D800 HDMI recording and cable ??

[Jonathan Levin]

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

[Jonathan Levin]

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.

[Sareesh Sudhakaran]

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.

[Jonathan Levin]

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

[Sareesh Sudhakaran]

Originally Posted by Jonathan Levin

Hi Sareesh,

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

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

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.

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.

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

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

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

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.

[Jonathan Levin]

Thanks Sareesh.

I need to spend some more time with your guide.

Jonathan