Importance of 30fps/60fps and Nikon

[Errol Lazare]

Hey Tony,

In regards to video with the DSLR cameras it depends on how much a priority the video function is to you.
If you are mainly taking photos and love nikon you should stick to it, but if you are interested in having it become a camera that captures beautiful photos and high quality video than the Canon 5D Mark ii is the best option. I shoot with it and chose it because it shoots 1920x1080p at 24fps (same frame rate as film and it also shoot 1920x1080p at 30fps. This is my choice of camera but because of the functionality I need.

What do you think?

Cheers,
Errol

Errol X. Lazare
EXL Films
http://www.exlfilms.com

[Tony Connoly]

Video is important to me. I know it’s impossible to know how good the D7000 will be, but I wanted to know how important 30fps and 60fps are.

[Errol Lazare]

30fps and 60fps are standard video frame rates. Without them you pretty much don’t have video as that is the foundation which video displays each image (30 frames per second) 60fps can also be referred to as slow motion.

Errol

Errol X. Lazare
EXL Films
http://www.exlfilms.com

[Tony Connoly]

What does it mean that 30fps is the foundation of “all video”?

I don’t expect my video to be output to anything other than a computer monitor (prehaps via DVD or BluRay), and I would not be mixing it with other sources.

Btw, the 5DII does not have 60fps either, correct?

[Norman Pogson]

24 frames per second is what cinema features are filmed at, there is a slight flicker.

30 frames per second is T.V. in North America and 25fps is T.V in Europe, Australia etc the 25fps is a PAL TV system and 30fps is NTSC TV system.

60fps I use to film slow motion in camera by using double the frame rate as your shutter speed, so at 60fps I have a 1/120th shutter speed, in my editing software (NLE) non linear editing, I slow the footage by 50% and get nice smooth slow motion.

I write a blog that has info on video with a DSLR : https://normanpogson.blogspot.com/

My Website

[Tony Connoly]

Does this mean that if (i) I don’t expect to show anything on TV and (ii) slow motion is not a priority, then 24fps should not be a problem in and of itself?

Or is 30fps preferred for other reasons?

[Errol Lazare]

Tony,

I am trying to understand what you are really looking for in terms of all this.
Why do you want the video function on your still camera? Is it even important to you. What we are telling you is that video has 3 common and standard frame rates: 24fps, 30fps, and 60fps. When you watch television news the frame rate is 30fps when you watch movies the frame rate is 24fps. I don’t want to confuse you more with all this so I have a few questions:

1. Why do you want/care about video on your DSLR camera? Is it just for fun to use, or do you want to produce high quality movies.

2. What if your camera did not have a video function. Would it make much of a difference to you?

Now, if you don’t care much about making movies on your camera and are more just interested in taking pictures, stay with your nikon.

If you want to get more into the filmaking side of DSLR cameras and exploring different frame rates than get your hands on a Canon 7d or T2I camera because they shoot 18megapixesls and also shoot 24fps, 30fps and 60fps.

Did this all make sense?
Hope I could help

Cheers,

Errol

Errol X. Lazare
EXL Films
http://www.exlfilms.com

[Tony Connoly]

Errol,

Thank you for taking the time, and don’t worry about confusing me with too much information. I should be able to handle anything you throw at me. Video capture is very, very important to me, but I am not a pro. I want to take high-quality movies for personal use, and from time to time I might help friends on more professional projects.

I used to have a Nikon D90, so I am somewhat familiar with video capture on a DSLR. I like the low-light capability, the shallow focus, and the ability to choose different lenses for different subjects. Partly because the D90 was the first DSLR with video, that camera had very serious limitations.

The D7000 is not out yet, so I don’t expect anyone to speculate on how good it will be. On paper, it overcomes many of the D90’s limitations (it has higher resolution, H.264 compression, full manual control, microphone input). People who saw the Chase Jarvis video thought it was pretty good. The D7000 specs state that it does 1080p at 24fps and 720p at 30fps.

So I was wondering to what extent 24fps at 1080p would limit me. I don’t have a deep understanding of the effect of fps on final output. I know that that ideal shutter speed would be 1/50, and figure that would not be ideal for recording fast action. I did not notice any flicker on D90 video shot at 720p 24fps.

I have 12 Nikon lenses (including some high-end ones), a Nikon film camera and flash, and I like the Nikon bodies. So it would take a lot to get me to switch (I am aware that you can use Nikon lenses that have an aperture ring on Canon bodies, but that does not work too well for still photography).

Again, thank you for taking the time, and your thoughts are appreciated.

[Errol Lazare]

What frame rates does the camera shoot at?
Errol

Errol X. Lazare
EXL Films
http://www.exlfilms.com

[Tony Connoly]

The Nikon D7000 video has these modes:

• 1920 x 1080 24fps
• 1280 x 720 30fps
• 1280 x 720 25fps
• 1280 x 720 24fps