DSLRs Archives - Page 4 of 5

Nikon D800 Rumors Swirl

Specs for the rumored Nikon D800 surfaced on the Japanese website Digital Camera Info, backed up by Nikon Rumors. If these specs have any credibility, the D800 is aiming squarely at the pro studio market.

According to what’s out there now the D800 will pack 36-megapixels on a full frame FX sensor. Nikon has apparently aimed this camera at studio work, sacrificing a little low light performance, which would be a no-go for location assignments.

The rumored price tag of $4,000 is definitely going to raise some eyebrows. I don’t think many Canon shooters are going to be tempted to part with their 5Ds for almost twice the money, even considering the added resolution. Though it’s too early to know what the actual final price tag is going to be this far from production.

The D800 will allegedly shoot full 1080 HD video at 30p, though other frame rates are expected to be added. I can’t imagine Nikon would not add support for 24p.

Other rumored components include 2 CF slots plus and SD slot, so you’ll be able to shoot a long time on this bad boy.

My initial impression is this doesn’t seem as much like an upgrade to the D700 as another variation on the D3 line.

If that’s the case, then it begs the question of what will happen to the D700? Maybe a D700s upgrade?

The official announcement is expected by the end of the month, until then you Nikon gear junkies will just have to hold on.

Is Digital Medium Format Worth It?

sensor size chart — A comparison of digital sensor sizes - Wikipedia

In the not too distant past, you didn’t think about shooting a portrait with a 35mm camera. You had your Hasselblad or Mamiya 645. Weddings could go either way, I carried a 35mm and a Yashika Mat. For some of the formal shots I’d even drag out my old Bush Pressman 4×5.

Today a medium format camera with a digital back will set you back nearly as much as a nice car.

The Mamiya RZ33 kit is a modern medium format digital camera. The camera, digital back and lens run an eye-popping $18,000. For that you get an imaging chip that’s 48 x 36. Compare that to a full frame 35mm chip available in the Canon 5D MKII which is 24 x 36. The 5D with a lens is closer to $3,200. That’s nearly a $15,000 price difference just to gain another 24mm on the vertical of the imaging chip.

Why So Expensive?

That’s largely related to the physics of building the chips. When you double the area of a chip it reduces the number that pass Q/A because of bad pixels. Even a small increase in sensor size significantly increases the number of failures.

Add to that the limited number of companies building chips that size, mainly for space technology and remote sensing applications, where they are considered “low cost” imaging sensors.

There just isn’t enough demand in the digital imaging market to make large scale production for photography a workable reality.

Is It Worth It?

Some people think so, but I’m not convinced. The pictures I’ve seen from Canon 5D MKIIs and even my Canon 7D rival anything I ever shot on any of my old medium and large format film cameras. Certainly there’s a difference, but the question is whether the difference is enough to justify the cost differential?

If you have the money, go for it. I’ve seen some amazing work from RZ33’s and the Phase One 645DF, but I’m not convinced you couldn’t get almost as good from your 5D and you could buy six of them for the same money.

Picking a Beginner Camera

The question I get most often is, “What kind of camera should I buy?” That’s a big question and a lot depends on your budget and what kind of photography you’ll be pursuing and at what level. The word beginner comes in many contexts: are you a beginner to shooting for money or using a camera period. Different options apply.

Professional and Semi-Professional

You’re planning on making money with your camera or plan to do a lot of shooting as a semi-pro or amateur. You have $1,800 to $2,500 in your budget.

Cameras: Nikon D300s , Nikon D7000, Nikon D700, Canon 5D MKII, and Canon 7D.

If you’re shooting stills, go with Nikon. If you think you’ll be doing a lot of video go with Canon. Nikons have video recording capability, but most of the video accessories are made for Canons.

Advanced Hobbyist

You are really serious about taking pictures, but you have a day job in another field. Photography is a serious hobby. There’s an outside chance you’ll be taking a paying job, or filling in for friends who can’t afford a professional photographer. You have a budget from $800 to $1,500.

Cameras: Canon 60D, Canon T3i, Nikon D3100, Nikon D5100

It’s pretty much just which ever camera you like in this range.

You Just Want To Take Good Pictures

You want to take great pictures, but mainly of your family and friends. You want something better than a pocket camera and you might want to experiment with manual controls once in a while.

Your budget is $400 to $800.

Cameras: Sony NEX-5N, Canon S100, Nikon P7000, Samsung NX100

Remember you can always use Snapsort to get the latest and best camera recommendations, including beginner DSLRs, semi pro DSLRs and small high quality cameras. Our system will produce slightly different results from our editorial coverage as it allows you to define your exact personal criteria.

