Should I shoot at 1080p if I intend to use 720p on the web?

Question

I'm filming video that will only be viewed on the web at 720p, I'm considering shooting in 1080p in case in future I need to up the quality. I'm going to use 720p at present to keep streaming costs down but in future 1080p could be used when costs fall. Will I loose anything shooting at 1080p with the final output being 720p? I'm new to video production hence the question.

Answer 1

I'd recommend shooting in the highest quality possible. If you render it 720p or better yet when editing, set you composition at 720p and scale the 4K down, not only will the quality be tack sharp, depending how you set the transcode settngs you'll have an outstanding final output.

Answer 2

Hi,

I would always recommend shooting in the highest quality your camera can handle (even if your output is smaller)- UNLESS your computer can't handle the higher resolution. If your computer is fine with the 1080 video it makes sense to use the highest your camera can output.

I say this because: 1. as you mentioned someday you'll be happy you have the higher quality version, and 2. if you need to crop or scale your shots at all in editing you can use that extra resolution to adjust the scale or crop without losing your final 720 resolution.