Nikon D5100 - How to semi-control the video shooting?

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pandaen

New member
Hey everyone!

I just bought a D5100, after a really close battle in my head between the 600D vs. 5100D. Nikon won the battle though, as I suspect that most my clicking will be photos, and loads of my friends have 7D's, so hopefully we can supplement each other a bit.

Question is though; I hear a lot about people being able to get semi-manual control of video settings, and I also hear something about hacks and firmware tweaks and **** for the D5100, rendering it almost as good as the Canon.

I've read and searched, but didn't quite find anything that sums it up.

Can someone help me in on this please? How do you do this, and what is possible? And did I choose the wrong camera if I will be doing 70% photos, 30% video? :)

Thank you very much in advance! Enjoy your weekends!!
 
I think you made a great choice... I am not sure about any hacks, but you can control the camera's video settings by selecting your aperture then switching to LV mode and then if you want to decrease the shutter speed then use a variable ND filter or if you can decrease or increase the iso settings by tapping on the FN button and the scroll button (you have to set this up in the menu). Remember to lock exposure when you start filming...

Hope this helps!
 
mojo43 said:
I think you made a great choice... I am not sure about any hacks, but you can control the camera's video settings by selecting your aperture then switching to LV mode and then if you want to decrease the shutter speed then use a variable ND filter or if you can decrease or increase the iso settings by tapping on the FN button and the scroll button (you have to set this up in the menu). Remember to lock exposure when you start filming...

Hope this helps!
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Thanks for the reply :)

Can you please go a bit more into depth with the ND filter? I am not sure what that is :) Also can you please tell me how to lock exposure?
Lastly, is there a way to increase the shutter speed? I want it as fast as possible for shooting sport, so I can make slomo with twixtor.
 
pandaen said:
Thanks for the reply :)

Can you please go a bit more into depth with the ND filter?
Click to expand...

Sure, if you pick up one of these it will enable you to let less light in the camera and you will be able to control your shutter speed.

http://www.amazon.com/Polaroid-Mult...ZI/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1310389324&sr=8-14

pandaen said:
I am not sure what that is :) Also can you please tell me how to lock exposure?
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You just have to hit the lock exposure button and that will keep your shutter speed, iso and aperture locked. You will most likely want to do that at the beginning of a shot.

pandaen said:
Lastly, is there a way to increase the shutter speed? I want it as fast as possible for shooting sport, so I can make slomo with twixtor.
Click to expand...

Sure, just set your film speed to 30 fps and open your aperture and Iso until you get your shutter speed to 60 or higher. 30 fps won't produce amazing slomo but it is workable.

Good luck!
 
Yes, you will get better results with higher shutter speeds if you want to go very slomo. The other thing that is helping him out is that the biker is set against a background colour. It would be a much different result if there were swaying trees behind him. It's all a matter of playing around with it. BTW, you won't need a ND filter if you are trying to get a shutter speed of 4000. You will be wanting to let as much light in as possible.
 
Arh yeah that makes sense. So lets see if I understood it all right..

I put the dial to S, set the shutterspeed high, ISO a bit higher than I would normally do for pictures in bright daylight, and the camera will then set the appropriate aperture. I then lock it with AE Lock, go to liveview and shoot the footage?
 
You could do that although I find it is annoying to have to look through the viewfinder during that whole process... what I do is set my aperture (I usually know approximately what aperture I want), then I switch to LV mode and set my shutter by using either the vari ND to lower the shutter or the ISO to increase the shutter (if in lower light). I lock the exposure and then shoot or I may lock the exposure and tweak the darkness lightness with the vari ND. The vari ND really is an essential with this camera although you don't really need it...
 
Im not sure I understand why I would need to look in the viewfinder? I mean, couldn't I just put the camera where I want to film, set maybe ISO 500 and boost the shutter to maximum, take a photo and see if it's fine, then lock, go to LV and shoot? I'm not sure what you mean I have to see in the viewfinder?
 
