Nikon D4 crop modes explored: FX, DX, CX

T

tatawaki

Member
I couldn't sleep last night so I decided to test the different modes.

a few notes while you watch:
- I tried DX mode 5 different times and came up with the same poor quality results
- I'll probably do another video to show noise between FX and CX at various ISO
- I'll have to test different sharpness settings for picture control when shooting in FX mode.

 
ISO explored between both Modes


My Findings (only did full stop increments):
CX - Max Usable ISO for clean image: ISO 3200 (might be 2/3 of a stop too high for USABLE)
FX - Max Usable ISO for clean image: ISO 6400 (I said 12,800 but I think it's just a bit too noisy)
 
Thank you for your effort , interesting tests
would you mind doing a test comparison between D4 internal recording vs external hdmi output recording ?
and moire and alaising test in different crop modes ?
 
t.p. said:
Thank you for your effort , interesting tests
would you mind doing a test comparison between D4 internal recording vs external hdmi output recording ?
and moire and alaising test in different crop modes ?
Click to expand...

I'll have to see if I can get my hands on an HDMI recorder. If I have time this weekend I'll see if I can do some aliasing/moire tests.
 
diving in deeper

diving in deeper

Did another FX / CX quality test.. CX is definitely the way to go. no amount of sharpening or USM could make it look as crisp as CX.
again:
ISO 200- ISO 3200 is your working range for CX.

I hope Nikon adjusts the way they do line skipping in future firmware updates.
 
tatawaki, you've had the camera for another month or so now. How are you likeing it? I have a D4 on preorder but I'm concerned about the softness. Some of the samples I see online look great. Others not so much. Thanks in advance for your help.
 
capo99999 said:
tatawaki, you've had the camera for another month or so now. How are you likeing it? I have a D4 on preorder but I'm concerned about the softness. Some of the samples I see online look great. Others not so much. Thanks in advance for your help.
Click to expand...

It's a stills camera.. not a video camera. during my shoots, I've always tried to stay with the 2.7x crop factor. which means my smallest lens is a 65mm (24*2.7). It depends on what's more important to you, sharpness or low light. I'm really hoping Nikon fixes FX, DX softness in the next firmware update. If they figure out a way to make the video sharp on the D4, it will be a clear winner. I myself am swaying back and forth wondering if I made the right decision with this camera. it's not perfect in respect to video, but I use it about 60/40 for pictures/video. it's not the perfect video dslr. I think Canon still has the edge.

I'm filming a short this weekend and perhaps will try filming all in FX mode unless I need the reach. give it a 'real world' test. Yes it's soft, but will normal people watching it notice it's not as sharp as the D800 in FX. I don't think so.
 
Ok, this Short was filmed entirely with FX mode. no colour correcting or sharpening applied (ran out of time as it was a 48 hour contest):
 
Can you share what picture settings you used? I noticed on youtube the highest resolution is 720p, how does it look at full res?
 
lasikdenver said:
Can you share what picture settings you used? I noticed on youtube the highest resolution is 720p, how does it look at full res?
Click to expand...

Neutral Picture style - I had every intention of colour correcting it. Next time I think I'm going to use standard and just avoid colour correcting at all.
I shot this with no higher than 800 ISO so it looks great in 1080p no noise in the dark. I don't think I really care that FX is soft, it still looks good.
 
Thanks - I shot some video with my D4 using Portrait and found the skin colors to be really nice and not needing color correction. I agree FX looks fine, and with the combination of FX and crop using a 24-70 you get a wide range of focal lengths.
 
Here is a test video on D4 with new Ninja 2 external recorder and it seems very sharp in both FX and CX modes as opposed to internal card recordings. This video is shot completely in FX. It is hand held in low light (ISO 1000) with no post processing other than some smoothing of motion in FCP X. It is all at f/2.8 with 24-70 lens and natural light.
https://vimeo.com/47345010


 

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