I wanted the D5300 but the 70D makes more sense!

If it wasn't for the lack of affordable glass, I might actually go with sony (eek) if I were to switch to full frame this very second. They have some very compelling cameras, assuming you won't be doing a lot of low-light shooting (which I rarely do). Losing 3 stops of light to their translucent mirror technology is a bit extreme. Of course the A7 and A7R have piqued my interest as well. I already have some glass, so the D800 wouldn't be out of the running either, of course. Considering how quickly the price of the D600 is dropping, that is something I am strongly considering as a cheap way to get into full-frame. I've seen a couple under $1200.

If you want easier workflow, 5DM3 isn't the way to go, because it all but REQUIRES you to do more work in post. The image is horribly soft and you're going to have serious moire issues (which can't be fixed at all). The only reason I'd buy the 5DM3 is for Magic Lantern, which is going to add additional steps to your workflow (and a SIGNIFICANT amount of hard drive space if you're shooting everything in RAW, which is the only way I'd shoot with any Canon these days). You might gain a bit of low-light advantage with the 5DM3 over the D800 and perhaps better auto white balance, but you should be doing your WB manually if you want to guarantee that it's correct anyway. Of course the D800 is pretty soft as well, due to the line skipping...so both cameras could be much better for videographers, imo. If I was doing weddings, I'd just step up to a pro-line cinema camera or camcorder, I wouldn't want the hassles that come with a DSLR. A camcorder, in particular, would make that work a breeze, but you'd need to get a good one, the $300 camcorders aren't going to cut it in low light situations.

I wouldn't hold your breath for Nikon to "fix" the aperture issue. That's been an issue for a long time now, they've released quite a few cameras with the same "issue", so I don't think it's something the company sees as too big of a problem. I don't like it, but it's not a deal-breaker for me, either. I am extremely happy with the image quality that I get from my D7100. I liked the quality from my D5200 very much too. I can cut footage together from those two cameras quite easily. That's something which you may have an issue with if you go with one Nikon and one Canon, they're not always going to match up perfectly.

I think if I was doing professional video work, I'd buy a Canon Cinema Camera or a professional-line camcorder with a beefy sensor. I picked up a crappy little camcorder a few months ago and I've been pretty astonished by how simple it makes things. It's got autofocus that WORKS, it's light and easy to carry around. That being said, there's no way I'd use that thing for professional work, the quality stinks if you go past about 1/4 optical zoom (digital zoom is complete trash), it gets horrible ghosting and chromatic aberration. I can definitely see why people like them though, they take a lot of the guesswork out of the process. It's ridiculous fun to use the full zoom and be able to watch a spider from an eighth mile away, though. ;)

Sony's Z100 camcorder is very interesting, albeit extremely expensive, but having the ability to shoot in 4K would be mighty nice. The VG900 is full-frame and would give you amazing images for weddings (again, quite expensive, but not nearly as much as the Z100). I wouldn't be able to afford those types of things for doing my own piddly little projects, but if I were making money, I think I'd probably only use the DSLR for very specific shots and use a camcorder for most everything else. Sure, a DSLR can give you some truly amazing results, but you have to work very hard to get those results and you'll have a lot of failures along the way. You don't get any do-overs with a wedding, that's a one-time thing, if you screw it up, the image is gone and there's no way to get it back. So for a TRULY easy workflow, I wouldn't use a DSLR at all.
 
I have always been critical about Nikon to a certain extend, but to say that Canon, the master of crippling camera is better is beyond me. So you are going run and gun and you have no way to monitor your sound!!! At least the Nikon has some way around like using lens with aperture ring and a monitor/evf that would both solve the focusing/peaking and sound monitoring. The other advantage of Peaking for an event videographer for wedding is it is hell focusing for autofocus in low light dancing disco strobing light.