Mirrorless Cameras Cut Into Canon, Nikon

Samsung NX100 — Mirrorless cameras take a bite out of Canon and Nikon markets - by Samsung

Figures from Bloomberg indicate that Sony, Panasonic and Samsung may be scoring market share gains from Canon and Nikon with their mirrorless camera models. The trend is most obvious in Japan where Canon and Nikon’s combined share of that market has fallen an eye-popping 35%.

The losses for Canon and Nikon have been a boom for Sony, as their market share has doubled. Panasonic and Samsung also scored gains, but not as significant.

Mirrorless cameras have a smaller physical frame and lower weight, while keeping the larger sensor sizes and interchangeable lenses. The big chips behind good glass are getting results comparable to larger DSLRs at closer to half the weight of their bigger DSLR cousins.

If you’re tempted to dismiss the trend as one confined to Japan, keep in mind that the smart phone and tablet trend also started there before spreading to more distant shores.

No surprise that rumors have surfaced that Canon is coming out with mirrorless models in 2012, it’s not much of a stretch to think Nikon is engaged in similar efforts.

It’s my opinion that Panasonic and Olympus stumbled with the 4/3 sensor format. I just don’t see professionals investing in that format when full size and APS-C sensors are superior and proven technologies. For consumer cams, it’s less of an issue because the average buyer doesn’t really understand the difference in chip sizes.

As the trend in SLRs moves to mirrorless, expect Canon and Nikon to claw back some of the market share lost to Sony. But I don’t expect to see any significant growth from Panasonic or Olympus until they abandon 4/3.

Tips For Recording Better DSLR Video – Part 2

DSLR rigged for video — A simple DSLR video rig - photo by Bill Pryor

In Part I we covered the basics of shutter speed and frame rates. Today we’ll delve into some of the more technical aspects of video production with DSLRs and you’ll understand better why you can’t just run out and shoot amazing video with your camera without some education.

Turn Auto-Everything Off

It’s hard to turn off all the automatic settings on the average DSLR, there are quite a few you might not even think about.

The easy ones are turning off auto exposure, automatic white balance and auto focus. Less obvious are turning off auto ISO, Peripheral Illumination correction and Long Exposure Noise Reduction.

Anything that automatically adjusts the picture quality in the middle of a shot has to go. The reason for that is when doing color correction in post, if auto anything is enabled, your color settings will be changing in the middle of shots. Nothing will get a video colorist on to a new career path faster than color settings jumping around in the middle of a shot.

Shane Hurlbut recommends the further step of changing the color space from sRBG to Adobe RGB, but that’s the where I draw the line. I’ve tried them both and never run into a situation where the color curves where that far off. Be aware that if you change your color space, the camera will change the file naming format. I’ve had panic moments because my file browser didn’t recognize files with a “_” at the beginning .

Audio

When it comes to getting good audio out of the camera, you can pretty much forget that. Occasionally the camera audio will be adequate, which is only proof that even a blind sow gets an acorn once in a while. Most of the time you’ll need to record second sound.

Luckily there are many good options for portable recorders. The Marantz PMD661 and H4N Zoom are popular among DSLR shooters, matched up with mics like the Rode NTG-2 shotgun.

For syncing up video and external audio, it’s a lot easier if you make a loud noise at the beginning and end of a shot, or use a clicker. If you don’t want to do that then invest in software like PluralEyes which will save your sanity.

Aliasing and Moire

Aliasing and its French cousin moire are two challenges that have been with DSLRs from the first day they were fielded. Aliasing can be seen in any tight pattern shot at a higher f-stop. Strong side lighting can make the effect even worse. Brick walls, composite roofs, and herringbone fabrics are famous for producing the kind of alias strobing that makes it looks like the background is alive with crawling ants and patterns.

To reduce moire you’re going to need to use your ND filters to stop down to a wider f-stop and pull the focus just enough to soften the background as described in this article. For herringbone clothing, your talent is going to need change or you’re going to need to go really tight on their face. No way around it.

Or you can buy a $400 anti-aliasing filter. It really depends on how much video you plan on shooting.

Color Presets

I could write a book on custom presets for DSLR video and there are several good articles on the internet that go into great detail on creating custom presets for DSLR video.

Simple interview setup — A simple interview setup for a DSLR

Luckily there is one custom profile, developed by people who really know what they’re doing at Technicolor. It’s called the CineStyle preset and it’s the one I use for all my video work.Use the Technicolor CineStyle custom preset, turn off all the automatic functions of your camera, shoot at 24p and watch tight patterns and the video people you work with will be both pleased and impressed.