Shot with D90, "work in progress" video

[Johnnie Behiri]

Hi All,
After testing the D90 for some time I have decided to shoot with it a testimonial video for a client.

Here is a "work in progress" version. No CC, no audio final mix, and final titles.
Shot 98% with the D90. (last sequence was shot with the JVC 251).

Testimonial video "work in progress" on Vimeo

Lenses:
Nikon 50 1.8
Nikon 16-85
Tamron 70-300.

Biggest challenge here in a PAL country was working indoor because of the severe scrolling lines problem.

[Jon Michael Ryan]

Impressive quality. I've been excited about the potential of the D90, especially given its price point. I love still photography on the side, and would like a small form factor camera to use outdoors without breaking the bank all day long. That being said, this little Nikon has caught my eye.

Overall, what's your take on it? Has it proven to be pretty durable, etc.?

[Dan Chung]

Johnnie,

Love the video, I'm glad someone else has confirmed the scrolling lines in a PAL country. Both Nikon and Canon need to give us 25p to solve this.

I find it amazing that the rest of our industry is taking such a long time to wake up to the SLR video thing, good to see a D90 being used in a professional environment.

Dan

[Ger Griffin]

Very well done Johnny.
I have one myself but haven't really applied it to anthing properly yet.
How did you find the 50mm f1.8?
I've been trying to decide wether to go for the 1.8d (€100)or the 1.4d (€230)
or even waiting for the 1.4g coming soon (€450 approx).
Whats your opinion?
Which shots have been done with the f1.8 wide open in the video?
Thanks for sharing,
Ger.

[Johnnie Behiri]

Jon-Yes, I found the D90 to be pretty durable. I have been experimenting with the camera since it came out, studying it strengths and weaknesses. Thanks to our great community here, one can benefit greatly lerning the camera, experimant with it, then it is all up to his/her own skills.
We live in a world that in away equipment is getting cheaper and better, so it is not an issue any more. It is always the right tool to the right job.

It was Dan Chung report on Tibet made with the D90 that caught my eye.
As a freelance cameraman/editor I travel a lot, and some times wished I had a working tool that can give me a different look in a compact size and in that respect the D90 is the answer for me.

As others reported, it is far from being perfect when shooting videos, but knowing its limitations and working around them it is possible to shoot decent footage.

The camera itself is out in an assignment to one of the middle-east countries where no permission is given filming with video, and I trust it to do a good job.

Thanks,

J.

[Johnnie Behiri]

Dan-Your work and reviews are inspiring us all!.

Indeed 25p will help, and Nikon Europe was very polite and trying to be helpful regarding that subject, but those companies are slow to react (why in the first place 25p was not implemented is a mystery for me).

The official response was not looking good either:
The "scrolling wave" on video footage:
On page 51 of the D90 manual states that "banding or distortion may be visible in the monitor and in the final movie under florescent, mercury vapour or sodium lamps". The "scrolling wave" as you describe, is more than likely the banding mentioned in the quote from the manual. As such it would seem that it's a hardware limitation due to the nature of the way the sensor records a live feed. No firmware update will be able to resolve this issue I'm afraid. I have been informed that an online FAQ on this subject is in the process of being written and should be put up on the site in due course.

With more and better DSLR solution in the near future, I am sure more professionals will find and adopt those tools for their benefits.

Ger-Part of my work is checking new tools in the industry and put them in real world working situations and evaluate how it will affect the work-flow of some of my clients.
Price/performance the D90 made a lot of sense for me and since I got it to explore a new technology I did not want to spend too much money to begin with. That is why I took the 50mm 1.8 lens (again price/performance great tool).

Most of the indoor shots were made with it (but the wide once...) highly recommended.

[Steve Mullen]

Johnnie,

Nice work!

A couple of questions:

1. What audio codec is used?

2. Can you use Manual Focus or lock AF? (I notice there was one CU of faces where focus was way off.)

3. Can you manually adjust exposure or lock AE?

I ask because so many say movie mode is no more than a recording Live View.

