It’s been only three weeks since I heard about the Nikon D90 DSLR and its movie mode for capturing high quality video. Since then I’ve been curiously waiting to see how it works and how the camera performs. Earlier this week I found myself in luck. My local camera store Norman Camera had taken delivery of their first batch and so I hurried over to exchange my $1300 + tax for yet another camera setup.
For this article, I’m not going to delve into the still photo features of the D90. Since it’s the video capabilities that attracted me to it, I’ll focus my attention to my experience in shooting video clips over the past three days.
The Nikon D90 sports a 12 megapixel sensor. I read reports that this is the same DX-size sensor used in the more expensive, widely used Nikon D300, often considered a pro-level camera. As such, I expect high quality images from both still and video capture.
While my D90 was shipped with a 275-page User’s Guide, I could find only two references to using the camera’s video mode. Page 170 tells me how to choose one of the three video resolutions and turn sound recording On or Off. You choose the settings from the Shooting Menu / Movie Settings. Depending on the capacity of your memory card, the recording times indicated are the limit for the 2GB maximum video file size:
On page 50 I found an abbreviated guide to shooting video clips. For still capture, the D90 has a slew of settings for determing or controlling exposure, focus, ISO, etc. However for video capture, the D90 has a much more limited number of controllable settings:
One feature of the D90 that is new to the Nikon range is a dedicated button Live View (LV) button. When pressed, the image in the viewfinder is redirected to the large 3″ LCD display.
With Live View active, shooting video works like this:
Playback is simple too. Press LV again to take the camera out of Live View mode. Press the review button. Press the OK button to start and stop the video playback.
If you haven’t already read my previous blog, you can see the very first video clip that I captured with Nikon D90 of an aircraft on takeoff Shooting with the Nikon D90 two days ago.
Yesterday I drove to a small airport to shoot a few additional videos.
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I recorded a few landings of small aircraft and combined them into a single video. All three clips are recorded at a resolution of 1024 x 768. I then converted the clips from the D90’s standard *.avi format to this *.wmv format. All of the clips are shot using the Nikkor 70-300mm VR lens. |
Now onto a final sample video. Last night I irritated my wife by lugging the D90 with me to dinner.
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As we were eating I shot this clip at about 10 PM Eastern time on the outdoor patio of a local restaurant. It was quite dark. BTW, in the background, you can hear us talking about the D90’s video mode. I find the quality is quite good considering the available light. I was using the included 18-105mm VR lens. |
My Conclusion
After a few hours with the D90, I’ve found that the video mode is useful for short clips where you can pre-focus and keep the a zoom lens at single focal length. If the subject is out of the initial focusing range, you’ll have to manually refocus and for this you’ll most likely need 3 hands or a tripod. This is also true if you move in or out on the subject by zooming - you’ll need to recheck the focus.
For video, I find it much easier to shoot movies using my Canon ZR700 camcorder which is lighter, retains auto focusing, has great zoom range, is easier to keep the subject in the viewfinder or on the LCD screen and is less expensive too.
I hope that Nikon writes a quick addendum to their User’s Guide or that a third party writes one for the sake of users who want to use the D90’s video capabilities to the fullest.
My recommendation is to buy the D90 because you need a good still camera but not for its video capabilities. I’ve found that the still photos are excellent with very good low light performance at ISO 3200. But then again, this is a $1300 camera (with the 18-105mm lens) so we should expect top notch photos. I consider that video in this DSLR is an added bonus and convenience even though it isn’t particularly easy to use. The question for a buyer should be, is it worth the few hundred dollars for the convenience of video considering there are alternative DLSRs with most of the features / quality of the D90 for under $1000. That’s not my call, I’ll leave that to the analysts.
However, I’m sure it will come in handy for me to shoot clips of the grandkids in action when a camcorder isn’t available.
September 29th, 2008 at 10:13 pm
Thanks Arnie for the candid assessment of the video capabilities. I use Nikon Gear and purchased a Cannon XHA1 HD video camera last year, but the problem is I can’t shoot both at the same time! It’s also a pain to have 2 camera bags with me hence my interest in shooting HD video with my camera. I saw the advertisements for the new Canon EOS 5D Mark II camera which will shoot 21 Megapixels, and full 1080 HD video and has a separate microphone jack for stereo sound - it seems Canon plans to do things right. I am looking seriously at buying this camera even though it means investing in Canon lenses and carrying both Nikon and Canon gear. I really wish Nikon would make a camera with similar specs to the Cannon 5D now - and not sometime in the distant future which I am sure they will.
