This is where it gets complicated. I could shoot an entire video with my phone, but it would be harder to see some things with the limited camera options. I could make videos with less time spent on them, but they have less to offer and get fewer views. I spend significant amounts of time to produce the videos I make, and I see a direct correlation to videos with more time spent on them returning more back to me. So you are incentivized to do better, spend more time and resources on production.
I think some people want youtube to evoke the project blogger experience because it feels more personal. But video is just too hard and takes too much time and equipment to communicate effectively. And current social internet trends have killed the personal blog. So this is what we are left with.