D800 HDMI recording and cable ??
 

Greetings.

I was going to experiment recording via the HDMI port on the D800 to my Matrox MXO Mini HDMI in to Final Cut 7 on a Mac Pro.

It appears that the port on the camera is not a standard size HDMI. Anyone know what I should be looking for? And if I can find it, would a 50 foot long cable work going to the MXO? (If they even make that length)

And as far as selecting a choice for input, would I select Matrox Mini 1080p 29.97 8 bit or 10 bit for video playback.

Any advice always appreciated.

Jonathan

Re: D800 HDMI recording and cable ??
 

Actually, I think I found that I need a mini HDMI to HDMI. But look forward to comments about the other stuff.

Have not found a cable longer than 6 foot yet.

Re: D800 HDMI recording and cable ??
 

HDMI might go upto 15m (50 feet) in theory. I wouldn't recommend it though.

As for the bit depth, it depends on your workflow and monitoring solution. I don't recommend 10-bits for the Nikon D800 since I don't find any advantage image quality-wise. To be truly honest, I don't recommend an external recorder either.

Hope this helps.

Re: D800 HDMI recording and cable ??
 

Hi Sareesh,

Looking into a long cable. They also make a HDMI>mini-HDMI adapter, but I have no idea how that affects transfer.

I do wonder why you don't recommend either an external recorder, i.e. Ninja 2 or computer set-up with HDMI? All the info I've read, if I read it correct, states that to get full sensor output, shooting with HDMI is the way to go to get 1080p 24/30 with the proper camera settings. I also heard that the camera's sensor can heat up and will automatically exit live view if that happens.

I'm not clear if the D800 with HDMI is 8 bit capture or 10 bit.

Shooting to card leaves you with a 1080i H.264 file that then needs to be converted to ProRes to work smoothly in Final Cut.

Your thoughts?

Jonathan

Re: D800 HDMI recording and cable ??
 

Those are passive, so it doesn't affect signal strength.

There is no difference in quality. I have yet to see a sub-$10,000 camera deliver a better signal result via HDMI over the internal codec. The simplest way to find out is test for yourself, for the scenarios you're going to shoot in.

It's 8-bit 4:2:2. I've written about it here: Master Guide to Rigging a Nikon D800 or D800E (Part 7)

I'm not sure you want to hear my thoughts! :) I avoid intermediary codecs like the plague. I prefer to edit native H.264. There is no difference in quality, and file sizes are lesser.

Regarding your initial question, don't run HDMI for more than 10-20 feet. On the Matrox you'd be recording 1080p29.97 (if you're shooting 30p). If you really need long cable lengths, you'll need a recorder that does an 'active' HDMI to SDI conversion. I'm not a fan of 'active' converters.

A lot of what I say goes contrary to 'popular' belief. I'm sure your experiments will tell you what is right for you.

Re: D800 HDMI recording and cable ??
 

Thanks Sareesh.

I need to spend some more time with your guide.

Jonathan