Andrew Reid

I'd rather take ProRes home from my Shogun than MJPEG from my 1D C internally so the internal 4K recording is of no advantage to me.   That's just me :) I cannot use the LCD on the 1D C for focus or exposure in 4K, it needs a monitor with peaking, zoom, zebra etc. So does the A7S yet I have 4K over that HDMI. Huge advantage in my book!   I can understand totally the need to justify a purchase that costs in the region of $12,000 and delivers such a lovely image but when it comes to functionality and the A7S comparison I'm only pointing out the facts!

Yes good point Bob.

"Better" is a kind of catch-all term though isn't it... and "better" should be on a needs-tested basis.   Speed Booster is very good at giving you those 'extra lenses' so you're right on that count. However with 4K you can have APS-C simply by cropping and you don't need Speed Booster to get the full frame look obviously, so for me that is a superior solution.   "Better" overall? Not when it comes to wides.   Say you have a wide-ish lens, aka 35mm. On Micro Four Thirds that isn't wide obviously. On Speed Booster or 1.5x crop Super 35mm it isn't wide either. Only on full frame is 35mm considered as a 'wide' of view.   Say you have a 35mm F1.4 and a 35mm F1.2. Barely any difference in brightness to be honest, but the overall look is massively different on the F1.2 - bokeh looks totally different at that aperture. Only full frame will give you a 35mm F1.2 wide angle. I have one here - a Voigtlander 35mm F1.2. It is like the Nokton 17.5mm F0.95 but full frame. The look is just spellbinding.   So for wide angle shots it gives you that extra look... of very fast apertures at longer focal lengths yet still wide! 12mm F2 on the GH4 or a 24mm F1.4 on Speed Booster / GH4 at 1.5x crop looks very different.   Essentially each camera has to be taken on overall merit and not on sensor size.   The GH4 has strengths over the A7S and visa versa.   For me it all comes down to the lenses. There are more full frame ones than there are for crop sensors and if you want to use them as intended then you need that sensor size.   In some areas they cancel each other out. If for example you need the more manageable focus at F1.4 then a small sensor will give you that. But then it is horses for courses because if low light is a priority and that is your reason for shooting F1.4 then a small sensor might not give you the low light performance of a larger one, like in the A7S even when stopped down to F5.6.

Superb footage Ed.   I've promoted this to a blog post on the front page of EOSHD.   Thanks for contributing.   *****     Just how bad is the rolling shutter exactly on the A7S. Intolerable or similar to what we're used to on other DSLRs? Read the full article here

Feel free to add ways the 1D C trumps over the A7S...   :)

This began as a 10 point list. It grew... The 1D C when it was introduced offered an absolutely lovely image and still does. The price for me was a total joke but the sensor inside was capable of very nice 4K. Now the playing field has changed somewhat. Exactly how does the Sony A7S compare on paper to the 1D C? Read the full article here

View the price drop on the C300 at B&H here View the price drop on the 1D C at B&H here C300 and 1D C drop $2000 This is an interesting move by Canon. The 1D C I expected really to drop further in price because of intense competition from Panasonic and Sony at much lower prices. The C300 however has been selling very well but now apparently Canon want to shift stock faster. Is this to make way for a replacement? Based on specs alone it is certainly due one. Based on the real world and how this camera has been accepted by videographers and filmmakers, people seem pretty happy with what they have! Read the full article here

A7S at 120fps? :)

  Yeah Nikon are really going to give us oversampled 4K video on a DSLR aren't they??! What from? 8K!?

If you have a Nikon mount lens with no stabilisation then there's very little point in waiting for a Canon mount Speed Booster in my view.

I think these tests are fake anyway. If you look at them all, they seem to be shot with the same two cameras.   There's no way the G1 X Mark II has no aliasing  

  Given the 5D Mark III was soft 2 years ago, and can go the extra mile with raw where the D810 can't, this is hardly high praise.   "My VHS tape is nearly as good as betamax!"

  SCARY!!

Great stuff. Now for the cinema market :)

  Doesn't look it. Description says 1080p / 60i so make of that what you will!

  I can indeed see why the 36MP sensor was always going to restrict them when it comes with updates, especially incremental updates like the D810.   X-T1 is the reality of the market place today... do Nikon have an answer to it... Nope... V3? Ha.   In the end I am just calling a spade a spade. D810 is lukewarm for video, because it is lukewarm. For me, I don't really care about the reasons.

  Really? On down arrow I have label "Volume", with predictable results...

