Find out the detailed parameters of Nikon d90 shooting video for reference.

As the world's first digital SLR camera with video shooting function, the birth of Nikon D90 means that digital SLR cameras can also record high-definition video images like portable digital cameras. Although many people disdain this function and call it chicken ribs, it is a very good tool for those who can shoot.

Do I need to shoot a movie with a SLR?

You know, the most troublesome parts of video shooting are wide angle, depth of scene and low lighting quality. Whenever these problems are encountered, many photographers will be at a loss. There is a simple reason. To achieve these effects, the equipment involved is too expensive! For example, the wide-angle lens of the camera is almost catching up with the price of the camera itself. What if you can't afford it? Make do with a wide-angle additional mirror at the expense of image quality. If you want a shallow depth of field, it is even more difficult. You know, even the existing broadcast-level high-definition camera can't shoot the shallow depth of field effect like a digital SLR camera without a fixed-focus film lens group, and this kind of equipment costs tens of thousands of yuan. No way, many friends have to zoom the camera to the longest focus, and then create a shallow depth of field effect, but for the sake of perfect composition, let's stand aside. As for low illumination, it is not only a matter of spending money on cameras, but also a bunch of various lighting equipment. And this forest has invested tens of millions of dollars at every turn, which has made many photographers do their best.

Now, with the digital SLR camera represented by D90 entering the market, these three problems are almost solved. 12 megapixel APS-C photosensitive module (24× 16mm) supports D-Movie function and can shoot 1280×720/24p moving pictures. The compression format is Motion JPEG, which can be shot for up to 5 minutes. Moreover, the D90 is equipped with a large aperture lens, and its shallow depth of field effect is almost comparable to that of a movie. It is an irresistible temptation for students who need to practice sub-lens shooting and film-based independent filmmakers from poor families. The most important thing is that the cost is quite low, and there is almost no fraction of a professional digital camera.

MI hint

Shortly after the launch of Nikon D90, Canon also launched a Quan Huafu SLR product-5D Mark II, which not only has the full HD 1080p video shooting ability, but also takes as long as 12 minutes, which is higher and more durable than Nikon D90.

For the video shooting function of D90, Nikon placed several videos shot by D90 on its official website, using some of Nikon's most classic lenses, such as 200/2.8 fixed focus, 85/ 1.4 head, 10.5 fisheye lens. The scenes of the film, scenes from different perspectives and scenes with large aperture and shallow depth of field are very shocking, and the alternative angle of wide-angle video is even more amazing. It can be seen that the video shooting ability of D90 is by no means comparable to that of ordinary DV, at least its perfect depth of field control has brought us considerable creative space. Next, let's take a look at how to make a movie-style video clip with a digital SLR camera.

MI hint

Different from portable digital cameras and camcorders, Nikon D90 only needs 5 minutes at a time for reasons such as caching and protecting photosensitive elements, that is to say, no matter how big the memory card is, it should be stopped every 5 minutes.

Advantages of digital SLR camera shooting video

1. Because the photosensitive element of digital SLR camera is much larger than ordinary DV or DC, for example, the DX CMOS area of D90 APS is very close to the size of traditional 35mm film, and it is easier to obtain smaller depth of field effect than DC/DV.

2. The digital SLR camera has a high pixel value (D90 has 1.29 million pixels), and the shooting quality of 1.280×720 pixels /24P is high, which can provide extremely delicate pictures, and the Jiao Wai blur is very soft, and the transition from Jiao Wai to focus is smooth, far exceeding the imaging ability of ordinary high-definition digital cameras.

3. As a digital SLR camera, its CMOS has higher photographic ability than digital cameras, and the pictures taken are much cleaner than digital cameras in the case of insufficient light.

4. Compared with digital cameras, the lens interchangeability of digital SLR cameras is the biggest advantage, which also gives users more room to play. From fisheye lens, super aperture lens, shift lens, telephoto lens to macro lens, you can enjoy exciting creative shooting. And most importantly, these lenses are much cheaper than focal planes.

