First impressions of the $2999 Nikon D800's video mode

[Andrew Reid]

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Above: Joy Ride shot on the Nikon D800 streams in full 1080p so make sure to view full screen!

The long rumoured and leaked Nikon D800 was officially announced today. This is Nikon’s equivalent of Canon’s upcoming 5D Mark 3 and is a very attractive camera which brings almost all of the Nikon D4′s pro DSLR features down to $2999 (£2399 in the UK) but sacrifices cutting edge low light ability for crazy resolution.

[url="http://www.eoshd.com/content/7015/first-impressions-of-the-2999-nikon-d800-video-mode/"]Read full article[/url]

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[Max]

This camera can sweep the floor with GH2,GH3,GH4 or any camera in the market
No words are needed just to watch

[lubricated]

If so than not with internal recorder. This video is simply the same or worse than most stuff on market now, also soft and the aliasing was just an eye-stab since this was a tech demo.

D4 show-reel about the hobbies was pretty good tho... i guess that was recorded externally then.

[Sara]

[quote author=Max link=topic=256.msg1682#msg1682 date=1328639850]
This camera can sweep the floor with GH2,GH3,GH4 or any camera in the market
No words are needed just to watch
[/quote]

Not with video.

Do you really think it is a coincidence that EVERY sample video posted by Nikon from EVERY one of their photographers is soft and mushy? 

I might buy a D800 for production stills...but until I get a sample of its "raw" video I doubt it will compete with a hacked GH2.

[markm]

The film outdoes anything I've seen from a GH2 in my opinion. But then thats my opinion. To me the film looked wholesome full and solid and that's at 24mbs.

I'm hoping the HDMI might offer uncompressed and that will take this out in front of everything else below £20,000. But I do agree with Andrew to wait and see what else comes along this year.

[Michael Kleven]

I think 99 percent of audience members seeing this footage from the D800 would consider it gorgeous. Amazing again that a camera at that price point can do what it does. The film was lit, acted, filmed and edited with solid craftsmanship. Under different conditions perhaps the camera might not hold up. But here I think it is pretty good, esp considering the price point. It continues to be an exciting time for shooters and directors camera wise.

[moebius22]

Off topic, but Canon's starting to post some 1DX samples.

[url=http://web.canon.jp/imaging/eosd/samples/eos1dx/]http://web.canon.jp/imaging/eosd/samples/eos1dx/[/url]

[Max]

The D800 is in the class of a canon C300, its a cinematic video tool.
Nikon sent a clear message to Canon for the past 3 years that 5D shines for independent film-makers.

The 700$ cameras such as GH2 only strength is in resolution no more.(same as PANA-tm700).
As far as DR,Color and noise any comparison to APS-C's not to mention FF's are  Embarrassing.

The D800 DR at night is no less then amazing. Look at the detail inside the lit apartments at night.
So when the big boys are playing children need to go to sleep  :D

[Sara]

The biggest problem I see is with B-frame compression that Nikon uses for the D800 and D4.

Canon is already prepping advertisements that attack Nikon's use of B-frames vs the All I-frames Canon will use on their 1DX (and probably 5DMK3).  Regardless of what the end user see's, people purchasing DSLR's will lean towards Canon for the ultimate in video quality.

I am not a Canon "fangirl" but Nikon's video dominance (if it can even beat a hacked GH2) will last 6 months at most.

These Nikon cameras are for still image shooters.  Pro's will use GH2 at the low end, and Scarlet, Alexa, Sony F65 at the high end.

[mike_tee_vee]

Everyone is dazzled by the video, but people fail to realize that this was filmed in a professional environment BY professionals.  Every frame has been planned for maximum artistic effect.  Joe Blow won't be able to achieve these results simply by picking up this camera out of the box and hitting record.  It's an amazing piece of work from an artistic perspective, but it doesn't fully expose the camera's strengths/weaknesses from a technical perspective. 

We need footage of brick walls and repetitive patterns to accurately evaluate the camera's capabilities.

[Sara]

One more interesting thing - the obsession with FF being the "be all end all" for low light is pure garbage.  It is an outdated philosophy that Canon and Nikon shooters cling to when justifying their purchase of DSLRs.  A waxy, mushy, no detail video in low light doesn't impress movie goers.

[url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMUi8tOEqF0#]The Social Network - The Visuals[/url]  (ignore the fist few seconds of stupid intro - the interviews with Jeff and David Fincher are fantastic)

Watch this Video about the Social Network and how they shot on the Red One in near perfect darkness (granted they used F1.3 Arri / Zeiss Mater Prime lenses - but rental houses rent these cheap these days).  The Red One is always dissed as being a "noisy" sensor camera - but at least it captures detail !

