Nikon D800 with video features

[Tim Polster]

This image is looking very pleasing to me. I would have to say Nikon really made a huge leap with this camera and really took the fight to Canon.

I must say I am underwhelmed with the MKIII for still image improvements in RAW mode and very impressed with the Nikon's video image. The external recording option on the Nikons is a pretty strong lean towards the D800/D4. I am planning on looking at the D800/D4 this summer after the dust has settled.

[Jean Daniel Villiers]

Two very very nice video from Nikon event in New york. The camera dynamic range seems to be very very good and the image is some of the most filmic I have seen. My only hope is a filter for the moire/aliasing because this is the only problem left. It is less than previous generation dslr but still a bit visible, but in this case it is a worst case scenario with a town like New York. Settings also could mitigate it as in the first vido when the shooter said he dialed sharpness down and the moire/aliasing is nearly non existent.

Nikon D800 footage on Vimeo

Balade Ã* New York avec le Nikon D800 on Vimeo

[Tony Davies-Patrick]

Some moire in the first clip showing few seconds of central skyscraper, but the shaky handheld video didn't help matters.

The sound quality and hiss in the second 'Balade' clip is terrible...and made me switch it off immediately.

I don't see the point in buying an expensive camera if they completely ignore the fact that sound quality is the most important aspect of shooting video...especially when recording a human voice.

[Jon Fairhurst]

As with all the DSLRs (and many camcorders with only 1/8" audio inputs), the native audio quality is poor. The solution is either an external recorder, or a high quality preamp with gain.

With the 5D2, Magic Lantern, and a juicedLink preamp, I can get the S/N ratio to approach the 16-bit limit. I haven't tested the 5D3 yet, but it adds a headphone jack and I believe that the lo-cut filter can now be disabled. The native Canon firmware on the 5D2 was so-so compared to Magic Lantern. Hopefully it's better optimized on the 5D3.

I assume that a juicedLink or equivalent, a good mic, and good technique will lower the hiss of the D800 dramatically. But it really needs to be tested. I have an Alesis Microtrack II that is terribly noisy and can similarly be improved with a preamp; however, it unmasks some clicks and other low-level crosstalk issues. (This is really terrible, given that the product's only function is to record audio!) The 5D2 is free of those issues, but we really need to test the 5D3 and D800 to see how clean things are with a hotter signal.

IMO, the lack of a balanced input on any camera/recorder mandates additional hardware for pro results.

[Tony Davies-Patrick]

I have yet to listen to any DSLR internal sound recording option that provides clean sound without some background hiss (even with Audio Mixer and Preamplifier like Juicedlink). The ONLY option for quality clean stereo sound in my opinion is a seperate recording device, such as the H4/H4n.

I wish it were otherwise, because recording sound in-sync using quality mics connected directly to a camcorder via XLR cables, is such a simpler task. :)

[Jon Fairhurst]

My testing with the 5D2, Magic Lantern, and juicedLink showed significantly less hiss (6dB or so from memory) than the DR-100 or H4n. I got the best results with the JL turned up to full gain (which seems weird on first use, since most devices hiss like mad at "11") and Magic Lantern set to 0dB digital gain (L_GAIN, R_GAIN), and 10 or 17 dB analog gain (M_GAIN or mic gain).

Unfortunately, the Canon firmware in the 5D2 isn't as clean. In the Canon implementation, the analog gain is always at full tilt and only the digital gain is manipulated. With the Canon firmware, the hiss is about 6dB worse than with the H4n or DR-100.

I wish I had a 5D3 to test, but I can't fund that right now...

[Jon Fairhurst]

Testing by Lindos also found that they could get roughly 90dB S/N with a hot preamp (their own) and Magic Lantern (+10 analog, 0 digital). They also offer a bass boost module that compensates for the lo-cut filter of the 5D2.

The quote of "~90dB dynamic range" was from a different forum, so I won't post that link here.

The Lindos testing looks valid to me...
Lindos Electronics Test Results - Canon - 5D mark II - Video

[Jean Daniel Villiers]

The shooter said in french on his blog that he was far from the girl and that there was lot of people around. I read that there was 40 or 80 journalist and bloggers that Nikon invited to New York to test the Camera. As for me I had no illusion that any dslr will have pristine sound recording, to believe that an on camera recording would be good is a bit absurd. I think anyone knows that you would need either a wireless lavalier connected to at least something like a juicelink to the camera or better a sound man with his mixer and external recorder and a microphone on a boon. For me what was important was the images and apart from the moire it is very very good. Mosaic is finalizing a prototype, lets hope that it get rids of the only problem of this camera.

[Tony Davies-Patrick]

I don't use Magic Lantern with the 5D bodies, but this no doubt helps lower background hiss compared to the Canon firmware, as shown in your tests:

Audio comparison - Magic Lantern Firmware Wiki


Magic Lantern, as far as I know, do not have any firmware for the Nikon D800.

[Jon Fairhurst]

Regarding audio, I don't know if the D800 would need ML to kill the hiss. As I understand it, you can set the gain manually in the D800 before recording. With a high-gain preamp, you would typically set the gain of the camera near the minimum and let the preamp do the rest.

The problem with the Canon firmware is that they set the analog gain to maximum and the gain control provided to users was digital only. Magic Lantern let us optimize the settings. Hopefully, Nikon controls their audio chip more gracefully right out of the box so ML wouldn't be needed. :)

[Mark Kenfield]

To me, the most obvious course of action with the D800 is to link it up with a PIX220 and record both your audio and video in-sync and in high quality.

Simply use the camera as a sensor box.

[Jacques Mersereau]

I was at the Nikon booth today at NAB. They had three biker dudes and a Harley out in front of a D800 with a Nikon 24mm prime. The problem? They only had the camera LCD and a tiny Marshall (like maybe 4"?!) monitor, so you could hardly see WTF the camera could so. Accordingly, there was hardly any traffic around it. All that said, what I could kind of almost see (yes, the tiny marshall was really TINY) looked really filmic.

My take away was, really nice camera with a company that doesn't know what they have and/or doesn't seem to really care about the D800's cinematic possibilities. I still want to get my hands on one and test it out for real under stage and studio lighting.

[Jon Fairhurst]

This was Nikon's first NAB. The guy I spoke with admitted that they were noobs in this business.

Everybody has to start from somewhere. They will only get better over time...

[Oleg Kalyan]

Please check out my clip from the same event.. I was there too :)
part of it shot on D4 Nikon.. I had tested mostly D4, really impressed by the video quality.
not noticed moire, a bit rolling is present however, the sound everywhere including last rap, with on camera mic.

NYC48 Nikon D800, D4 video, New York on Vimeo