Video: Why 8K really is a big deal for stills photographers

As technology develops, it can seem like there's always something new to buy and a new 'standard' on the horizon. First 1080p, then 4k and now 6 and 8K.

But as many photographers and videographers will be aware, the differences in video and stills photography continue to affect what kind of camera you will use on your next project. If you're shooting stills, you're best reaching for a stills camera, and if it's video you're shooting, a video camera is your best bet.

US camera studio Red's latest rig is a monster, capable of shooting natively at 8K resolution. Aptly titled ‘Weapon’, the camera can shoot video at 60FPS, with still images coming in at a giant 36MP.

In a new video, Vincent Laforet talks about his Red Weapon and explores the convergence of film and stills and what that means. TL; DR, the gap between videos and stills is shrinking, fast.

Red's weapon isn't cheap (starting at US $49,500 for the body alone) meaning it certainly isn’t within the budget of most photographers, but it does prompt the question once again; how long will it be before you don't have to choose a video camera over a stills camera?

You can check out the Weapon here.