Nikon D800E video samples show stunning resolution in 1080p

[Andrew Reid]

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[img]http://www.eoshd.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/nikon-d800e-sample.jpg[/img]

If you are waiting for the out of stock Nikon D800 – it seems your wait might have to go on for a while yet – since the D800E might be the one to get.

[url="http://www.eoshd.com/?p=8008/"]Read full article[/url]

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[sandro]

Wow it is good! Not the best resolution but def the only one that gets closer to the GH2.
I wonder how the D3200 will look..

[sandro]

[quote author=sandro link=topic=692.msg5023#msg5023 date=1336418339]
Wow it is good! Not the best resolution but def the only one that gets closer to the GH2.
I wonder how the D3200 will look..
[/quote]

found the answer myself...it sucks

[see ya]

Blah, nothing to see, there's no native file off the camera just a reencode called 'original' at half the bitrate using a lower AVC profile, the levels have been crushed and looks over sharpened in camera from the skin texture..

What can anyone judge from that?

Before skin tone gets mentioned it also looks like the wrong color matrix is declared in the Vimeo encodings, based on the 'orangeness' to the skin, use a BT601 and it looks more 'correct'. Subjectively.

[FilmMan]

My 2 cents.  Footage grades nicely.  Footage posted - Reds pushed, Greens taken down and blues further.  Change for the look as one wants.  Proper balance and the footage looks very good.    Color grading depends upon what a person wants.  Quite cinematic. 

[Simco123]

I'm more impress with this sample than I have with D800. If this is truley repesentative of a D800E and not some suped up sample then Canon 5DIII has lost its video crown to its Nikon rival at the £3k price point.
What is keeping me from selling my Canon gears is ironically the BMD Cinema because it uses Canon EF lens with full aperture control means jumping ship to Nikon neither economically viable or make pactical sense.

[Simco123]

Well we don't know how much sharpening has been applied to this D800E sample.
Here is a 5DIII sample, the second part of the video shows sharpened sample from post

[url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=F3dOAnmai_8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=F3dOAnmai_8[/url]

[see ya]

Regardless of grading, if the NLE chooses the wrong color matrix to the one encoded in the camera then the NLE preview is skewed and so is the starting point for grading.

For example Nikons use a BT601 color matrix like Canons, this is unusual for HD, it's usually BT709. Transcode a Nikon or Canon MOV to ProRes or DNxHD and it'll be assumed BT709 as no one transfers the matrix. So pinks turn to orange.

So it looks orange in preview when really it's pink in camera file, so try to correct for orange in the grade to get a more natural skin tone, when it's actually more natural in the camera encoding all along.

I'd hazard a guess they transcoded to ProRes before going to FCPX. Lost the matrix, NLE assumed BT709 on pixel count, turned skin tone orange.

Example: 'Left' is conversion to RGB using BT601 ie: the correct matrix as encoded in camera. 'Right' the wrong color matrix, flagged as BT709 in their output for Vimeo.

[img]http://www.yellowspace.webspace.virginmedia.com/BT601-BT709.jpg[/img]

Looking at the image on a color managed display I'd suggest the 'Left' is the more natural.

[Johnnie]

Unfortunately like expected without the filter severe moire :(
http://vimeo.com/41814073

[odedia]

I doubt this is specific to the D800E model. Same would probably happen with the D800.

Look at the tennis video shot with the D800 model in this page:

http://***URL removed***/reviews/nikon-d800-d800e/24

And read Dan Chung's post regarding moire issues with the D800.

Nikon just needs to up their game in terms of video... They're close, but still not quite there.

http://www.dslrnewsshooter.com/2012/04/01/video-shootout-nikon-d800-vs-canon-5d-mkiii/

[neon]

[quote author=odedia link=topic=692.msg5103#msg5103 date=1336601974]
I doubt this is specific to the D800E model. Same would probably happen with the D800.

Look at the tennis video shot with the D800 model in this page:

http://***URL removed***/reviews/nikon-d800-d800e/24

And read Dan Chung's post regarding moire issues with the D800.

Nikon just needs to up their game in terms of video... They're close, but still not quite there.

http://www.dslrnewsshooter.com/2012/04/01/video-shootout-nikon-d800-vs-canon-5d-mkiii/
[/quote]

1) no worse than 5DmkII and certainly that hasn't stopped great work from being produced. If you shoot repeating patterns and that concerns you, get the mosaic engineering filter for when that is a problem.

2) uncompressed HDMI 4:2:2 color, in addition to the better overall detail versus the 5dmkII, and 5dmkIII means you can achive a closer true 1080p output than it is possible with the 5DmkIII. Record in pro-rest at high bitrate and your codec will not fall appart with motion as it will with the internal codecs.

3) cropped video options on the nikon are extremelly attractive if you film far away subjects.


So in the end nikon has passed canon in many respects while canon leads in others. Which one you chose will depend on preferences. If you shoot nature or high motion for instance, the 5DmkIII is a non starter due to its poor 1080p detail and restrictive internal codecs. Moire won't be a problem in most natural settings. Conversely if you shoot night time architecture, the 5DmkIII is the better choice. Right tool for the job. Neither is really better. Just different. The moire issue while unfortunate, it isn't a deal breaker given it has been dealth with in the past, and the competition just isn't ahead in other ways this camera is.

I'm more interested in the FS100 or 700 than either camera though. These DSLRs are just so behind the curve lacking high fps in 1080p or higher than 1080p output.