Most will recall, with great affinity or great disdain depending on where their visual preferences lie, the spate of greenish-hued, de-saturated spots making the rounds in recent years. And what about the popular dual-focused look of swing and tilt lenses?

While these visual trends look like bandwagon jumping in retrospect, new visual trends are typically a direct result of new technologies in filmmaking, and a desire to be the first kid on the block with a novel look.

Hollywood-based veteran cinematographer Dean Cundey (Jurassic Park, Apollo 13, Halloween I-III, Absolut Vodka, Lincoln Navigator) says that as new tools emerge, people inevitably begin to experiment. "People tend to find something new and use it to give their commercial that distinctive look," he says, noting that, ironically, good looks always get copied.

In recent years, advances in lens technology and telecine have had the greatest impact on the craft. So much so that prolific DP Ivan Bird (Orange "Hold Up," Mini "Martians," Guinness "Surfer," Sexy Beast) calls Telecine the biggest creative tool.

However, London-based Bird says that with any good idea, it should be used sparingly and when it's appropriate ("...and not as a get out of jail free card.") He points to telecine practices as the most recent trend culprit. "I love that fluorescent greeny look, but I would steer clear of it now because it's been overused, which is a real shame because there are times when that look is relevant."

Cundey agrees that technique can tend to eclipse purpose. "Now, it is rare to find any commercial that hasn't been somehow processed," he says. "One of the things that I find intriguing is that if you go and ask an audience about a particular look, especially in features with fast cutting in action and de-saturation, often they say it was distracting."

However, Chilean-born DP Igor Jadue-Lillo (Monster.co.uk, Nike, Blur "Coffee and TV") notes that he currently sees a move to the more natural. "All the blues and greens, the dark and bleach bypass, they're gone. It seems that people are looking for something new, and something new seems to be going back to a conventional look.

"In the nineties, every move of the camera, the crane, the shift and tilt lens, it was all deeply thought out. Now it seems like the handheld camera is more of a novelty," he says, remarking that this present move toward free-style, relaxed cameras is reminiscent of '60s-era French cinema.

The latest tools with the potential to turn trend are high definition digital cameras (HD). HD allows for shooting in lower light conditions, offers on-set image correction, digital file transfer, and is cheaper, making the filmmaking more accessible to those on a budget.

But, there is still reluctance by cinematographers to embrace the new technology.

"I've been avoiding it," says Jadue-Lillo. "Maybe it's the nostalgia and the thought that the motion picture could disappear. I just feel very comfortable with my tools and shooting pictures the way I have."

"In my mind, it's only ever going to be as good as film. It's basically trying to be film, that's its goal and at the moment, film is vastly superior," adds Bird. "So I can't see myself in the near future jumping at the opportunity to use DV, but I am keeping my eye on it."

In terms of the logistics of shooting on HD, Bird has his concerns: "You're locked into two frame rates (24 and 30), you're at the mercy of that particular camera." (On the technology tip, Panasonic has released its multi-frame format camera, the HDCAM AJ-HDC24A, which has a 12 to 60 frame rate range.)

On a more pragmatic note, Cundey is apprehensive about the longevity of digital storage. He says that because digital file formats are always changing with technology, some form of earlier digital storage is always being lost, which is a frightening prospect for long term film archival.

He is also doubtful about the future of film quality. "What I'm leery of is an audience learning to accept an image that is not as good because that's the only thing they're given."

But despite reservations, these three camera professionals do see the future prospects of HD, albeit they are taking a wait-and-see approach.

Jadue-Lillo acknowledges that there have been improvements in the technology, but is going to wait a while before he gets his feet wet. However, he does point to the recent Michael Mann film Ali as an example of HD put to good use. "[During the scene] where Will Smith is running, the clouds are amazing at night and you can see the texture of the sky. It had a meaning; there is a reason why it's shot on DV. But it wouldn't have been the same if it was shot on DV the whole way."

Cundey says that he is always willing to try something new but feels that HD is just a step forward rather than an end point. But he sums the trend issue up with perhaps the most astute observation of all: "As with anything in film, you always choose your look, your style, your tools to tell the story. Part of the wisdom of being a filmmaker now is seeing how can I use all the tools to effectively tell this story."