Mini-Review: 2 hours with a D90

[kaidomac]

Just got my D90 in today - my wife's a photographer, so it's primary purpose is for photos, but I get it on the off-days :hv20-smilie31: Just wanted to post a quick review:

-PQ is amazing, really awesome
-Focus is really, really hard on that tiny 3" screen (started out with a 50mm f/1.8d, shallow DOF) and no live view on HDMI output
-Jello is easily overcome with a Steadicam or Tripod, no big deal, just don't do much handheld
-Jaggies (result of compression) are solved in software (upscale to 800p, then downscale using InstantHD, FCP's scaler, whatever)
-5 minute clip limit is not a big deal for what this camera is capable of; with a manual focus-only lens this obviously isn't going to be something you bring to your kid's soccer game or choir recital to sit and record for 2 hours at a time
-Motion-JPEG format isn't as bad as I thought, still not great, but you can do things to fix it somewhat (NeatVideo, scaler trick, color correction, etc.)
-I do miss auto-focus for walking around, like for Steadicam it would be really nice to have!

Verdict: Awesome - if (1) it fits your needs and (2) you are aware of the limitations (and are prepared to deal with them). It does fit *my* needs very nicely. I'm debating keeping my HV20 now...the Scarlet is next in line for me, so the D90 will be a good interim system, but I'll give it a week and see how it fares. I'll also try mixing some HV20 footage with D90 clips to see how well I can make them match for my projects.

DOF is just sooooo cool! And no noise from tape...and pure-digital recording, just pop the SD card into my comp and do my import jig, voila! Very fast & easy to work with as far as the digital workflow goes. I think one of the biggest annoyances is how hard it is to focus with the 50mm prime lens on that little 3" screen. It's a big step over my previous D70s' screen, but for focusing in a tight field it's just a tad too small. I really hope they add live-view to HDMI output in the future.

I'll post another thread when I've had a week or two to really play with it...:hv20-smilie77:

[HankW]

Good review. Nice to hear that you're enjoying the cam. Would it be possible for you to post som screengrabs of some of the best footage you've done?

[kaidomac]

Good review. Nice to hear that you're enjoying the cam. Would it be possible for you to post som screengrabs of some of the best footage you've done?

Haven't done a ton of video, but I'll post some in a week or two once I get some more free time. I took the D90 on a vacation to Philly with me...my biggest complaint so far is simply that all you have is the 3" screen for visual feedback. No viewfinder, no Live HDMI output. Video Mode doesn't support AF, so you have to do it all manually, so really your best bet is to focus with AF first, then punch it into video mode once you're focused. Doing fun DOF shots are hard because it will look perfect on that 3" screen (huge for photos, tiny for HD video), but you can immediately tell it's off-focus when you import the footage and watch it on a computer monitor.

I'd also really like to see a full-manual mode, where YOU choose all of the settings. There's no manual ISO or Shutter, which is a tad annoying. Be prepared to pick up Neat Video for noise reduction if you plan on using the D90 for video a lot. Image stabilization can be overcome by just using a tripod or some other method of stabilization. I'd like to see some kind of video-VR, that would be neat! But again it's not a super big deal since it's a dSLR camera, not a camcorder. The limitations are what they are. All I'd really request is Live HDMI + full manual controls in video mode.

With that said, video looks really nice. It's not real great for fast-moving objects like cars (the 24p looks funky, like PAL-style almost). Night shots are incredibly detailed, no camcorder I've ever used has match the D90's night video clips, but again be prepared to use some kind of de-noising filter in your NLE software. I think the d90 and that other Canon model that record in HD are definitely a step in the right direction; I'm really hoping the Scarlet blows them both away as both photo and video cameras so I can have one beast to rule them all :hv20-smilie84:

After playing with it for a week or so, I'm not convinced on selling my HV20 just yet. If they could at least do Live HDMI output, I'd consider it - you get a whole 35mm camera system for less than the price for a Brevis35 or RedRock setup, which is totally awesome. 720p is something of a limitation if you're outputting to Full HD, but for DVD resolution and web stuff it's just fine.

I like it :hv20-smilie77: