Nikon D7000 vs. Sony EX1 - for TV Documentaries ?

G

George D.

Well-known member
I just did an experiment, and I'd like people's opinions and expert knowledge about it.

Using our Adobe Premiere Pro CS5.5 program, I set it for RED R3D 4K 16x9 29.97, because I'm intending to add Red-One footage to the timeline, along with video footage from our Sony EX1 and our Nikon D7000. I, of course, had to enlarge the Sony and Nikon clips to fit.

After making a test sample program, I rendered the entire thing, transferred it to Encore, and made a Blu-Ray disc.

My question is this: After projecting it onto a 100" screen, it seems the Nikon D7000 footage is a higher quality and sharper than that from the Sony EX1. Why would that be the case?

Is the Nikon D7000 capable of producing BETTER video than the Sony EX1 ? Or, is all this just my imagination.

Have any of you combined footage like this for television documentaries? Which camera would you prefer over the other, and why? I'm just concerned with the Sony compared to the Nikon at this point.

If you can give me any help or personal experience about this, and I would be most grateful.

Thanks.

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Possibly the lens you had on the D7000 is sharper than the EX1 lens? The D7000 has a bigger sensor but, the EX1 records in a better codec, so I'm not sure why the D7000 looks noticeably better unless it was a low light shoot, then the D7000 would definitely have the edge.

P.S. How does the D7000 footage look cut together with the RED?
 
Imamacuser said:
Possibly the lens you had on the D7000 is sharper than the EX1 lens? The D7000 has a bigger sensor but, the EX1 records in a better codec, so I'm not sure why the D7000 looks noticeably better unless it was a low light shoot, then the D7000 would definitely have the edge.

P.S. How does the D7000 footage look cut together with the RED?
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That IS a good point. The footage shot with the Sony EX1 was under lower light conditions than that from the Nikon.

The Nikon footage compared to the Red-One footage is OK, but has to be enlarged a great deal to fill the same size 4K frame. Don't get me wrong. I love our Nikon D7000, and I'd use it to shoot entire programs, but the problem is, it is NOT acceptable to documentary companies like National Geographic or the BBC, and we cater to those organizations. And, that is why we had to shell out more than $60,000.oo for Red related equipment. Since we are independant, and freelance, THAT is a great, great deal of money to us.

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brunerww said:
George - if cost was an issue, why not a $6500 Canon XF300 instead of $60,000 for a RED One + accoutrements? Shallow DoF? 4K?

Both are on the BBC approved HD camera list.

No criticism implied or intended - I am sincerely curious.

Bill
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Hi Bill,

Cost is always an issue with us, but I'm afraid the Canon is NOT on National Geographic's Approved Camera List. And, the 4K HD "RAW" from our Red-One is unbeatable. The Red-One and Red Epic produce the best, most unsurpassed footage available today, and are on the TOP of their list. Since NGSTV is the one we cater to the most, we have to abide by their demands.

We have no regrets in purchasing our Red-One.

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I wonder how the EX1 and D7000 would look against the RED if the final output was 1080P. I know DSLRs are no replacement for broadcast cameras, but the bang for buck is amazing.
 
Depends what you're shooting. Don't try to run and gun with a DSLR. EX1 excels in situations where you need to move quickly, zoom in and out, and record audio simultaneously. As for technical image quality, that comes second to actually being able to capture what you want.
 
So good to read your thoughts on the d7000.

So good to read your thoughts on the d7000.

George, it is great to here good reports about the d7000. It's been out for so long now and I hardly ever come across users such as yourself who use such high dollar equipment such as the Red on a daily basis but still appreciate what the d7000 can do. I am just a casual shooter, did some weddings along time ago with my then new DVX100a. I bought aD90 then later the D7000. I liked it so well I bought my wife one. I read all the negative stuff such as low data rates etc. Nice to read you report. If I might ask, what do you think the strengths of the camera are for you?


Thank You,

Dennis


George D. said:
That IS a good point. The footage shot with the Sony EX1 was under lower light conditions than that from the Nikon.

The Nikon footage compared to the Red-One footage is OK, but has to be enlarged a great deal to fill the same size 4K frame. Don't get me wrong. I love our Nikon D7000, and I'd use it to shoot entire programs, but the problem is, it is NOT acceptable to documentary companies like National Geographic or the BBC, and we cater to those organizations. And, that is why we had to shell out more than $60,000.oo for Red related equipment. Since we are independant, and freelance, THAT is a great, great deal of money to us.

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Click to expand...
 
newtodvx100a said:
George, it is great to here good reports about the d7000. It's been out for so long now and I hardly ever come across users such as yourself who use such high dollar equipment such as the Red on a daily basis but still appreciate what the d7000 can do. I am just a casual shooter, did some weddings along time ago with my then new DVX100a. I bought aD90 then later the D7000. I liked it so well I bought my wife one. I read all the negative stuff such as low data rates etc. Nice to read you report. If I might ask, what do you think the strengths of the camera are for you?


Thank You,

Dennis
Click to expand...

Hi there Dennis,

How's it going? Well for you, I hope.

I did a lot of music videos of my wife singing her songs for YouTube. Just for fun and nothing serious. Shot them all with the D7000, and edited them in Adobe Premiere Pro CS5. We "loved" the results. Actually, much too good for YouTube. Even friends of ours, who are Academy Award winners by the way, could not believe the results and were amazed.

We did some special effects, and we even did some blue-screen compositing of D7000 footage. While the BS results were not 100%, they were still OK for YouTube. To make them acceptable for television, it probably could be done by putting them through Adobe After Effects, but I have no time to do that, so we let them go as they were.

Most of the documentary program we are working on will be shot with our Red-One, but we intend to insert some select D7000 footage whether anyone likes it or not. I have high hopes that it will be more than acceptable in the final analysis.

It's a good camera. Don't let anyone tell you it isn't. You get an incredible lot for your money. Not only superb stills, but great video as well. We have every intention of keeping our D7000s for many, many years, whether new Nikon versions hit the market or not. Continually dumping money into advancing technology gets old real fast, and will put you in the poor house if you're not careful. That's my philosophy anyway. ;)

Take care.

George

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