Please tell me Im misreading this or Nikon have not written it up correctly. The manual for the D7000 is available at: http://nikonusa.com/pdf/manuals/nopr..._ENnoprint.pdf

On page 57 about recording movies, the way I read it is you cant adjust the aperture in live view mode, the manual states to check the brightness before recording and that "if the picture is too bright or too dark, end live view and adjust aperture as necessary."

That CANT be right??? On the Canons not only can you adjust this in live view, you can adjust the aperture WHILE recording...are Nikon for real?

Also I've searched through that manual top to tail and NOWHERE can I find ANY FRIKING MENTION of what signal the HDMI outputs when in record mode. Seriously someone at that company needs to be slapped!

usually, from a "marketing" point, if your product CAN'T do it, DON'T mention it. Thats how to mislead in advertising and marketing.

I have read on another forum some early users mentioned this "in passing". The way Nikon communicates with lenses made it hard for them to have manual aperture during live view. Don't quote me on that though.

But even in DPreview, I scoured through their texts, and they never mentioned it that the camera has "FULL MANUAL" control in Movie mode. -they had the pre production model though, but its one reason I never bothered crossing my fingers for Nikon for this model.

Not this Nikon Marcus. If your really in a hurry to get a DSLR for video, the Canons still have the goods. Like you I have a lot of nikon glass, just get an adapter for it, theyre cheap.

I have tested and used the Nikons D90, D5000, Canon 5D, and 7D. I stuck with the 7D for video for now. Give it a few more months, then my recommendation might change.

OK so going out on a limb here and based on Nikons complete lack of understanding when it comes to anything video, lets surmise:

No standard frame rates in full HD (only 24p)
No over-crank ability in any mode
No HD signal over HDMI when recording (id almost put my house on it at this point)
No control of aperture while recording or even in live view

Standing pre-order...CANCELED!!!

Unless anything radical changes in the next few days, Nikon is at this point dead to me :-(

It won't change Paul.

It's already released in some stores and some users already posted their videos. Theres no "AHA!" moment in them whatsoever.

Do you have a DSLR right now?

Yup I have the t2i and was about to add a 7D (mostly for the HD over HDMI) but as I have a lot of Nikon lenses I figured the d7000 would be the better bet. How wrong I was.

I mean you could almost forgive Nikon by saying "well they are a stills company - they dont have Canons video expertise" but then look at RED - they didnt have either, in fact as Jim himself said RED had no real idea and were flying blind a lot of the time but look where they are now.

For a company the size of Nikon and the money they have for RnD it is simply inexcusable. The saddest part about this is that now Canon wont be feeling any pressure whatsoever to update their DSLR line so in effect its lose lose for us.

Thats right. Its also sad that Nikon started it with the D90. But then, thats as far as we consumers know based on the release of their product.
We probably won't know that canon was developing it ahead of nikon, R & D wise, but was beaten to its release.

Hey - I just got my D7000 and I'm pretty impressed.

The aperture thing is a pain, but ISO is adjustable in live view, and given the low noise of the camera (ISO 2000 is pretty nice) it's a reasonable way to work, and doesn't affect the look as much as adjusting stop would. Its like changing ND filters but with finer control.

I've not tested it yet (don't yet have the right cable but I will today) but I've read that HDMI is active on recording. SD video out definitely works (tried that) and is decent enough for monitoring (but certainly not focusing).

Movies are beautiful - no miracles but every bit as competent as the Canons and very clean. Low light stuff is very impressive.

So far I think it's a winner - no regrets.

Great, not full manual but you can control ISO I can live with, how about some video in low light and some video with fine pattern and see if they fix the aliasing problem? From the Zacuto test I know Nikon excel in low light with their high end camera, wonder if it leak down to this one.

To clarify, the camera does have full manual control, but the aperture must be pre-set before entering live view mode. Once in live view, you can dial in your exposure using ISO. If you start with a base of 400, you can get two stops in either direction (although noise gets more visible as you get to 1600) to play with while viewing the image live.

