Bit rate, what is good enough?

Hi,

been thinking of shooting some footage with Nikon DSLR which has max bit rate of 24 Mbps.
After a quick look on site, all HD footage that I found has Mbps of ~50-80 and higher.
Should I even bother? Does footage with average bit rate of 20 Mbps even sell?

It's more complicated than that, and also much more simple. It depends on the codec being used to record, and how you use it. Also understand that your recording bit rate is NOT the same as your output/render bit rate.

I have made many thousands of dollars selling clips made with a 25Mb/s HDV camera. And those clips still sell. Some of them were, if I might admit, "not so good".

Some cameras shoot 4K/UHD at 60mb/s. Which is 4x the frame size of HD, but just barely over half the bit rate with regard to frame size.

What you shoot is more important than what you shoot it with.

Bit rate problems crop up in situations where you have lots of detailed motion (waves, tree branches, etc.) but if you are shooting people or specific subjects with shallow dof, you might find fewer problems than you were lead to believe to expect.

Yes, ultimately it does matter, but not all the time, possibly not in the way you think it will, and most importantly not always to the people who will pay you nicely for shots you made with creative mind that they find value in, which will allow you to then buy into a better camera if you so desire.

I could keep writing about it ad infinitum, ad nauseum, but yes, if you have the time, subject matter, inclination, patience, and patience, then yes, you should bother.

Be patient, and good luck!