The low light also rivals the 5dmark 3 http://www.eoshd.com/content/9713, I have shot some video footage for fun with some videographers friends at a wedding between 800 and 3200 and they where blown away by the quality. The sharpness rivals the GH2 which is know to be a very high rez camera (Blind test by me where many got it wrong and lot's did not commit http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?310503-Nikon-D7100-vs-Panasonic-gh2-sharpness) I have another test I done before between my Canon 7d, Nikon D800 and gh2 http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthrea...between-Nikon-D800-Panasonic-GH2-and-Canon-7D. The 7d is like out of focus because of its low resolution... yes I have a 7d because Nikon was so lagging before. The DR is superb in the 11.5 to 12 stop depending on different testers. Not the best test but again confirming the more scientic test http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?311058-Nikon-D7100-12-13-Dynamic-range-test. My latest finding is that you can get a 1/2 to 1 stop more DR with the uncompressed hdmi out. So it will be at least a solid 12 stop to lets dream a 13 stop camera. The only caveat is the Fix patter noise, but neat video does a stunning job with the high bitrate Ninja footage which is also a bit sharper than the internal codec.

The aps Nikon are nowadays for me the best DSLR in terms of image quality below the Raw 5dmark3 and even then... until some knowledgeable people test them we will never know by how much. I have always been critical about Nikon but at least they are trying. They were the one that realeased the first dslr with uncompressed hdmi which is already a big step in the right direction and you even have it in its $ 800 camera. Everybody would have been all over it if there was not the RAW revolution of the Blackmagic camera for $ 1000. Unfortunately they were not bold enough as nobody could guess that you would have raw and 10 bit prores for 1k. The latest step is 60fps in 1080p, something you don't have even in the $ 12 000 canon C300. Again every new generation is progressing, while you don't have the $ 5 headphone jack until the $ 3000 Canon 5D3. You can find the D7100 with a 18-140 lens for $ 1440 at bh http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1005009-REG/nikon_13302_d7100_dslr_camera_with.html, so I am sure that the 5300+ 18-140mm for at least $ 200 less.

Just my conclusion is that if you came here and told us that you choose a Pana gh3 (Best all round DSLR for video factoring image quality/functionality) compared to a D5300 (a camera that nobody has tested for now) I would have understood. But to claim that Canon the company that cannot include a $ 5 headphone jack and still selling dslr with moire/aliasing in 2013/2014 is better is again beyond me.
 
If it wasn't for the lack of affordable glass, I might actually go with sony (eek) if I were to switch to full frame this very second. They have some very compelling cameras, assuming you won't be doing a lot of low-light shooting (which I rarely do). Losing 3 stops of light to their translucent mirror technology is a bit extreme. Of course the A7 and A7R have piqued my interest as well. I already have some glass, so the D800 wouldn't be out of the running either, of course. Considering how quickly the price of the D600 is dropping, that is something I am strongly considering as a cheap way to get into full-frame. I've seen a couple under $1200.

If you want easier workflow, 5DM3 isn't the way to go, because it all but REQUIRES you to do more work in post. The image is horribly soft and you're going to have serious moire issues (which can't be fixed at all). The only reason I'd buy the 5DM3 is for Magic Lantern, which is going to add additional steps to your workflow (and a SIGNIFICANT amount of hard drive space if you're shooting everything in RAW, which is the only way I'd shoot with any Canon these days). You might gain a bit of low-light advantage with the 5DM3 over the D800 and perhaps better auto white balance, but you should be doing your WB manually if you want to guarantee that it's correct anyway. Of course the D800 is pretty soft as well, due to the line skipping...so both cameras could be much better for videographers, imo. If I was doing weddings, I'd just step up to a pro-line cinema camera or camcorder, I wouldn't want the hassles that come with a DSLR. A camcorder, in particular, would make that work a breeze, but you'd need to get a good one, the $300 camcorders aren't going to cut it in low light situations.

I wouldn't hold your breath for Nikon to "fix" the aperture issue. That's been an issue for a long time now, they've released quite a few cameras with the same "issue", so I don't think it's something the company sees as too big of a problem. I don't like it, but it's not a deal-breaker for me, either. I am extremely happy with the image quality that I get from my D7100. I liked the quality from my D5200 very much too. I can cut footage together from those two cameras quite easily. That's something which you may have an issue with if you go with one Nikon and one Canon, they're not always going to match up perfectly.