D7000 HDMI is Active During Recording
 

But the output switches to 720p, even if the playback resolution setting is 1080i.

I don't think there's an option to turn off the menu and focus indicators.
The image itself is shrunk a bit from the full 720p width, to accommodate the information displayed on the perimeter.

Image is sharp but does not compare with the full res image available in playback from the HDMI. Still, quite serviceable.

Where did you buy it? Does this mean others should be on their way?

Best Buy. Had to buy the kit lens, but I see no sign of the body-only version being released anytime soon.

It officially goes on sale tomorrow, but their computer told them they could sell it to me yesterday.

Eric,

When you said aperture had to be set before live view do you mean those new lenses without aperture rings?

What about old manual lenses with aperture rings? Can you adjust them even when in live view?

Ted

Ted,

I just tried that on my older 28-70 2.8 and the answer is yes, but with some issues, which may be trivial to some.

Modern Nikons give an error "fEE" when your CPU lens is not set at minimum aperture (which is where they operate for camera control of aperture). If the lens is not at minimum aperture, in this case f/22 the D7000 does not seem to let you enter live view at all.

But I found a simple workaround thanks to your question. Leave the lens dial at f/22 (or min aperture) when entering live view, enter live view, and then the adjust from there. It works!

One other thing I noticed: if the camera's internal aperture setting (as displayed on the LCD) is, say, f/5.6 then that will be the minimum aperture the lens closes to after switching to live view, regardless of where you set the ring. The solution there is to also make sure the camera body LCD is set to minimum aperture. Then when you enter live view you are completely stopped down. Turn the ring on the lens and you have the full range of the lens available to you. Cool.

Now, here's the downside: when in live view using the aperture ring as described above, auto focus is completely non functional. There may be a workaround here but I have not found one.

Also, shutter speed cannot be changed unless the ring is temporarily put to minimum aperture and the "fEE" error temporarily cleared. I actually think this is a good thing - it provides a sort of "lock" for the shutter speed, an important setting that it far too easy to accidentally change while shooting. ISO setting is still completely functional.

So I tested the camera like this and it definitely lets you shoot video with manual ring control. I'll dig up some of my even older manual lenses and see what happens with them. And there may be a way to make the camera think that CPU lenses with aperture rings are OK and not give the fEE error.

Glad you asked the question.

That is good news. Thank you for doing the tests. So basically, "full" manual is "achievable".

Your right about the speed. In controlled production environments, usually, the speed is a predetermined creative and technical decision, its usually ISO and aperture that needs "fiddling", also the lack of auto focus is not a deal breaker as it's barely, if at all, used in production environments.

So, the workflow with old manual lenses is, step down to lowest aperture, set shutter speed, enter live view, adjust aperture and ISO to get desired exposure, press record?

Seems ok!


Thanks,

Ted

Ted,

I've totally revised my post here because my previous info was incorrect. The workaround is not necessary. There's a menu in the D7000 that lets you use aperture ring lenses with full aperture control in live view and with full functioning autofocus.

It's menu item F6 Controls/Customize Command Dials. If you set it to "aperture setting" item to "aperture ring" you will have full control of the aperture from the ring with no fEE error. This works in live view and recording mode.

So as long as your lens has an aperture ring you can have full manual control of all camera functions, and fully functioning auto focus in live view WITHOUT having to switch out of it. It works perfectly.

So aperture pre-setting is only for lenses with no aperture rings, and criticism of the D7000 for that limitation is really moot.

D7000 Rolling Shutter
 

I tested my D7000. The shutter scan time from top to bottom at 1080 23.976p is about 1/54 second or 18.5 milliseconds.

I think this is a bit better than the Canons (I've read 25ms for the 5D II), and almost acceptable for me. Does anyone have a reliable numerical spec for the various Canons?