5. When recording, the lens with VR (hand shock prevention) function can continuously play the hand shock prevention ability.

Disadvantages of digital SLR camera shooting video

1. Weak audio. Take the D90 as an example, its recording is mono, there is no external microphone interface, and the recorded audio is also integrated into MJPEG files. There is still a big gap in sampling accuracy and effect compared with current digital cameras.

2. There is still a gap between video files and digital cameras in recording mode, time limit, compression algorithm and code stream. For example, the D90 only has 24fps mode, and there is still a big gap between the smoothness of the picture and the 24fps of the movie. The compression quality of Motion-JPEG format is also slightly lower, and there is no option to adjust to better quality.

3. The automatic exposure function is not as smooth as the digital camera.

Actual operation

After the live view mode of the D90 is turned on, you can start and close video shooting with the "OK" key on the right side of the LCD screen, and the remaining shooting time will be displayed in the upper right corner of the screen. At first glance, the operation seems simple, but if you think that you can shoot a video clip comparable to a movie just by walking around with a camera, it's all wet, and there are many skills involved.

Step 1

Be clear about your shooting purpose

Both the D90 and EOS 5D Mark II have limitations on video shooting time. The maximum shooting time of D90 is 5 minutes, 1280×720/24fps, while that of EOS 5D Mark II is 1920× 1080/30fps. Mainly because the pixels of digital SLR cameras are relatively large, the power and calorific value increase accordingly, and the temperature inside the camera will rise obviously in about ten minutes. At this point, a warning icon will appear in the camera, and live view and video shooting will be forced to stop. Therefore, the video shooting function of digital SLR camera is not suitable for meetings and parties. After all, it cannot be recorded for tens or even hundreds of minutes like traditional DV.

Second step

Bring your tripod.

Whether it is photography or video recording, a stable picture is very important. Especially when shooting high-definition video, if the picture is unstable, it will look very tired later, especially when playing on high-definition LCD TV, the tailing phenomenon will be more obvious. Therefore, it is very necessary to minimize camera motion when shooting video with a digital SLR camera. At this time, if you have a VR (anti-shake function) lens, be sure to bring it. In addition, because the D90 can't achieve autofocus when shooting video, we can't use the traditional bracket when shooting, because it is difficult for us to hold the heavy camera smoothly with one hand and complete the focusing operation with the other hand. So you need a tripod to support the camera. On the one hand, the stability of the picture will be greatly improved when zooming, on the other hand, there will be no hurry.

It should be noted that when shooting with a tripod, if you want to track and shoot moving objects, you need to install a special direction dial for the camera, so that you can adjust the shooting posture smoothly.

MI hint

It is particularly important to note that when shooting with a telephoto lens, you must pay attention to the center of gravity of the camera when using a tripod, pay attention to the surrounding situation, and avoid accidental falling of the camera.

Third step

Practice manual focusing

Although the D90 does not support autofocus in video shooting, manual focusing is actually not as difficult as expected. As long as you operate the far-near scene a few times more, you will be familiar with your lens focus ring, and you will be able to focus well faster. In addition, it is best to use a full-time manual focusing lens when shooting. If you use the traditional Nikon AF lens, you must set the autofocus switch next to the fuselage to manual focus before recording, otherwise the focus ring will not rotate at all during recording. If the AF/MF switch is switched during camera shooting, it will not only cause the camera body to shake, but also record unnecessary clicks. In addition, in the actual shooting, try to know the position of the actors in advance. If there is no rehearsal, you need to determine the focus position in advance.

Fourth step

Don't do quick translation.

Although films with shallow depth of field can be shot, digital SLR cameras such as D90 are not specially designed for video shooting, so video recording is fatal, which is also a common problem of CMOS photosensitive elements in video recording. Its proper name is rolling shutter, which means that when shooting a fast-moving object, the subject will appear askew, and its function is that when the lens moves rapidly from left to right, the picture will have a wave feeling, which seriously affects the imaging quality. Therefore, when using D90 video recording, the lens must move slowly to avoid rapid translation.