Anyway thanks for your thoughts on the D90 it looks like Nikon just wanted to test the market - one that I think will be huge especially with streaming video over the Net.
Cheers
Rob
September 29th, 2008 at 11:11 pm
Rob,
Since I originally wrote “Shooting Video with the Nikon D90″, I’ve continued to invest time in shooting more video shorts.
I just returned from Photokina accompanied by the D90. While I used it mostly for stills, I took a fairly decent video in the courtyard of the Cologne Messe. It’s a short video of a bald eagle flying and it’s on You Tube(watch in high quality): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3FbrjIf_fo
Though hand-held, it turned out OK because the lighting was fairly good, probably allowing the D90 to use a small enough aperture to maintain good depth of field and focus.
At Photokina I spent about 1/2 hour at the Canon booth. I viewed a great video of Yellowstone National Park made with the 5D Mk II that is as good quality as any video I’ve even seen. I played with the new 5D Mk II shooting both stills and video. One impressive feature is the ability to use the AutoFocus button while shooting video - something that I wish was available for the D90. You can also capture a full resolution still while the shooting video is running (although there is a one second interruption). The video is 1080 so it has a higher pixel count than the D90. And of course it is full frame as opposed to the D90’s DX format.
As I have the original 5D and assorted Canon lenses, I’m planning to purchase the new 5D Mk II when it arrives. I don’t know if I need the 21MP, but the low-light and video are the most attractive features for me. The Canon reps said we should start seeing them available about mid-November. I’m getting very fond of the idea of still and video in one unit, just as you seem to have already concluded - not wanting to lug two camera bags around.
I’m sort of the opposite of you. I’ve been a Canon shooter for most of my photographic life (50 years). But recently I picked up the D700 for it’s low-light capabilities and then the D90 for the video side. In adding Nikon to the arsenal, I had to invest in new Nikon lenses too. I’m neutral in the Canon vs Nikon war, but I do think that Canon has the better selection of lenses so you’ll have a great variety of choices when you get the new 5D Mk II.
Best of luck and be well,
Arnie
December 25th, 2008 at 4:29 pm
Hi, Thanks For Great Information.
December 7th, 2009 at 2:53 pm
Hi,
thank you very much for the article and your assessment of the Nikon D90. Actually, i was just reading the manual and was bewildered by the lack of info in the user’s guide manual when it came to video.
I have a question: is the maximum shooting time 20 minutes overall or per shot?
sorry if you find my question stupid.
December 11th, 2009 at 10:29 am
The 20 minute limit is per shot. Somewhere I recall reading that the hardware overheats if used for more than 20 minutes per cycle.
May 4th, 2010 at 4:18 pm
How can I shoot with D90 footage and save them, on a hrad drive . Can I shoot with D90 Nikon motion video.
Thanks.
May 4th, 2010 at 4:22 pm
Video is saved to the D90’s SD-card just like the still images. You can just copy the video files to your hard drive from the card.
January 15th, 2011 at 2:18 am
Well I’ve had my D90 for sometime now and, because of the manual’s instructions, I could not figure out how to operate the video. I finally decided to really look into it and found your blog. Awesome. Now I know how to work the video. I’m assuming it will work the same with a 300mm lens - I’ll try it tomorrow. Thanks.
April 18th, 2012 at 5:48 pm
A few things to do if you want to shoot great video:
1.) shoot with prime lenses (35mm f/1.8, 50mm/f1.8, etc) that have manual aperture control on the lens barrel
2.) enable your AE meter to stay on for as long as possible
3.) turn on live view and focus on a dark area in your scene to bring the brightness up to acceptable levels; then hit the AE lock to preserve that exposure
4.) now, open up the aperture on your lens to get the desired depth of field and to adjust the exposure
5.) use a tripod or similar to get steady shots
6.) mount an external mic to the hot shoe to record better audio and then used a good video /audio editor to sync up the two.
7.) have fun!