Nikon D7000 for video? any limitations?
- Thread starter sebek
- Start date
G
Guest
Guest
If you have lenses with the aperture ring on the lens, so you can change the aperture on the lens, then there are few draw backs vs other HDslr's.
The things that I dislike about the D7000, are things that I dislike about a few dslr's. Whether they effect you, depends on your shooting style, budget, and desired look of footage.
If your main intent is photos, and you will occasionally be shooting films, then I think the D7000 is awesome for that. Hard to find another stills camera with that IQ and that price.
The things that I dislike about the D7000, are things that I dislike about a few dslr's. Whether they effect you, depends on your shooting style, budget, and desired look of footage.
If your main intent is photos, and you will occasionally be shooting films, then I think the D7000 is awesome for that. Hard to find another stills camera with that IQ and that price.
Michael Carter
Veteran
I've used Canon for DSLR video for 3 years or so; Nikon for stills since the late 80's. (I use all kinds of Nikon glass on the DSLR).
Canon's really great for video usability (I don't wanna fight about GH2 vs Canon right now though... ). The D7000 not quite as good.
But, I've used it for several video shoots. If you have aperture ring lenses, you set it to use the ring in the menus (vs. the thumbwheel). You can roll your aperture as you shoot. BUT - you can't change the shutter speed or ISO while shooting. In fact, you have to leave live view to do so. I do more planned & set up projects so that's not a massive issue for me - but it kinda sucks, dialing in a shot with the D7000 gets all "step by step" where with even a T2i, it's pretty instantaneous.
I'm getting where I prefer the video image itself though. Just... something about it I'm liking better than small sensor Canons. No issues grading the footage, but I try to get very close on the chip.
Other than that - it's a DSLR, so the form factor is poor without a decent setup, from a tripod or monopod to a full-blown rails setup or shoulder rig. Adding a battery grip makes a poor form factor simply terrible, too. So your rig should have battery access, as live view will eat up power faster than just shooting stills (I cut a hole in my baseplate with an angle grinder, works fine). If you're thinking DSLR, I'd say the absolute first purchase should be a good loupe - I can't work without one. Others will disagree and there are endless pages here regarding lenses and rigs. Audio sucks. Some people like audio with magic lantern, I've never gotten into that, makes me nervous (and I've done some nice broadcast work without it).
The D7000's an insane bargain in a still camera - really a sweet spot for features vs. price. It's killer for time lapse, too. Start fooling with time lapse and it takes you a week to stop staring at clouds and sunsets!
Canon's really great for video usability (I don't wanna fight about GH2 vs Canon right now though... ). The D7000 not quite as good.
But, I've used it for several video shoots. If you have aperture ring lenses, you set it to use the ring in the menus (vs. the thumbwheel). You can roll your aperture as you shoot. BUT - you can't change the shutter speed or ISO while shooting. In fact, you have to leave live view to do so. I do more planned & set up projects so that's not a massive issue for me - but it kinda sucks, dialing in a shot with the D7000 gets all "step by step" where with even a T2i, it's pretty instantaneous.
I'm getting where I prefer the video image itself though. Just... something about it I'm liking better than small sensor Canons. No issues grading the footage, but I try to get very close on the chip.
Other than that - it's a DSLR, so the form factor is poor without a decent setup, from a tripod or monopod to a full-blown rails setup or shoulder rig. Adding a battery grip makes a poor form factor simply terrible, too. So your rig should have battery access, as live view will eat up power faster than just shooting stills (I cut a hole in my baseplate with an angle grinder, works fine). If you're thinking DSLR, I'd say the absolute first purchase should be a good loupe - I can't work without one. Others will disagree and there are endless pages here regarding lenses and rigs. Audio sucks. Some people like audio with magic lantern, I've never gotten into that, makes me nervous (and I've done some nice broadcast work without it).
The D7000's an insane bargain in a still camera - really a sweet spot for features vs. price. It's killer for time lapse, too. Start fooling with time lapse and it takes you a week to stop staring at clouds and sunsets!
"you can't change the shutter speed or ISO while shooting."