I think if I was doing professional video work, I'd buy a Canon Cinema Camera or a professional-line camcorder with a beefy sensor. I picked up a crappy little camcorder a few months ago and I've been pretty astonished by how simple it makes things. It's got autofocus that WORKS, it's light and easy to carry around. That being said, there's no way I'd use that thing for professional work, the quality stinks if you go past about 1/4 optical zoom (digital zoom is complete trash), it gets horrible ghosting and chromatic aberration. I can definitely see why people like them though, they take a lot of the guesswork out of the process. It's ridiculous fun to use the full zoom and be able to watch a spider from an eighth mile away, though. ;)

Sony's Z100 camcorder is very interesting, albeit extremely expensive, but having the ability to shoot in 4K would be mighty nice. The VG900 is full-frame and would give you amazing images for weddings (again, quite expensive, but not nearly as much as the Z100). I wouldn't be able to afford those types of things for doing my own piddly little projects, but if I were making money, I think I'd probably only use the DSLR for very specific shots and use a camcorder for most everything else. Sure, a DSLR can give you some truly amazing results, but you have to work very hard to get those results and you'll have a lot of failures along the way. You don't get any do-overs with a wedding, that's a one-time thing, if you screw it up, the image is gone and there's no way to get it back. So for a TRULY easy workflow, I wouldn't use a DSLR at all.


Sony has a very nice video camera lineup. The upcoming NAB is going to be interesting, there should be several releases of 4k cameras. Right now I use HMC80 and DSLRs, if I get a gig that requires better cameras I will rent it. I tailor to smaller budget clients int the 1k to 2k range and can not justify more expensive video cameras at the time being specially with H.265 codec is around the corner. I do some photography too and take advantage of DSLR for both.
 
I have always been critical about Nikon to a certain extend, but to say that Canon, the master of crippling camera is better is beyond me. So you are going run and gun and you have no way to monitor your sound!!! At least the Nikon has some way around like using lens with aperture ring and a monitor/evf that would both solve the focusing/peaking and sound monitoring. The other advantage of Peaking for an event videographer for wedding is it is hell focusing for autofocus in low light dancing disco strobing light.

The low light also rivals the 5dmark 3 http://www.eoshd.com/content/9713, I have shot some video footage for fun with some videographers friends at a wedding between 800 and 3200 and they where blown away by the quality. The sharpness rivals the GH2 which is know to be a very high rez camera (Blind test by me where many got it wrong and lot's did not commit http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?310503-Nikon-D7100-vs-Panasonic-gh2-sharpness) I have another test I done before between my Canon 7d, Nikon D800 and gh2 http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthrea...between-Nikon-D800-Panasonic-GH2-and-Canon-7D. The 7d is like out of focus because of its low resolution... yes I have a 7d because Nikon was so lagging before. The DR is superb in the 11.5 to 12 stop depending on different testers. Not the best test but again confirming the more scientic test http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?311058-Nikon-D7100-12-13-Dynamic-range-test. My latest finding is that you can get a 1/2 to 1 stop more DR with the uncompressed hdmi out. So it will be at least a solid 12 stop to lets dream a 13 stop camera. The only caveat is the Fix patter noise, but neat video does a stunning job with the high bitrate Ninja footage which is also a bit sharper than the internal codec.

The aps Nikon are nowadays for me the best DSLR in terms of image quality below the Raw 5dmark3 and even then... until some knowledgeable people test them we will never know by how much. I have always been critical about Nikon but at least they are trying. They were the one that realeased the first dslr with uncompressed hdmi which is already a big step in the right direction and you even have it in its $ 800 camera. Everybody would have been all over it if there was not the RAW revolution of the Blackmagic camera for $ 1000. Unfortunately they were not bold enough as nobody could guess that you would have raw and 10 bit prores for 1k. The latest step is 60fps in 1080p, something you don't have even in the $ 12 000 canon C300. Again every new generation is progressing, while you don't have the $ 5 headphone jack until the $ 3000 Canon 5D3. You can find the D7100 with a 18-140 lens for $ 1440 at bh http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1005009-REG/nikon_13302_d7100_dslr_camera_with.html, so I am sure that the 5300+ 18-140mm for at least $ 200 less.

Just my conclusion is that if you came here and told us that you choose a Pana gh3 (Best all round DSLR for video factoring image quality/functionality) compared to a D5300 (a camera that nobody has tested for now) I would have understood. But to claim that Canon the company that cannot include a $ 5 headphone jack and still selling dslr with moire/aliasing in 2013/2014 is better is again beyond me.


