{"id":1377,"date":"2008-09-15T21:43:12","date_gmt":"2008-09-15T21:43:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/philipbloom.co.uk\/?p=1377"},"modified":"2010-09-17T00:42:07","modified_gmt":"2010-09-17T00:42:07","slug":"nikon-d90","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/philipbloom.net\/blog\/nikon-d90\/","title":{"rendered":"Nikon D90"},"content":{"rendered":"

There has been a lot of talk about this new DSLR. Not because it is the replacement for the D80 but because it shoots 720p HD video using a DSLR sensor giving it the ability to achieve shallow depth of field easily.\"\"

To access movie mode and record video you click the live view button, the lcd switches on which you use instead of the viewfinder and away you go. Very simple really. That’s the problem it is too simple, almost no controls. You can’t manually control the exposure (you can lock exposure by pressing the AE lock button once assigned to “hold” in the camera settings, something i didn’t know when shooting this). But the focus is manual only. You can\u00a0digitally\u00a0zoom in before rolling to check focus which is handy. No external mic input but there is a very low quality microphone built in..You can also only shoot in 24p mode. Not a bad thing, but 25p and 30p too would have been great!<\/p>\n

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I was pretty impressed for what it was, putting my 35mm lenses straight onto the body and getting shallow DOF without using adaptors is great, but I think we are a couple of years away before we see a camera like this with enough video features essential to any cameraman.<\/p>\n

I still recommend a decent tripod when shooting in movie mode like a miller ds10 with a nice fluid head. A stills tripod just won’t cut it really!<\/p>\n

Pros: Great image considering the limiations, 35mm DOF, price. Superb DSLR.<\/p>\n

Cons: Rolling shutter is awful, as bad as it gets, no external mic input, only 720p, 5 minutes clip max implemented to prevent sensor from overheating although I can’t see why you would shoot for more than 5 minutes at a time with this anyway. Just button off and button on again and you have another 5 minutes.<\/p>\n

Despite the cons I thoroughly recommend this camera, it is an amazing DSLR with a great new feature. \u00a0Sure it isn’t perfect but this is embryonic tech that is a hugely exciting development. What comes next will just get better and better!<\/p>\n

Best advice to get round the exposure issues is use in manual mode with lenses with manual iris. Like the Zeiss lenses. A joy<\/p>\n

Here is a quick knock together of a dozen or so shots I did near my house.<\/p>\n

[vimeo 1740085 640 480]<\/p>\n

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