Sorry if this is a dumb question, but I have never touched a Nikon camera before. How does the D5300 work when using manual lenses like the Rokinon; will live view simulate the exposure like on any Canon camera and give you a preview close to what your footage will look like, or are you somehow working in the blind with liveview just giving you a bright view of your scene?
Nikon D5300 video samples.
- Thread starter Danielvilliers
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Lintel
Active member
I use Nikkor AI-s (manual) primes with my D5300 and was worried about this before I bought it. You wont have any way to meter with the Rokinons (it is not like the Canons), but the LCD is large, really nice and gives a very accurate image. After a bit of practice I no longer have any problems exposing perfectly. One note though: it's really awkward for stills with fully manual lenses - focus assist is very clear but very slow. A shame because it's stills are superb if you can work with the slow live view for exposure and focusing.
Michael Carter
Veteran
I've shot hours of footage with the D7000 and D7100 - not certain the 5300 is the same, but - no issues with aperture-ring lenses. Everything works as it should.
The 7100 does have a live view switch (physical switch on the body) to toggle between stills and video live-view mode. Stills mode gains up the exposure so you see the same exposure on the LCD regardless of setting. Video mode, the exposure changes as you roll the aperture.
One thing to keep in mind (D7100 at least) is the live-view feed while shooting seems about a stop brighter than playback - and playback is what you end up with in your NLE. You need to shoot a test shot, even a couple frames, and take a look at the histogram to get proper exposure. You do get histograms and highlight clipping on the D7100 - in the playback thumbnails only - curious about the 5300.
The 7100 does have a live view switch (physical switch on the body) to toggle between stills and video live-view mode. Stills mode gains up the exposure so you see the same exposure on the LCD regardless of setting. Video mode, the exposure changes as you roll the aperture.
One thing to keep in mind (D7100 at least) is the live-view feed while shooting seems about a stop brighter than playback - and playback is what you end up with in your NLE. You need to shoot a test shot, even a couple frames, and take a look at the histogram to get proper exposure. You do get histograms and highlight clipping on the D7100 - in the playback thumbnails only - curious about the 5300.
BobbyMurcerFan
Well-known member
BTW, the 5200 (and I assume 5300) body will even work with non-AI manual lens, something the 7100 and higher bodies can't do w/o the lens first being modified.
Lintel
Active member
You can get a histogram in playback mode with the D5300, but because I've learned to expose very well 'by eye' I don't bother - I find it annoying having to shoot something just to get a reading.
homestar_kevin
Well-known member
on the d7100 at least you can assign one of the customizable buttons to bring up the exposure meter during video live view, just like on the canons.
Michael Carter
Veteran
I dunno, when I started your light meter was always in your pocket and you took a LOT of readings. Nothing like lying awake all night waiting for the lab to run snips or reels. Hitting record/play is a couple seconds. I don't histo every shot, but I do want to see where the pixels are gathered and try to keep some light in the shadows. D7100 blacks look really nice when you have room to crush 'em a bit.
here is bit of D5300 video, doc style, of the Capitol Mall in Salem, Oregon.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2I5hJ56Whs
sorry for the annoying canned music...
please feel free to critique - I am just learning how to shoot video. maybe too much motion? is it sharp enough?
thanks.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2I5hJ56Whs
sorry for the annoying canned music...
please feel free to critique - I am just learning how to shoot video. maybe too much motion? is it sharp enough?
thanks.
Bruno Chansou
Member
I got a D5300 last week. Here’s some samples. No color correction. I used lenses Samyang VDSLR 24mm, 35mm and a nikon AIS 50mm. Camera set up : 1/50, Nikon neutral profil sharpening down to 0.
0 to 2mn: Outdoor shots
2mn to 3mn36: Indoor shots
3mn37 to 5mn: One indoor shot side by side 550D, D5200, D5300.
0 to 2mn: Outdoor shots
2mn to 3mn36: Indoor shots
3mn37 to 5mn: One indoor shot side by side 550D, D5200, D5300.
Michael Carter
Veteran
I rented a 5300 for a B-cam this weekend, music video with the 7100 as the primary camera. I'll start a thread when it's all wrapped, but for now:
The setup: I dedicated the 5300 to the steadicam which saved tons of time. We spent a day driving through derelict Texas towns (scouted on Google Street View) and had a 120 mile loop to go through, so speed was a big deal. As was the near-certainty we'd have "adventures" with crazy people (we did) which made quick setups important...
