New Nikon D5300 with Expeed 4

[Aussie Ash]

New Nikon D5300 has started shipping

 

This is the first Nikon to have the new Expeed 4 image/video processor and the first

Nikon to be able to shoot video at 60 P.Nikon Canada are claiming that the video auto

focus is smoother than that on the 5200.

 

Any one else interested in this camera  for video ?? I have several Nikon full frame lens

from film days.

[Guest c2dd7b52878779b55f43cc8c269267c1]

Any one else interested in this camera  for video ?? I have several Nikon full frame lens

from film days.

 

Yup I'm eagerly awaiting sample videos and/or early reviews of video mode. No one is sure if it has the same Toshiba sensor as the D5200. If it does, and the Expeed 4 improves the camera's low light performance and/or reduces the fixed pattern noise, it could be an exciting camera for anyone not needing high bit-rate/RAW.

 

Be warned though that if your Nikon lenses are fully manual (AI-S or earlier) you won't have any way of metering accurately in video mode - you'll have to expose "by eye" on the LCD. Plenty of people have managed to do this successfully with the 5200 though - Brandon Li of rungunshoot.com shoots a lot with AIS glass on his D5200 and gets superb results.

 

Hopefully EOSHD will do an early review of the D5300, but at the moment it seems almost taboo to talk about any camera that can't shoot RAW/ProRes. A pity.

[Andrew Reid]

It's not at all a taboo on here to talk about non raw / ProRes cameras Matt.

[Guest c2dd7b52878779b55f43cc8c269267c1]

It's not at all a taboo on here to talk about non raw / ProRes cameras Matt.

 

Sorry, badly put (and I meant in general not just this site). But I do think that if it wasn't for a general focus on the Pocket, 5D raw etc there would be a lot more interest in this release. It's been available for a few days now and there isn't one useful sample video or analysis of video mode online. I know it's very early days but I did expect a bit more buzz.

 

Do you know yet if you will do a review Andrew?

 

[Aussie Ash]

Hi Matt

  Thanks for the link to Brandon Li's site he sure seems happy with the D5200 and has put together some

cool videos.

I still haven't found any tell tale vids taken on the 5300 though would be happy to with the official

Nikon one of thew guy playing guitar.

I had a close look at the specs Nikon are giving for both cameras

 

5200 max 24mbps at all high settings 24P to 60 i max record time 20mins

 

5300 60 p and 50 p max record time 10 mins

5300 24p and 30 P max record time 20 mins

does this mean the max is now 48 mbps for 50p and 60 P  ???

[Andrew Reid]

The D5300 hasn't started shipping yet and Nikon's marketing people are off the ball when it comes to the video community so nobody has got one early.

 

It does look interesting, because we know the sensor is already pretty capable for video and it seems with the new image processor they have taken a step forward in extracting more resolution in the debayer and keeping hold of more of it in the encoding, which would be a logical progression.

 

Would it be better than a GH3 around though? I don't know. And that Nikon lens mount is very restrictive if you have anything but a lot of Nikon glass.

 

If it ends up giving a nicer image than a G6 it will be a good budget option but right now the image quality is more exciting on the ProRes and raw shooting cameras, and the D5300 doesn't really have much unique about it in terms of features.

 

My focus this week will be on the Sony A7R which is not a raw or ProRes shooting camera. Happy now? :)

[Guest c2dd7b52878779b55f43cc8c269267c1]

If it ends up giving a nicer image than a G6 it will be a good budget option but right now the image quality is more exciting on the ProRes and raw shooting cameras, and the D5300 doesn't really have much unique about it in terms of features.

 

I currently use a G6 with speed booster and Nikon AIS primes. I'm interested in the D5300 as a second camera because the G6 isn't very exciting in low light, and I do find the colour fringing on light sources a real problem with the speed booster.

 

The unique feature - in this price bracket - of the D5300 will hopefully be excellent low light performance (better than 5200? 5DMk3?) combined with 60p.

 

I'm always happy to come to this site Andrew. I think what you do here is excellent.  :)

[Guest c2dd7b52878779b55f43cc8c269267c1]

5300 60 p and 50 p max record time 10 mins

5300 24p and 30 P max record time 20 mins

does this mean the max is now 48 mbps for 50p and 60 P  ???

