Nikon's D90 Through the Eyes of a Video Pro

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Drew Hicks
Kurtis
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Nov. 4, 2008

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Nikon's D90 Through the Eyes of a Video Pro - Page 1

"Exceeds demands of passionate photographers" is how Nikon's website describes the D90. Let's skip to the chase here and just say that what they're referring to, what everyone seems to talk about in reference to this camera (and the focus of this scathing editorial) is its ability to shoot video.

Let's review Nikon's virtues before we lay into this particular camera. By way of disclosure let me say that I own a Nikon (an entry-level 35mm SLR, the N65) and frankly I love thing. Nikon makes some of the finest consumer lenses and, dollar-for-dollar, I'll take a Nikon over a Canon any day.

Maybe this is because I come from the independent film world where the battery-gobbling XL-1 somehow remained in use long after its reign should have ended. Come to think of it, maybe I just prefer Japanese products in general. Call me anti-American, but I've seen a Panasonic go through torrential downpour in a Costa Rican rain forest and still come out shooting, not to mention the marathon-length battery capacity of VX1000. But I digress.

As a digital SLR, the D90 meets industry benchmarks - more super-duper-mega-pixels than last year's model. That's appreciated, don't get me wrong, but that's normal for technology: cheaper and better as time goes by. It's when companies start adding bells and whistles that consumers didn't ask for that they get in trouble. I'm reminded here of the many jokes made around the pup-tent regarding why prosumer video cameras have the option to take stills. Much like the idea of an SLR that shoots video, I agree that there are certain specific situations that could warrant wanting to take pictures with my very-expensive-machine-designed-to-capture-motion; but really, wouldn't you just buy a still camera? We all love our Leatherman tools, but I wouldn't want to change a tire with one.

The D90 shoots video at 1290 x 720 (that's standard HDTV 16x9) . Estimates put shooting video at this size at about 100MB / minute. Thankfully, with the Secure Digital High-Capacity (SDHC) card storage system, you can get up to 32G on a single card, so storage / workflow shouldn't be too much of a problem. Users of Panasonic HVX100's P2 storage system may have flashbacks of a nightmarish workflow, partitioned hard drives crashing and camera-to-storage download times that allowed for multiple cigarettes around the craft services table. Or maybe you coughed up the dough for the fire store and had it easy. Me? I had a cheap producer.

Storage isn't the issue with D90. The problem lies in battery life. A standard DSLR battery can go for quite a while unless you just love looking at every photo right after you take it (sorority girls at my bar - I'm looking your way). But video is a different beast. The reviews coming in from videographers using the D90 already bemoan the strain put on the tiny lithium-ion battery - the cinematographic equivalent of getting a dachshund to pull a carriage.

Unfortunately, the problems don't stop there. The D90's ISO can go as low as 200, but can further be scaled down by an EV of 1 (an effective ISO of 100). It goes as high as 3200, or scaled up by an EV of 1, near-enough to 6400. If you're shooting video on the D90--and Nikon apparently thinks you want to--you can completely disregard those last two sentences because you will never ever get to set the ISO. In video mode, the camera locks you out of every setting except focus. Have a good time playing with the focus of your image, because the ISO and aperture will be handled by the little man who lives inside the D90.

You can also forget about getting a tight depth of field. The D90's exposure surface is less than an inch wide (23.6 x 15.8mm). With controlled light, a great lens and a lot of planning, you can probably squeak out a nice-looking close-up but it's a no-go on that macro shot of your actor's eyelashes.

Good luck getting a steady shot out of the little guy, too. Unless you're locked down on a tripod or you have the hands of a surgeon, a tiny camera held at arm's length means a shaky shot. Personally, I'm hoping for a RedCam-style modular attachment to the D90 that includes a shoulder-brace and a steady-cam mount.

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3 User Comments

1 - Posted by Shannz on December 8, 2008 - 11:38 pm

Thanks for the insightful article.
I sure hope the little man who lives inside the D90 gets it right because video option on a Nikon dslr is one of the main reasons I'd buy it. Starving artists need multifaceted devices.
:/ Luckily, I have the hands of a surgeon! You've given me lots to think about before making this purchase.

2 - Posted by MosaicMarj on December 17, 2008 - 10:05 am

Great article. Really helpful. Very disappointing not to have more control over settings and I hear that once you set focus, you can't change it while shooting. However, the idea of carting around 2 cameras is exhausting and for those of us producing in a multimedia world, this is a good beginning.

3 - Posted by Kurtis on December 17, 2008 - 2:08 pm

From the things I've heard so far, the Canon 5D Mk II looks a little more promising on the video front, FYI.

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