All of my glass are Nikkors with aperture rings. The wide I would have dedicated to the steadicam shots is a screw-drive lens (no internal motor) so I rented the Tokina 12-24 F4 as well (I don't shoot with AF, but with the stedicam, I turn it on and use the half-press to set initial focus, which is a big deal without a vest/arm... so I needed a motorized AF lens - the 5300 doesn't have the lens-drive screw). I **thought** I had a .9 ND to fit it, but it was damaged so no ND... (I use a matte box & 4x4's on the 7100).
So, some thoughts:
I used the camera a lot for 60p. The footage looks great, haven't conformed to 24 yet, but it beats the living hell out of 720-60.
Overall, the image seems a subtle upgrade from the 7100. Hard to directly compare since I was deep DOF wides on the 5300 and really gorgeous primes at 2.8 - 5.6 on the 7100, but I am really liking what I see so far. It's not raw quality, intense highlights will blow out with a hard line, etc... but it seems to be 7100 quality at least, which is really gorgeous color for the money.
It's a certainly a great little steadicam body if your rig is lightweight. Battery lasted all day and still read 100% (maybe was actually run for an hour or less though).
You don't have nearly the controls of the 7100 - but, you can assign the FN button to ISO which was a big help for speed, especially without ND.
And, no ND on a sunny Texas day. I had to play with the aperture a lot. Yeah, you have to pop out of live view and set it, and have a look. I couldn't live that way, but I'm old school enough that I'm not a fan of ringless lenses, and I'm pretty well set with aperture rings.
No alternate playback views (at least that I could find). I generally take a quick shot of a couple frames and check the histo. I still find I'm shooting darker than I need to, and the D7100 LCD is brighter when shooting than when playing back. No flashing highlight view. Hey, it's a consumer camera. But damn, for DSLRs, I really want to see what the highlights are doing for real, with a histogram or good metering.
I did use the flip-out LCD once, when I flipped the steadicam for low-mode. But for low mode, you need a damn monitor up-top, I didn't want to dick with it. I suppose they're handy if you don't have a monitor.
It's a tiny camera, seemed smaller than I remembered my T2i being. But if you're serious about this stuff, you'll have a DSLR on a rig or a tripod or something. Size (for me) is pretty meaningless until you get to stills. (if you shoot stills, ignore this body completely in favor of the 7100).
No wired remote!!!! The $9 (Amazon) wired remote for the 7100 triggers the shutter and allows you to set initial focus with the half-press... two things that allow you to put the camera on a crane (since it has HDMI). We did several crane shots with the 8' Kessler - if all I owned were the 5300, I'd have left the crane home.
The verdict? if you really need 1080-60 vs. 720-60, it's about the only el-cheapo game in town (not even the BMC cameras do 60p). Other than that, save your pennies for the 7100. If you can only afford the 5300, it's got great IQ for a DSLR though. Lens Rentals does the 5300 for something like $50 for 5 days for projects you'll really need 60p. But you can't rent everything - everyone should have at least one camera at hand.
I think the bigger question is what will replace the 7100, and when.
Here's a D7100 video frame, ungraded, straight off the card (just reduced). I just don't see this color coming from Canon or the GH with no tweaks - it's special.
The setup: I dedicated the 5300 to the steadicam which saved tons of time. We spent a day driving through derelict Texas towns (scouted on Google Street View) and had a 120 mile loop to go through, so speed was a big deal. As was the near-certainty we'd have "adventures" with crazy people (we did) which made quick setups important...
All of my glass are Nikkors with aperture rings. The wide I would have dedicated to the steadicam shots is a screw-drive lens (no internal motor) so I rented the Tokina 12-24 F4 as well (I don't shoot with AF, but with the stedicam, I turn it on and use the half-press to set initial focus, which is a big deal without a vest/arm... so I needed a motorized AF lens - the 5300 doesn't have the lens-drive screw). I **thought** I had a .9 ND to fit it, but it was damaged so no ND... (I use a matte box & 4x4's on the 7100).
So, some thoughts:
I used the camera a lot for 60p. The footage looks great, haven't conformed to 24 yet, but it beats the living hell out of 720-60.