I don't like it a bit either that Canon is holding back features, but I can understand why. But with Nikon they have no excuse what so ever. It's not like they haven't figured out how to give you control of aperture in live view, they have it in the full frame and should include it in the APS-C lineup too. I would never buy a GH3 or any DSLR camera with a smaller than APS-C sensor field of view., you can grab the Blackmagic 2k camera for only 2k now. Actually Blackmagic 4k is high on my list

I mainly use DSLRs for their low light and interchangeable lens capabilities. I do not use them for audio. I use Panasonic HMC80 as my main camera at the ceremony, I also use it as a shoulder camera for reception entourage and toasts with a wireless UHF mic. Then it will go back on a tripod with a shotgun mic and I get nice audio for music while getting shots with DSLR. I also have a zoom recorder that I use if there is a need or for backup by plugging into DJ mixer. What I like about APS-S DSLRs is their size and price, which allows me to use several if I need to.


Cameras and lenses are not cheap, once you commit to either with large lens and accessories investment it is hard to change that's why Nikon can not afford to play games with Canon. If the cost of adding live view aperture control is the factor then maybe they should build a camera for videographers, gives us all the features we need and we will be happy to pay.
 
I read some rumors that Nikon is working on a cinema camera, no clue how reliable those rumors are, though. I would love to see the D7100/D5300 sensor in a reasonably-priced cinema camera. They could go the same route as Canon and put a full frame sensor in there, but that ramps up the price significantly. I don't think Nikon can beat Canon in that market, Canon is already established. Where Nikon COULD eek out a market share for itself is an APS-C cinema camera which would take on the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera, priced about the same ($1000 or so), with extreme dynamic range, access to all of Nikon's lenses, pro-res 422 and RAW built-in, with the features I mentioned earlier in the thread. There are a lot of problems with the BMPCC, I think people would happily jump ship if they could get something which wasn't so damned quirky in a similarly-priced package. The D7100's video quality is beautiful, Nikon has a winner of a sensor there, they just need to put it in a package that would be appealing to videographers/cinematographers. I would buy one, if they put the right features in it, or open-sourced the firmware so that people could add features that are needed.

Like I said, I think both Nikon AND Canon will be gone within 5 years if they don't change their ways. The days of the stills-only camera are numbered. Imagine 60 frames/sec at 24-36 megapixels...that's where we're headed. The only stills cameras which will survive will be medium format, I believe, and even that market will be significantly smaller than it is now. We're quickly approaching the point where super-fast memory, extremely fast multicore processors and software all come together to form a video camera that can frame-grab stills so that nobody ever misses a moment again. I think the Nikon 1 series is a glimpse into that future. People are pulling 4K RAW video off of that thing (albeit in short bursts), which is something you can't get in any other camera at below 6x the price of the 1 series. A camera like that, with a much larger buffer, a tad bit more processing power and a larger sensor would almost singlehandedly kill the DSLR market. I don't think the 1 series is a particularly outstanding camera, it's average in almost every way as far as quality, features and appearance, but with just a little more tweaking, it could be THE camera to own. Of course Nikon won't do the necessary tweaks/upgrades because they'd think it would cannibalize their DSLR market, and it would, but it would also sell faster than water in the middle of the desert.

I mean we have a cell phone that can shoot 4K video now! My cell phone has a FOUR-core CPU, over 450 pixels per inch, full 1080p resolution and it takes 20 frames per second pictures (at 8 megapixels, but that's about 6 more than the average person uses anyway). The iPhone 5's quality is pretty damned good too. I recently saw a video where they put it up against pro video cameras (like the Arri Alexa, for example) and I'd venture to say that the overwhelming majority of people couldn't tell which camera was the iPhone...even some people around here probably couldn't tell the difference...I ended up guessing right, but I wasn't 100% sure about which was the iPhone either. That's ASTOUNDING. Cell phones have all but killed the low-end camcorder market and they're working their way through the point-and-shoot camera market too, it's not going to be long until we're seeing specialized phones that can produce picture quality equal to a DSLR. So something has got to give with Canon and Nikon. This path that they're on is a dead end. The major advantage of a DSLR is the interchangeable lenses and the optical viewfinder, but as technology increases, it's only a matter of time until we see very high megapixel phones that have digital zooms on top of their optical zoom that can give you most of the focal length that you need by downsampling the ultra high megapixels (similar to the crop mode on the D7100). The same could be done with 4K video, just chop a piece out of the middle and you still have more than HD resolution. It's kinda crazy when you think about it all.

It's definitely an interesting time to be a photographer and/or videographer, I'll tell ya that. :)
 
I went through the whole which camera to buy debate in the past few months....and I went with the D5200 for a few reasons that were important to me.

