Short movie? Anyone?

[Ted Ramasola]

Gives me some hope for the D90. I'll do some research on how to avoid jello.

I have used and tested both nikons(D90 & D5000) and canons. We gave the nikons to our still photo department. After intensive testing and even had my bro use it in short films it was Just not acceptable in a controlled PAID work. As a still camera they are great, D90 was used to shoot my wedding last July. -but stills only. For video we had the JVCs and a Red for that.

We went with 7d for video. Even though most of the SLRs we had since the 80's were nikons. (our use had a mix of german, US and japanese cams from 1920's to the present )
We just bought nikon to canon adapters for them.

Being brand agnostic, what works NOW for video is the Canon DSLRs and GH1(no personal experience with GH1) based on results.

This opinion comes from my experience coming from using 2 prohd JVC HDxx cameras for video as my reference to our purchase decision.

You will not regret getting a canon if you want to use it NOW instead of a nikon. By the way, my bro's group got a canon to replace their D90.

 

[mattsand]

Just not acceptable in a controlled PAID work

what does pay have to do with anything? surely it depends on the project. i've done plenty paid gigs on super 8, vhs and the d90, and on the other hand shot quite a few freebies where neither would be appropriate.

 

[Ted Ramasola]

what does pay have to do with anything? surely it depends on the project. i've done plenty paid gigs on super 8, vhs and the d90, and on the other hand shot quite a few freebies where neither would be appropriate.

mattsand, that line about paying jobs was in our point of view where we had a choice. The amount of control we had and image quality on the existing cam + adapter versus the results coming out of the then new D90. -the results on functionality, image quality and resolution didn't cut it for us.
So we decided to wait. The GH1 came out BUT it was hard to get one at that time, plus we already had lots of Nikon compatible lenses we were hoping to use. Then along came the 7D, not perfect but much better option than the current nikons.

The d90 and d5000, Not acceptable on OUR paid projects level of expectations. Maybe for fun stuff and personal expression stuff it was ok.
Too much guess work involved in getting a right image is not a good way to do things. Compounded by stairstepping and mjpeg codec.

Our studio use technology available at the time they are AVAILABLE for PAID work, including those you mentioned you have used. It is our duty to test whats available and use what is best for our clients and at the same time satisfying our personal aesthetic. The D90 didn't pass for our needs. -But it does'nt mean it won't satisfy other people's.

When I have tested those cameras I feel its only right to share that knowledge with those who can use that information. Among DSLRs the D90 was first to shoot video- and it worked for those that used it (including us for a short while). TODAY, when placed side by side with a Canon 5D, 7D etc. or GH1, the D90 & D5000 is simply not a better choice FOR VIDEO weather its a paying or non paying job.

For my non paying jobs, i have a tiny CX100. used it on my honeymoon. Great images.

 

[mattsand]

The d90 and d5000, Not acceptable on OUR paid projects level of expectations

i'm not talking about differences between you and me, i'm talking differences between projects. it's unprofessional to *not* use the d90 for a project that requires it and i would never consider any tool but the right one whether it's paid or not is rarely part on the equation. and i don't see how the only alternative to paid work is having employees play around with the equipment. your honeymoon is not an unpaid job, right? if you would do a pro bono short film wouldn't you apply your professional standards even though there was no pay?

 

[mattsand]

oops, checked out your webpage. i assumed you were a filmmaker since that's what the thread is about. i've realized the hard way on this board that wedding videographers have a completely different perspective (on most things). sorry.

 

[Ted Ramasola]

-deleted.

 

[ydgmdlu]

ExposedFilm, why aren't you considering other options, such as the T2i and the GH1? Your Nikon glass can be easily adapted to other cameras. You'd lose autofocus and electronic control of the lens, but for shooting video, it's not going to matter anyway.

 

[Lammy]

However, I also noticed that all the videos I saw were basically either test shots, footage with music over or video clips. Anybody tried shooting a narrative short movie with it? I'm curious to see how it would perform considering the motion problems people are mentioning and the cooldown time between takes.

Here's a trailer for a narrative short I directed Sent it off last month to the 37th OSCARS.org/saa so the camera aint too shabby.


'MY LOVE ANNA'
A polish cleaner adjusts to his new life in England and falls for a girl called Anna.




There's alot of problems with the camera as you can see. Jello is quite unavoidable even in the most steadiest of shots, and everything can appear really soft. But, we make do with what we got to make do. And jello adds some epherial nature to the tone, as you can see on pveal's listings of some amazing shorts made on it.

I no longer have a Nikon D90 but I have many fond memories of it. Looking back, its grain and low light is amazing. Whereas my Canon 550D is quite crap in comparison with the digital noise at those same light levels but there's always advantages and disadvantages