Overall, the image seems a subtle upgrade from the 7100. Hard to directly compare since I was deep DOF wides on the 5300 and really gorgeous primes at 2.8 - 5.6 on the 7100, but I am really liking what I see so far. It's not raw quality, intense highlights will blow out with a hard line, etc... but it seems to be 7100 quality at least, which is really gorgeous color for the money.
It's a certainly a great little steadicam body if your rig is lightweight. Battery lasted all day and still read 100% (maybe was actually run for an hour or less though).
You don't have nearly the controls of the 7100 - but, you can assign the FN button to ISO which was a big help for speed, especially without ND.
And, no ND on a sunny Texas day. I had to play with the aperture a lot. Yeah, you have to pop out of live view and set it, and have a look. I couldn't live that way, but I'm old school enough that I'm not a fan of ringless lenses, and I'm pretty well set with aperture rings.
No alternate playback views (at least that I could find). I generally take a quick shot of a couple frames and check the histo. I still find I'm shooting darker than I need to, and the D7100 LCD is brighter when shooting than when playing back. No flashing highlight view. Hey, it's a consumer camera. But damn, for DSLRs, I really want to see what the highlights are doing for real, with a histogram or good metering.
I did use the flip-out LCD once, when I flipped the steadicam for low-mode. But for low mode, you need a damn monitor up-top, I didn't want to dick with it. I suppose they're handy if you don't have a monitor.
It's a tiny camera, seemed smaller than I remembered my T2i being. But if you're serious about this stuff, you'll have a DSLR on a rig or a tripod or something. Size (for me) is pretty meaningless until you get to stills. (if you shoot stills, ignore this body completely in favor of the 7100).
No wired remote!!!! The $9 (Amazon) wired remote for the 7100 triggers the shutter and allows you to set initial focus with the half-press... two things that allow you to put the camera on a crane (since it has HDMI). We did several crane shots with the 8' Kessler - if all I owned were the 5300, I'd have left the crane home.
The verdict? if you really need 1080-60 vs. 720-60, it's about the only el-cheapo game in town (not even the BMC cameras do 60p). Other than that, save your pennies for the 7100. If you can only afford the 5300, it's got great IQ for a DSLR though. Lens Rentals does the 5300 for something like $50 for 5 days for projects you'll really need 60p. But you can't rent everything - everyone should have at least one camera at hand.
I think the bigger question is what will replace the 7100, and when.
Here's a D7100 video frame, ungraded, straight off the card (just reduced). I just don't see this color coming from Canon or the GH with no tweaks - it's special.
Michael Carter
Veteran
Well, I guess by "photo mode" you mean "with live view turned off" since on the 5300 there's one type of live view for both photos and video (higher end bodies have a switch to choose what flavor of live view you want).
But either way, yep, you have to kick out of live view - unless you're using a lens with aperture rings.
It was illuminating to use a "consumer" body with a no-ring lens side by side with aperture ring glass to say the least. I realized how many setups I'm adjusting in about 1/3 stops - the live view thing was pretty maddening. It's not so much a 5300 problem as a Nikon body problem of course... I think there's only 1 or 2 bodies where you can adjust aperture with LV on, and they're not popular video bodies.
But on the tiny 5300 body, the shutter, video trigger, and button to hold while adjusting aperture are millimeters apart - in one day at least, I never got second nature and had to "look" to find it.
That said, I always use a loupe unless it's a rig where you can't get your head there (cranes, floor shots, stuff where you need a monitor) and I much much prefer grabbing the ring (which is in the same place it's been for decades for me). When I shoot stills, I use the front wheel for aperture and the rear for shutter (higher end bodies have 2 wheels which is why I say forget the 5300 for pro still shooting where your living is made with it). So I dunno why for video I'm so ring-focused, other than shooting with a loupe is a very different experience than the prism eyepiece.
But overall - never liked the GH "look" at all, Nikon's current color and IQ are a big leap for DSLRs... so hard to say what I'd do if I were starting out and didn't have 20 years of aperture ring glass laying around! I'd probably try to swing a 5300 and find wide and normal Tokina zooms with rings or something. Get covered from 20mm to 70mm at 2.8, and then get a 100mm 2.8 series E for another hundred bucks. Save up for a beater 80-200 2.8 Nikkor (you can find the AF push-pulls for $400 and they have soul for miles).
