Blackmagic Video Assist and Nikon DSLRs

Robes

Robes

New member
Hello All-

I have a Nikon D300 & thought to get the Blackmagic Video Assist (BMVA) to enable me to use my selection of lenses toward video production. I take allot of photo's and besides a GoPro am new to video. I have made a number of video's and am tutored in FCPX. I am a nature photographer and will be planning to film (still & video) Timber Wolves in the wild this coming fall & into the winter via access to designated wilderness from my new property in Montana (a MT native). I want this project in a documentary format.

My research on the compatibility issue of the BMVA and the D300, according to Thom Hogan, the only compatible cameras (Nikons) are : D4, D4s, D5, D500, D610, D750, D800, D800E, D810, D5500, and D7200. He doesn't mention the D300s which shoots video so I wonder if his list contains all Nikons? A couple of his links are as follows: http://www.dslrbodies.com/cameras/camera-articles/capturing-hdmi-video.html and http://www.bythom.com/hdmivideo.htm. Having read his works and others I ask myself if this is all worth the problems and expense. I wonder if there is another way to use my Nikor lenses on a different camera? My lenses are: AF-S 14-24mm f/2.8G ED, AF-S 24-70mm f/2.8G ED, AF-S VR 70-200mm f/2.8, AF Micro ED 200mm f/4 D IF and the ED 500mm 1:4 P.

Maybe someone or a few of you can make some suggestions to me, just thinking it would be easier for me to pack into wilderness using a Nikon as still and video camera. But, maybe there are other ways to use my lenses and shoot video. I assume selling the D300 body would hardly get me into any of the newer Nikons with video capability, I mean, what could i get maybe a couple hundred in perfect shape? Well, I'm open to any suggestions, I don't know what options there are. If I could find something used would be good too.

Thanks-
Robes :beer:
 
Are you interested in the BMVA mainly as a monitor or as a video capture device? Almost any battery powered HDMI monitor will work with Nikon cameras that have come out since 2010. The advantages the BMVA has over a standard HDMI monitor is Prores capture, no record time limit, and 4:2:2 chroma subsampling (at least with certain cameras). If you don't need to capture the HDMI feed but still want a monitor, you could get a cheap FeelWorld, Aputure, or Lilliput and save some money. The cheapest camera option is probably to get a used D7000, and I'd recommend installing Nikon-hacker's modified firmware. The D5300 is pretty good for video, but controls and body would feel like a downgrade coming from a D300. Also bear in mind that Nikon hasn't implemented very many video features in their cameras, so from a strictly video perspective Nikon cameras would be a ways down the list. You can get adapters to use your Nikon lenses with almost any camera, but you'll lose AF and image stabilization. You can get smart adapter to use you Nikon lenses with a few other brands and still have AF and maybe VR, but they cost $300+.
 
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Thanks for the reply. I would be interested in the BMVA as a capture devise but from what I can find out it will not work on my D300. The tech support at BM could not tell me if it would or would not work, but, said probably not. So, I'm scrapping that option. The adapter option for use on other cameras makes me think it's also not worth the bother for what you get. Looks like the D5300 could be found used or refurbished for $300-400, like you say it may be a downgrade for stills though & I would hate to have to carry (pack in ) 2 camera bodies. The D7000 I guess is the same situation, Ken Rockwell says it's a terrible video camera though. Ken Rockwell has a good history of Nikon models made and all the features listed per year, see here: http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/dslr.htm but he doesn't say much about the video aspects of the models. Yet, the list helps for knowing year and model number to those video camera bodies that are a few years older that I may find used at good prices.

I plan to tripod all the video, thinking I'll be shooting somewhere in the 150 foot distance to a Den. It's hard to get too close. I'm hoping to use my Nikor 500mm f/4 P IF-ED especially for video at that distance, largest I have. I'm still open to looking into camcorders that could work, especially if I have to carry 2 cameras in with me. So far, just touching on that but seems Sony or Panasonic would be the most practicable/affordable to get into, again, used would be best. What I need to know about camcorders would be the lens they come with and how it would work at 150 +/_ feet to capture wolves at good sharpness. For example, a camcorder may say it has a 10x zoom, meaning what? I also would not want to deal with Tape but use a digital format here. I'm just rambling on now, thanks again for your suggestions, I need to look closer at those Nikon bodies but hard to find any meaningful information about their video capabilities, so far-
 
If you search online you will find some brilliant Nikon videos. Very talented filmmakers in exotic locations. It can be done.

The problem I found with Nikon is they are not as user friendly as other systems; things like not being able to change the aperture once you are in Live View mode make it extremely frustrating at times.

It may come down to the type of work you want to shoot as to which system is better for you.
 
doubledark said:
If you search online you will find some brilliant Nikon videos. Very talented filmmakers in exotic locations. It can be done.
Click to expand...

Thanks for that idea, I'll look for some clips & find out that way (hopefully) which camera body they used. :thumbs:
 
Your D300 doesn't record video or send a video stream it's HDMI port, so the BMVA won't work with your D300. Not all cameras output 1080P through HDMI; my D7000 only optus 720P. I remember reading that people coming from a D300 were content with a D7000, but everyone is different. DSLR's in general are terrible for shooting video, the D7000 isn't much worse for shooting video than any other DSLR. Here's a comparison between the D7000 and a slew of other cameras.
 
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