The bad news is that you have a 5 minute limit on any shot and you have to allow for the sensor to cool.

An individual shot can’t be longer than five minutes in hi-def, either, or 20 minutes in standard definition; after that, the sensor heats up too much. So don’t expect to film the school play on this thing.

Worst of all, the autofocus doesn’t work for video. You can autofocus before you start rolling (half-press the shutter button), or you can use the manual-focus ring while filming. But those are kludges; if the distance to the subject changes while you’re filming, moments of blurriness are inevitable.

The New York Times > Log In (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/28/technology/personaltech/28pogue.html?pagewanted=2&_r=3&hp)


Otherwise, it's still a very interesting camera...


Bob Diaz

CAn I confirm if this is a typo ?? It says 480P. 720P and 1080i on the HDMI output.. Why would someone add just 1 interlaced video mode to progressive still and 2 other video modes ??
CAn it be 1080p sent within 1080i ?? i.e. A signal that needs pulldown to extract 24P ??1080i ??

Because 720p and 1080i are equal to each other in bandwidth. Same amount of data either way.

I had a quick play with the D90 video mode yesterday, I was very impressed. Auto focussing before filming starts is cool, much like the way we used to use push af on Z1's The screen is bright and clear, but really could do with a tilting option. The lens effects are as good as I get with my Brevis setup. Not sure about the codec, time will tell. I already have an Edirol R-09 audio recorder so I aim to use that for sound. A HDMI field monitor will be the next step.

Also had a chance to play around with it on my Red Rock Micro rig and a Manfrotto modosteady. All good fun. Can't wait to get one.

I did a short video (shot on an EX1) of the camera here YouTube - Nikon d90 launch event (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqiE6aNxtqw)
but it doesn't show the video mode as it wasn't been publicly demonstrated.

A word of caution for those hoping to use a flash XDR or similar HDMI capture device, current Nikon's I own (D3, D700 and D300) all push the entire screen with overlays and focus points out on HDMI and can't be turned off. I wouldn't be surprised if the D90 was the same.

The other downside is there does not appear to be LANC or any other video trigger other than the button on the camera back. This could be a real pain in many rigs.

Hope this is of help.

Dan

In video mode, can one set the shutter and iris manually?

The lens effects are as good as I get with my Brevis setup. Not sure about the codec, time will tell.

I did a short video (shot on an EX1) of the camera here YouTube - Nikon d90 launch event (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqiE6aNxtqw)
but it doesn't show the video mode as it wasn't been publicly demonstrated.
...

The other downside is there does not appear to be LANC or any other video trigger other than the button on the camera back. This could be a real pain in many rigs.
Dan

Thanks for posting your results. I'm getting soft results on my redrock micro M2 with a Sony EX1, either with nikon 28/50/85 f/1.4 lenses. The sides are just too soft. So, given that is the best the EX1 can do, I'm wondering how you would compare the D90 video quality to that of the EX1+RedRock?

As for video trigger, is it possible to use an infrared controller? When the movie mode makes it into higher end cameras, we hope to be able to use remote trigger cords or computer camera control.

didn´t I read the d90 has a corded remote ?k

it´s called mc-dc2 - see pg 3 of the dpreview handson-k

The D90 can use this MC-DC2 Remote Cord from Nikon (http://www.nikonusa.com/Find-Your-Nikon/Photography-Accessories/Remote-Cords/25395/MC-DC2-Remote-Cord.html)
but it only seems to be a trigger for the shutter button, the video is started using the OK button when in Live View mode, not the main shutter release. Maybe it can be configured in some other way using custom functions but I don't think so.

Here's a pic

Here's a pic

Dan, if you look closely at your photo, Nikon has embedded an Apple logo in the viewfinder. ;)

Thanks for the overlay report..Are you sure that the overlay cannot be turned off on HDMI ? Usually there is a small menu item to turn it off..
Hmm!
I had a quick play with the D90 video mode yesterday, I was very impressed. Auto focussing before filming starts is cool, much like the way we used to use push af on Z1's The screen is bright and clear, but really could do with a tilting option. The lens effects are as good as I get with my Brevis setup. Not sure about the codec, time will tell. I already have an Edirol R-09 audio recorder so I aim to use that for sound. A HDMI field monitor will be the next step.

