Before I began working as a professional photographer, I worked as a professional videographer. Nikon's new D90 has me drooling. Why? Nikon describes its "wow" features like this: "A new idea for D-SLRs, the D90 offers a movie function, allowing you to shoot movies in three different motion JPEG formats: 320 x 216 pixels, 640 x 424 pixels and 1,280 x 720 pixels. Now you can capture life’s moving moments with added drama by using many of Nikon’s NIKKOR lenses, including the AF DX Fisheye 10.5mm f/2.8G ED and the Micro-NIKKOR lenses. The shallow depth of field can give your movies a more creative and emotional impact. An additional benefit is the D90 image sensor, which is much larger than a typical camcorder for higher image quality and exceptional high ISO performance during low-light shooting."
While these features sound glorious, the D80 has some serious weaknesses:
• Autofocus is not available when recording movies.
• Matrix metering is used regardless of the metering method selected.
• There is apparently no input for external microphones, meaning the sound captured by the D90 will be very limited, at best. It also records in mono, not stereo.
• The camera reportedly only allows 5 minutes of shooting time in the 1,280 x 720 pixel mode because the sensor has to cool down (it is supposed to get 20 minutes when shooting at lower resolutions).
Bottomline: When it comes to video, this camera may have enormous appeal to people who want to use it for short, creative shooting -- and who want to have a camera in their bag that can shoot quick videos. I can imagine using it to capture unexpected moments, especially in low light situations where most video cameras are largely useless without lights, and perhaps making short video clips for posting on the Net.
Nikon has posted a few sample videos that were shot on this camera. Click here to see what the D90 can do.
No comments:
Post a Comment