 

I would very much doubt it, though it might be a bit higher than 24mbps. We'll have to wait and see.

 

BTW I would never buy a camera based on the manufacturer's sample video as there is rarely any transparency about how they shot it and what post processing was applied. Furthermore they will always play to a cameras strengths rather than test for weaknesses (which is what you'll get from an impartial review).

[Julian]

Max recording time could be related to the sensor heating up.

[Andrew Reid]

Just tried one, first impressions...

 

Screen is very nice. Biggest on any camera and very good quality.

 

There's a new manual focus assist - ultra detailed but slow frame rate.

 

I'm picking up some SD cards and going back to get some footage. Nothing special just in-store test. If it really is a step forward from the D5300 aside from 60p I'll buy one and review it :)

[Guest c2dd7b52878779b55f43cc8c269267c1]

Brilliant! Please do try to get some high ISO footage in the store if you can - see if that nasty FPN is still as bad.

[skiphunt]

Really looking forward to your findings with this camera. Although I certainly appreciate the amazing results people are getting from their BMPCC and Canon raw dSLRs, I really don't want the storage and raw workflow hassles. 

 

I too became interested in the low-cost D5200's awesome low light performance based on this site and Brandon Li's work with it. Though, it appears Brandon is firmly in the 5D3 raw workspace now with excellent results. 

 

Still, I bought and tested a d5200 for about a month. The workarounds for aperture adjustment, etc. were fine for me and the images is low light were very acceptable. I was content to keep it until the D5300 was announced and I really wanted the 60fps too, so I returned to d5200 to wait a bit longer. If the d5300 at least matches the d5200 for low-light and eliminates the fix-pattern noise, I'll likely pick one up and be done with it for now. Also very interested in the RX10 for travel stuff, etc. but all of the samples I've seen so far have such a cold digital look to them. Nothing I've seen so far looks like it's capable of anything organic looking at all... even with skillful grading. Still considering that one too though.

 

Glad you're having a quick look at the d5300 and am anxiously awaiting your findings. Thanks!

[Andrew Reid]

OK back from my small 'trial' with the Nikon.

 

Virtually everything I said about the D5200 is valid for this camera http://www.eoshd.com/content/9653

 

It really isn't very different. The image is the same, I didn't notice it being any more detailed. Still pretty good, but not quite GH2 level. It does have great low light performance though, just like the old model.

 

What was a shame was how there's still no proper 16:9 aspect ratio display mode or dedicated movie mode on the dial. When you remove all the distracting crap from the screen it also removes the faint 16:9 guide mask and gives you a full 3:2 image, which genuinely looks lovely but is as genuinely useless for video as it is lovely looking and the crop only comes in after you hit record. So better get some masking tape out if you want 16:9 AND an uncluttered display.

 

Didn't check the banding with flat picture profile settings or rolling shutter but probably similar to the D5200. I checked bitrate and Quicktime reports varying figures for the clips I shot. Highest I got was 36Mbit in 50p, but some of my 50p clips were 24Mbit! Go figure! The lowest I had reported was 17Mbit. Probably VBR (variable bitrate) and Quicktime is reporting it based on first frame or something.

 

The new manual focus magnification beyond the first step of zoom is laggy and jerky but it is actually useful for fine tuning your focus whilst not recording. On the D5200 beyond the first step of zoom you didn't really get any more detail just more pixilation and softness, it was entirely useless.

 

Couldn't see any crop mode this time out. The camera is rather basic when it comes to bells & whistles in video mode. 1080/50p did look fine and it is PAL / NTSC switchable for either 60/50p and 25/24p.

 

Overall I do think it's a great option but...

 

A) No significant difference to D5200 unless you count 1080/60p for slow-mo

 

B) Panasonic GH2 gives better daylight image and way more features for less money

 

C) Nikon lens mount is not my cup of tea, can only put Nikon on it and none of my other stuff

 

D) It's 820 euro body only and last year's model is now just 450 on eBay. Hmm.

 

So I won't be getting one but I do recommend it for those whom feel it would make sense for them - i.e. if you want the low light performance, 1080/60p and have lots of nice Nikon lenses to put on it.

[skiphunt]

Andrew, first off... thanks!

