[dave]

the 16-35mm looks ok except the zoom range is a bit long. They should bring out a 16-16mm.

[JamesD]

Oooh, I think I stained my pants white when I read about the release of that 24mm yesterday.

new 24mm + Nikon D3s = The best quality low light images on the planet from an SLR, with low light capabilities verging on night vision...

EAT THAT CANON!

 

[dave]

You could pretty much shoot through the lens cap.

[benpritch]

when are nikon going to get hd video on their dslr s?

[dave]

They've already got it (1280×720).

[benpritch]

thanks. sorry should have googled.

i saw this and thought nikon didn't have any flavour of hd at all:

http://www.cinema5d.com/news/?p=2155

but i was wrong. still seem a bit behind canon in the video stakes - 5d s being used on high end shows like 24 etc.

[benpritch]

http://www.cinema5d.com/news/?p=2215

[slackline]

Is there any real advantage to HD video in a DSLR though?

Handy for a quick shoot, but wouldn't dedicated equipment be superior? 

[dave]

Handy for a quick shoot, but wouldn't dedicated equipment be superior? 

Especially if you want to focus etc.

[benpritch]

i can get shots out of my 5d (£1800 + lens) that are superior to my sony ex 1 (£6000) by about a million miles.

there are complications with focusing and audio but none are insurmountable.

[surfchimpster]

If you want to a camera to autofocus on your cat running around yea garden then get a camcorder, but if you want to get creative using depth of field and or massive zooms get a DSLR . All the big shot movie cameras that cost over £5k use Nikon lenses . Nikon DSLR's guess what use...

Not for the point and shoot chimp though need a bit of tweaking and bit of nerding up to get the best out of them ...they have a real nice feel though similar to 16mm film

[Tris]

Is there any real advantage to HD video in a DSLR though?

I believe it's a function added for photo-journalists?

Especially if you want to focus etc.

I thought the D3s auto-focussed? Have no idea if it's any good though...

[cofe]

HD in DSLRs isn't just for photojournalists. listen to Pritch. With 720p at 24fps, Nikon aren't even competing (yet). 7D and 1Dmk4 are 'game changing' apparently. Nikon will follow suit.

[benpritch]

there are few if any situations where auto focus is used when shooting video.  focusing is done manually and seeing the auto focus 'hunting' in someone's rushes is a sure sign that the operator doesn't know what they are doing.

[benpritch]

full frame video recording on a camera that costs less than £2000. you'd have to spend over £100,000 before you got a camera with an equivalent sized chip. even red is diddely compared.

[Tris]

HD in DSLRs isn't just for photojournalists. listen to Pritch. With 720p at 24fps, Nikon aren't even competing (yet). 7D and 1Dmk4 are 'game changing' apparently. Nikon will follow suit.

When did I say that video was limited to photo-journalists?

I just said that was one of the main reasons for them adding video to their DSLR's. Google it if you don't believe me.

[cofe]

Is there any real advantage to HD video in a DSLR though?

I believe it's a function added for photo-journalists?

[dave]

I think the main complaints on the nikons (mighy apply to canon too?) are shit like the D90 with no articulated screen (i.e. have to hold at arms length = shaky, or tripod=boring unless you also buy a video head), no stereo sound, goes to all-auto on video (essentially just dumps the live-view to the memory card) so you can't force it to actually shoot at f/2 or whatever for shallow DOF. And some battery issues cos you're using live-view all the time and constantly writing, and if you've got a VR lens that'll be hitting the battery too. I read somewhere if you're not careful you can run the battery flat in 20mins. Also seems to not sample the entire sensor at the same time, so you can get queer slanting/distortion of moving subjects. Obviously all this aside, this is better than no video at all still if you want video.

[benpritch]

it was added as a function for photo journalists but they (Canon not Nikon) have been adopted by film makers of all budgets because of the amazing image quality. 

[cofe]

exactly.

[benpritch]

it goes to show how bad the video capability of nikons is when a nikon disciple like dave is critical. i work with video all day every day and i think my  canon 5d is the future of video production.

[dave]

To be fair I've never actually used video on a nikon, I'm just going on what i've read. I'm sure its perfectly fine for people like me who would have no interest in buying a camera specifically to shoot video, but would probably shoot a bit of video now and again if they bought a camera that happened to be able to shoot video, in the same way I take videos with my phone or shortie's digital compact. It'd be a case of buying a camera and getting a passable HD camera essentially for free - you can't complain. Personally I wouldn't downgrade to a canon for all the tea in china just to shoot better video. I'm more a stills man, wouldn't want to spread myself too thinly creatively speaking.

[Jim]

I'm having trouble grasping the fact that a dslr (supposedly) shoots better video than a dedicated camcorder. How?

[benpritch]

canon 5d has a full frame 35mm sensor. even hd broadcast cameras like sony hdw f 900 l only have a two-thirds inch chip.

[Tris]

This is quite impressive (Canon 5d video):

http://www.usa.canon.com/dlc/controller?act=GetArticleAct&articleID=2326

Check the lenses used