Nikon D800 vs D4 if video is your bag

Dangleman

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Very interesting review up by Phillip Bloom regarding the video capabilities of the new Nikons. Make of it what you will, but the D4 looks really soft for video in anything other than the 2.7 crop mode.

As a Nikon shooter who was considering the D800 anyway over the D4, this is good news for me

http://philipbloom.net/2012/05/13/fullframeshootout/
 
I'm not sure if he's just nit-picking because anything magnified enough is going to look soft.
I think it all depends on what you are going to be doing with the video clips.

It would be interesting to know how they stack up against the video on a 1DmkIV because I found the video on the one I had very acceptable and I can only guess that both the D800 and D4 are better than that.
 
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I know you can over nit-pick (great phrase that isn't it) these things, but if you do watch the review there is a marked difference in softness.

It just seems another nail in the D4's coffin to my mind. As a D3 user, and DSLR video shooter (D7000 for that at the moment mainly) - before the D4 came out I would have bet my house on me getting one. But, the D800 for much less money seems to be the better choice all round, especially factoring in this video softness of the D4 side of things.
 
Different bodies for different uses. You need to decide what use you have for either. Not just video I assume? If so, buy a dedicated video camera.
After owning the D4 for a tad over a week now, I don't see any nails in any coffin. :D
It is a cracking body. And yes, it is an improvement over my D3s. I didn't use that for video. I 'may' use this at some point for video. :shrug:
I am cosidering getting the D800 as a second body. Haven't decided yet.


Kev.
 
:lol::lol::lol:
Just noticed what section this is in! My comments may not make sense now. :D

Kev.
 
kevshore said:
:lol::lol::lol:
Just noticed what section this is in! My comments may not make sense now. :D

Kev.
Click to expand...

:-) making some sense

I'm taking from a purely video aspect really, but as a stills shooter also- having a one size fits all solution in one body is a real potential bonus. There just doesn't seem to be the 'perfect' solution, every new cam (d800, d4 and the canon mkiii) has its minor foibles it seems, as old Bloomy points out in his review...
 
They are very much aimed at different uses but I am more tempted with a D800 and a used D3s than a D4 with either option working out roughly the same overall price.
 
The D4 footage looks like incorrect focus rather than lack of resolution, truly soft rather than the blocking you would expect if resolution were the problem. He doesn’t mention gamma, to my mind the D4 and Canon pictures look much nicer than the D800. The D800 footage looks like Nikon SLR video of old, tending to loose chroma in the brighter parts of the pictures. To me it looks like video rather than the film look that everyone wants from a high end DSLR.
 
It's true, my D4 is much softer than my D7000 except on CX crop. BUT I wonder if it's a problem, if your watching a movie or tv do you look at sharpness, is so perhaps what your watching is boring?
Are we looking at video like we do prints, if so should we?
Did think of sending mine back but it's SO good at stills and I've not convinced myself softer video is actually a problem!
 
snappypete said:
It's true, my D4 is much softer than my D7000 except on CX crop. BUT I wonder if it's a problem, if your watching a movie or tv do you look at sharpness, is so perhaps what your watching is boring?
Are we looking at video like we do prints, if so should we?
Did think of sending mine back but it's SO good at stills and I've not convinced myself softer video is actually a problem!
Click to expand...

The softness is a problem to me, purely from the fact that it shouldn't be there. The D800 doesn't have it, the D7000 doesn't have it, so why is Nikon's £5k flagship model not up to speed? I think Nikon have dropped the ball a bit here. Is it an issue that a firmware update could fix I wonder, or is it purely a mechanical, focal length and physics problem? Anyone know more?

I'm not too bothered though, as I've gone for the D800 this time around :)
 
Dangleman said:
Is it an issue that a firmware update could fix I wonder, or is it purely a mechanical, focal length and physics problem?
Click to expand...
The answer to that question could mean around £7,000 going to either Nikon or Canon. Buying the D4 with this major fault seems stupid when the 1Dx seems to have excellent video quality.
 
d800 sounds absolutely awesome. both video and stills. wonder how it would stack against 1dc ?
 
Lowlight the D800 isn't as good as the 5DMk3. I think the 1DC would smoke it as it just slightly down the ladder of the C300. Both are much more video orientated but that said I'm a Nikon man and will be buying a D800 hopefully soon!
 
Starastin said:
d800 sounds absolutely awesome. both video and stills. wonder how it would stack against 1dc ?
Click to expand...
The 1Dc is in a completely different league in terms of video quality. It's also in a different league in price as well. I think it's expected to be around £10K body only!
 
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