You would have to look through the VF and set the shutter speed, hit the lock exposure button then switch to LV mode. The problem is that once you are in LV mode the aperture cannot change (I am not sure why) and if there shutter speed is too high and there is not enough light then it will crank your ISO (maybe beyond what you find acceptable). I guess it's not that big of a deal though... Does that make sense, I am not sure if I am explaining properly?
 
Hmmm I'm not sure if I fully understand, sorry.

If I need say a shutter speed of 1000 or 2000 to make slomo, then I just put that and an ISO close to what I suspect(maybe 500 in daylight?). Lock it with AE L, LV and shoot. Then what you say is it might change my ISO and/or shutter after I start shooting or? What I would want it to is keep the shutter where I put it, and then have the camera handle the aperture while shooting, and the footage would then in the end be perfect for making slowmotion with Twixtor?

Sorry for not understanding fully, I am still in phase one of all this :)
 
Sorry, I never shoot with the shutter mode and I am not that great at explaining :)

I guess all you have to remember is that what ever aperture is reported once you switch to LV mode is that one that it will be on while you stay in that mode (it will not change even though it seems that you can change it).

Here is the other thing to think about... Say it is a bright day, so you set your shutter speed to 1000 and your aperture to 4.0 and iso 100. You lock exposure and then switch to LV mode. The sun gets even brighter so now everything is too dark. You are still in LV mode and you click the unlock exposure button. The camera now tries to adjust for proper exposure, but all it has to play with is shutter speed since your iso can only make it brighter and the aperture is locked. I am pretty sure that the shutter speed will report 1000 but it will not be 1000 since it has increased it to set what it thinks is proper exposure.

This is why I use aperture mode and a vari ND. I can play around with the settings in LV mode without having to switch back and forth between the VF and LV (so long as I know what aperture I want which I almost always do).

Does that make sense?

It sounds like you are fine with the way you are going to do it. You will just need to switch back and forth a lot if light changes.
 
Phew, yeah it makes sense, but seems like there are a lot of factors to understand. Actually I believe the camera can do pretty decent video on auto, also for sports(I film wakeboarding). So it is only those few clips I want to twixtor to slomo that I need to concern about all this stuff, and so if I finally do understand how it works, the hassle will be worth it for just a few clips.

Now I am sitting playing around with the camera and it does seem like I can do the following:
Turn the camera on
Put the dial to S
Enter liveview
Adjust the shutterspeed to 2000
Focus on something that makes the aperture go lowest possible
And the liveview picture responds to this, and it seems like I can lock it at any time

Though I don't see the ISO ever changing(Maybe it does but doesn't show?) - I am okay with my slomo shots being a little less sharp than the other pictures, my priority is the smoothness of the movement, which require the high shutter speed (I believe).

Am I wrong about this workflow working without needing the viewfinder?
 
pandaen said:
Phew, yeah it makes sense, but seems like there are a lot of factors to understand. Actually I believe the camera can do pretty decent video on auto, also for sports(I film wakeboarding).
Click to expand...

Exactly, and this is why Nikon has done this. It is a consumer camera and almost all people will want the settings to automatically change.

pandaen said:
Turn the camera on
Put the dial to S
Enter liveview
Adjust the shutterspeed to 2000
Focus on something that makes the aperture go lowest possible
And the liveview picture responds to this, and it seems like I can lock it at any time

Though I don't see the ISO ever changing(Maybe it does but doesn't show?) - I am okay with my slomo shots being a little less sharp than the other pictures, my priority is the smoothness of the movement, which require the high shutter speed (I believe).

Am I wrong about this workflow working without needing the viewfinder?
Click to expand...

The workflow is fine, the only problem is that when you say that the aperture is changing in LV mode. It is not changing. It cannot in LV mode (you can verify this by checking the iris on the lens as it should be opening and closing but it does not). So the camera is compensating in some other way and reporting incorrect numbers (it is most likely compensating with shutter).
 
