In what should be classified as camera suicide, cinematographer Steven Bove subjected his Canon 5D MK II to a wicked dust storm at Burning Man 2010. But his risk is our reward. It’s amazing that today’s SLRs can compete and sometimes trump professional gear costing hundreds of thousands of dollars more.

As Stephen says, “Compared to shooting 35mm film by yourself (which is nearly impossible, even with an Arri 235 or Aaton 353—I’ve tried), this is a breeze. And the marginal cost from start to finish is zero per minute…compared to $100+ per minute for 35mm film. But the marginal cost is a modest factor compared to the giant benefit of not having to schlep 800 tons of camera, batteries, and film mags around. And changing a mag every 4 minutes in a dust storm would have required being tailed by a camera van: un-mounting the camera, moving it into the van, dusting the exterior, and carefully swapping mags so as not to let dust get inside the body. Bottom line: 35mm SLR movie making is a whole new amazing world of creative freedom just starting to be explored.”

Check out the HD version for even more pixelicious fun. Soundtrack: Alpha Phase by Global Communication.