Funny, for video shoots, I always "almost don't pack" the 80-200 and almost always find a badass use for it...
But either way, yep, you have to kick out of live view - unless you're using a lens with aperture rings.
It was illuminating to use a "consumer" body with a no-ring lens side by side with aperture ring glass to say the least. I realized how many setups I'm adjusting in about 1/3 stops - the live view thing was pretty maddening. It's not so much a 5300 problem as a Nikon body problem of course... I think there's only 1 or 2 bodies where you can adjust aperture with LV on, and they're not popular video bodies.
But on the tiny 5300 body, the shutter, video trigger, and button to hold while adjusting aperture are millimeters apart - in one day at least, I never got second nature and had to "look" to find it.
That said, I always use a loupe unless it's a rig where you can't get your head there (cranes, floor shots, stuff where you need a monitor) and I much much prefer grabbing the ring (which is in the same place it's been for decades for me). When I shoot stills, I use the front wheel for aperture and the rear for shutter (higher end bodies have 2 wheels which is why I say forget the 5300 for pro still shooting where your living is made with it). So I dunno why for video I'm so ring-focused, other than shooting with a loupe is a very different experience than the prism eyepiece.
But overall - never liked the GH "look" at all, Nikon's current color and IQ are a big leap for DSLRs... so hard to say what I'd do if I were starting out and didn't have 20 years of aperture ring glass laying around! I'd probably try to swing a 5300 and find wide and normal Tokina zooms with rings or something. Get covered from 20mm to 70mm at 2.8, and then get a 100mm 2.8 series E for another hundred bucks. Save up for a beater 80-200 2.8 Nikkor (you can find the AF push-pulls for $400 and they have soul for miles).
Funny, for video shoots, I always "almost don't pack" the 80-200 and almost always find a badass use for it...
NorBro
Major Contributor
Thank you. I actually picked up a D5300 as a travel camera and really like the video IQ, but the aperture changing is such a pain for non-manual ring lenses.
I actually also asked another question that you responded to on a different thread and it was regarding turning off the shutter button from taking a picture during video recording. I couldn't find anything in the manual, but it would be really nice if you could assign AF to the AF-L/AE-L button.
I actually also asked another question that you responded to on a different thread and it was regarding turning off the shutter button from taking a picture during video recording. I couldn't find anything in the manual, but it would be really nice if you could assign AF to the AF-L/AE-L button.
adriano.ol
New member
1080 60p Test.
Flaat 11
Added grain not well preserved in web compression
Flaat 11
Added grain not well preserved in web compression
Michael Carter
Veteran
60P you say?
Dropped some clips from this weekend on a timeline for the team to see... 60p/steadicam is the 5300, 30p & synched audio is the D7100. Not graded or even really sorted through yet. Some of the steadicam clips are a little soft, a bear to focus that thing in direct sun. Like, impossible. I swear I'll find a way to mount a wireless HDMI viewfinder to a nightvision headset soon.
Sped up the audio for 30p and then conformed everything to 23.976. We only synched audio at 30p.
Dropped some clips from this weekend on a timeline for the team to see... 60p/steadicam is the 5300, 30p & synched audio is the D7100. Not graded or even really sorted through yet. Some of the steadicam clips are a little soft, a bear to focus that thing in direct sun. Like, impossible. I swear I'll find a way to mount a wireless HDMI viewfinder to a nightvision headset soon.
Sped up the audio for 30p and then conformed everything to 23.976. We only synched audio at 30p.
adriano.ol
New member
Color grade test:
Flaat_11
Flaat_11
Last edited:
Dulin
New member
I just did a comparison of my hacked Nikon D5100 and my friend's D5300. Sorry for the weird pacing, the edit was very quick. My conclusions for the D5300: 2/3 stops more highlight latitude, better resolution, three stop advantage in sensitivity (D5300's ISO 6400 looks like D5100's ISO 800), and no moire/aliasing. I really hate the entire line-skipped image these earlier DSLRs produce. It's just... not real, for a lack of better words; it's a total distraction, the frame is sacred, it must not be falling apart.
(three cheers for my first post on the forums)
(three cheers for my first post on the forums)