Well normally I would agree with you. It's quite evident that the vid was being shot by an amature. When he took the tight shot (just before) the resolution was quite good, but he was having tremor problems (common with free hand). So he backed way out. I noticed that the resolution was not good at that point. Now this actually makes sense if you understand how the auto-focus on a digital camera works. Now I don't claim to see the tail separation in the vid I saw. Seems the auto-focus was hunting during this time because he's just went back to wide view when the shuttle came apart.
Well normally I would agree with you.Well, think about muffaletaman's response, too, then. Or think about this...what would you expect to see when zooming in on a fireball at least 40 miles away? If you kept it in focus, you'd expect to see the trailing plume in greater detail, just like the rest of the scene. Wouldn't you?
Is that what you see here?