Say hello to the new Nikon D3S: 720P

[Jerry Manco]

Hi Tony, I don't mean to be negative in any way, most of the post's that I read deals with just that. What I am trying to say is that I enjoy what I do, and I am inspired to see such beautiful images coming from canon and nikon products at that level. I don't shoot feature films, and if I did I would probably look at the equipment to use in a different light.However, I still feel strongly where DSLR'S are going. The only thing I am not happy with is, is how these companies that produce this equipment might be treating us. There is not one camera that is perfect, that has everything we want, hopefully that will come one day. Years ago typesetters laughed at computers and how type was dealt with, where are they now. Photographs are more easily accessible to my clients today. I hear a lot, 'I have a digital camera , I'll shoot it'. So be it, they may have the best camera in the world, doesn't mean they'll get the shot.Because there are so many products coming out these day's, and changing so fast I have not yet decided which way to go, but I will make up my mind soon because it will always be this way. I am trying to hear from others and there experiences with equipment they've tried. If your ever visiting the Niagara region look me up and I will invite you our house to share a good glass of wine.

[Vincent Oliver]

The bottom line has to be, that both cameras will serve their purpose. I personally like the idea of being able to mix footage from both camera types into a final project. As long as the story or message is conveyed in a visually stimulating way then it doesn't matter what you use.

From running my own web site I quickly found out that there are many people who just like to tinker with equipment, they don't produce earth shattering photographs or movies, but they enjoy what they do. I am not critical of the "tinkerers", far from it, they often supply tips and techniques which we can all benefit from.

In recent months I have seen some amazing clips produced with DSLR cameras, some of these mini movies would not have seen the light of day had it not been for the small cameras. Progress marches on, and I am sure things can only get better. None of us who are serious about our movies should burry our head in the sand and dissmiss the DSLR, it is here to stay.

[Wacharapong Chiowanich]

Originally Posted by Jerry Manco

You dedicated video guys are so immersed in the technical end of it, you pay little attention to what your shooting.

It's not that us video guys want to be technical but proper moving image acquisition with equipment that has the form factor/mechanics of a DSLR is so frustrating difficult, if not impossible. The ergonomics of any of them is a real nightmare. "Proper" here has nothing to do with the image sensor, the recording codec, type of media or output. It's more about how one acquires moving images and sound in the manner that the final pre or post production output, be it action, drama, comedy, documentary, commercial, educational or even religious, is viewed as acceptable by ordinary viewers as these are fundamental to good motion pictures. Proper focusing, steadying of the image, consistency of exposure (as panning or changing reflectance in the scene causes unlocked exposure to shift), clear and audible dialogues with other secondary noises recorded only as intended.

Without a proper mounting rig, rails, follow focus mechanism, mattebox, filters and a separate audio recording system (a preamp box such as a DSLR-specific Beachtek is the alternative) and maybe more, most of the video DSLRs today are next to useless as a professional video tool. Fully pimped, any of them can be useful in producing images with low noise and shallow depth of field to the degrees most real video cameras usually fall short. But shooting has to be under controlled environments where almost every filming element such as lighting, sound and the subject's movement or composition is pre-arranged and can be controlled.

I can only think of one area where the use of a stand-alone DSLR to shoot video is suitable, breaking news or paparazzi-type video clips. This is where focusing accuracy, steady image, fidelity of dialogues don't count as much as getting the footage.

[Tony Davies-Patrick]

New NIKON website now up and running for the latest NIKON D3s:

Nikon D3S

[Mayer Chalom]

Honestly, canon is beating nikon's butts in the video dslr market. The combination of awful rolling shutter, awful codec, and no manual controls is really destroying the market. Honestly the canon hv30/hfs100 (I would know i own an hfs100) is a higher quality video camera than any of the nikon dslr with video. I think that ppl should just go for the hfs100 or hv30. Seriously it has basically full manual control, mic, audio control etc. Not mention it basically rivals the quality of the xh a1 (and basically is on par iq wise). The most annoying thing is from nikon, beside the lack of manual control, is their codec I would be slightly content if their codec was usable. I am in the market to buy a d90, and I really want a video feature similar to the 7d, but nikon isn't going anywhere so far with video. The d90 will be my first dslr and like the option alot better than the t1i or 50d from canon. Those are really the only cameras in my price range. Plus it is a reassurance from canon because canon makes video cameras, nikon doesn't! (OMG)

