Nikon HD video general discussion thread
 

and are upscaled to 1080 nicely.

Just insert your SD card to the PS3.



Thanks,

Johnnie

D90 video vs HV20 with Brevis - with samples
 

Hello Everyone,

As a new owner of the D90 I thought I would put it through its paces. I don't own a professional resolution chart so I printed one using a standard inkjet printer. Here are my results:

http://hv20.info/yopu/Chart-D90.jpg

http://hv20.info/yopu/Chart-D90.png

I have the originals if anyone wants them.

Also, though not demonstrated here, the rolling shutter makes the camera virtually unusable for video of anything moving or panning at even a moderate pace.

BTW I bought it for the stills, not for the video. For a good chart of the resolution of 35mm adapters like the Brevis, check out this link http://www.leonardlevy.net/Adapter_s...ster_Final.htm

-Robert

Wow. The aliasing of the D90 over HDMI is terrible. It seems that the camera sub-samples the pixels very badly to create the 1080 output.

This is really disappointing. Between the rolling shutter, the poor resolution, the poor codec, and the lack of a clean HDMI output, the D90 is really useless for video. The HV20 is a much better purchase in the $1k price range.

Nice stills though!

D90 files work in 720p30 Projects. Why? How?
 

I downloaded sample from D90.

The sample is 720p24 OpenDML JPEG with mono at 11.025kHz.

I import into iMovie HD 06 and it becomes AIC -- but now at 30fps. (Audio is now 48kHz Stereo which is fine.)

Here's the weird part, it plays fine in a a 720p30 project. No pitch change. No stuttering. I've never seen 24p converted to 30p with no issues! Where did the extra 6 frames per second come from?

So I import into FCP with no conversion and drop it into AIC and ProRes projects each of which is 720p30. Everything plays fine. These 24p clips play just like 720p30 clips play.

So I import into iMovie 08. It imports fine -- which is very strange because iM08 doesn't support 24p!. And, again the clip plays fine with other 720p30 clips.

Next, into an Avid Media Composer 720p30 Project where it played fine.

So either these files are labeled as 24p but really have 30 frames every second OR 720p24 clips play fine in 720p30 projects. Which could be possible, but I've never heard of this being the case. Of course, I suppose the 24p clips could be playing fast and yet I can't hear the pitch change. But, if this is true -- why can't 25p clips be played in 30p projects?

Anyone have any idea what's going on?

PS: It's nice to know these AVI files can be imported by all OS X applications. Now if only the D90 had a mic jack. What was Nikon thinking?

Although I can't help think that someone will soon take their D90 to a camera repair guy and have him open the case. Then cut off the mic and solder two fine wires. Then bring these fine wires through the mic grill to a jack glued to the case. Shielding these wires will be the hard part.

A new D90 article in Videography
 

FYI--a link to a new Videography Mag article on the D90--very nice.

Videography - Industry News

Enjoy.

--Robert A

FCP supports multiple formats in one timeline
 

Steve,

I don't know about the other apps but Apple made FCP able to handle multiple formats in one time-line around the upgrade to Studio 2. I'd been able to do that in Sony Vegas and it helped FCP stand up in the real world.

On the computer video playback frame rates shifts all the time in response to processor load, drive speed, etc. Open the info window (apple-i) while QT plays a file and you'll see the frame rate move up and down - lots. Still the video plays as "normal" and you don't perceive the shift unless it gets way slow and stutters.

All that changes when you render. Now the codec will make all files conform to your settings. Mixed format time-lines will get weird, sometimes in a good way, mostly not.

At any rate (pun intended), I like to convert the AVI file from my D90 into RS422 .mov format before editing. There are lots of benefits and the only cost is larger files (about 4x increase) and a little time (much less than the real time investment of ingesting HDV footage).

As for the D90 mic input problem... shielding the wires is not the hard part.