1. Excellent performance on the aliasing/moire front.
2. Good high iso performance
3. Ability to use an external recorder and record to a better format and 4:2:2

The aperture thing has been a non issue for me. I set it while framing my shot then enter live view...takes a split second.
 
I went through the whole which camera to buy debate in the past few months....and I went with the D5200 for a few reasons that were important to me.

1. Excellent performance on the aliasing/moire front.
2. Good high iso performance
3. Ability to use an external recorder and record to a better format and 4:2:2

The aperture thing has been a non issue for me. I set it while framing my shot then enter live view...takes a split second.

Yeah, the D5200 is a superb camera. I have one too. I bought it before the D7100. Really, I can't tell a lot of difference between the video of the two cameras. There's definitely a difference in the picture quality (photographs) though, the D7100 is just a smidge sharper. The D7100 has a few more features too. If they'd put a flip-out screen on the D7100, I think it would have been a better camera, though. There are times when I'm out with the D7100 when I wish I had the D5200 just because of the screen.

But then I'd buy one of almost every mid-range and upper range camera if I could afford it. I love new toys, I love comparing and contrasting them, I love learning about the quirks of each camera and how to use it most effectively. If I wanted easy, I sure wouldn't be shooting video with a DSLR. ;)
 
I can't tell a lot of difference between the video of the two cameras

I'm curious if the OLPF in the D5200 means less moire then the D5300/D7100 ?

I shoot a lot of corporate talking heads videos with my GH3, and occasionally I have moire patterns showing up in suit jackets, shirts, and dress patterns. I just bought another used GH2 camera, specifically to help tame the moire issue. ( I've been tempted to buy a couple of D5200 bodies for these shoots, but instead I'm waiting to see if the GH4 fixes all of this next year )
 
the d7100 has no noticeable moire in video.

Both the 5200/7100 are excellent for video. The extra sharpness of the 7100 really comes out in photos.
 
I'm curious if the OLPF in the D5200 means less moire then the D5300/D7100 ?

I shoot a lot of corporate talking heads videos with my GH3, and occasionally I have moire patterns showing up in suit jackets, shirts, and dress patterns. I just bought another used GH2 camera, specifically to help tame the moire issue. ( I've been tempted to buy a couple of D5200 bodies for these shoots, but instead I'm waiting to see if the GH4 fixes all of this next year )

I haven't been able to get moire or aliasing on either camera unless I do silly things like dutch angles with 720p video on the side of a house with siding and even then it's so minimal that most people wouldn't even notice it. I suspect that the price on the D5200 is about to drop pretty considerably, so now would be a great time to buy them. B&H has a ton of used models for sale too, so that might be a way to pick one up on the cheap, even if it's only for testing. I don't think you'd be disappointed. To be honest, in video, there's so little difference between the D5200 and D7100 that it's hardly noticeable, but there's a pretty big difference on the photography side of things as far as sharpness and clarity. If you would like a comparison video, I'd be happy to do one for you, just let me know what you'd like me to shoot and I'll put it on youtube or vimeo. If it's something short/simple, I could just upload the original files to dropbox or something and let you get it from there, that way you won't have to deal with youtube's compression. I do live out in the country though, so I can't do cityscapes. I have spent a lot of time comparing footage from the two cameras and they're identical in every way that matters for video. The D5200 has the swivel screen, the D7100 has weather sealing. 5200 doesn't have a focusing motor built-in, 7100 does, although this really doesn't matter to us because we manually focus anyway. The only reason I bought the 7100 is for the photography features. I actually prefer the D5200 for video because of the flip-out screen, as long as I know there's no rain or water around, but I tend to shoot most of my video with the D7100 because I also do photography and I don't see the point of carrying two cameras with me. There are many videos on youtube looking for moire on the D7100 and there are a few who have found it (MichaelTheMaven is one). Michael found it on a shirt that produces moire on EVERY camera I've ever seen him test, it's a moire-machine, but even then it was not nearly as noticeable as any of the Canon cameras. I believe that video is the one where he was comparing the Canon 70D to the Nikon D7100, if you want to watch it. I doubt that you'd ever shoot an interview with someone who had a shirt like THAT. ;)

I have this feeling that the GH4 will be a brilliant camera, but it will still have moire issues. Panasonic has had three opportunities to fix it and they've failed, I don't think their next camera is going to make any difference. The reason I say that is because they would have to lose some of their sharpness to do that and the sharpness is why people buy those cameras. However, I could be dead wrong, too. Your other option is to go in and paint individual frames in your editing program to remove the moire, but that's a tremendous amount of work and would likely have you pulling your hair out and kicking the dog after 20-30 frames. lol

As far as the quality, I think the GH3 and the D7100/D5200 would be very close. D7100/5200 might have a tad bit more DR and sharpness, but likely nothing to write home about. Where you'd gain is the moire/aliasing issues.