Watch the scene in the Club where the use of lighting equipment was VERY minimal.  And yes I know that the Red Code Raw files were edited by professionals but I have used Neat Video on Red Epic Raw files and it is not difficult to achieve stunning results.

[moebius22]

The cost of a Red One is off the charts compared to a full frame camera.

[Sara]

[quote author=moebius22 link=topic=256.msg1695#msg1695 date=1328662845]
The cost of a Red One is off the charts compared to a full frame camera.
[/quote]

But a GH2 isn't.

Renting a Red Scarlet is around $1200 a week.  Unless you shoot every month a FF DSLR makes ZERO sense for shooting movies imo.  (unless you need the smaller size - but then again thats where a GH2 gains an edge) 

For a hobbiest - "maybe" a FF DSLR makes sense if you want the stills.  But for movies and indi shorts?  Nope.

And yes my friend is a member of the American Cinematheque and was at the screening of Act of Valor (Canon 5DMK2) at Sundance in Utah - it looked terrible he said - very cheap.

[hmcindie]

You can't use a RED the same way you use a DSLR. I mean, just one redvolt lasts for maybe 30 minutes.

And Act of Valor looks great I think. The aesthetic is something that has been missing for a long time. Vistavision sensor. In a film. Great wide angle shots with excellent dof. Your friend just seems to be butthurt.

But it is a cheap film. Even compared to non-action films like the Social Network. Social Network cost 50 million dollars. Act of Valor 10. The other is an action film with a lot of stuff to shoot. It wouldn't have even been possible to get all those shots on the Epic. They shot the boat attack scene in six hours with 10 DSLRs. It probably took as long to light an office in Social Network.

Saying that "it doesn't make sense" is so stupid that it hurts. It makes all the sense.

"They should've shot with the GH2!" WTf is this? The GH2 didn't even exist then. And considering how much Shane loves Full Frame, I really doubt they would've used a GH2. The 5dmark IIs were fitted with Panavision Primo Primes. Can you fit those on the GH2 without losing the wide angles? It seems like you are mad because a pro might not use the GH2. That's just ... really sad.

Instead of saying stuff like "They should've done this and that..." you should be fucking excited that they actually shot a film completely differently than is the norm. With a DSLR! Why aren't you excited?

By the way, they did also shoot some scenes on 35mm film and the aerial shots with a Sony F950. Can you spot them from the film?

[Sara]

[quote author=hmcindie link=topic=256.msg1698#msg1698 date=1328690614]
You can't use a RED the same way you use a DSLR. I mean, just one redvolt lasts for maybe 30 minutes.
[/quote]

RedBricks last 2 to 2.5 hours.

[quote author=hmcindie link=topic=256.msg1698#msg1698 date=1328690614]
But it is a cheap film. Even compared to non-action films like the Social Network. Social Network cost 50 million dollars. Act of Valor 10. The other is an action film with a lot of stuff to shoot. It wouldn't have even been possible to get all those shots on the Epic. They shot the boat attack scene in six hours with 10 DSLRs. It probably took as long to light an office in Social Network.
[/quote]

Gotta pay the actors. 

And again you are wrong about the social network.  Watch videos of Jeff Cronenweth explaining their lighting.  Many scenes were lit in under 5 minutes.

[quote author=hmcindie link=topic=256.msg1698#msg1698 date=1328690614]
"They should've shot with the GH2!" WTf is this? The GH2 didn't even exist then. And considering how much Shane loves Full Frame, I really doubt they would've used a GH2. The 5dmark IIs were fitted with Panavision Primo Primes. Can you fit those on the GH2 without losing the wide angles? It seems like you are mad because a pro might not use the GH2. That's just ... really sad.
[/quote]

Not what I meant.  Never suggested he should have used a GH2.  Just mentioned that the results do not impress me or anyone I know.  Thats it.  Don't read anything else into it.

[quote author=hmcindie link=topic=256.msg1698#msg1698 date=1328690614]
Instead of saying stuff like "They should've done this and that..." you should be fucking excited that they actually shot a film completely differently than is the norm. With a DSLR! Why aren't you excited?
[/quote]

I am excited.  We have a Nikon D800 and D4 because of the Canon 5DMK2.  Though I question their abilities - as does Andrew.


[quote author=hmcindie link=topic=256.msg1698#msg1698 date=1328690614]
By the way, they did also shoot some scenes on 35mm film and the aerial shots with a Sony F950. Can you spot them from the film?
[/quote]

Sampled down to 1080?  Now you are making me laugh.

