Connect with us

Hardware

Nikon D800: Amazing Sample Video

Published

on

Nikon released an amazing short movie to demonstrate the D800’s video chops. Most Nikon D800 buyers will be ponying up $3,000 primarily for its photo capabilities, but more and more photographers are creating videos for themselves and clients. As you can see in the sample movie, the Nikon D800 doesn’t disappoint and is fully capable of shooting cinema-quality movies.

Photographer Sandro Miller teamed up with Nikon and a full production crew to produce “Joy Ride,” a five-minute film that follows a mysterious motorcyclist through a seedy nighttime cityscape. Dozens of shots of vehicles, people and landscapes are woven together, most of which were taken in low-light conditions. If you were worried about shooting with the Nikon D800 once the sun goes down…don’t. With the proper lenses and techniques, the D800 appears to be more than capable of handling almost any lighting situation.

One early criticism is that the D800’s sensor and relatively narrow  ISO range (compared to the D4) would limit night shooting. This video shows that the Nikon D800 will serve you just fine unless you’re shooting in near complete darkness. The Nikon D800 has an ISO range of 100-6400, which is expandable to 25,600. Of course some photographers will lust after the Nikon D4, but that camera is double the price and overkill for most enthusiasts and some professionals.

Nikon D800 D800e

Nikon D800 / D800E

Nikon’s new D800 is making quite a splash in the camera and tech communities with good reason. The Nikon D800 is similar in size and price to the D700, a camera that’s over three years old. Until now, Nikon users that wanted to shoot video either had to upgrade to one of Nikon’s top-of -the-line D3 or D4 series cameras or pick up consumer-grade Nikon with a DX sensor, such as the D5100 or D7000. The Nikon D800 slides in between the consumer Nikons and the D4, offering a full FX sensor and many of the pro features found on the D4. It’s loaded with a 36.4 megapixel sensor for snapping pictures and 1080p video.

While this Nikon D800 sample video is certainly inspirational, don’t expect to get similar results unless you have the budget to go out and hire professional actors and production crew. You don’t have to go any further than the above video or the credits to get a sense of what it takes to make a film that’s as high quality as this, not to mention the range of lenses to capture the varied shots. If you’re starting fresh with DSLRs you’ll need to budget a few thousand dollars to properly outfit the Nikon D800 with lenses, strobes and other accessories. If you want to replicate all the gear used in the D800 sample video, you’re going to need to crack open a very large piggy bank.

The Nikon D800 is available for pre-order at Amazon.com for $2,999, with early orders scheduled to ship mid-March. Nikon is also offering up the Nikon D800E for $3,299. The Nikon D800E is virtually identical to the D800, except that it doesn’t employ an anti-aliasing filter, which means fine details will be sharper. Most users will be better suited with the Nikon D800 since the lack of a anti-aliasing filter means photographers will have to deal with undesirable moire´ effects  in post production.

The Nikon D800 might sound expensive compared to point-and-shoot cameras or simply shooting with an iPhone, but this is a camera that’s worth every penny, especially for those that get paid to shoot. Those who are just getting started with DSLRs or are not sure if they need everything the Nikon D800 has to offer would likely be better-suited by starting off with a more affordable option, such as the Nikon D5100 and upgrading to the D800 once they outgrow it.

 

11 Comments

11 Comments

  1. Caleb Coppola

    02/07/2012 at 4:06 pm

    Does the video downsample the entire sensor, or it cropping for the 1080P?

  2. Xavier Lanier

    02/07/2012 at 5:27 pm

    I believe that the Nikon D800 downsamples the sensor, unlike the D4, which crops at 2.7x. I believe this is because the physical size of the1920x1080 crop would be very small on the 36 MP sensor. 

  3. Caleb Coppola

    02/07/2012 at 8:01 pm

    Is it h264, and do you know if it does inter or intra frame compression?

  4. Anonymous

    02/08/2012 at 2:17 am

  5. Anonymous

    02/08/2012 at 5:40 pm

     https://lnk.co/IHOTL

  6. Muki

    02/14/2012 at 12:18 am

    well, “making off” does look a lot better than the movie itself, so…

  7. Tas

    03/05/2012 at 1:28 pm

    How can anyone say that it is wonderful? A footage with moire, unhappiness and heavy noise. Nikon in fact haven;t done a good job for D800’s video promos. Have they?

    • Tas

      03/05/2012 at 1:32 pm

      SORRY FOR TYPO. it was ‘unsharpness’ not ‘unhappiness’

  8. Evan Tozer

    04/11/2012 at 1:56 pm

    Why suggest someone starting out purchase a DX camera and then upgrade to an FX after most likely investing in DX lenses?

    • Xavier Lanier

      04/11/2012 at 4:36 pm

      Money. Spending $3,000 on your first DSLR is overkill if you’re just starting to dabble in photography.  Yes, you’ll have to sell some gear and lose a few hundred dollars if you get serious and want to upgrade to a D800. But that’s a much better prospect than spending $3000+ and letting it live on a shelf.

  9. Gilltronic

    04/24/2012 at 7:46 am

    I thought the video looked amazing. 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.