Another thing you could do is rent a D5200 from a place like borrowlenses.com and test it out for a weekend. Their rates are pretty reasonable, especially on the lower-level cameras. That way you could know if it's worth spending money on the camera or not. They also have every lens you could ever want. They also sell some of their used gear from time to time, last time I looked they had a couple of D5200s for sale for $399 (body only), but their prices change, so it could be different now.
 
I have access to a D5200 ( my sister owns one ), and I've done one basic video quality test comparing the GH2, GH3, and the D5200. In terms of sharpness the GH2 walked away with it, while the GH3 and D5200 were tied. The image from the D5200 was somewhere between the GH2 and GH3 in terms of color, and had tiny bit more dynamic range than the GH3 when shooting with a standard profile. ( I know that the Flat11 profile can add another 1-2 stops to the D5200 )

Right now I am trying to come up with a simple and repeatable moire test, that I will then use to test the GH2, GH3, G6, D5200 with. Moire is the only image issue that is difficult to fix in post, so right now it's the one that I am most concerned about. ( checking out the MichaelTheMentor video now )
 
I have access to a D5200 ( my sister owns one ), and I've done one basic video quality test comparing the GH2, GH3, and the D5200. In terms of sharpness the GH2 walked away with it, while the GH3 and D5200 were tied. The image from the D5200 was somewhere between the GH2 and GH3 in terms of color, and had tiny bit more dynamic range than the GH3 when shooting with a standard profile. ( I know that the Flat11 profile can add another 1-2 stops to the D5200 )

Right now I am trying to come up with a simple and repeatable moire test, that I will then use to test the GH2, GH3, G6, D5200 with. Moire is the only image issue that is difficult to fix in post, so right now it's the one that I am most concerned about. ( checking out the MichaelTheMentor video now )

What fascinated me with the Moire test is when he put both cameras side by side showing that shirt, but didn't show which camera was having the issue. The first thing that went through my head was "they removed that OLPF and now Nikon has severe moire problems, while canon finally fixed it". When he showed which camera was which, I was quite shocked. I figured that the lack of the OLPF would surely make the Nikon have horrendous moire issues, just like it makes the D800E have such bad aliasing issues.

That's cool that you can get your hands on a D5200. Another thing I've found is the D5200 and D7100 both hold up very well in post. I can push them quite far before they break down. So even if the images don't look quite perfect from the sensor, you have a fair amount of latitude to play with when you're post processing. I find that I can use sharpening from 6.5-8 in FCPX and it makes the image look beautiful. But what comes off of the sensor isn't too bad and the codec doesn't destroy the video with compression. That being said, I'd jump on raw in an instant if it were offered for the D7100/5200. I haven't played with the clean HDMI out, as I don't have the hardware, but from what others have said, the 4:2:2 Pro-Res is stunningly beautiful. One of these days I will likely buy the Hyperdeck Shuttle or the Atomos Ninja II to capture video that way.

The one thing that I don't like about either camera is the way it makes leaves look. Leaves are a problem for just about any codec, but they look pretty bad with both cameras and I can never get them looking like I think they should. Of course if you're up close, they look stunning, but if you're getting a video of a whole tree (like to show fall colors), it just doesn't look very nice. I suspect that the gh2/gh3 might do better in that area due to higher bitrates.

I shoot everything with Flaat 10 or Flaat 11. I haven't tried 12 yet, as I worry that it would be a bit too much for me to repair in some situations and I like that I can use 10 or 11 with just about anything and it cleans up beautifully in post. It's definitely something I would suggest trying while you've got the D5200, you will be surprised by the results. The first time I used it, I was blown away by how much more range I had in the shadows. Prior to that I was using either standard or neutral with the settings turned down. The great thing about Flaat is that it doesn't kill skin tones, which would be particularly handy for someone like you who does interviews.

