jimcroisdale

I think I've got it all sussed now.... Written a blog - hope it's some use to somebody somewhere! http://hack2018.com/2015/03/13/nikon-d5300-for-video/ Cheers, Jim

It cant do it - just tried!

Although looking on the internet there are a couple of ways round this for the D5300. You can either not click the lens fully into place, which I tried and works, or you can cover the contacts on the back of the lens with tape. It does leave you in a situation where the same lenses can't really be used for stills and video, but not the end of the world I guess. It certainly DOES get around the problem of not being able to change aperture in Liveview mode though! Give me a 28mm AIS and an HDMI monitor with focus peaking and I'll be golden. Keep the 35mm f1.8 DX G for stills, although having said that, having to come out of live view to change apertures isn't the worst thing in the world, right? Set shutter speed to 50th (as per film) and leave itSet aperture for effect and leave itBalance ISO/ND filter as appropriate to help with the above.Is that how it can work? Cheers, Jim

​I'm finding some of this not to be right as far as I can see. Tried my Tamron 70-300 (basically like a D series Nikon) and when I move the aperture ring away from the smallest end I get an error message. If this is right it means I can't use the majority of AF lenses, even in MF mode if I'm wanting to change apertures in live view mode using the aperture ring? Jim

D5300 on its way.... Thankyou gentlemen!

The d3200 would essentially be free - my d3100 and 50 would cover it. The d5300 would be an additional £160 approx.

Hiya all, I've done a ton of reading over the last week, and there's a lot to learn. There's also a lot of new stuff on the market since i was last keeping tabs on the photography market, back in 2005 - especially all of the mirrorless stuff. I've looked at the Blackmagic, the Panasonic/Sony stuff and the prices of what I've been looking at have crept up and up... :-) Here's the reality: Whatever I buy probably isn't going to get used an awful lot. In short, I don't think there's any sense in paying for any more than my original brief: 1. 1080p videos in 24p 2. Nikon 3. Fully manual video controls (which my current D3100 doesn't have) From all this reading, it actually seems that the D3200 will do what i want. yes, I know it's not the best quality, but for me, as an occasional hobbyist that does also need a stills camera, I'm thinking this makes a lot of sense for a little money. What do you think? At the end of the day, if it gets a lot of use I can always upgrade later... Jim

So it's manual focus and plenty of practice then? :-)

Ah yes - the fold out screen! i was kinda thinking of buying a 7" monitor anyway though, so assuming the D7100 has an HDMI output (i think it does) this would replace the articulating screen. One final question - is it pretty much the consensus that the AF on these cameras (ALL of the DSLRs) is pretty much useless? (Did I read it's because it's contrast and not phase detection?) Jim

Mr Carter and mr Saadawi, thankyou so much for your advice. I love the internet! It's looking like the D7100 for me I think. From what I can see, the only thing that the D5300 has over it is the 60p - something I'm rarely going to need, and can certainly live without. I like the fact that the D7100 is the more 'pro' body - bigger with more dials and screw drive AF (and only £100 more used) And let me get this straight - with older aperture ring lenses I can actually control the aperture in live view, giving the final piece of the 'fully manual' puzzle? Many thanks, Jim

Hiya Matrox - thanks for commenting! I'm not sure I'll need to change any settings apart from focus during the actual shots (most of which are very short apart from full performances which are still only 2-3min and in a controlled environment). The D3100 is basically aperture priority and then self adjusts shutter and ISO to suit, which I don't want. If I can set the shutter to 50, aperture as per the effect that I want, and then adjust the exposure with ISO and ND filters I'll be golden. So really, I'm looking at the most cost effective Nikon that will let me do that.... :-) Cheers, Jim

And just to point out - the hacks in the videos I posted aren't something you can install. It's just a way of getting round the no manual control issue by pointing the camera at a certain scene and locking the exposure before recomposing. I'm not getting into that... :-)

D800 is lovely, but well outside of my price range! :-) Just read an article that says the D7000 does offer fully manual video - body only, used, for £339 D5200 / D5300 available used for £279 / £320 Bearing in mind that ANY of these is going to be an improvement over my stills camera (still rockin' a D50!!) and that utmost quality isn't THAT important, which would you go for? As long as I can shoot 1080/24, fully manual, I think I'm going to be happy? Jim

See also here: http://cheesycam.com/nikon-d3100-dslr-no-manual-video-control/

Apparently, it's not fully manual - it changes the shutter speed/ISO, hence hacks like these: Cheers, James