Nikon D7000
 

Dang it, looks like this camera will not have a swivel screen based on early leaks. I'm waiting for official word tomorrow of course, but also seems it may only have 1080/24.....not 1080/30 or 720/60. Pretty dissapointing if this is all true, such a shame that Nikon was first to the game with DSLR video with the D90 and their first follow up after Canon has dominated is looking pretty weak.

Having said all that, if the video tests and samples look as good or better than a T2i, still may consider getting due to all the nikkor glass I have. I know about adaptors, but I like the idea of auto focus working, if I can adapt this cam for decent ENG type work. Still-camera wise it looks like a beauty successor to the D90.

Video wise, looking forward to reviews to see how the hdmi-out works (ie: resolution changes etc), will the auto focus with face tracking actually work good in video mode, full manual controls?, bit-rate of codec, mic input? etc. etc.

Camera has just been released, and Chase Jarvis did a road test:
Nikon D7000: Camera Road Test With Chase Jarvis | Chase Jarvis Blog
(Source: Twitter)

Stills look absolutely stunning, but I am not too sure about the video capabilities. Judging from the available video samples, the bit rate seems lower than eg. Canon or the hacked GH1. Furthermore, no 60fps and only 24fps available at 1080p.

Anyone any idea about manual controls?

Scott rinckenberger on the CHASE JARVIS blog says:

"The rolling shutter is quite a bit better than we had seen in the previous cameras. There is manual exposure for shooting video."

I'm very happy to have those options on a Nikon.Looking good so far:)

So do you think HDLSR guys this would be a camera that can compete with 7d or 5d?
What about this autofocus§?

Canon knows what they are doing when it comes to video - I think Nikon sees it as more of a novelty, although they could accidentally get it right. And I wish they would get the video right - I have always liked the Nikon ergonomics - the layout of the buttons, the fact that I rarely have to go to the menus, etc. The handling alone sold me on a D70 years ago over any of the comparable Canons at the time, even though the Canons arguably had better picture quality.

Right now, I have a GH1, and almost never use autofocus - there is nothing worse than the camera hunting for focus because your subject moved, which is almost a certainty in video. That being said, If the D7000 has better dynamic range than the GH1, I would most likely trade... I guess it all comes down to pixel-peeking - I want to see some raw footage!

There is a whip pan shot in Chase Jarvis's video, and I have to say that the rolling shutter skew seems almost nonexistent.

I also did some 3D tracking tests and my software was able to track the moving camera very well. So I have high hopes for the rolling shutter (or lack thereof) on this camera.

But - the video looks quite soft (even considering the compression) and there seems to be very bad aliasing and color artifacts around the thin wires in the video. Hope this is reduced in the production version of the camera.

If the video looks halfway decent, this camera will be a great thing for my visual effects work.

Some people are saying they see skew all over the place, I personally am not looking for it and don't really notice. It's definitely much better than the D90 and no different than any Canon video I've seen. However, with no 1080/30p or 720/60p, no swivel screen like the new Sony's and new Canon, bit-rate suggests 24Mbps max whereas Canon's and hacked GH1 are much higher from my understanding.
These specs do leave something to be desired compared to the direct competition and now seeing this info, I doubt Nikon has addressed aIiasing/moire either.
I was hoping for more, but I'm sure for certain projects I could live with the limitations, and still make nice images. I thought most of the Chase Jarvis stuff looked great, so maybe all these specs don't mean all that much at the end of day.

As long as you know what you're looking for I don't know how anyone could not see the CMOS skew effect - it's present in all the shots that have any sort of camera movement in them in the clip. Whether it's objectionable is a personal thing (I didn't comment on that), but it's definitely there.
Steve

Steve,

I am curious where in the video you see the effect. Can you point me to a shot or area I may be missing? Because I have downloaded the Jarvis video it and don't see any pronounced evidence of it. I am actually quite surprised.

I do see some strobiness from bad shutter choices, and I am not fond of most of the lighting and photography, but I see little skew and no obvious jello-cam. For me it's a not a personal thing but a technical one. Much of what I would shoot with it will be 3D tracked.

Thanks.

Between 11-13s, 35-39s, 43-48s, 1.05 -1.13 at various point etc, etc. Any time the camera is handheld you see a wobble that is not just camera movement but rolling shutter (at least in my estimation). Is it objectionable? Don't know really, not my place to say. I actually think we're getting more used to seeing at and so noticing it less and not thinking about it or being bothered by it.
Steve

Thanks Steve.

I looked at the section around 1:13 and I don't see wobble. What I see are the artifacts from stabilization ("smoothcam" or some other process) in which the foreground is smooth but the background remains wobbly (because there is no way to stabilize them both - this is fairly typical). But I really don't see any jello.

Also, on whip pans with vertical lines, I see very little skew (see attached grab). Again, I find it surprising and I look forward to actually testing the camera when I get it (like I tested the EX1) and see if this is for real.

I'm guessing around 1/100 second from top to bottom. Anything better than 1/60th is a major step in the right direction as far as I'm concerned.

Yup sorry Steve I agree with Eric and that frame grab is a perfect example of what is NOT there - ie skew or jello of any flavour (in any noticeable way)

Im very concerned however with the bit rate of the codec - still to me the colours in the night scenes appear a tad yellow/muddy and given they are touting the 20mins recording time - to me that just confirms a lower data-rate than the canons. Which if true is a complete fail given the other features this camera lacks compared to the cheaper canon.

Still I've got my fingers crossed we see some magic when the first head to head shoot outs start appearing - I've got thousands of dollars worth of Nikkon glass Im itching to use (without an adaptor)

You really think Nikon have cracked the jello issue in a £500 SLR and Sony and Panasonic haven't in their purpose built video cameras costing over 10 times as much?
Maybe you're right, and what I'm seeing is not CMOS rolling shutter effects, but that's what it looks like to me.
No worries.
Steve

What really got me first was the shot of the white van parking with the top part of the frame showing electric wires against the plain sky. You can see the stair stepping aliasing on the wires typical of the D90 and D5000, (which we have.) Also the detail on the trees and hair seems soft.

Personally, the video results posted did not seem something better than what the Canons and GH13 has. (I also have the 7D.)

I am a Nikon guy with a lot of Nikon glass and Nikon accessories. I have been waiting (impatiently) for an upgrade for my D200. I did some back to back testing with a friends D300 but I couldn't see any reason to justify the outlay of cash to move to a D300. However, I am very excited about the D7000. As a still camera, it seems like it will easily out perform my D200 or the D300 in every respect. I had hoped for a little more in the video department, such as 1080/30P. But you do get manual exposure control and autofocus. So there are some trade-off's when compared to it's competition. The bottom line is that it looks like the D7000 will be a significant upgrade from my D200 as a still camera and it looks like it will perform really well as an HD DSLR as a bonus. A win - win, for sure.