Also had a chance to play around with it on my Red Rock Micro rig and a Manfrotto modosteady. All good fun. Can't wait to get one.

I did a short video (shot on an EX1) of the camera here YouTube - Nikon d90 launch event (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqiE6aNxtqw)
but it doesn't show the video mode as it wasn't been publicly demonstrated.

A word of caution for those hoping to use a flash XDR or similar HDMI capture device, current Nikon's I own (D3, D700 and D300) all push the entire screen with overlays and focus points out on HDMI and can't be turned off. I wouldn't be surprised if the D90 was the same.

The other downside is there does not appear to be LANC or any other video trigger other than the button on the camera back. This could be a real pain in many rigs.

Hope this is of help.

Dan

Hi Chris. My impression was that the video is only 24P. Not sure why Nikon would bother with interlacing - and it does need slightly different circuitry just to output 1080i over HDMI..

Because 720p and 1080i are equal to each other in bandwidth. Same amount of data either way.

Hi Anmol, I have no idea what it's really doing. The question was "why 1080i?" and I simply answered that 1080i and 720p are the same amount of data.

The D90 can use this MC-DC2 Remote Cord from Nikon (http://www.nikonusa.com/Find-Your-Nikon/Photography-Accessories/Remote-Cords/25395/MC-DC2-Remote-Cord.html)
but it only seems to be a trigger for the shutter button, the video is started using the OK button when in Live View mode, not the main shutter release. Maybe it can be configured in some other way using custom functions but I don't think so.

Thanks for posting the pic of the new OK button. Nikon: why? why? why? Why spend more money on a button like that? My mom's Canon S3 (with optical imagestabilizer) also has a "Record" button for video. Nuts. Do people really want to take snapshots during a movie? That's why Canon has two buttons.

So does the iris/iso/shutter have the ability to lock for a take dan?

I believe so, but I'm waiting till I get a production unit in my hands first to confirm everything.

Dan

The videos look great! I'm so glad I didn't spring for a 35mm adapter.

Regardless of cannibalizing their own products, if they were smart, Canon and others would follow suit quickly. Sure, they would loose some money in halting production on video cams, but there is much more to be gained by solving and selling the "one camera" for stills/video solution.

Just took my family on a two-day trip to San Diego and even though I brought my trusty HV20 with me, I was so busy just getting some decent stills, I never even got it out! Vacation after vacation has been the same, I usually think I would rather have some nice stills than some flat video.

Although this prototype Nikon has some flaws - biggest one is time limit before sensor heats up - I have been waiting and wondering why companies have not done this yet.

So hopefully others will quickly follow suit before everyone in the world buys a D90. Good job Nikon!

Trying to shoot holes in this news. I understand the logic of other vidcam makers avoiding this innovation, so as to protect their investment in their current product lines.

So, what's not to like?

- I can live with mono audio
- The D90's form factor is odd, but usable
- The gurus here (& elsewhere) will explain any oddities in resolution, bit rates & compression, so I can live with those (my post workflow is flexible)
- HDMI out is perfectly adequate

The only things that worry me at this point are in shooting ambitious (rather than casual) motion pix with the D90:

- gearing a follow-focus to short SLR lenses when they're so close to the D90 body
- likewise, filtration ala Cokin, et. al, or fitted rails; maybe a macro-bellows rail setup?
- On/Off function is a tad unusual, but again, I can adapt my habits
- video-style viewfinders with critical focus may be un-hook-up-able

And one thing could be a deal-breaker: the heat the chip suffers from cramming all those electrons through. Does it have to cool off, after the famous 5 minutes? If so, for how long? Shooting takes via "live preview" could be too expensive with my crew standing around …

Maybe shoot with more than one D90 & trade off, to allow for cooling?

Nikon's engineers can't know how end-users will abuse the D90's video function. The "rest" time for the internals must be pretty short. It has to be, to make this scheme viable.

