Looking into Nikons

F

Foster Kane

Well-known member
I am interested in buying a DSLR and I am looking into Nikons, particularly the Nikon D3100.

Here are my requirements.

1. Manual focus

2. Able to do slow motion

3. Sound. I have heard that the audio for DSLRs are pretty bad and that you need to get an external mic. I have a Rode video mic. Would it be compatible with a Nikon?

Any other recommendations are welcome.
 
Forget about the D3100 for video. It´s not good:
- overheats after a while
- no manual control
- too much skew caused by rolling shutter
 
100% Ditch the 3100.

at least go with the new up and comer D5100, Or the d7000 probably still in your price range if not making the extra room to afford it would be well worth it.
 
yes video is not that good of Nikon D3100 instead have a look at Nikon D5100 which is just released.
 
Thank you for the heads up.

The D5100 looks quite promising. Would you say it is comparable to the Canon T3i?
 
It looks like it compares very well....just no 720 60P. Also the Nikon D7000 and D5100 have a work around for adjusting aperture. You adjust it BEFORE entering live view. To me it's no big deal, but it's a good bit of info to have. The bitrate is lower on the D5100 than the T3i, but the little promo film from Nikon looked pretty great AFAIC.
 
We'll see what's the final data rate on the videos with the D5100.
At least on the D7000 with almost half the data rate as the canons, has way way less compression artifacts.

About the issue of having to adjust aperture before entering live mode, that only applies with lenses without aperture ring. That problem does not exist with AF and AIS lenses, which are preferable anyway for shooting video due to larger focusing rings.

I´m wondering if the new D5100 can have lens distortion and D-lighting on video mode too. The info at Dpreview mentions some of the photo filters and processing can also be applied to video.
 
I wil have to do more research but it looks like the D5100 is in the running.
This will be my first DSLR and I plan using it to shoot short films.

I have a rodevideo mic and I am unsure if I can attach it to the Nikon. I read it has a stereo jack, can that be used as a head phone jack?

From what I understand, sound on the DSLR sucks so I might have to get an external recorder. Any recommendations?

Will slow motion be an issue? I want to do some shots in slow motion.
 
As a Nikon nut, I'm really looking forward to the D4's. I have gone through many Nikons and each one has blown me away. As for video, all good things come to those that wait.....
 
Foster Kane said:
I wil have to do more research but it looks like the D5100 is in the running.
This will be my first DSLR and I plan using it to shoot short films.

I have a rodevideo mic and I am unsure if I can attach it to the Nikon. I read it has a stereo jack, can that be used as a head phone jack?

From what I understand, sound on the DSLR sucks so I might have to get an external recorder. Any recommendations?

Will slow motion be an issue? I want to do some shots in slow motion.
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As far as I know the jack is for the microphone input...and yes you'll want a dedicated recorder for any serious audio application. Compare the specs on the Tascam and Zoom recorders and decide which fits your budget and requirements. You can look at them online @ B and H, Guitar Center, etc.
And as far as slow motion goes, that's one of the things Nikon is missing right now - No 720 60P. 30 to 24 wouldn't really be all that dramatic.
 
pulpfiction007 said:
As far as I know the jack is for the microphone input...and yes you'll want a dedicated recorder for any serious audio application. Compare the specs on the Tascam and Zoom recorders and decide which fits your budget and requirements. You can look at them online @ B and H, Guitar Center, etc.
And as far as slow motion goes, that's one of the things Nikon is missing right now - No 720 60P. 30 to 24 wouldn't really be all that dramatic.
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Can you recommend any Nikons that allow slow motion?
 
Foster Kane said:
Can you recommend any Nikons that allow slow motion?
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No...I wish I could. None of them have 720 60P. Hopefully, the D400 or what ever they end up calling the D300s replacement will have more options.
Sorry bgundu beat me to the answer- Yet is the key word.
One could always add the very inexpensive unhackable GH1 for doing 720 60p work. If you love the Nikon look and really need the slow mo, it could be an option. I don't think matching the two for a few shots would pose too much of a problem, esp. since slow motion changes the viewers perception of the picture automatically.
 
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I have a Rode VideoMic, and it does work with my d7000. The biggest issue with recording audio onto DSLRs is that there is no way to monitor or adjust audio levels while recording.
 
Foster Kane said:
This will be my first DSLR and I plan using it to shoot short films.
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Man, for short films? Why are you even thinking Nikon? And I'm not a Nikon hater, I've owned every D-body since the D100, 70, 80, etc - my main still cam is a D90, and man, I wanted to love the new one enough to upgrade. AND I have a closet full of N90s', 8008s', polaroid backs, and motor drives. been a Nikon guy - professionally - since the early 90's.

But my video DLSR is a T2i - I can stick all my Nikon glass on it - even my ancient series E manual stuff. Just fire the thing up and shoot, it's the "Canon" look (which seemed to intercut with Panavision gear quite well on "House" and "Black Swan", etc etc etc). There's a reason Canon is the pre-eminent video DSLR. Because Nikon's video is still years behind.

I do feel the videos I shot with my D90 have a really cool "feel" to 'em, there's definitely a Nikon "look" video-wise - but it's still got a lot of Jello and the D7000 just doesn't seem as seamless to me as the Canons.

As for audio, there's no DSLR that will give you acceptable "cinema" sound. Maybe news/run & gun sound, but the pres and converters are really crap, across the board. You'll need an external recorder (which could also be a DVX or similar SD cam with XLRs and decent pres, by the way - if you have a video camera that records good sound, you can use it and have the bonus of a visual synch reference).
 
My buddy and I shot a few scenes with both T2i and D7000, and we both agree D7000 video image looks better than T2i video. But as you can see from the statement above from Michael Carter, we all have different opinions on what we like to use.
 
Indeed, last thing I want to do is start some mac vs. PC level flame thread. Nikon's video has a vibrancy that's very immediate, the deep blacks and color saturation is dialed in, in a way that's hard to duplicate in post. But the jello, and the lack of 720/60 made it a no-go for me. Even though Canon's 60p has a lot of aliasing and artifacts, I've gotten some luscious shots with it. Just don't try to key it, a lot of that noise is GREEN...

I understand that manual shooting has improved over the D90 if your lens has an aperture ring - I'm not expert enough to say if it's as seamless as Canon or if you still need workarounds.
 
Michael Carter said:
I understand that manual shooting has improved over the D90 if your lens has an aperture ring - I'm not expert enough to say if it's as seamless as Canon or if you still need workarounds.
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If your lens has an aperture ring, the D7000 is as seamless as the Canons and no workaround is needed.
 
I also want to point out that the jello/skew on the D7000 is MUCH better than the D3100 and the D90....and that the workaround without aperture on your lens is not difficult. You simply frame your shot and set your aperture while looking through the VF...hit the live view lever and off you go. It's actually kind of nice using the great optical viewfinder to set up a shot.
I know this won't work with everybody's shooting style...but I wanted to point it out, because people hear "workaround" and think it's something complicated.
 
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