EOSHD’s first take on the D7000 is mostly promising, plus footage from Chase Jarvis.
Update #1: Nikon have now made the camera body (and kit) available for pre-orders at B&H Photo Video
Chase Jarvis (Nikon’s very own Vincent LaForet) has had a pre-release D7000 for a while now and he’s shot some spectacular videos (below), the very first to be shot with the D7000 as it happens.
Stay watching to the end, you’ll see some BTS footage and the lenses used. I loved the ariel shots from (it seems like!) a mini RC helicopter. Plus the stabiliser they used is really small, and handy. Which is it? Anybody know?
This is the D90’s successor in all but name, and features the sensor from the Sony A55. It is APS-C (DX) sized, actually a little larger than Canon’s version of APS-C. Because Nikon treat their users like grown ups the D7000 has full manual control in video mode and 24p. The footage above would not have looked nearly as good with exposure flicking up and down during a shot, smooth video like frame rates, and a crazy automatic focus snapping to infinity every 5 seconds. Simple stuff, and yet the company who made the sensor don’t get it!
Unfortunately this sensor, first seen in the A55 is not quite up to the same ISO performance as the 14MP version found in the NEX 5. So if you are expecting the Nikon D7000 to be influenced in any way by Nikon’s superb approach to the market with the D3S which as just 12MP on a full frame sensor and a much cleaner image, you are in for a disappointment.
The sensor in the A55 also has quite a bit of rolling shutter in video mode, more than we have seen in competing cameras like the GH1 and 7D. Does it effect the D7000 or has Nikon done some post processing in real time to remove it? Read on…
First the good news. We have a few things Canon have not yet done either on a consumer camera. Dual SD card slots for increased write speeds of simultaneous RAW & JPEG. Full time AF in video mode, 20 minute clip length rather than 12 and some time saving firmware features such as the ability to maintain the warm glow of indoor lighting when using automatic white balance.
On paper and in terms of handling / build quality the camera is very nice, every bit as good as the 7D. With Expeed 2 Nikon have brought 1080p to their DSLRs for the first time, but unfortunately not 60p. In 720p the camera is limited to 24p and 30p. One more frame rate concern is that Nikon’s other Expeed 2 DSLR, the D3100 has 24p only, no 25p for PAL models – not sure if the same is true for the D7000 yet. Hope I don’t have to sync my shutter speed to my country’s electricity supply to avoid flickering lights, Nikon!
We can tell a lot about whether this is a 7D killer or not from Chase’s 1080p footage. Is it free of the major complaints about Canon’s DSLR video mode – moire, aliasing and rolling shutter?
No.
Moire and aliasing appear on around the same level as the Canon 7D & 5D Mark II from what I can tell. I notice it mostly on the power and telephone cables in Chase’s footage and the metal grill of the fan.
Rolling shutter however, is an interesting proposition on the D7000. It just isn’t evident even on the swift handheld camera movement in the video above. In Nikon’s press release they mention the video mode, and say that their video processing ‘removes distortion’. It doesn’t go into detail, so don’t take it for granted 100% just yet but I think the D7000 electronically reduces rolling shutter skew in real time.
It may also be possible that Chase used some kind of rolling shutter removal plugin whilst editing the footage.
So is the D7000 a Canon 7D beater? At this early stage of observation it is certainly on the same level. It terms of video it’s very similar, it just doesn’t quite surpass it in terms of image quality although the lack of rolling shutter seems very promising, if real. Especially considering the poor performance of the Sony A55 in this regard, with the same CMOS sensor.
I will have a hands on at Photokina next Tuesday and grab more details.