Second, I already have 4 or 5 nikon lenses, want something low budget with exceptional low light capabilities for shooting on the road/backpacking, and don't want to carry even small LED light sources. Want 60p, the ability to shoot good stills, and articulating LCD. (don't really want to buy into a new lens system at this point), and don't want the extra hassle of a raw or pro-res workflow or heavy storage requirements.

Would you still go for a GH2/GH3? Look seriously at the RX10? Or grab a D5300 and be done with it?

- Body only here in the US is $799 retail, so much less than 820 euros.


Never mind. Will seek a less raw/prores/4k-centric site for info & tests. Thanks for the quick look-see though. Cheers

[Danyyyel]

From photo samples people have reported that banding is gone and you can clearly see that it is not the same sensor as the D7100/D5200  dpreview.com/forums/thread/3561765

In terms of sharpness the D7100 (no olpf apsc sensor) is very close to the gh2 http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?310503-Nikon-D7100-vs-Panasonic-gh2-sharpness . I have tested with a Ninja and you get another notch of sharpness/detail with a Ninja.

 

If the banding is gone you will be able to truly exploit the DR without noise reduction. The D800/D5200 have been tested very near to 12 stop and if this one is the same you would have a very very good camera. The only thing that they could have added to make it near perfect for me is 10 bit. The encoder is much better than the gh2 for banding, but 10 bit would have been so much better. We would get a $ 800 camera with very good resolution, Dynamic range, low light. I hope to see more test to confirm that. For those that want convenience/feature it would be gh3 and pure image quality would be D5300 for low cost dslr.

[Guest c2dd7b52878779b55f43cc8c269267c1]

Thanks very much Andrew - it's awesome that you took the trouble to do this today.

 

I may very well just go out tomorrow and buy the much cheaper D5200, but I'm tempted to wait for proper 5300 low-light tests. It looks like the stills have taken a significant leap in quality at high ISO's (less FPN/banding) so there's no reason to assume video won't be the same. If I'm buying this cam mainly for low light, I'd really rather not have to put Neat Video on everything I shoot (my old Mac makes slow work of it). 60p and small things like better battery life, solid construction and smaller/better ergonomics do sway things a little too.

 

Disappointed it won't be you doing the testing, but I'm sure I'll get the info I need soon enough ...

 

P.S. I assume you meant to say G6, not GH2, at bullet point B) ?

[Andrew Reid]

Meant to say GH2, the GH2 and G6 give roughly equal image, GH2 actually a bit better with the hack.

[Guest c2dd7b52878779b55f43cc8c269267c1]

Meant to say GH2, the GH2 and G6 give roughly equal image, GH2 actually a bit better with the hack.

Really? The G6 certainly seems better in the shadows, has more features and doesn't require a hack (smaller file sizes, reliable, no rude russian). Is the hacked GH2 better with fine detail or something?

I'm going to keep an open mind about the D5300 for now. I think there's a chance its low light performance could turn out to be a bit special. The banding is a genuine problem with the 5200. The high-ISO 60p combo is also very appealing.

[Aussie Ash]

Hi Andrew many thanks for checking out the 5300 for us.Nikon Australia have released the pricing for their dealers

but the first shipment hasn't arrived yet.

Body only is Aus $885 or $775 for 5200 ,Pany GH3 $1250,Pany G6 only $770

Black magic pocket $1,239 ,Black magic cinema $2475.

     I am happy to go with the 5300 and Nikon glass on hand to serve my video projects for the next 18 months or so.

Hoping that Nikon have reduced the FPN but if not applying noise reduction is no big deal.

With the video camera scene changing so rapidly the prospect of getting in to micro four thirds lenses just does not appeal.

The Black magic cameras are only the first versions one would hope that in a couple of years time

they are more user friendly .

[Andrew Reid]

The D5300's image is very similar to the 5D Mark III's standard video mode, but APS-C and with option for 1080/60p.

 

I agree for the money it's very good. Sorry for the lack of focus on it. It's just that it's a very small evolution from the D5200 and there's a cyclone of more innovative stuff going on around it... Speed Booster, Magic Lantern, raw, Blackmagic, GH3, anamorphic, Resolve, Sigma 18-35mm F1.8, Sony A7R, RX10, list goes on...

 

Do consider the options before going for the easy choice.