Nikon D90 as a Video Camera
The Nikon D90 is a DSLR that also shoots video. This review deals strictly with the D90 as a video camera.
The movie mode is an incredible idea. This is the first DSLR that also shoots real 720p HD video. (There’s even an on-board HDMI port – a rarity in this price range.) The process of recording video isn’t very intuitive. It’s obvious that this camera was designed for still photography NOT video. The ergonomics are not terrible for shooting video, but could be better. And the results? If you’re patient, good at manual focus (the D90 autofocus is switched off in movie mode) and you shoot from a tripod, you can make good video with this device. But it will take some practice. After numerous tries, I haven’t been able to focus the camera for video so I gave up on it.
While I appreciate the bonus of the movie mode, it’s important to note that I wouldn’t buy this camera just because of that. You can get a much better quality dedicated digital camcorder for $1000. The lack of an audio input other than the built-in mic, and no control whatsoever over aperture and shutter speed eliminate many cool tricks that could be done with this camera.
That said, I can see a whole bunch of cool videos being made with it anyway…much the way people take advantage of a Holga camera’s flaws to make a creative statement, people will be able to do the same thing with video on the D90. I just won’t be one of those people.
I do believe this camera is ground-breaking in that it shows a huge interest in the convergence between still and video. And I expect the next Nikon DSLR will have an even more advanced, refined and valuable approach to shooting video. But the execution leaves a lot to be desired in my opinion.
NOTE: I had trouble working with the movie files (they appear to be AVI’s) in Final Cut Pro. So I imported them into , a free utility that converts them into .mov files that worked well in both Final Cut Pro and iMovie. You should also note that Nikon doesn’t supply any movie conversion or editing software with the D90.
I just recently got a D90 and found the same thing regarding footage being imported into Final Cut Pro.
Here’s a write-up on the best settings to use in Streamclip to get the best Final Cut files. Going to AIC or ProRes is best:
November 28, 2008 at 9:52 pm
I shoot with a D90.. Not having auto-focus isn’t so bad, the AVI does sort of suck, but the thing that most annoys me is not supporting an external mic.
Regardless, kudos to Nikon for being the first.
January 26, 2009 at 2:11 am