New to Video - D600

I

IBiteZombies

New member
Hi all

I've recently changed from a D700 to a D600, and I am loving the video function.

I'm pretty experienced when it comes to stills photography, but a total n00b when it comes to video, so I've a couple of questions.

Firstly, are there any books, or websites that anyone can recommend to give me the basics of DSLR video recording?

And also, I have heard that the lack of aperture control while recording on the D600 is a major drawback, is this as big a deal as I've been lead to believe? Or would the D600 still be suitable for recording weddings, events, etc?

Thanks in advance!
 
From what I've tested in stores, read on websites, watched on youtube, chatted with people on dvxuser, ALL Nikon DSLR's up to the D600 cannot have the electronic aperture changed in LiveView period. LiveView must be shut off before the aperture dial can work. And everytime you exit and re-enter LiveView the sound of the reflex mirror moving will sound.

Also another weird thing is I had an electronic Nikon lens with an aperture ring and the ring had to be locked to F22 for anything to work, so if you want to go with a manual aperture ring it needs to be a dumb lens with no electronic contacts it seems.

I found this to be very frustrating and I wouldn't use it for filming a live event where you have only one chance to capture the moment. For live events that affords you more time and more room for error then it may work.

But if you insist on using a D600 then just get some "dumb" lenses from Samyang/Rokinon/Bower and use the aperture ring instead (although I've not verified these lenses with the D600)!
 
ectobuilder said:
...get some "dumb" lenses from Samyang/Rokinon/Bower and use the aperture ring instead (although I've not verified these lenses with the D600)!
Click to expand...

Better yet, there are tons of used AI and AI-s lenses on craigslist, ebay and even dvxuser marketplace. I'd recommend to pick up a used set, or build up your own set. You may already have older Nikon AI and AI-s prime lenses from your stills experience.
http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/nikortek.htm
 
IBiteZombies said:
And also, I have heard that the lack of aperture control while recording on the D600 is a major drawback, is this as big a deal as I've been lead to believe? Or would the D600 still be suitable for recording weddings, events, etc?

Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...

For me, the 'lack' of control of the aperture during filming is a negligible non-feature.

For event filming, I'd recommend looking into the various 'rigs' for mounting the camera, with handles and shoulder mount, so as to be more stable and 'controllable' for moving picture capture.

Beyond that the most 'significant' elements of why one would use a more traditional 'digital video' camera for events is the packaging of a reasonable sound recording interface, along with a few other items.

Since I prefer the DSLR's over the traditional digitial 'video' boxes for my narrative film making, I've not really looked at what that area has to offer 'now'.

The benefits of the DSLRs tend to center on the modularity of packaging. You can get 'better' or 'cheaper' lenses, rather than being stuck with whatever the digital video camera maker decides to provide. When I tested the Panasonic HMC-150 I was pretty disgusted with the distortion the camera had when zoomed for wide angle... Fortunately with in the time period I was deciding the GH-1 came out, and I bought into the DSLRs. I've recently upgraded the Wife's camera to the D600, but I get to 'test' it so I can explain all the reasons why she 'needs' this camera...

As for learning 'filmmaking' vs. 'still photography', the most significant 'technical' problems center on 'light'... a still photographer with a strobe can dump far more light into a shot than is possible for ordinary mortals to afford for 'moving pictures'.

This somewhat necessitates spending more for superior lenses at large f-stops. For me this is the only reason to 'open up'... not shallow DoF... but to beable to shoot at lower light with lower ISO settings... As it is I'd rather shoot at 800/1600 ISO and a smaller f-stop, like f/4 or 5.6 than wide open... I do have an older Nikon f/2.8 that I can use... but that's a fully 'manual' lens so the business of not being able to make changes during filming with the D600 moot.
 
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The answer is to get manual lenses, and as many of them as you can possibly amass! I've found AI and AI-S lenses to generally be far more pleasant to use on a daily basis than any of my AF lenses, and I'm currently trying to build up as much of a collection of manual lenses as I can. Even though you can change aperture mid-shot with a D800, it's in jumpy third-stop increments, and is essentially useless anyway, so even with the more "high-end" bodies, going back to AI lenses with dumb aperture rings is still the best answer.
 
IBiteZombies said:
And also, I have heard that the lack of aperture control while recording on the D600 is a major drawback, is this as big a deal as I've been lead to believe? Or would the D600 still be suitable for recording weddings, events, etc?
Click to expand...

I rarely have to change aperture during recording, but if this is important to you, you should get the lenses with aperture rings (basically all non-"G" lenses). The cinevised lenses, say from Rokinon, have the added benefit of being declicked, so that you can change the aperture more smoothly.

ectobuilder said:
Also another weird thing is I had an electronic Nikon lens with an aperture ring and the ring had to be locked to F22 for anything to work, so if you want to go with a manual aperture ring it needs to be a dumb lens with no electronic contacts it seems.
Click to expand...

Not true. You just need to change the setting on your camera to allow the aperture to be controlled from the aperture ring. Aperture for all lenses without aperture rings will still be controlled from the sub-dial. Here are instructions for the D7100 posted by bleach551 in another thread. I'm sure the D600 has a similar setting.

to use the aperture ring on manual lenses on a d7100 in Live view video mode.

1) Go to "MENU"
2) Next, Go to "CUSTOM SETTING MENU"
3) Go to "F-Controls" Click the "OK" button.
4) Choose "F5-CUSTOMIZE COMMAND DIALS" click "OK"
5) Select "Aperture setting" click "OK"
6) Then select "Aperture Ring" click "OK"
7) Then press either the "Shutter" button half way or press "Menu" until you are back where you started.​



 
Thanks for all the replies guys, its good to know the aperture issue isn't a total video killer ( as some have made it out to be!).

I already have a 50mm 1.4D with an aperture ring, so I guess that will give me some options for the moment. Will a variable ND filter be any use for controlling exposure during video? I have one for my 24-70 which doesn't have an aperture ring.
 
IBiteZombies said:
Hi all

I've recently changed from a D700 to a D600, and I am loving the video function.

I'm pretty experienced when it comes to stills photography, but a total n00b when it comes to video, so I've a couple of questions.

Firstly, are there any books, or websites that anyone can recommend to give me the basics of DSLR video recording?

And also, I have heard that the lack of aperture control while recording on the D600 is a major drawback, is this as big a deal as I've been lead to believe? Or would the D600 still be suitable for recording weddings, events, etc?

Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...

Been using the D600 for about 6 days now and it has a setting to disable the electronic power aperture feature. So if you have a Nikon lens with an aperture ring you can just use the ring instead. And this works in live view as you are recording video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmxK2k1nihs
 
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