4. The obviously steady shots were on a tripod. When you handheld the D90, how bad (or good) is the image stabilization.

5. Lastly, what ISO did you use?

PS: I assume you were shooting 24p with a 1/50th Sec. shutter. Correct?

[Johnnie Behiri]

Thank you Steve!

1-Audio (voice over) was recorded separately 48/16 (Edirol F-1, for video and audio only usage).
2-Only manual focus with lenses was used. (the 50mm 1.8 was the easiest to use since it is a manual lens).
You can use the "magnifying + button" on the left hand side of the LCD as your "focus assist" before shooting.
3-Manual exposure is possible with the 50mm lens (up to a point)... + using the +/- exposure compensation with all lenses.
4-Try an avoid using the camera hand held or make sure you a very steady. Alternatively shoot with wide angle lens.
5-There is no control over ISO when using the video, but I think "Car3o" method to reduce noise is working for me. For his suggested settings please look here: I think... - Page 2 - DVXuser.com -- The online community for filmmaking No.15, and you can do all changes in camera you don't need the "camera control pro" software.
6-No control over shutter either when shooting video.
I was shooting 24p, all converted before editing to 25p (cineform), upscale to 1080 looks interesting too....

Hope it helps.

J.

[Steve Mullen]

Originally Posted by Johnnie Behiri

2-Only manual focus with lenses was used. (the 50mm 1.8 was the easiest to use since it is a manual lens).
3-Manual exposure is possible with the 50mm lens (up to a point)... + using the +/- exposure compensation with all lenses.
5-There is no control over ISO when using the video, but I think "Car3o" method to reduce noise is working for me. For his suggested settings please look here: I think... - Page 2 - DVXuser.com -- The online community for filmmaking No.15, and you can do all changes in camera you don't need the "camera control pro" software.
6-No control over shutter either when shooting video.

When I was young -- all lenses had focus and exposure rings and even manual zoom rings.

It seem that one of theose 30mm to 125mm lenses would be ideal for shooting video.
But, will this type of lens mount on the D90?

If so, would one be able to use the camera's "meter" to read-out the correct exposure? I suspect not if the ISO can't be set.

But the real killer is not being able to set 1/50th for 24p. This is why so many samples have eye-strobing artifacts. These will occur when the shutter goes above 1/100th. Of course, ND filters can help as can staying at f/4.

It looks to me like Nikon got word of the coming Canon and decided to quickly redesign so as to record Live View which, by definition, is for viewing and not picture taking. It's hard to believe their engineers would start-out with the current design as a goal. However, the Japanese simply don't get this "I want to make a movie" mentality. So maybe they never thought "video" would be such a big deal.

The 24p I'm sure comes from clock-rate (power & heat) issues -- not 24fps movie making goals.

Thank you!

[Ger Griffin]

Thanks Johnnie for all the info.

[Daniel Rudd]

very nice piece.
i'm impressed (with both the camera and the artist)

thanks for taking the time to share the details.

[Johnnie Behiri]

Final version uploaded.
http://vimeo.com/2380006

No CC for now, just a touch of contrast added.

Thank you all for sharing information, helping getting the most from this camera.

Johnnie

[Matthew Ebenezer]

Awesome video Johnnie!

I'm also in PAL land using Cineform. Can you tell me how you converted the 24p D90 footage to 25p using Cineform? What were your project settings?

Thanks!

Matthew.

[Johnnie Behiri]

Dear Matthew, thank you very much!

Just use Cineform HDlink.
It has a "preset" for converting 24p to 25p.

After converting, open a Cineform-premiere 1280x720/25p project and import your footage.

If you need anymore information just pm me.

Thanks.

J.

[Oren Arieli]

Very well shot and put together. If you didn't tell me that this was the D90, I would have never guessed. I'm seriously considering the D90, or the upcoming D400, but in my heart, I can only hope that Nikon takes this sensor to the next level and incorporates it into their own videocamera (interchangeable lens, of course). I think they could seriously give Red a run for the money if they are priced right. Wishful thinking, I know.

Thank you for posting this promo piece. Amsterdam is a beautiful place and you capture it very well.