Found a good way to change aperture in live view in lenses without aperture rings
 

Pretty simple. This is for lenses with no aperture ring. Lenses with aperture ring can dial in a manual stop directly from the lens barrel.

Go to menus and assign the Fn button to AE Lock Hold.
Put the D7000 in shutter priority auto and enter live view
Now adjust the exposure compensation +/- until the desired stop is generated by the auto exposure (it has a generous +/- 5 stop range). As you do this, only aperture will change.

When the desired aperture is reached, hit the Fn button and the aperture will be locked in.

The only downside to this is that you can't change the exposure easily on the fly. But it does let you dial in a stop while watching the effect on live view rather than having to exit live view.
_____

Edit:

add to that workaround - you must hit the shutter release (for the aperture change to register) before you start shooting. See post #60 below.

Lol - Eric I think Nikon should hire you for 'workarounds on stuff we should have made work by default'...or something like that. ;-)

Can I ask what monitor you tested the HDMI out on and if at all possible if you could post a picture of what the image looks like on the screen? Im just trying to work out how the Nikon would compare with the 7D on a smallHD DP6 monitor, especially given how well you can customise the auto scaling features on the DP6?

As this monitor is 720p, then if the Nikon can be set to output full size 720p image then that would be ideal.

That's true, Paul. I can't see any technical reason why Nikon disallows changing the aperture in live view manual. The camera body clearly has full dynamic control of the lenses while in this mode, as evidenced by the way it handles auto iris and the workaround I described. It's just a matter of firmware at this point. Maybe Nikon will address it.

But I hope these workarounds (which are hardly workarounds at all) will get you to reconsider your cancellation of the camera. It's really quite impressive, and the footage is beautiful.

I'll see what I can do about posting the hdmi output signal. I tested the output on my 60" Sharp LCD TV. I watched it switch from 1080 to 720 when I turned on live view.
--------
Edit:

I hate to keep revising myself here, but I'm posting as figure these things out. It looks like the aperture does not exactly dynamically change in live view when you turn the compensation dial, but there is some sort of simulation of its effect going on - the image is getting gained down to match the effect (but DOF does not change). In order to make your adjusted aperture take effect you must press the shutter release. Then the aperture closes or opens to its set value (and the gain change is reset). You don't have to leave live view for this, and you are still able to dial in your exposure in live view, but it seems like you must remember to hit the shutter release button or you actually might be shooting at the wrong aperture! That's a weird one. And I'm afraid it will take more than a firmware update to get the iris to dynamically change when in live view.

I've been keeping up with news on the D7000 and it really has my attention, but one question I've not seen pop up yet is whether or not it still has the old MJPEG 720p mode as well as the new h.264 - kind of like the GH1 - so users with older computers can still playback/edit the files easily?

I know about cineform etc, but for SDE's when I'm away from home shooting surfing it would be great to have the old MJPEG files which work quickly and natively, without converting to cineform which would take all night on my aging laptop.

The h.264 is one reason I didn't jump on the Canon bandwagon, but with the changing pace of technology I think I may have to just suck it up and buy a new laptop as well as a DSLR!

VIdeos please fellas!!!!
Very curious about your stuff....

24P D 7000 footage choppy ... No?
 

I just got my D 7000 and started some test shots. the picture is gorgeous but when I pan the image as expected at 24 P... chops way more than expected. So I lowered the Shutter speed to 60th of a second and it made not difference. I am viewing the footage on a 720P monitor....any suggestions? If I can't solve the problem I will return the camera to Best Buy at a $200 restock fee. Thanks
Ted

What do you mean by "chop?"

If you see tearing (horizontal separation) then it's not the camera, but the sync between your monitor and the movie playback (assuming you are playing back on a computer).

Or are you seeing something else?

Eric,

Have you tested editing some of your footage already? How do you find its color compression especially in the shadow areas?