I would be interested in hearing about your results of the moire test when you're done, if you don't mind sharing. I think the D5200 will do beautifully, but I am curious how the other cameras compare.
 
I read some rumors that Nikon is working on a cinema camera, no clue how reliable those rumors are, though. I would love to see the D7100/D5300 sensor in a reasonably-priced cinema camera. They could go the same route as Canon and put a full frame sensor in there, but that ramps up the price significantly. I don't think Nikon can beat Canon in that market, Canon is already established. Where Nikon COULD eek out a market share for itself is an APS-C cinema camera which would take on the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera, priced about the same ($1000 or so), with extreme dynamic range, access to all of Nikon's lenses, pro-res 422 and RAW built-in, with the features I mentioned earlier in the thread. There are a lot of problems with the BMPCC, I think people would happily jump ship if they could get something which wasn't so damned quirky in a similarly-priced package. The D7100's video quality is beautiful, Nikon has a winner of a sensor there, they just need to put it in a package that would be appealing to videographers/cinematographers. I would buy one, if they put the right features in it, or open-sourced the firmware so that people could add features that are needed.

Like I said, I think both Nikon AND Canon will be gone within 5 years if they don't change their ways. The days of the stills-only camera are numbered. Imagine 60 frames/sec at 24-36 megapixels...that's where we're headed. The only stills cameras which will survive will be medium format, I believe, and even that market will be significantly smaller than it is now. We're quickly approaching the point where super-fast memory, extremely fast multicore processors and software all come together to form a video camera that can frame-grab stills so that nobody ever misses a moment again. I think the Nikon 1 series is a glimpse into that future. People are pulling 4K RAW video off of that thing (albeit in short bursts), which is something you can't get in any other camera at below 6x the price of the 1 series. A camera like that, with a much larger buffer, a tad bit more processing power and a larger sensor would almost singlehandedly kill the DSLR market. I don't think the 1 series is a particularly outstanding camera, it's average in almost every way as far as quality, features and appearance, but with just a little more tweaking, it could be THE camera to own. Of course Nikon won't do the necessary tweaks/upgrades because they'd think it would cannibalize their DSLR market, and it would, but it would also sell faster than water in the middle of the desert.

I mean we have a cell phone that can shoot 4K video now! My cell phone has a FOUR-core CPU, over 450 pixels per inch, full 1080p resolution and it takes 20 frames per second pictures (at 8 megapixels, but that's about 6 more than the average person uses anyway). The iPhone 5's quality is pretty damned good too. I recently saw a video where they put it up against pro video cameras (like the Arri Alexa, for example) and I'd venture to say that the overwhelming majority of people couldn't tell which camera was the iPhone...even some people around here probably couldn't tell the difference...I ended up guessing right, but I wasn't 100% sure about which was the iPhone either. That's ASTOUNDING. Cell phones have all but killed the low-end camcorder market and they're working their way through the point-and-shoot camera market too, it's not going to be long until we're seeing specialized phones that can produce picture quality equal to a DSLR. So something has got to give with Canon and Nikon. This path that they're on is a dead end. The major advantage of a DSLR is the interchangeable lenses and the optical viewfinder, but as technology increases, it's only a matter of time until we see very high megapixel phones that have digital zooms on top of their optical zoom that can give you most of the focal length that you need by downsampling the ultra high megapixels (similar to the crop mode on the D7100). The same could be done with 4K video, just chop a piece out of the middle and you still have more than HD resolution. It's kinda crazy when you think about it all.

It's definitely an interesting time to be a photographer and/or videographer, I'll tell ya that. :)




Nikon can produce a Cinema Camera, and they should. More competition is better for us.
 
