You may note that none of the crops above look tack-sharp, but that's pretty typical of DSLR HD video frame grabs when viewed like this - at least among cameras we've tested. While I could sometimes confuse the Nikon D's contrast-detect video autofocus by switching very abruptly from a foreground to background object, in normal operation, I was surprised by how well it generally tracked motion.
There was a little of the "hunting" typical of contrast-detect systems, but most of the time, I found that focus tracking issues had more to do with what passed through the center of the frame, rather than any inherent difficulty in tracking the subject. That is, many situations that looked like mis-focusing were the result of my letting the subject get out of the center of the frame, or of there being enough background peeking through to give the camera a legitimately mixed message as to what I wanted it to focus on.
In my time shooting video with the Nikon D, I used a single central focus point almost exclusively: It's possible that a wider focus area wouldn't have been as prone to jumping to the background when the subject wandered. This is one area where phase-detect AF can have an advantage: If you're operating in multipoint AF mode with phase-detect, the fact that the camera can tell exactly how far out of focus various parts of the image are -- and in what direction -- means it can pick the AF points showing as closest to the camera as being the ones most likely to correspond to the subject.
The Nikon D's contrast-detect may do better about being pulled off-focus by momentary flashes of the background when it's operating in its wide-area AF mode, but I didn't have a chance to experiment with that while I had it for video shooting. The key point here, though, is that the camera's video-mode AF did a surprisingly adequate job of keeping up with reasonable amounts of subject motion.
It won't be able to hold focus on a runner sliding into home shot from the perspective of the catcher, but it'll probably do fine with typical non-sports subjects. The D provides both Single-servo and Full-time AF modes for live view and video capture, and as well as the Wide and Normal AF-area modes just mentioned, also provides both Face-priority and Subject-tracking AF-area modes, and the face detection function does continue to operate during video capture, continuously determining which is the dominant face in the scene, and following it as it moves around the frame.
You can also manually adjust the AF point position both before or during movie capture, using the four-way controller.
You wouldn't be able to do so quickly enough to follow a fast-moving subject around the frame manually with the AF point, but if your subject is static or moving relatively slowly, the ability to change the point position during a movie could be useful.
Interestingly, you can also change the AF point size by turning the Mode dial before video capture, or during it if you don't mind the significant handling noise from the dial's stiff detent. It seems almost to be an accidental behaviour, but might nonetheless prove useful if you want to quickly change the point size without stopping the video. The Macro scene mode uses a smaller AF point size than other scene modes, and so simply switching to or from this mode will change the point size immediately, simultaneously resetting the AF point to the center position.
All in all, I think the Nikon D's video autofocus abilities are well-suited to the consumer audience the camera is intended for. It's not quite up to camcorder levels of performance, but is good enough that most consumers won't notice its few bobbles. The lens-motor noise on the audio track is another matter, though: With the mm kit lens, focus noise is very obtrusive, even though it's equipped with an SWM Supersonic Wave Motor.
Switching to higher-end SWM Nikon lens greatly reduces the problem, but a complete solution requires an external mic -- something the average consumer won't be likely to purchase or use, and nor does the D offer an external microphone port with which to connect one. If AF noise is an issue and you have plenty of light available, you can always drop back to using manual focusing, which is all that most DSLRs offer anyway. It'd be nice if the kit lens were quieter, for better audio tracks on recorded video, though.
We suspect it's more of an issue with internal slop in the lens mechanism than noise from the motor itself: In which case, it's likely an issue that a quieter-operating lens would just increase the cost of the kit to the point that it'd take it out of the entry-level price class. While the Nikon D lets you record movies directly from any of its still-image exposure modes, including aperture-priority, shutter-priority, and full manual exposure modes, the shutter speed, aperture, and ISO settings for video recording are always automatically controlled.
Thus, while the controls might suggest full PASM programmed, aperture-priority, shutter-priority, and full manual exposure exposure control for videos, none of the modes gives you direct control over depth of field. You can, however, adjust the overall exposure both before and during exposure by holding down the D's top panel Exposure Compensation button and turning the Command dial on the rear panel, although the stiff detent on this will cause very noticeable handling noise if audio recording is enabled, and the change in brightness between exposure compensation steps will be clearly visible in the recorded video.
Providing a measure of creative control, the Nikon D offers access to its Picture Control system for movie recording. Described in detail on the Exposure tab, this allows camera settings for sharpening, contrast, brightness, saturation, and hue to be adjusted, either automatically via presets, or manually via fine-tuning of the presets.
The D also allows movie recording from its Scene modes, although exposure variables from the scene modes don't seem to apply to movie capture, only AF variables as mentioned previously. Nikon's image stabilization technology is lens-based, so IS availability, effectiveness and impact on the audio track will depend on the lens you're using.
