Decent Generic Video Settings on a Nikon

[Pegasus_Thrust]

Hi, I know there's plenty of information out there and I have a manual but it's a case of information overload- I'm just after a decent starter for 10.

I do a bit of filming with dedicated camcorders etc. but I'm very aware I'm missing a trick by not utilising my SLR more. I've tried to in the past but I'm finding it quite fiddly with do many settings in multiple menus- ideally I want to point and shoot as I do with my camcorders.

Could someone let me know some decent basic settings to set my SLR to and what lens/focal distance to set it to to best emulate the results I get from my camcorder please?

I'm using a Nikon D7000 and I have at my disposal a 50mm 1.4 and the 18-105kits lens. I've even got a Rode external mic for it.

Any suggestions or tips to help get me going with this would be a great help.

Thanks in advance

 

[Vincehutchings]

My main pointer would be remember the AF wont work whilst filming so you will have to go down the manual focus route. Good thing with this is you get a nice feel to the film (if you cant remember which way focuses out/in - like me!!)

Your prime lens should deliver some nice results

 

[st599]

Shutter speed 1/100th ish
ISO 400
Adjust aperture depending on light.

 

[Dangleman]

Shutter speed 1/100th ish
ISO 400
Adjust aperture depending on light.

Actually, for shutter speed you should follow the 180 rule. Look it up. In a nutshell, your shutter speed should be manually set to double that of your framerate. Most DSLRs shoot at 24fps, the old film standard, so set shutter speed to 50.

 

[specialman]

AF will work but I wouldn't rely on it and you always run the risk of the AF hunting mid-shot, which looks weird. Manually focussing is easy to master when you're shooting most stuff, unless it's really fast tracking shots. Put a rubber band on the focussing ring to give better grip when using MF.

You don't have to follow the 180 shutter rule, although when there's any movement then this will obviously start to look jerky the faster the movement. I would never go into the 1000ths of a second but there's no harm in hitting 1/100th or thereabouts. If you do start to hit really high shutter speeds then drop the ISO and/or close the aperture down. ND filters can help if the light is still too much, especially when aiming to shoot with really shallow DoF.

Also, the mic is pretty good but I tend to set mine to one of the manual sound settings (usually level 2) to avoid the recording level jumping all over the shop as the camera tries to bring the ambient up to the same level as people speaking.

 

[st599]

Actually, for shutter speed you should follow the 180 rule. Look it up. In a nutshell, your shutter speed should be manually set to double that of your framerate. Most DSLRs shoot at 24fps, the old film standard, so set shutter speed to 50.

I know what a 180 degree shutter is. I suggested 1/100 as a 180 degree shutter gives bad rolling shutter on my dslr.