, it’s resolution agnostic, it can’t be confused with HD, it’s short (relatively), and it rolls off the tongue (unlike HD-DSLR or HDDSLR). Clearly, this is the superior choice in the game-changing acronym game that changes acronym-making forever, or something.