Thanks for thinking of me.   Here are some of my thoughts and feelings about the DSLR.

We eventually used the RED camera to shoot our feature, Searching For Sonny, but it was all because of the DSLR that I was able to make this movie.  With the Canon 5d Mark 2, I was able to create a spec trailer, a proof of concept, that looked super professional and filmic while costing very little.  After I made the spec trailer, I found producers who saw potential, investors who wanted to back it, casting directors who wanted to cast it, and eventually actors who loved the script.  The DSLR-shot-trailer became my pitch.  When people wanted to know about the project I was able to show them rather than tell them.

But then a funny thing happened.  The trailer I created with the DSLR opened many doors.  Almost too many.  The project that I originally thought would be shot sorta guerilla-style with friends became bigger than I ever imagined.  We started getting names attached.  Jason Dohring from Veronica Mars, Minka Kelly from Friday Night Lights and 500 Days of Summer, Masi Oka from Heroes,  Michael Hogan from Battlestar Galatica, and BriTANick, the viral sketch comedy duo behind “Academy Award Winning Trailer.”   

Many of them joined not just because they loved the script, but also because they saw the spec-trailer - The spec trailer that was made for almost nothing with a skeleton crew with a DSLR.  But now that we had an all-star cast, we had a new dilemma.  Do we shoot the movie with the bigger cast, bigger crew, and a bigger budget with the smaller camera? 

It was then that we all started seeing some of the pitfalls of the DSLR.
1. There is no clear solution to monitoring.  I think this is still the major downer to DSLR.  There’s just not a good solution for a camera operator, AC, DP, director, and script supervisor to all simultaneously watch what’s being recorded.
2.  The codec.  As awesome as the footage looks, what you see is what you get.  There’s not much changing in post.  Once we started asking the questions about DSLR, we instinctively looked at the RED.  The freedom with white balance and color temperature became alluring.  The ability to all shoot RAW sounded pretty intoxicating.
3.  The jelly effect - still a problem, especially when you want to shoot with longer lenses.

Soon my film that became possible because of the DSLR turned into the film that was also shot with the RED.  During the shoot, we still used the DSLR quite a bit.  For all the action scenes, the Canon DSLRs were quite handy in getting difficult shots that would not have been possible with the RED (e.g. a shot mounted to a scooter.)

In short, my perspective on the DSLR is this.  It’s amazing tool that has allowed indie filmmakers to use certain aspects of film language that weren’t always available to them.  The fact that you can shoot with 35mm lens for $1000 dollars is mindblowing.  The DSLR can also open doors.  Indie filmmakers can now make something as stunning and professional as anyone in Hollywood.  For me the DSLR was everything.  I wrapped on my first feature film before turning twenty-five…  And it all started because I made a spec-trailer with a DSLR.