As you noticed, the D90 records audio at 11kHz. FCP likes 48kHz. Up converting audio does not increase the quality, it can actually make it worse. I recommend using a digital recorder capable of capturing a 48kHz audio file (like the Zoom H2 or better).

Yes, it's an additional step in the workflow to sync up the audio but it's my experience that it's worth it. You don't need to bother with cover shots and wide shots as you'll probably be using the audio track from another take anyway.

Plus, I usually strip the audio from my FCP edits, finish the tracks in Logic Pro then bring the mix back in under the original edit. Having decent quality original audio makes all the difference.

It's kind of like trying to use post-processing the correct a poorly lit scene. It's better to capture it right in the first place.

Which is why many people will never shoot anything serious with a D90 - they don't want to deal with all the issues. But I like it as a video capture tool enough to deal with the its quirks.

-a-

New testimonial video shot with D90
 

http://vimeo.com/2678129

I added a new testimonial video shot with the Nikon D90.
All but the Antarctica and wild life shots, made with this little wonder.
No CC, only a bit contrast corrections.

The more I work with the D90, the more I LOVE it.

Thanks, and all the best for the new year!

Johnnie

Johnnie,

If you have any tips that you have found useful, we would love to hear them! Thanks for sharing the clip!

Nikon D90 Color Grading tests. Videos online
 

Here are a few videos I shot for some color grading tests.. I also included the raw footage in the first video.

First scene shot with a 58mm F\1.2 an the rest with an 85mm f/1.4 Nikon lens. both manual focus versions.

it was a self test so the focus is not 100 percent. But close enough.


Nikon D90 HD Color Grading on Vimeo




A client wants a colorized film-noir look. So I tried this style and they are going to go with it...

Alice & Martin's Wedding 014 on Vimeo

Ballpark Video shot with D5000
 

Got a chance to play with the new D5000. It definitely has a severe lack of manual control but you can do some cool things with it. Shot with a variety of lenses but it seemed to like the 12-24 the best. Check it out...

This is the new Columbus Clippers (Indians AAA team) stadium in Columbus, Oh
Huntington Park

Huntington Park HD version on Vimeo

Picture Control Settings for D90
 

Hey all,

I'm gearing up to shoot my third short film on the D90. However, I'm only just discovering the various options with picture controls.

Right now I've got a version of neutral set up with sharpness +2 and saturation +1.

I was wondering what some of the more experienced D90 shooters out there would recommend as far as a setting that gets the most out of the bitrate artifacts/latitude wise?

Also I hear about color curves. What kind of software do I need for this and are there any recommendations for a curve to get the most latitude and the fewest artifacts?

Thanks!

D90 depth of field tests and color grading.
 

All shot on the D90....


Depth of field tests and color grading...


Me walking around my backyard.

YouTube - Nikon D90 Color Grading HD video test3


35mm F1.8 lens

YouTube - Nikon D90 35mm F/1.8 lens Color grading test


Nikon 85Mm F/ 1.4 and my ugly mug.... color graded..

YouTube - Nikon D90 HD 24P Color Grading

Erick,

You're exploring some interesting concepts but I think you are taking the color grading too far. Color on skin tones looks way too "ruddy".

If your software allows it, try something to strengthen dark tones first, just enough to make the image begin to "pop". Possibly add a touch of increased contrast and then a touch of color saturation but stop well short of where skin tones turn ruddy. If your software has it, something like PhotoShop's levels command can be used for the first two.

Very subtle amounts can have a dramatic effect.

D300S jaggies gone?
 

I've been doing a bit of testing with my new D300S, and just wanted to confirm something with the group: the "jaggies" that you see on angled subjects with the D90 appear to have been fixed.

My understanding is these artifacts come from the camera recording an 800 pixel tall image, then throwing away about every 9th line to get it down to 720. Does anyone know if the D300S indeed has a better way of doing it?

--Mark

movie filmed on D5000 make national press(quebec)
 

a story on a movie filmed with D5000
not a big budget(producer money) but it show the trend for a lot young film maker.
he hopes to find a distibution deal.

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