You mean while the camera is recording video? I don't care about changing stuff while recording but Can you change shutter speed, iso so it's locked then shoot video and it stays at whatever you set your shutter speed (48 or 50 for 24fps video)? As to aperture, if the lens doesn't have an aperture ring, can I set aperture and have it stay when I start shooting video? I used a GH1 before so I have a bit of experience in video.
thanks
You mean while the camera is recording video? I don't care about changing stuff while recording but Can you change shutter speed, iso so it's locked then shoot video and it stays at whatever you set your shutter speed (48 or 50 for 24fps video)? As to aperture, if the lens doesn't have an aperture ring, can I set aperture and have it stay when I start shooting video? I used a GH1 before so I have a bit of experience in video.
thanks
G
Guest
Guest
why not get a d5200?
Michael Carter
Veteran
Hmmm... my D7000 is in the shop (took a tumble and knocked the sensor/mirror relationship out of alignment) so i can't play with it; but last time I shot video with it, the controls wouldn't respond in live view. I set the aperture to the ring so that was fine. Anything special one needs to do?
Sebek: yes, when you're rolling the settings stay the same, as long as you are shooting manually anyway.
No need to do anything special. I do have the setting under video to full manual and I have a custom profile (U1) set up to hold my profile but other than that I can change ISO and shutter speed while recording. Just tested it and sure enough the exposure is changing. Why you would want to change the shutter during recording I don't know. Talk about some crazy looking effects but who knows, maybe someone has a need to.
Michael Carter
Veteran
I've changed shutter while rolling before, but it's not often. When shooting 720 for slowmo, there are times I've decided the motion might blur enough that I wanted to tighten the frame rate and open up a stop - things like that,w hich you sometimes do without even really consciously thinking about it.
Changing shutter (when shooting DSLR) during live view is another thing entirely. That whole process of setting up a shot and dialing it in, when your brain's sort of on that autopilot "how pretty can I make this frame" thing - when my 7000 is back I'll check it out. I'm thinking I'm VERY used to hitting "info" on the 7000 during setup on a still shoot for WB, ISO, etc - maybe you have to actually hit the ISO button in live view? Can't recall, I get very "not on the planet" when I'm shooting.
Changing shutter (when shooting DSLR) during live view is another thing entirely. That whole process of setting up a shot and dialing it in, when your brain's sort of on that autopilot "how pretty can I make this frame" thing - when my 7000 is back I'll check it out. I'm thinking I'm VERY used to hitting "info" on the 7000 during setup on a still shoot for WB, ISO, etc - maybe you have to actually hit the ISO button in live view? Can't recall, I get very "not on the planet" when I'm shooting.
Efexone
Well-known member
D7k lacks 1080 29.97, 720 60p. it's controls are a little bit funky - need to exit live view to change aperture. I still use the camera as a 2nd angle alongside my d800 and overall, the image out of camera in 1080 24p is more then decent. On the plus side, it works with most nikkors and can take a decent beating before it gives up.
For video, I run my D7000 with auto-ISO enabled. It'll ride the exposure while in live view, then you lock it with the AE-L button (set to toggle mode) prior to hitting REC. If it's not giving you the exposure you need, you dial in some compensation prior to locking.
The lack of a histogram does leave you guessing about exposure a little, but an EVF with false colour mode can solve that, and over time I've learned when to trust the camera and when to dial the highlights down somewhat. I also set manual (Kelvin) white balance, tone down the sharpening and saturation, and assign all of these settings to one of the user presets on the mode dial.
It's a bit clunky, but it works surprisingly well once you get the hang of it. You typically stick with a 180° shutter anyway, choose a depth of field with the aperture, and if you still need to ride exposure do that with a variable ND filter. There are situations where I reach for a proper video camera first, but most of those are about sound rather than pictures.
That said, I've been badly bitten by the combination of: important speaker; expensive suit; line-skip induced moire. Yikes.
The lack of a histogram does leave you guessing about exposure a little, but an EVF with false colour mode can solve that, and over time I've learned when to trust the camera and when to dial the highlights down somewhat. I also set manual (Kelvin) white balance, tone down the sharpening and saturation, and assign all of these settings to one of the user presets on the mode dial.
It's a bit clunky, but it works surprisingly well once you get the hang of it. You typically stick with a 180° shutter anyway, choose a depth of field with the aperture, and if you still need to ride exposure do that with a variable ND filter. There are situations where I reach for a proper video camera first, but most of those are about sound rather than pictures.
That said, I've been badly bitten by the combination of: important speaker; expensive suit; line-skip induced moire. Yikes.