I don't mean to still this thread but I am in the market for a nikon d90, a canon t1i, or canon 50d. Do you have any recommendations? My only nikon lens is an old 1.4 50mm mf lens in mint condition.

[Vincent Oliver]

I have the Nikon D90 and for stills photography it is superb. If I were buying a camera today I would buy the Canon 7D or save up for a bit longer and get the Canon 5D Mk II. However, the DSLR would only be used for the odd fill in movie clip on a production. The Sony EX3 would still be my main camera for a full blown production.

[Mayer Chalom]

So you think I should go the canon route. The only cams in my price range are the 50d and t1i then (plus a lens). Do you think the 7d will lower in price to maybe 1500 bucks in a couple months.

[Vincent Oliver]

The one thing that I have learnt over the years is that buying something below what you realy want is always a false economy. Go for the camera that you realy want, even if it means you have to wait for a bit. Yes, I expect in the new year prices will drop, also be aware that VAT here in the UK will go up again in the new year.

[Charles Papert]

Had the opportunity to use the D3S yesterday shooting second unit for NCIS: LA. Didn't get to see the footage we shot though. Victor Hammer, the DP on the show, is beta testing for Nikon and using the camera here and there for specialty shots.

[Tony Davies-Patrick]

The Nikon D3s manual describes that the camera adjusts shutter speed and ISO sensitivity automatically, but if you put the camera in manual mode and hit the OK button you can also manual adjust the video settings.

For a view of the changing shutter speeds, view this video:

d3s shutter speed test on Vimeo

Here is also a comparison between the Nikon D3s and the Red One at 720p:

Red One & Nikon D3s @ 720p on Vimeo

[Bruce Foreman]

Originally Posted by Mayer Chalom

So you think I should go the canon route. The only cams in my price range are the 50d and t1i then (plus a lens). Do you think the 7d will lower in price to maybe 1500 bucks in a couple months.

I don't look for the 7D price to come down soon. The 5D MkII price has stayed at the same level for the most part since it's introduction. As long as demand is as high as it is on these 2 models I look for prices to stay where they are for a while.

The T1i on the other hand has come down from the darn near a grand I paid for it when it first came out. Available with 18-55mm kit lens for $749 today from B&H:

canon t1i

Many will "pan" the T1i, I almost didn't get it for two reasons; no manual control in video mode and the 1920x1080p "funky" 20fps frame rate.

But I saw some very stunning video done with it and ordered one. I do NOT use the 1080p and it's 20fps, it may be OK if you don't have much motion, but the 720p works just fine and since Nikon, Pentax, and some others are not even trying the 1080p route you may not be giving up much.

No manual control in video mode: Well, there are some workarounds to get manual aperture control; two to be exact and I've tried and do use both. One is manual lenses with an aperture ring and an adapter to the EOS mount, I have an old 50mm F1.8 Nikkor AI-S and that works great, just turn the aperture ring to where you want it and the camera adjusts shutter and ISO to give you "correct" exposure. You have an exposure override of sorts but using the exposure bias for 2 stops under to 2 over. And you can "lock" the exposure so it doesn't change as you pan to different lighted areas.

Some degree of shutter control can be done with ND filters, I use .6 and .9 (for 2 stops and 3 stop reduction respectively), "stacked" you get 5 stops reduction and that usually works for me in daylight to get the shutter down to 1/125 or under depending on the lighting.

With Canon lenses you can "unlock" the lens and twist slightly while pressing the DOF prevue button (in Av mode) to "freeze" the aperture at the dialed in value. It remains at that value until the lens is either turned back to the "click" (locked) positon or removed.