Step five

Lock exposure

Generally, digital cameras are in the state of continuous exposure detection when recording, and will automatically adjust the exposure with the brightness of the scene light. However, when shooting with a digital SLR camera, the automatic exposure function is not as smooth as that of a digital camera, so as the subject moves and the composition changes, the shot picture will flicker, which makes people feel uncomfortable. At this time, we can solve this problem by locking exposure, which is a very useful skill. Through the camera setting menu, we can set the AE/AF button to be valid once and then released once. When shooting, first measure the light in a bright place, and then press the AE/AF lock key. At this time, the exposure level will be fixed, and even if the subject moves or changes the composition, the camera can shoot at the same brightness, which can effectively solve the annoying light and dark changes caused by automatically changing the exposure level due to environmental changes during video recording. This is also the key skill to make the video effect of D90 surpass DV. However, after video shooting, it is suggested to reset the function of AE/AF lock key to avoid affecting the normal exposure of photos after touching AE/AF lock key by mistake in normal shooting.

MI hint

Open the aspect ratio setting of "16:9" in the D90 setting menu, and make full use of the high resolution of D90 1280×720 pixels.

Step 6

Control the change of aperture

When shooting video with digital SLR camera, it is very necessary to control the aperture in order to obtain perfect shallow depth of field effect. It is suggested that MF lens is the best, because the aperture can be manually adjusted to directly see the change of depth of field, while AF lens can only measure light automatically, but cannot control the depth of field. In addition, we need to make flexible changes according to the characteristics of the machine itself. For example, when shooting video with D90, the aperture value must be adjusted before starting live view. If the aperture value setting is changed during video shooting, the actual aperture value will not change. When shooting video with EOS 5D Mark II, the camera will use the programmed automatic exposure mode to control the aperture, so we can't adjust the aperture. At this time, you need to use a large-caliber lens to shoot a video with a shallow depth of field as much as possible. Of course, we can also install ND filters or shoot in places with little light. But it should be noted that you should try not to take close-ups with the maximum aperture, because if the depth of field is too shallow and you move back and forth slightly, the subject will be blurred, which is sometimes invisible on the LCD of the camera.

Step 7

Video output and processing

Video files shot by D90 can be output and played by Windows Movie Maker in Windows Vista operating system. In addition, you can also use VideoStudio, Premiere Elements and Premiere Pro, each with its own characteristics. You can choose rice according to your preferences and needs.

MI hint

Using digital SLR camera to shoot video, because it needs to turn on the live view mode all the time, the power consumption is quite huge, so it is very necessary to prepare more batteries.

Necessary equipment preparation

The first thing you need to prepare is a tripod, and in terms of lenses, in addition to the commonly used standard zoom large aperture lenses, there are the following types of lenses to choose from:

1. Ultra-large aperture fixed-focus lens, from wide angle to telephoto, 20/ 1.8, 24/ 1.8, 28/ 1.4, 35/ 1.4/, 50//.

2. Super wide-angle lens and fisheye lens.

3. Shift-axis lens can shoot a perspective image very close to film on APS frame.

4. telephoto lens.

5. Macro lens, you can shoot the micro world with high-definition video.

It should be noted that the lens used in digital SLR cameras is usually lower than the zoom magnification of the camera, so if you want to seek the zoom performance effect brought by lens reduction, then a high-magnification zoom lens of 18 ~ 200 mm is very suitable.

Generally speaking, the digital SLR camera represented by D90 is far superior to the domestic digital cameras and quasi-professional cameras in depth of field, noise and definition except manual focusing, mono and 5-minute shooting time limitation. However, it is impossible to say that digital SLR cameras will replace digital cameras in this way. After all, the overall design of digital camera is more suitable for video recording, and it is superior to digital SLR camera in hand-holding, focusing and radio reception. However, if you want to experience movie-like video creation at a small cost and shoot some creative shots, then a digital SLR camera with D-Move function is definitely your best choice.