Personal View site logo
Nikon D4. The new king with uncompressed HDMI output.
  • 208 Replies sorted by
  • bumkichobumkicho

    Only looking at video features, I am not sure what D4 offers is much better than what GH2 already has. Monitoring audio through headphone jack is nice. Uncompressed hdmi out is nice. What happens when Vitaliy and hdmi team finally find a way to make it happen on GH2? I may be overlooking things.

  • jpbturbojpbturbo

    There is nothing odd about it at all. They are making a camera that will work for high end sports shooters, the sort of people that pay to have their D3 sent off to Nikon to have the buffer doubled. Now the D4 has an absurd buffer, almost 70 shots of uncompressed 14bit while shooting at 10 or 11 fps. Maybe they aren't trying to corner the market so much as not let it slip away to Canon, I know people that primarily shoot stills that have gone with Canon because they might want to shoot video and are glad to have that option even though they don't really need it for their work.

  • itimjimitimjim

    @last_SHIFT I'm specifically on about the high end video function on offer. It'll be a no-brainer for stills photographers. The odd market to me is the pro-hybrid photo/videographer. To me, the larger market for hybrid DSLRs, is in the $1000-2000 range.

  • last_SHIFTlast_SHIFT

    Well if you call pro photographers an odd market :)

  • brianlucebrianluce

    @bleach551 Sure man, hit me up when you're in SB.

  • itimjimitimjim

    First impressions are that the D4 is fantastic, like really technically fantastic. The price bothers me a bit, as you're getting into the price range where hybrid starts to make less sense, and you want something more dedicated to the job. Seems an odd market they're trying to corner.

  • jpbturbojpbturbo

    The rock climbers plaid shirt looks decent.

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

  • danyyyeldanyyyel

    Hard to judge detail on the Youtube sport video because of the youtube and perhaps avchd compression. It looks a little plasticky but no definite judgement before we see some proper avchd or even uncompressed output. Only little disappointment spec-wise is the 8 bit output. As a Nikon shooter, this camera is a bit out of my budget. The rumored d800 is more in line and I hope this tech tickle down to something like a d400 camera.

  • AlexAlex

    what is this mentioned silent mode? 25fps JPG's @2k?? Until the buffer is full or the XQD card is full? 2 mega pixel (guess its a 3:2 aspect ratio) at 25 fps could be nice for some epic anamorphic shots ...

  • LPowellLPowell

    DPReview overview of the Nikon D4:

    http://www.dpreview.com/articles/7799914638/nikon-d4-overview

    "The D4 gains improved aperture control in movie mode, with the addition of 'Power aperture'. This simply means that the user can adjust the aperture while recording video in the A and M exposure modes. It's also possible to set the aperture much more precisely in video live view mode before recording starts, in 1/8 stop increments"

  • bitcrusherbitcrusher

    Ken Rockwell sounds like a stills guy, and from the few posts I have read from so other photographers they are not all that impressed ether. - Not that I would ever listen to anyone about a camera thats not even out yet.

    I like what this camera looks like on paper. We will see as time goes on. The wireless ipad/ipod thing sound very interesting. This could be what we have been waiting for.

  • AmandaNLAmandaNL

    For a 6000 dollar cam I wouldn't expect less........

    How would a 6000 dollar GH3 look like ;-)

    Serious, the D4 looks like a nice cam but not revolutionary, just an upgrade.

  • LPowellLPowell

    LOL, Ken Rockwell is not impressed:

    http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/d4.htm

    But I sure as hell am. This thing converts Nikkor and Zeiss optics into uncompressed 8-bit 4:2:2 HD video in real-time Live View mode, with 1X, 1.5X, or 2.7X telecropping. And on the audio side, uncompressed stereo 16-bit/48K PCM with live headphone monitoring and manual level controls. I'm also expecting remote control follow focus with an iPad...

    As a bonus, it can take RAW 14-bit, 16-Megapixel full-frame snapshots @ ISO 12800 as well ;)

  • stipstip

    yep, I agree, it doesn't really blow me away, especially considering resolution and dynamic range. Then again, it's easy to overcrank contrast with Nikons and I'm sure with some tweakings of settings it could look much better. Youtube is shit also. Not worth the $6K just for video though I think, maybe D800 will show up soon. Also will be interesting to see some HDMI captured samples.

  • bitcrusherbitcrusher

    @Stip

    Looks good! I hope they upload that to vimeo.

  • bleach551bleach551

    @Stip,

    Most of the scenes in the video look really great and some..not so much. I dont know if it is the Youtube compression , but I see some aliasing in some scenes with some light falloff in the corners in other scenes, possibly from the specific lenses that were used or as an vignetting effect done in post. Hopefully, as time goes by, there will be more examples form others whom have secretly had the D4 for a while.

    Thank you very much for sharing this.

  • bleach551bleach551

    You Da Man @Stip!!

  • stipstip

    No problem bleach551, but you gonna love this one: First D4 video!!!

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=nZZMIo7Zfys

  • bleach551bleach551

    @Stip,

    Thanks for the links!!

  • stipstip

    This guy obviously had hands on D4. At around 17:20 min he says HDMI output is 8 bit 4:2:2 At 18:47 he says a 30 sec clip (h.264) is about 130MB

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=jT0Pb5SNXmU

    Joe Mcnally about D4:

    Video quality and new features. Wow. We’re in the final stages of post right now for what we shot. Check back sometime next week for the full scoop. It’s a game changer.<

    http://www.joemcnally.com/blog/2012/01/06/shooting-the-d4/

    I am suspicious when someone says "game changer", so I won't believe until I see sample videos.

  • bwhitzbwhitz

    You may in the shadows as the noise floor increases from less pixel sampling.

    Yea it may be harsh to call the others "dead"... But they're looking much less appealing.

  • AthirilAthiril

    How are they dead? You're not going to get less dynamic range because you cropped the source... geez

  • bwhitzbwhitz

    1Dx... Dead. C300... Dead. Way to go Nikon. And with their history of sensor performance, I wouldn't doubt this thing approaching 14 stops of DR in the FX mode.

    That multi format sensor mode is my dream. Real innovation right there.

    What will the film "pros" find to rag on now? :)

  • bleach551bleach551

    @Vitaliy

    You are probably right, But I guess we will have to see future test to see how good it really is.

    Here is the official PDF for the D4 from Nikon imaging

    http://imaging.nikon.com/lineup/dslr/d4/

Add a Comment