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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

Nikon D3s - a charming 720p video mode!

sold my 5D mk2 but I try to bum one from a friend... also trying to land a chart to test with...

I'm gonna shot another test on location, high contrast, with my red and scale down to 720 and see how they cut together... would love to have the option of flying the D3s... its so light and the cg with 14-24 is dead center... nice and easy to balance.. super quick to setup...
 
Im not sure you need a chart

Find a newspaper , some jeans, a pin striped shirt bar codes (I stuck them at different angles)

I created this 'set up' and just stuck different cams on sticks and tried to equalise FOV

http://www.halfinchrails.com/hir/pics/7dgrabs/EX1V_7D_Studio1.jpg

I think it would be interesting to see the D3 upressed to 1080 vs Red downscaled to 1080 and canon at '1080'

I understand you probably have better things to do with your time

S
 
Red One & D3s @ 720p

Red One & D3s @ 720p

Not a showdown, we know who would win. But more of a test to see if under the right conditions the Red and D3s footage could cut together.

This test is simple and flawed; I had stupid in camera picture adjustments on the D3s and it crushed the blacks.

Of course the Red footage is razor sharp above 1080p and the RAW file format is priceless. But the D3s is like a ninja in the dark.

http://www.vimeo.com/8009537
 
Sorry to derail this thread somewhat, but I've been comparing the Nikon D300s to the Canon 7D -- since they directly compete within the market anyway. Without getting overly technical or doing a complete review and comparison, I'll say that I think the D300s is better overall for stills.

I have to agree with Morgan's statement above about Nikon's 720p video. The video on the D300s is way better than the video produced by the D90 or D5000. It may be "only 720p", but comparing with footage from the 7D, it's just as sharp and in some cases has less visible aliasing from what I've seen. It seems to handle brick walls better than the 7D. I haven't shot actual resolution charts, zone plates, etc.. Just subjective clip comparison. I find the video from the D300s to be more "organic" and pleasing than the 7D. I think the low light performance on the D300s is superior too at high ISOs 3200 & 6400. Or at least the in-camera noise reduction seems better.

All that said, I still bought a 7D over the D300s because of a couple reasons:

1> HD clips on the D300s are limited to 5 minutes. Ouch. The 7D's 12 minutes can be bad enough in some situations.

2> D300s shoots 24p and only 24p. 7D gives more frame rate and resolution options, including 720p 60fps.

3> D300s has some control issues when shooting video, especially with the iris control.

I'm primarily a Nikon shooter and will probably get a D4 when they eventually come out - I already own a D2Xs and have regular access to a D3. Then again, if the FF35 Scarlet / Epic can show up within the next year, I may not be interested in a new FF35 Nikon body...

Jeff, I just bought a 7D today. I will let you know what my thoughts are after I mess around with it. But from what i've seen so far, I will be impressed. Does anyone know anything about SIGMA lenses? Do they make any good zooms that come close to the Canon "L" series?
 
Jeff, I just bought a 7D today. I will let you know what my thoughts are after I mess around with it. But from what i've seen so far, I will be impressed. Does anyone know anything about SIGMA lenses? Do they make any good zooms that come close to the Canon "L" series?

I spent this past week shooting with a 7D -- sorry, no rights to show any footage. This isn't the right thread, but my findings with the 7D and my previous experiences with the 5Dmk2 are right in line with the general consensus on those cameras. They have their strengths and weaknesses. I really think the Nikon D3s is showing a lot of promise here and has the potential to be a better "video" camera.
 
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