Anybody have any specific info on this?

I played with the original bike avi and fixed the jumps in exposure to see what it would look like in manual- added some grain to taste. I think the footage from this camera looks good. If you are cautious of the rolling shutter skew shouldnt be a problem.

Here is the link: D90 color-corrected and exposure fixed on Vimeo (http://vimeo.com/1630706)

I think this could be viewed as a useless feature for "normal" consumers.

Video with such shallow DOF will rarely be in focus.

I can see people trying to shoot some footage and giving up.

And I don't think many people on vacation are going to be doing any rack focuses!

I must agree with Tim. While shallow DOF is seen as a distinct advantage to filmmakers, the fact remains that filmmakers are a very small slice of the overall market (highly vocal, sure; but nonetheless a pretty tight niche). The *majority* of customers would look upon shallow DOF as a problem, not as an asset.

And one thing could be a deal-breaker: the heat the chip suffers from cramming all those electrons through. Does it have to cool off, after the famous 5 minutes? Note that the 5minute time limit is ONLYin the highest res mode of 720p. The time limit in the two other modes (lower res) is 20minutes. That would seem to shoot a hole in the theory (?) that the 5minute limit is due to sensor heating.

just my thoughts.

You're right. I don't know if heat is the issue.

Looking at the D90 body, I see salt-shaker holes for the mic. This page has photos with mouse-over tip boxes:

Nikon D90 Digital Camera Design - Hands-On Preview - The Imaging Resource! (http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/D90/D90A2.HTM)

Anybody know how audio leaves the D90 body—mini-jack, etc? Will I have to mount this thing over a Beachtek adapter?

Also wondering about power requirements. Nikon makes an external battery pack. Something that plugs into the internal battery bay, & cables to a larger (third party?) pack, may be unnecessary—unless the Live View Mode is especially draining.

Overheating isn't the real reason for the 5 minute clip limit.

Apparently it's for tax reasons. If it could record for any longer than 5 minutes it would be classed as a video camera. Video cameras are taxed more than still cameras, in the EU anyway. Which is why they found this 5 minute-clip work-around to avoid being taxed.

If it could record for any longer than 5 minutes it would be classed as a video camera. Sorry but that's incorrect. It is first and foremost a digital still camera, therefore that is how it is classed for tax purposes. For example, most all non-DSLR digicams already have a video mode *without* a five-minute clip limit, and they are *not* taxed as camcorders.

Sorry but that's incorrect. It is first and foremost a digital still camera, therefore that is how it is classed for tax purposes. For example, most all non-DSLR digicams already have a video mode *without* a five-minute clip limit, and they are *not* taxed as camcorders.

I'm just going by what a number of people are reporting (Here in the EU anyway). The number is growing and growing.

Overheating seems like a poor excuse seeing that many people (Including myself) use Nikon DSLR's to capture 90 minute exposures for astrophotography.

I can't be the only one who, while shooting stills with an SLR, often wished they could have the same hands-on control for shooting video. Well, here it comes: the possibility of having some of that still photoraphy look and feel while shooting video. For me, it's possibily the most exciting technical convergence since you could first shoot and edit digitally on affordable gear (back in the days of DV and Win95). The potential all adds up to a lot.

It's funny; this whole thing only started a few days ago, when the forums came alive speculating about the Nikon D90 (a camera that isn't even in the shops yet), and already I'm wondering what will be coming next! If this Nikon sells really well, and the manufacturers are smart enough to know that some of the extra sales probably came from film makers, surely there will be a push for 1080p and a better data rate/codec? And it's not only Nikon who have no camcorder market to warp their business decisions: Pentax (with Samsung), Fuji and Olympus can all afford to push the boat out next year, finding a unique selling point in the already over-crowded entry level DSLR market. Of course Canon will have to "do something" if they want to stay comeptitive, and I'm sure they will. Independent self-funded film makers might now finally benefit from the mass market R&D of still photography and get to use affordable quality tools. Nice.