We felt that the kit lens's IS worked well, and had relatively little impact on the audio. We could hear it as a background hiss in quiet passages, even with the camera relatively steady, though, so when recording in quiet settings, you'll probably want to turn it off. As noted, the Nikon D doesn't have any provision for manual audio level control. This isn't a particular strike against the D, though, as manual level control is a feature found on only a few digital SLRs, and those are well above the D's price range.
To sidestep this limitation, many amateur videographers simply use a separate, inexpensive digital audio recorder to record a separate soundtrack, which they then synchronize with the audio from the camera in their editing software. Software synchronization of audio tracks gives essentially perfect alignment of the video and externally-recorded video with relatively little effort. The Nikon D makes movie recording very easy, as you can initiate it at any time, regardless of the mode-dial setting: Simply flick the Live View switch to initiate the D's live view mode, and then press the Movie Record button, conveniently located at the center of the Live View switch, and the camera will start recording video.
Video resolution, frame rate, and time remaining are available near the top right corner of the rear-panel LCD during capture, and you can change resolution and frame rate settings at any time via the information display, or in a Movie Settings menu accessed from page two of the Shooting menu.
The result is a camera that feels like it was intended to shoot video from the start, unlike some DSLRs where movie recording seems to have been grafted on as an afterthought -- and that ease of access to video recording makes it rather more likely you'll find yourself using the video mode to grab spontaneous video clips.
We've generally favored use of the shutter button to start and end video recording, but found ourselves really liking the convenience of the D's dedicated record button. Having it on the rear panel within reach of your thumb makes it fairly quick to access, although it could be even more comfortable if it was located nearer the top of the panel.
After a brief familiarization period, the arrangement is very intuitive as well -- a tap of the index finger to grab a still, and the thumb to start or stop video capture. If you want to capture a still image while video capture is underway, you can fully depress the shutter button, but video capture will cease when you do so, and doesn't resume afterwards. There's also a fair delay between fully pressing the shutter button during movie capture, and the still image being captured, especially if Single-servo autofocus is enabled and your subject is moving.
Although you can quickly flick to manual focus before pressing the shutter button to prevent this delay, if you don't mind the handling noise being picked up by the D's internal microphone. One thing that we definitely didn't like and that we've complained about before, on other video-recording SLRs and SLDs, was that the image framing abruptly changes when switching from normal Live View to movie recording.
The still-image aspect ratio width to length ratio of the frame is , while the video aspect ratio for all but the lowest-resolution mode uses the aspect ratio that's the standard for high-def television.
We frequently found ourselves lining up for a movie shot, only to discover that we'd lost the top and bottom of the subject once we pressed the movie-record button. We'd really like to see a Live View display option that clearly indicated the movie-mode recording area on the Live View screen, to make it easier to set up your shots before pressing the Record button.
On the positive side, the D avoids another bugbear of video recording on certain SLRs and SLDs, in that it has relatively little lag when first initiating video capture. We've found that some cameras we've tested introduce a significant delay between your pressing the button to start or stop recording, and in a few cases exacerbate this by halting the live view feed until recording begins.
This last issue can be particularly frustrating, because it makes it near-impossible to accurately follow and frame a moving subject from the first frame of the video.
A few cameras also exhibit the rather bizarre behaviour of cutting off video recording at a point some time before the record button was pressed to stop capture. Software Review. Monitor Review. Lens Review. More Gear News. Wireless Video. Camera Accessories. Lens News.
Software News. Gear News. Lighting News. Lens Filters. Firmware Update. Take part in the CineD community experience. The optical pentamirror viewfinder found in the D is the same one found in the D The viewfinder does seem a bit small and dark, especially when comparing it to a pentaprism viewfinder like the one inside the D The average recycling time runs around 2 to 3 seconds before you can take the next shot. The D has a 14 megapixel images sensor with a self cleaning feature that vibrates dust off the imaging surface.
Slower shutter speeds allow you to capture movement and more light, while faster shutter speeds allow you to freeze movement and capture less light. The Nikon D comes with the same 11 point auto-focus system found in the D and D The focus points are visible through the viewfinder and you can allow the D to select the points automatically or you can choose points individually.
The D comes equipped with Live View mode, similar to the D Live view allows you to compose a shot using the LCD screen…much like a compact camera. It uses a contrast-detection system which is much slower than the auto-focus system used when looking through the viewfinder. The D has a tendancy to over expose outdoor shots, especially when the subject has lots of contrast.
Your best bet is to apply a negative exposure compensation to protect the bright areas of your images from being washed out. You can read more about exposure compensation on page 81 of the Nikon D manual.
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