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I have access to a D5200 ( my sister owns one ), and I've done one basic video quality test comparing the GH2, GH3, and the D5200. In terms of sharpness the GH2 walked away with it, while the GH3 and D5200 were tied. The image from the D5200 was somewhere between the GH2 and GH3 in terms of color, and had tiny bit more dynamic range than the GH3 when shooting with a standard profile. ( I know that the Flat11 profile can add another 1-2 stops to the D5200 )

Right now I am trying to come up with a simple and repeatable moire test, that I will then use to test the GH2, GH3, G6, D5200 with. Moire is the only image issue that is difficult to fix in post, so right now it's the one that I am most concerned about. ( checking out the MichaelTheMentor video now )


The 70D is a very competitive Camera. Here is Michael's ISO test for D7100 vs 70D
http://www.michaelthemaven.com/?postID=2894

And here is his video comparison

 
The 70D is a very competitive Camera

The Canon 70D definitely pulls ahead when it comes to video AF and tracking, but Michael Andrew's moire test with the evil shirt of moire-death, scares the bejesus out of me. I am already having minor moire issues with the GH3, which bugs the crap out of me. ( clients don't seem to notice if I keep my mouth shut ) So I'm going back to shooting interviews with a few GH2 cameras, which are pretty much moire-proof in most situations. ( I am very curious to see how the Panasonic G6 and Nikon D5200 hold up against the GH2 when it comes to moire )
 
The Canon 70D definitely pulls ahead when it comes to video AF and tracking, but Michael Andrew's moire test with the evil shirt of moire-death, scares the bejesus out of me. I am already having minor moire issues with the GH3, which bugs the crap out of me. ( clients don't seem to notice if I keep my mouth shut ) So I'm going back to shooting interviews with a few GH2 cameras, which are pretty much moire-proof in most situations. ( I am very curious to see how the Panasonic G6 and Nikon D5200 hold up against the GH2 when it comes to moire )



Moire is a problem with almost all cameras, some are better than others, Nikon has done a good job reducing moire. Best thing when doing interviews is to ask clients to avoid cloths with stripes. The AF on the 70D though can come in really handy. This video shows how quick and accurate the 70D's auto focus.


 
Best thing when doing interviews is to ask clients to avoid cloths with stripes

I usually have little say in how my subjects dress, but I've had moire from what appears to be plain single color fabrics like Michael Andrew's evil shirt of moire-death in the comparison video linked previously. The fabric looks pretty plain to the human eye, but can be a huge editing disaster if you don't catch the moire when you are shooting. ( full resolution 1080 HD monitor or 1:1 pixel mode for smaller field monitors )

The AF on the 70D though can come in really handy. This video shows how quick and accurate the 70D's auto focus.

Yes, it looks fantastic, but I can't live with significant moire when I shoot interview work.
 
All cameras have aliasing/moire, it's just part of how they capture light (and, in particular, color). But on some it will show up often, on some, hardly ever.

That's why my aliasing/moire tests are always shot at different distances (for example, in the Flaat Shootout 2012). Shoot all cameras from here, then move a bit closer and shoot with all of them again, move closer and shoot again, etc. It's not a matter of whether it will show up or not, it's a matter of how often it will show up, and how bad it is when it does.

My ranking would be:
* it shows more often than on any other camera you would consider as an option: Canon APS-C, 5D2, 6D, D600
* it appears sometimes, but not nearly as often, so it's not a big deal: D800, NEX-5N, BMC
* it hardly ever appears, and when it does, you really have to look for it: 5D3, D5200, D7100, GH2
 
All cameras have aliasing/moire, it's just part of how they capture light (and, in particular, color). But on some it will show up often, on some, hardly ever.

That's why my aliasing/moire tests are always shot at different distances (for example, in the Flaat Shootout 2012). Shoot all cameras from here, then move a bit closer and shoot with all of them again, move closer and shoot again, etc. It's not a matter of whether it will show up or not, it's a matter of how often it will show up, and how bad it is when it does.

My ranking would be:
* it shows more often than on any other camera you would consider as an option: Canon APS-C, 5D2, 6D, D600
* it appears sometimes, but not nearly as often, so it's not a big deal: D800, NEX-5N, BMC
* it hardly ever appears, and when it does, you really have to look for it: 5D3, D5200, D7100, GH2

I am going to keep an eye on the D5300 when it comes out and see how it will do in tests, since I have several Nikon lenses I might grab one in addition to the 70D. So far I have been using DLRs as second or B cameras only and do not see that changing anytime soon for me. Is the D7100 your favorite camera, which camera does best with stills?
 
My picks, right now, and depending on budget: NEX-5N, D5200, D7100, BMCC, 5D3

For stills, BMCC is out, 5N and D5200 only an option if you won't use AF (first one has contrast-detect only, second one lacks AFMA), so, D7100 or 5D3, and I would also consider the D800 if stills are your main thing and video is secondary.
 
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