One thing I'm interested in is the prospect of less compromised available light shooting, because of the sensitivity you get from DSLRs. And if the small 1280 x 720 image is derived from the whole of the large 12.3 mgp sensor by binning, that should increase the sensitivity even more, shouldn't it? The Nikon D90's ISO range is impressive enough for people currently using HDV camcorders. But I wonder if the binned video image has even more sensitivity than when the camera is used in normal still image mode? Binning can also increase SNR in low light. I remember Jason Rodriquez estimated that the Viper digital cinema camera had a SNR of 54 dB (around 8-8.5 stops), while a DSLR could be 72 dB (11-12 stops), which is close to film quality. That was several years ago, and DSLRs have got better still since then (particularly utilizing "dynamic range enhancement"). There are some big gains here to off-set the small problems...

...many people (Including myself) use Nikon DSLR's to capture 90 minute exposures for astrophotography.But that's a different thing altogether. Even during such an ultra-long exposure as the one you're describing, the camera is simply holding the shutter open for a very long time to make one image. It's not writing images 24 times per second for 90 minutes.

Think of this as a very long burst-mode. It's a continuous shooting mode, where in the past, a D-SLR might have been able to give you a maximum of 110 frames as a burst of ten frames per second over eleven seconds (I'm quoting the Canon EOS-1D Mark III here). And now the Nikon D90 will give you 7,200 images as a burst of twenty-four frames per second over 300 seconds. So yes, I can certainly believe that overheating is indeed the limiting factor here.

So, Chris—or anybody with more knowledge than me—can you hazard a guess, based on your experience with chips larger than most vidcams', how long such a beast would need to cool down?

If we wait a few days or weeks, all details will be revealed in shops, but if the thing needs another 5 mins to cool off between takes (of "burst mode," as you have it; nice analogy), it will force me to buy 2 D90s so I can keep my crew working.

Still cheap for the buck, but I'm trying to picture how to shoot movies with this thing.

For no good reason, I think of the D90 as the Red 0.5 (or maybe 0.25), but it's probably more legal to call it "Suellen" (Scarlett's little sister in "Gone With the Wind").

Beats me how long it would take to cool down after recording a five-minute HD video clip, but look at it this way... on a paying gig, in a pro environment, or anytime you're working with a crew, or wherever other people's time is involved, why would you *not* want two...? Seems to me that a backup camera in those kinds of situations is a necessity, not a luxury.

So if this "Overheat after 5 minutes" thing is true. Theoretically, if I shoot another 5 minutes after just shooting 5 minutes already (Maybe by accident) I would kill an £800 camera. Seems like too much of a risk if you ask me.

Hmm. I think I will wait until some "Guinea Pigs" try it out before I purchase :D.

@ Chris: Yeah.

Reading up on HDMI … will do 8-channels … hmm. Why'd Nikon include an AV-Out port? For the camera's remote?

...if I shoot another 5 minutes after just shooting 5 minutes already (Maybe by accident) I would kill an £800 camera.I highly doubt this is even possible. Most likely the camera won't let you record another clip until the mandatory cool-down period is completed.

Why'd Nikon include an AV-Out port?I can't think of one single camcorder, D-SLR or other digital still camera from a major manufacturer that currently does *not* include an AV output. They all have one. It's pretty much standard equipment across the board. There are lots of standard-definition televisions and monitors left in the world...

So AV-Out is a low-end video-out? How's it differ, generally, from HDMI? Throughput?

On the cool-down:

It's easy to imagine a few Nikon guys grinning over the idea of recording Live View:

ENGINEER 1: Look, I made a movie with it.
ENGINEER 2: Awesome! How long can you crank the chip like that?
ENGINEER 1: About ten minutes, maybe fifteen.
QC GUY (sticks his head in): Call it eight. I got too much shrinkage in Destructive Testing.
LEGAL GUY (same): Call it three.
MARKETING GUY (wedges between them): Please, give me five minutes on this thing …

Cut to a store:

RETAIL GUY: So, the amazing thing about the D90 is you can record video—
CUSTOMER: Whatever. How many megapixels is it again?