Even if the camera is turned off and then back on.

If you don't hold the DOF prevue button in the lens stays at maximum aperture.

I probably should have sold my T1i when I got the 7D, that would have helped "finance" it. But I decided to keep it both as a possible "backup" for the 7D but also as a lightweight "runaround" DSLR that does excellent stills as well as video I can work with if caught out without video gear.

The 18-55mm "kit" lens is not bad, gives moderate useable wideangle to moderate portrait perspective telephoto. Actually this range is not bad for video work and outdoors where the lighting has fair contrast the video actually looks quite sharp (edits in nicely with my HF100 video). And last night I put that lens on the 7D just to see how well it does low light on neighborhood Chrismas light displays. The results satisfied me that I can use that lens while someone drives me through the city's "Tour Of Lights".

I need to use the 18mm wide perspective to enhance motion while my driver goes slow.

Things you will need:

1. Something like the Hoodman Hoodloupe 3.0 (and I recommend their elastic "cinema strap" to hold it on over the LCD) which not only lets you "see" the LCD in daylight but also can be a third point of contact (against the eye or eyeglasses) for stabilizing handheld work. www/hoodmanusa.com

2. Some kind of "stabilizing" rig. I use the SpiderBrace 2 "Combo", cost me around $100 shipped to my door. home And a close to half priced version from Easy Brace

Both of these are quite lightweight but very useful for handheld work.

3. Some kind of audio recorder since the audio on this camera is mono only. There is no external mic jack so good audio will be achieved only with an external recorder. I use the ZoomH2 http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search...tialSearch=yes priced at $139.95 at B&H today. I paid almost $200 for mine a year or so ago. Used outdoors you will need a furry windmuff over the foam one that comes with it. I got mine from www.thewindcutter.com. I usually mount my ZoomH2 on a lightstand just out of camera view but close to the talent and I find it's internal mics very conveniently get me a good audio recording. I edit/trim the audio in the free Audacity editor and place the WAV files on the separate audio track in my video editor. Sync is done by "sliding" it in place until audio waveforms match those of the camera's audio. Then mute the camera audio and I have synchronized stereo audio.


Finally if you haven't seen these before here are a couple of short demos of shallow DOF control with the T1i that I've done (am currently working on a video tutorial to put on DVD on how to get the most out of video mode on the T1i).

Be sure to read the comments on vimeo on these. They can clarify what you see in the video.

Using Canon EF/EF-S lenses

Shallow DOF on T1i with Canon EF/EF-S lenses on Vimeo

Using a Nikkor lens

Canon T1i with Nikkor lens on Vimeo

[Tony Davies-Patrick]

Some extra information with diagram on how to perform MUNUAL CONTROL WITH VIDEO function when using the latest NIKON D3s:

http://nikonrumors.com/wp-content/up...video-mode.jpg

[Evan Donn]

Originally Posted by Wacharapong Chiowanich

proper moving image acquisition with equipment that has the form factor/mechanics of a DSLR is so frustrating difficult, if not impossible. The ergonomics of any of them is a real nightmare.(...) Without a proper mounting rig (...) most of the video DSLRs today are next to useless as a professional video tool. (...) But shooting has to be under controlled environments where almost every filming element such as lighting, sound and the subject's movement or composition is pre-arranged and can be controlled.

Are you basing this on your actual experience using one of these cameras, or just on what you've read? Because my experience has been very different. The SLR ergonomics aren't ideal but they aren't the nightmare you make them out to be. My XHA1 has been gathering dust in the year I've had the 5D, and it's worked well in all kinds of situations - my preferred setup is nothing more than an ultralight monopod, prime lens and an H4n for sound. There are situations where I'd prefer different ergonomics, but there are other situations in which the size of the camera is a real advantage - in other words it's a trade off just like any camera would be. I certainly wouldn't recommend an HDSLR for every shooter or situation, but to say it's next to useless as a pro video tool is simply false.