Nikon D90 and its video capabilities are official

Shane422

They let Chase Jarvis test this new camera. Here are links to his site with video and images.
www.chasejarvisandfriends.coml

He makes heavy use of the video function.

It will be $1299 with an 18-105 VR lens. Body only $1000.

Specs:
12.3MP, 4.5fps, 720p video (.avi), 100-6400 ISO range, self cleaning sensor, shutter life of 100K actuations.

Here is the Nikon "Microsite" as well.
http://chsvimg.nikon.com/products/imaging/lineup/d90/en/index.html

InsuredDisaster

Wow, so this it the first DSLR video function camera? I'm curious if you can adjust the aperature while you are shooting or not. No matter. Anyway if I'm not mistaken, the D90 is the successor to the D70-D70s-D80, correct? Interesting how the price is still the same (well, perhaps "less" factoring in inflation) than the D70, what is it, 5 years ago?

I guess this level of camera, in between the D60 and the D300 is still pretty strong though.

Cool camera. can't wait to see the Dgrin videos that pop up.

zacker

oh god no!!!!!!!!! we dont need video on our beloved Dslrs... we need full frame and in camera IS on all of them first.. and get rid of the stupid print buttons.. they are turning into over priced, heavy, expensive point and shoots.

Moogle Pepper

Although I am not a Nikon user, I find that this installment of video capture in a DSLR interesting, but not something that I would want to pursue.

Arvan

zacker wrote:

oh god no!!!!!!!!! we dont need video on our beloved Dslrs... we need full frame and in camera IS on all of them first.. and get rid of the stupid print buttons.. they are turning into over priced, heavy, expensive point and shoots.

i could not agree more!...Ifi want video..Then i get a videocamera..Not a dslr/microwave/vacumcleaner/shower/ipod ....thing.

DoctorIt

zacker wrote:

oh god no!!!!!!!!! we dont need video on our beloved Dslrs... they are turning into over priced, heavy, expensive point and shoots.

with controllable depth of field and excellent ISO performance, I know how terrible!


I for one am no longer kidding myself, I'm no pro photog, I like cool everyday stuff like this. In fact, I've been taking my G9 on more and more daytrips over the DSLR simply because taking little videos is fun!

Good work Nikon

Moogle Pepper

DoctorIt wrote:

with controllable depth of field and excellent ISO performance, I know how terrible!


I for one am no longer kidding myself, I'm no pro photog, I like cool everyday stuff like this. In fact, I've been taking my G9 on more and more daytrips over the DSLR simply because taking little videos is fun!

Good work Nikon

I thought you take it cause it is lighter.. rofl

I kinda doubt they would include this mode in their higher end cameras, though.

jonh68

With newspapers adding video content to their websites, video capabilities will be welcome as it will mean one less piece of gear to carry.

ziggy53

The big problem with video in a dSLR is going to be how they handle the audio component.

Audio quality is a major contributor to how we perceive video and unless there is a mechanism for quality audio, like a seperate audio port allowing shotgun microphones with wind socks and such, I'm afraid that the video would probably not be much practical use and the camera itself might be judged accordingly (although unfairly).

jonh68

So far, that's been the major knock against the video capabilities of this camera. It's mono.

JKneib

Can you attach an external microphone somehow?

jonh68

I don't know, but if someone has access to sound editing equipment and wants to remix or add sound effects for a video, I don't think the video part will be the negative factor for video quality based on the clips I have seen.

ziggy53

JKneib wrote:

Can you attach an external microphone somehow?

JKneib, welcome to the Digital Grin.

I am researching the audio capabilities of the Nikon D90.

Hindsight

There's also a 5 min limit on the record time due to heat. Hopefully this will help spark development in the prosumer camcorder market with 35mm capability built-in. The D90 is definitely cool and raises some eyebrows but I don't think we'll see a huge trend or a merging of the DSLR and video camera markets any time even remotely soon, just rather more sharing of technology between the two in optics, sensors, and storage.

Shane422

I consider the video just to be a bonus. I have only shot 2 - 3 minute video clips most of the time anyway. The fact that it is the D300 sensor in a $1000 body is what excites me. I only wish the flash sync were higher than 1/200.

colourbox

I dismissed it at first but I've decided in the end that if you come armed with some film training, the D90 is actually very cool. The reason I say that is while the D90 video capability is nice, it completely skips the consumer market! Its limitations will probably be frustrating for many consumer video applications and there may be a lot of less than satisfied families who bought one thinking it could follow their kid around the room like a camcorder or record an entire recital in one take.

But, if you have training in cinematography, it won't be that unfamiliar. Hollywood cameras are manually focused anyway, the takes are not 5 minutes long, you'll get to use all those lenses and control depth of field, and the idea of taking along a separate sound recorder is not unfamiliar. A creative person with film training could put together some great-looking short films with one of these.

I don't need to buy the first dSLR to record video, but it will probably permeate the major product lines, so the next time I upgrade, it'll just come for free.

ziggy53

I'm afraid I just wouldn't be too interested in the D90 as a video acquisition tool. The frame rate is a constant 24 fps, but that is recorded inside standard 30 fps NTSC video (as far as I can tell anyway.) Some segments with action and rapid motion will probably appear somewhat jerky. It will probably be similar to 24P in that regard.

I agree that you could probably use an external sound recorder, and there is some nice digital stuff available nowdays and it's not too expensive. At least the on-board sound would give you some waveforms to match against since there does not seem to be any way to do a proper timebased sync. It is painful to manually sync audio but I gather some software is available to
automate the process.

Yes, the DOF control would be pretty nice, but without focus stops, rack focus would be a pain. Likewise with zoom. (With focus you can set your first focus point manually and then allow autofocus to snap against the second point. It would just be difficult to return to the original point as in a conversation sequence.)

Another problem is the recording format, M-JPEG. There doesn't appear to be any control for the compression rate so you are stuck with whatever the camera has for default. I used the format for a couple of years when I still shot analog and digitized into the computer. It's not a bad format but without compression control who knows what to expect? If you have to shoot at very high ISO the noise floor could consume a lot of the bandwidth and leave you with very grainy footage.

I guess I'll wait until "Red One" makes something affordable.