###

So AV-Out is a low-end video-out? How's it differ, generally, from HDMI? AV-Out = standard definition (and analog)
HDMI = high definition (and digital)

Of course. Thanks.

Here is the link -

D90 | D-MOVIE (http://chsvimg.nikon.com/products/imaging/lineup/d90/en/d-movie/#c-1)

Looks nice to shoot a movie using 10.5 fisheye or a 200 macro lens.

Just wondering how good the movie will be compared to - say - XL2 or HVX202 ....

TS

I think something like the Zoom H2 (Samson - Zoom - H2 (http://www.samsontech.com/products/productpage.cfm?prodid=1916)) would work great with it. Could even mount it on the hot shoe.

Doesn't temp have a big impact on noise with CMOS? If the 5 minute limit is due to overheating I wonder if we'll see rising noise levels over long shots.

Hi all. My first post. I just jumped in on this D-90 thread and I must say, I'm likely to buy it. I've been promising myself a new digicam for a while and being as conservative (stingy) with the $ as I am- I have no excuse not to jump on this gem and Hi-Def Vids to boot- Woot! After all, the D-90 will replace my previous Nikon digicam...
that cost me $1000 in 2004...
That's the Nikon Coolpix 5000- believe it or not.
Do you think the D90 will help me make better pictures than these....
GearNinja.com Home (http://www.gearninja.com) ?
I hope so ;)

I wanted to buy a brevis, but I will probably go for the D-90 or the next camera Canon or Nikon with video mode.I have already lenses Nikon and Canon.
And No loss of light comare to 35mm adaptor, but I am wondering if their is a multiplication factor.
The 5min don't bother me because thats what I shoot in video usually.
Now I am thinking of selling my Sony A1u and buy the D-90 plus a second Sony HC-5(they are $500new in montreal these days) and I wil be able to do 3 cam set up.
For the audio edirol,zoom or tascam recorder or my Macbook pro with usb mic.

I wanted to buy a brevis, but I will probably go for the D-90 or the next camera Canon or Nikon with video mode.I have already lenses Nikon and Canon.
And No loss of light comare to 35mm adaptor, but I am wondering if THERE is a multiplication factor.

x 1.5 (the same as other DSLRs)

The no light loss is very good, as is not having to buy a flip module to get the image the right way up and no bad vignetting in the corners and no grain at high shutter speeds and edge to edge sharpness and 4:4:4 colour ! (depending on the M-Jpeg compression used) etc etc . . .


The 5min don't bother me because thats what I shoot in video usually.

But if you can only shoot 5 minutes because the sensor heats up (this is what Nikon claim) then you might have to wait for 10-15 minutes for the sensor to cool before the camera will allow you to shoot some more - could be problematic if true - but currently just speculation.

"… because the sensor heats up (this is what Nikon claim)"

Lee, where did you see this? I can't find anything by Nikon that explains the need for the runtime limit.

Lee
I remember that astrophotographer used to or maybe still does cooling the ccd's
to have less noise.I live in a place cold 6 month per year and it may help me(for the 1st time).
Or I need a second D-90, so by the time one cam cool down the other shoot, so longer film in the end!

"… because the sensor heats up (this is what Nikon claim)"

Lee, where did you see this? I can't find anything by Nikon that explains the need for the runtime limit.

I forget now, in a 'hands on review' - they went on to say that they think the real reason maybe that above 5 minutes the product is considered a video camera and would incur greater tax burden - but this idea has also been questioned.

Actual original, straight from the camera no additional compression footage: (download the original source file - bottom right - you need to join Vimeo to do this - it's free)

Untitled on Vimeo (http://www.vimeo.com/1641816)

Would be interesting if they can eventually get HD video out of the unique Sigma DSLR...

What is so special about the Sigma DSLR ?

Would be interesting if they can eventually get HD video out of the unique Sigma DSLR...

If someone can pass on David at Cineform a camera, he is willing to do tests to see if the HDMI signal (1080i) can be captured..

Cineform capture with the Nikon D90 - The Digital Video Information Network (http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?p=927305#post927305)