Test footage I've seen seem to show aggressive color compression with the blacks coming out blocky when pulled up in post.

What are your observations?

Ted

Ted,

Have you seen original footage yet, or just YouTube/vimeo? Because I see nothing of the sort in my footage. Blacks are quite clean.

Here's a very underexposed shot I brightened (in Photoshop). There is some posterization, as you would expect, but no blockiness.

aside from the ones on vimeo i downloaded the files posted by macgregor where he tested it side by side with the 5D.

http://www.macgregor.autoecstasy.com/d7000/l03.wmv

http://www.macgregor.autoecstasy.com/d7000/l04.wmv


But I believe he stated he applied some curves to these tests.

I think the "wmv" at the end might be the problem!

i think you're probably right.

Eric,

Thanks for the heads up via pm, ok, I'm still crossing my fingers on this beast, what I'm liking is its naturalistic and warmish tones.

If its not much, how about something really short, like a 3 sec clip, indoors, say in your room, with just light through the windows or somethin, at 24P, expose for the highlights or the areas hit by the lights, at a supposedly clean iso of say 100-300ish at full open in your lens. You can let the windows blow if its hard.

That scenario should have some high, mid and shadow areas. Maybe you can zip that and send it via email.
I'd like to throw some curves at it and maybe do some 3 way grade and see how the codec fares.

By the way, a lot were happy with your initial workaround on the aperture which I reposted at the other forum.


Ted

Are you talking about the 'Jello effect'?

RE: 5D and D7000 videos
 

I know that I do not have the most discriminating eye but the 5D MK II and D7000 videos were very interesting. One thing that was very obvious to me in the first vid was that the 5D sky was almost white but the asphalt had a blue tint. On the other hand, the D7000 had a more realistic looking blue sky and grey asphalt which is what I would have expected to see with the naked eye. And in the second video, I thought the D7000 vid looked shightly sharper. Like the lettering on the signs, for instance. And the colors looked really pleasing. At a minimum I would have to say that the D7000 looks to be very competitive with the 5D at half the price.

Greg,

When macgregor posted the clips, this is his statement together with those clips,

"Both cameras with "same" settings: neutral, sharpen at 0, same WB, aperture and shutter speed.
Nikon footage has been slightly sharpened otherwise it was too soft from camera.
Curves have been applied for clips in order to extract as much DR as possible but no colour grading."

So sharpening was added to the nikon footage on those samples, here's his initial observations when shooting it side by side, note the word"initial". :-)


"Well, this is what i´ve seen so far:
- i think 5D resolves more detail than the d7000
- d7000 tone curve is more filmic (more natural colours)
- nikon has more dynamic range (in highlights and shadows)
- canon has less aliassing
- I see less compression in the nikon but I need to test more."

The Nikon image does look softer, but it also seems to have less aliasing (not more). Look at the wires running along the top of the frame on the first clip. The Canon shows the classic stair stepping of aliasing, while the Nikon does not.

audio?
 

Has anyone who is lucky to have a D7000 bothered to test the audio yet? I am curious as to how good the stereo audio in is. I own a beachtek D2 and would like to use it with my D7000 (when I get one) . I would only be using the on-board audio for ENG type work anything else sound would be recored in a separate audio device. I would like to know how much manual control exists for sound on this camera.

Todays test
 

D7000 and Zacuto Z-Finder Pro
 

Bought the Z-Finder PRO2.5x today and it works and fits perfectly on the D7000. Highly recommended.

Latest release date
 

Amazon says--

This item will be released on November 15, 2010.
Pre-order now!

Jeez, was hoping for the 1st.

Native 24p...really?
 

Try as I may I can't find any explicit mention (anywhere) that the D7000 records native 24p, not some 60i intercine pull-down like my Canon vixia HF s100!

Surely, if true, this is an important feature Nikon would promote.

Is the D7000 truly capturing progressive 24p?

Terence