D810 for sports and /or wedding video

M

Mark Bruner

Member
A little background first: Our company shoots mainly wedding and some sports photography (stills on both). About 20% of our wedding photography clients ask us if we shoot video and at this moment we do not. We use a handful of Canon 5Dmark II and III (L zoom, most F 2.8 and primelens); and Nikon D3s and D800 (Prime and VR zoom the whole range all down to F2.8). We are looking into getting a couple of D810's to cover weddings (video and still) and also to cover sports video (mainly some slalom water skiing in which the the skier can accelerate across the wake perpendicular to the boat at about 60mph; and wakeboarding where they are doing flips). The question is will the D810 be able to handle the water skiing? I have heard some feedback regarding usage as wedding video cam (which would work) but not much with sports. Or would I be better off getting one D810 and one camcorder (the camcorder can track the water skier better, I assume; and also be used in the wedding video situation to compliment the D810). Thanks, any advice would be helpful
 
It has been my experience that NO DSLR can handle the needs of something as aggressive as water skiing type sports as well as a good camcorder. The smaller sensor, the greater depth of field, and the faster overall response of the whole camera are all really mandatory for content like that. Both the 5dIII and the D810 seem to do very very well at stills of that nature, but I would be really uncomfortable trying to approach video like that with them.
 
Thanks DP Stewart for the reply. We will research a handful of camcorders to capture the action sports (SONY PXW-X180/200; Panasonic AJ-PX270/AG-HPX250; JVC GY-HM600; C100 but not sure if this one will work for action sports) with our budget of about $5000. Any input from the Pros would be gladly accepted. A few of the staff will take classes for the video portion and another one for the computer end of it (We ordered a computer system from ADK Video )
 
I would go for the PX270 or the Sony with your budget. A little beyond your budget but fantastic images. I know the PX270 has a lot of color controls so you bend it to be a closer match with the Nikon if needed. Sony might have this as well but I do not know.

If you are in the boat that is pulling the skier you could probably get the DSLR to work. Is there a way to test before you buy the 1/3" camera? They all make great images but the FF camera would be a great look with a rooster tail!
 
Thanks for the advice. most of the time we will be in the boat but sometimes we will be chasing with another boat. We have to wait until the ice comes off the lake, mid May we hope to start
 
Have you considered the FS700? Slowmo on that camera would be very useful for action shots. Plus, you can also use it for weddings.
 
Thanks for the input about FS700. Initially didn't look at this camcorder due to cost. we could, I assume use our canon lenses with an adaptor. But as you point out we could use it for both types of jobs and then get a backup camera
 
Mark Bruner said:
Thanks for the input about FS700. Initially didn't look at this camcorder due to cost. we could, I assume use our canon lenses with an adaptor. But as you point out we could use it for both types of jobs and then get a backup camera
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You might want to wait until after NAB before making a final decision as the FS700 is due for an update. It is, however, an excellent camera for action sports.

I just picked up a D810 and I film action sports quite often. Shot GRC last year with an A7S with great results - though that's not a camera I'd recommend for action sports in general. That said the D810 looks promising, though it won't hold a candle to the 240fps of the FS700. That's just magic. I expect that D810 will be very usable, but you will at the very least need to add a small external monitor or viewfinder with peaking to be able to nail your focus. You can't rely on auto focus and the built-in screen's lack of size and lack of peaking make it less than ideal for run-and-gun shooting.
 
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Thanks for the advice we just picked up a sony ax100 to shoot water skiing once the ice comes off the lake. We will wait for NAB to see what is new before spending the big bucks.
 
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