[Andrew Reid]

[quote author=mark2929 link=topic=256.msg1688#msg1688 date=1328655465]
The film outdoes anything I've seen from a GH2 in my opinion. But then thats my opinion. To me the film looked wholesome full and solid and that's at 24mbs.

I'm hoping the HDMI might offer uncompressed and that will take this out in front of everything else below £20,000. But I do agree with Andrew to wait and see what else comes along this year.
[/quote]

It was well shot, no doubt about it. Eye-candy yes.

But people need to be more discerning and know the truth. This video could have been shot on the 3 year old 5D Mark II and looked the same, if not better. Video on the D800 is not at the GH2 level in terms of resolution and compression, it just isn't. Those are the facts.

I believe people are being slightly blinded by the fact this video has a cool motorbike in it and lots of prozzies.

[markm]

Andrew


But people need to be more discerning and know the truth. This video could have been shot on the 3 year old 5D Mark II and looked the same, if not better. Video on the D800 is not at the GH2 level in terms of resolution and compression, it just isn't. Those are the facts.
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Awfully as it may sound to some - I now prefer the new GH2 Update, version v1.1 more than the hacked original. because of the better noise reduction and 25p which even at 24mbps and with sharpness set to +2 for me beats the 24p original version WITH THE HACKS!.  To me this is the best picture.

Although the 24mbps looked great on the Nikon its the abilty to have uncompressed HDSDI out that takes it above and beyond the GH2
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I believe people are being slightly blinded by the fact this video has a cool motorbike in it and lots of prozzies.

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I think having a fast motorbike WAS more of a test?

Also there was a lot of Black gradations in this that really seemed to be handled well. Much better than the GH2 would have done. Also the colour was so solid with the opening shots looking almost THREE dimensional.

[tony wilson]

this is just a clip it means nothing.
any turd can be made shiny and new and the nikons make mighty fine video of the second rate.

this is a man and a teams clip it is not a test.
let us wait for the nice people to shoot statics,you know the kind of things crew tend to do.
boring stuff on a head and legs locked off and uncompressed output.
let us wait for nikon to explain fully the technicals of the video output.
reminds me of some youtuber shooting lens focus sharpness tests of traffic while panning.
kubrick did not get his crew to do camera tests from choppers or motor bikes at night.
enjoy the clip as a nice cool clip but it could indeed have been done 4 years ago by the 5d mk2.
when i saw the cool apartment i was waiting for the guy to splash his face with water like the original5d clip.
nikon make the greatest high end slr stills cameras in the world and some bad low end stuff they have shown a complete disinterest in video.
like full frame sensors they have been dragged kicking and screaming into this area,certainly the most conservative of companies.
the knowledge base within is 14 months at least behind panasonic,sony and canon.
this is not a revolution this is a revamped d90 in video terms the uncompressed output will not be the holy grail.
it is and has been ignorance but could also be as someone else said a losing face issue.
meaning they are not gonna get into a brutal war with the companies that have had a long history of broadcast video.maybe it is a yakuza thing.
my guess is they have put this technology  in without the video implementation skill set and talent of panasonic or others.

[FilmMan]

The Nikon video was done professionally.  It looks good - cinematic style.  This makes the quality appear above average.  But if you look at it carefully, you'll see what Andrew is pointing out.  Is it ahead of the GH2 or the Canon Mark 5d ii?  Doesn't look like it.  Specs sound good, but the picture needs to support the specs.  Does it really?  Give it some time and see what comes out.

With respect to Act of Valor...awesome.  In case people have not seen the new trailer.  [url=http://insidemovies.ew.com/2011/12/17/act-of-valor-trailer/]http://insidemovies.ew.com/2011/12/17/act-of-valor-trailer/[/url]

I have an old Dv5000 1/2 inch JVC.  Looking at old video.  Actually excellent picture and very accurate colors.  The new JVC 4k camera may actually surprise many.  We'll see in the next while. 

This year should bring alot of choices to the filmmaking community. 
PS.  Some interesting stuff still happening with the Canon Mark 5d ii with hacks. 

[eosjames]

Very nice write-up Andrew. I think that Nikon-followers finally have a cam where they can feel good about the stills AND video now. Its their 5DMkII. From what i've seen here and the other music video so far, it doesn't stand out and blow me away and tell me that its a dSLR 2.0 even though it is. I am thinking the MkIII will be similar in that the improvements will be more 'moderate' instead of 'significant' from the MkII, even with the rolling shutter/aliasing/moire mostly fixed. I'm thinking even now it might be a good idea to 'skip' this year's offerings and wait for the next one (if you already have a hacked GH2/5DMkII). The one which will have the 4K/RAW. That should be more significant with the human eye. I'm looking forward to the GH3 just as much.