On the Tokyo monorail video the very wide lens makes the verticals lean back so not a good rolling shutter test by the way ;)

Well the S-LOG 2 example shows you can save a shot if you're short of dynamic range in standard mode, but with some pretty bad noise in the shadows coming into play.

  Sensible post Richard. I think you hit the nail on the head. The product design and engineering in Japan comes from a very traditional photography culture, one that has no at all embraced video. The US side of marketing, etc. comes from a country with rich filmmaking culture. I am surprised they cannot connect better and give us what we want.   Line skipped 1080p at 24Mbit/s, 8bit 4:2:0 and no features such as focus peaking, articulated screen, etc. is just not where pro video is at in 2014. I don't know how Nikon expect to give us such specs and dodgy image quality on brand appeal alone, and full frame.

I am trying out a Fuji X-T1 for stills. That is arguably far nicer to use than the D810, so they are behind in that as well. DSLR form factor = dated.

Along with such disappointing video quality on both of Nikon's flagship models the D4S and D810, it's suggested by some that Nikon do not care about video on DSLRs because it is a small market. They make stills cameras! Video is a tiny niche. And so it goes, on and on (mainly from people on photography forums and not actual working pros)... So I was very much taken aback to see 34 mentions of "video", 14 mentions of "cinema" and 10 mentions of "broadcast" in their official press release for the D810. That compares to only 18 mentions of "photographer", 4 mentions of "photography" and zero mention of the word "still" or "stills" in the entire release. Read the full article here

  No, Nikon are not trying to market the D810 at all towards video users, judging by the press release sent out to stills sites like DPReview...   In the heading of the PR it refers to the camera as an "HD-SLR", delivering a TRUE CINEMATIC EXPERIENCE.   Then under that is a sub-heading which says:   "Powerful Video Features and Enhanced Performance, the New Nikon D810 is the Essential Asset for Pro Photo and Video Applications"   Another mention of video in the first line of the main text...   "Today, Nikon Inc. announced the D810, the next benchmark in D-SLR image quality for professional photographers and cinematographers"   And then references pro video 6 more times in the very first paragraph.   "The D810 delivers enhanced response and performance for a wide variety of photographic, cinematic and broadcast disciplines. Whether photographing weddings, fashion or landscapes, shooting documentary-style cinema or video for broadcast, this is the one D-SLR that provides the ultimate in versatility and capability."   And direct from the horses mouth in the next paragraph, says Masahiro Horie of Nikon:   "The D810 becomes a powerful storytelling tool to create images and broadcast-quality video with unprecedented detail"   I can only assume he is talking about a different model?   Nikon then mention no less than ELEVEN video features. (Highlights include ability to change aperture while recording, and zebras. Oh my!)   And it doesn't stop there, they want to sell us the lenses as well   "NIKKOR lenses: Cinematographers and filmmakers are supported with more than 80 NIKKOR lenses, many of which are a popular choice for cinema applications because of their brilliant optical quality and characteristics."   Then finally, the cherry on top...   "Additionally, Nikon will be offering two kits designed for videographers and filmmakers; the D810 Filmmaker’s Kit consists of the D810 body, AF-S NIKKOR 35mm f/1.8G, AF-S NIKKOR 50mmm f/1.8G, AF-S NIKKOR 85mm f/1.8G lenses, 2 additional EN-EL15 batteries, ME-1 Stereo Microphone, Atomos Ninja-2 External Recorder, and Tiffen® 67mm and 58mm Variable Neutral Density Filters (8-Stops)."   The next person to suggest Nikon aren't aiming their stills cameras at video crowd... will automatically be flagged as 'idiot' by the forum software which has a new idiot filter.

  I said so in the review sir... Set the dial to M stills mode and shoot movies in there like normal, but with the benefits of the stills mode. Just be sure to set aspect ratio of stills to 16:9 so you get the proper framing for videos.   I actually prefer to use M stills mode for movie recording than the actual Movie Mode on the dial. In movie mode you cannot use AF-S to grab focus quickly on an object and record video with it locked rather than continuous. Also in movie mode the manual focus assist is a bit soft and peaking a quite low res affair. Pressing the shutter won’t allow me to bang off a still in movie mode either, nor can the shutter button be used to record a movie! I have set my stills to 16:9 so I get proper framing of movies in the stills mode. When I need MF I get a crisper zoomed display and when I press the shutter button I can rattle of a raw still. Only at 120fps does the framing change when I hit record in this mode and I lose the option for the cropped ‘Active Stabilisation’ for movies too but the benefits of stills mode for movies outweighs those downsides.

Why not just use an A7R? Same sensor.