Nikon D800 Switchable NTSC PAL

B

biginvegas

Well-known member
Just confirming is the D800 switchable? My local camera shop assistant seems to think it is and I cannot find any specs on that.
I'm in South Africa and want to shoot 24 NTSC for certain projects and all cameras sold here are PAL.
 
Last edited:
NTSC and PAL are terms which refer to standard-definition composite video, a single-channel video signal with embedded sync and blanking, and with colour information added as a modulated subcarrier. The D4/D800 does not generate composite video, nor does it provide an analogue composite video output.

If you are referring to frame rates (PAL is a 50 fields per second interlaced format, NTSC is a 59.94 fields per second interlaced fromat), then select (in the D4/D800) either 25FPS (for external encoding to PAL) or 30FPS (for external encoding to NTSC).

Is this helpful, or have I misunderstood your question?

-- Bob Elkind
 
30FPS NTSC, I'm confused? Is it a “world” camera with 50/60Hz PAL/NTSC switchability? 24NTSC/25PAL no?
My AF100 is a "world" camera as is my hacked GH1.

Ok so answered my questions :

The D800 has the ability to shoot in FX and DX formats at full 1080p (H.264), and has selectable frame rates of 30fps, 25fps or 24fps at full HD, or 60fps, 50fps, 30fps or 25fps at 720p. More exciting is the headphone jack that lets you monitor the sound recording in live-view mode, just like the D4, and an auto-flicker reduction that lets the D800 select either 50Hz or 60Hz, depending on the lighting conditions.
 
Last edited:
biginvegas said:
30FPS NTSC, I'm confused?
Click to expand...
Yes, you are confused. Read up on NTSC and PAL.

The D4/D800 does not support NTSC or PAL video capture.
The movie image resolutions supported by the D4/D800 are:

  • 1920x1080 (16:9 aspect ratio)
  • 1280x720 (16:9 aspect ratio)

Compare these to NTSC and PAL:

  • NTSC in digital representation form is nominally 720x480 (4:3 aspect ratio)
  • PAL in digital representation form is 720x576 (4:3 aspect ratio)

You can crop and/or downsample 1920x1080 or 1280x720 to NTSC or PAL resolution and aspect ratio.

  • If you are shooting material for the markets which used NTSC, select a 30FPS or 60FPS (actually 29.97 or 59.94 FPS) format in the D4/D800.
  • If you are shooting material for the markets which used PAL, select a 25FPS or 50FPS format in the D4/D800.
  • If you are shooting material for display in cinema, select a 24FPS (actually 23.976FPS) format in the D4/D800. Hollywood movies are typically captured and displayed with a 24FPS frame rate.

-- Bob Elkind
 
Last edited:
The question was can I shoot 24FPS with the Nikon D800 and can you switch it 50HZ to 60HZ. A PAL (50HZ) video camera cannot shoot 24FPS and if it can Bob I'm really confused....
 
biginvegas said:
The question was can I shoot 24FPS with the Nikon D800
Click to expand...
Yes. Actually, 24 FPS in the D4/D800 is 23.976 FPS.

and can you switch it 50HZ to 60HZ.
Click to expand...
Please be specific.

  • Are you asking if the D4/D800 will capture in 50/60 FPS (the answer is YES, only in 1280x720 format)
  • Are you asking if the D4/D800 can "play back" in 50/60FPS (the answer is YES).
  • Are you asking if 24FPS material captured by the D4/D800 can be converted to 50/60FPS format (outside the camera). (the answer is YES)

Do you understand the use of 25FPS and 30FPS capture formats? The D4/D800 will capture 1920x1080 video at 24/25/30 FPS.
Suggest you read page 429 of the D800 user manual.

A PAL (50HZ) video camera cannot shoot 24FPS and if it can Bob I'm really confused....
Click to expand...

You are confused. I am also confused. Please assume that I am a moron, and explain to me what you think a "PAL" video camera does (which is important to your work).

-- Bob Elkind
 
Bob, you're usually very enlightening, I learnt a lot from your posts about HDMI specifications, but here your deep knowledge is making things more difficult that they need be...

here's the thing:

* if you buy a Canon 60D, you can set it up to shoot 1080p24, 1080p25, 1080p30, 720p50, 720p60; it's a world camera

* but if you buy a Sony NEX-5N, it will depend on where you buy it: if you buy it in PAL land, it will only shoot 1080p25 and 1080p50; if you buy it in NTSC land, it will shoot 1080p24, 1080p30, 1080p60; it's not a world camera

so the question would be: is the D800 a world camera?
I guess it is, but I'd also like to hear the answer from a D800 user
 
Just got it confirmed by several sources that like the Canon 5Dmk3 the Nikon D800 are both "world" camera's.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top