My D90 experiences and thoughts

Lets try to look at each others view here. There are different types of clients different types of broadcast work. No, this isn't going to shoot Monday night football. This isn't going to do the next commercial for Pepsi. But yeah, depending on your clients and the "type" of work they need, it probably would work. Only 10million people world wide actually own an HDTV 45% of those actually have an HD signal. So a lot of work is going to be output to SD. I'd really love to see Joe Moe on the street look at 2 videos shot from the D90 and prosumer camera and be able to point out the difference in PQ...and I said "Joe Moe" not a seasoned DP that can tell the difference by touching the screen.

Boss at work got one and I played with it. Skew is wild, can't change shutter like you could on a prosumer camera. The compression isn't great, but in the end "normal" people can't tell a difference.
 
Car3o said:
Lets try to look at each others view here. There are different types of clients different types of broadcast work. No, this isn't going to shoot Monday night football. This isn't going to do the next commercial for Pepsi. But yeah, depending on your clients and the "type" of work they need, it probably would work. Only 10million people world wide actually own an HDTV 45% of those actually have an HD signal. So a lot of work is going to be output to SD. I'd really love to see Joe Moe on the street look at 2 videos shot from the D90 and prosumer camera and be able to point out the difference in PQ...and I said "Joe Moe" not a seasoned DP that can tell the difference by touching the screen.
Click to expand...

I do...but answer me Car3o. Do you own one yet?
 
I'm waiting for the body to come out. No point in getting the lens with it when i'm not going to use it. I edited that last part, sorry.

I don't have to own one to see and hear all it's limtations. I did however get to hold it and get the feel for it. I liked it. I know I could do something more than just film flowers and little kids playing
 
I'm with Philip on this one. Until you've actually extensively played with one... you can't really say how valuable a tool it is. Fiddling with your bosses new toy isn't quite the same thing... but if it inspired you to go out and make a movie. Go for it!

Companies are embracing this new idea. For instance, Zacuto just released a version of their baseplate for smaller cameras like the D90 and the si-2k. (see here) So you can definitely shouldermount that baby now!

Definitely wait on your lenses. Get the best ones you can afford!



However, keep in mind that most clients aren't going to accept the D90 or similar cameras for quite some time. It's hard enough for some to accept a smaller camera like an HVX or a EX1. You need to figure out your audio option and what you're going to do for fast motion. After that you're golden.
 
Car3o said:
I know I could do something more than just film flowers and little kids playing
Click to expand...

Most of us can but it is always worth listening to advice from people with experience without dismissing that advice straight away. That is why we are on this forum for help, discussion and advice. I hope you do get paid work with it but please don't compare it to an ex1/ letus type set up. They are miles apart and don't compare based upon a flash compressed demo video where I edited out most of the flaws!!
 
the thing is as good or bad the video is on d90 nikon's target wasn't video.
they moved from the ccd in d80 to cmos in d90. that's just for the better photography.
keeping a ccd would have 0 rolling shutter. a strong point for video. but they didn't.

i think they're just testing the public. video it's not a gimmick feature to have, like some here say. hardware had to be designed that way. that's why until now there was no video on dslr cameras, and liveview is from 2006. not exactly new. so nikon seems to be going in the direction of video.

probably higher priced cameras in the future will have better video modes, but on d90 is as good as it gets. more cpu power and more readout channels are required. the price had to stay in order to be a competitive dslr.

i don't expect less rolling shutter without any totally new hardware trick, like a global shutter.
you can't save a 12mp sensor as fast as you save 3x 1mp cmos in sony's cameras, or a single 3mp cmos. Red is 20k and still has rolling, if you get my point.

if the new 5d will have video, at its supposed 24mp (we'll find out in a day or two) it will have horrible rolling. unless it's cropped or other innovative hardware components were used.

in the end d90 remains a vey good dslr. it has a bonus, but nikon never intended to alter any photographic part to just to get better video.
you can make nice movies with it, i'm sure of that. many people will be able to do lots more with a lot less money.

Philip thought the same "Pros: Great image considering the limiations, 35mm DOF, price. Superb DSLR. ".
in the meantime if olympus/panasonic put better video then very good. their target market is totally different. they don't have to be high-end as photography. if the 5d has better video good for canon too. the sad part is that the 50d doesn't so no video for at least 1 year from any canon under $1500.

what Philip failed to notice is the picture control with curves. i really hope other brands dslrs with video will allow curves. it's a very smart feature and almost "a must have". you can shoot raw for photos and not have it but with video it's a totally different thing.
 
Last edited:
How come you say you cannot adjust exposure? Can't you use AE-L then use easy exposure comp + or - ? I thought Kholi did this.
 
kevm14 said:
How come you say you cannot adjust exposure? Can't you use AE-L then use easy exposure comp + or - ? I thought Kholi did this.
Click to expand...

I have adjusted locked exposure while shooting by using a declicked iris on an old manual lens. It worked well, I'll see if I can get a sample up today.

I think its completely usable, in the right context, for actual work. I'm not a DOP, and am sort of a one man band, but for my work (soft adult / fetish), the quality completely obliterates anything that my niche's competition is doing.

Its not just the DOF, but also the color and dynamic range. As long as I pay attention to minimizing rolling shutter artifacts, I am fine. The compression issues become much less of an issue at even my top end delivery, 720p at 4.5mbps.
 
did some shots in VERY low light with a manual f1.2 50mm nikon. WOW, now this is interesting, the low light is astounding!
 
philip bloom said:
did some shots in VERY low light with a manual f1.2 50mm nikon. WOW, now this is interesting, the low light is astounding!
Click to expand...

Oh, I'd love to see some of the footage with that lens. I'm checking out your site now, but for some reason it times out when I try to load the video. Is there any chance you can put it on vimeo?

Anyway, thanks for the input. I'm still heavily on the fence. Went to a Best Buy today, held it for a few mins and fought hard to not buy it and think about my car payments, lol. ...but maybe I'll stop by again tomorrow, hah.
 
yeah exposure room is down at the moment. I haven't done enough with the 1.2 yet but will be doing some shots with my zeiss f1.4 50 and 85mm over next few days at night
 
Thought you said, zeiss is a no go...see if you can up` on vimeo (500mb limit).

I`m waiting for 80mm Mamiya by this weekend...curious to see how it handles .:)
 
Philip, in your excitement over the D90's imagery, would you describe your process to control:

- aperture
- shutter
- ISO

?

It would be useful to hear the steps you follow to approximate manual changes in these functions.

I can't find any systematic descriptions outside Kholi Hicks's posts. A little triangulation on processes, for objectivity/confirmation, will go a long way.

Thanks in advance.
 
Thebes said:
I have adjusted locked exposure while shooting by using a declicked iris on an old manual lens. It worked well, I'll see if I can get a sample up today.
Click to expand...

You should also be able to adjust it electronically either through regular exposure comp or easy exposure comp. The problem is it changes ISO AND shutter and you can't directly control which. Hopefully Kholi will chime in.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top