I tried out the D5100 in a camera store and used the menus to set minimum shutter speed to 1/60 and maximum ISO to 1600. When shooting video in Aperture Priority mode with a fixed f-stop, as I decreased illumination, the camera appeared to keep ISO low until the shutter speed dropped to my min at 1/60. Then it appeared to increase ISO till it reached my max at 1600, with shutter at 1/60. With even less illumination, it appeared to keep ISO at 1600, but it forced shutter speed below 1/60.

If this is in fact the way the camera auto-adjusts shutter and ISO in Live View, I can work with that. What I'm wondering is if the Exposure Lock button (when set to Hold) will actually keep the exposure locked if I press it in Live View mode just before hitting the video record button?

I'm also wondering if there is a way to override the 5100's demand that I lock my AF-D lens' aperture ring and use the camera to set aperture? I'd much rather use the aperture ring on the lens in Manual and Aperture priority mode.
 
Hi lpowell, great to see you in the nikon thread...

lpowell said:
I tried out the D5100 in a camera store and used the menus to set minimum shutter speed to 1/60 and maximum ISO to 1600. When shooting video in Aperture Priority mode with a fixed f-stop, as I decreased illumination, the camera appeared to keep ISO low until the shutter speed dropped to my min at 1/60. Then it appeared to increase ISO till it reached my max at 1600, with shutter at 1/60. With even less illumination, it appeared to keep ISO at 1600, but it forced shutter speed below 1/60.
Click to expand...

You mean without AE lock on, correct? Also remember that you can choose your iso if you don't want auto iso and you can assign it to the Fn button so you can change it manually.

lpowell said:
If this is in fact the way the camera auto-adjusts shutter and ISO in Live View, I can work with that. What I'm wondering is if the Exposure Lock button (when set to Hold) will actually keep the exposure locked if I press it in Live View mode just before hitting the video record button?
Click to expand...

This appears to be the case...

lpowell said:
I'm also wondering if there is a way to override the 5100's demand that I lock my AF-D lens' aperture ring and use the camera to set aperture? I'd much rather use the aperture ring on the lens in Manual and Aperture priority mode.
Click to expand...

I am not sure about this one, sorry.
 
mojo43 said:
You mean without AE lock on, correct? Also remember that you can choose your iso if you don't want auto iso...
Click to expand...
Yes, I entered Live View mode without setting AE Lock in advance. I'd actually prefer to set shutter speed manually, and allow the camera to select an appropriate ISO. In lieu of that, setting the minimum shutter speed to 1/60 is sufficient, since the camera will then bottom out at 1/60 when the lights get dim. Hopefully, I can then use the AE Lock button to Hold both the 1/60 shutter speed and the ISO the camera sets, and thereby keep all exposure settings fixed for the duration of each video take?
 
lpowell said:
Yes, I entered Live View mode without setting AE Lock in advance. I'd actually prefer to set shutter speed manually, and allow the camera to select an appropriate ISO. In lieu of that, setting the minimum shutter speed to 1/60 is sufficient, since the camera will then bottom out at 1/60 when the lights get dim. Hopefully, I can then use the AE Lock button to Hold both the 1/60 shutter speed and the ISO the camera sets, and thereby keep all exposure settings fixed for the duration of each video take?
Click to expand...

Yes that should work. Also you can set your aperture (in A mode) and then enter LV and fiddle with your shutter and iso there so long as you don't touch the aperture or have the ae lock on. All numbers reported should be the correct ones. I have done tests and all seems to be the correct values. Good luck!
 
mojo43 said:
Yes that should work. Also you can set your aperture (in A mode) and then enter LV and fiddle with your shutter and iso there so long as you don't touch the aperture or have the ae lock on.
Click to expand...
Thanks, mojo43, sounds like the D5100 operates much like an unhacked Panasonic GF1 (but with far better low light response).
 
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