Outdoor shoot recording motion with Nikon 7000. recommended setting?

[Blaise Douros]

Unfortunately, without knowing the output specifications, it’s going to be difficult for us to help you. For example, if your delivery format is 4K IMAX 48fps, then I would advise you to use none of these. Obviously, this isn’t your delivery format, but knowing how you need to deliver it IS important to get the best answers for your question.

If it was me, and the client just wants a usable web video, I would probably shoot the 1080p24. The extra rez will help you if you need to stabilize or crop on a 720p timeline.

[Thackston Addy]

Understood. Thanks. With my NIKON D7000, those are the only options I have to shoot hi-res.

The client is not savvy with technical terms and I’ve only been outputting H.264 for web, so my experience in delivery has been limited. Is there a non-industry friendly way or website to explain the more common (Non-4K IMAX) ; ) delivery specs and uses?

I was curious about the difference between 30 fps and 24 fps. I *KNOW* the difference, but with regard to there being a reason to shoot one over the other at 720p for a certain look?

I’m getting ready to do some test shots, but just curious if anyone had some strong opinions from experience.

[Blaise Douros]

30p will give you slightly smoother motion. Again, the delivery venue becomes important–if you’re projecting on a large screen, then a higher framerate might make sense. A bicycle moving horizontally will have a certain amount of judder at lower framerates; i.e. at lower framerates, the bike moves farther between frames than at higher framerates, making the motion more “jumpy.” On a computer screen, it’s doubtful that it will be noticeable but on a large, projected image, it might make a slight difference.

This is one of the reason that big-budget filmmakers are pushing for higher framerates like 48p–fast motion can be really difficult to follow on an IMAX screen at lower framerates.

However, most feature films are shot at 24 fps, and the 24 fps “flicker” is associated with movies. I would rather have the extra resolution and keep the 24p look; 30p looks too home-video to me. But that’s personal taste.

Bottom line–there is zero reason to shoot at 720p24. You’d just be robbing yourself of resolution. So your real choice is 720p30 (smoother motion, lower rez), or 1080p24 (filmic motion, higher rez).

TL;DR–tell the client that they can have either a higher-rez image with filmic motion, or a slightly lower rez image with smoother motion.

You can use this website to illustrate the motion piece.

[Thackston Addy]

Perfect explanation. Thank you.

[Aaron Star]

I use a pair of D5100s with hacked firmware for greater bit rates, and manual controls. You want the highest bitrate for high motion like biking.

If you get a hold of firmware with higher bitrates, you may need to upgrade your SD card so it will keep up with the new recording speed.

For a video that is biker motion, I would stick to 1080-30P. If you shoot 24p to align with film standards, make sure to use plenty of ND and or pola combos to get the exposure down to near 50th of sec. If you use shutter control to shed light, you can end up with a lot of strobe in the motion. Film look is actually low frame rate with bluring of the image due to low shutter speed.

I would stick to a 4-5.6 with most lenses. If you use heavy NDs in sunny conditions to make that stop, you may want to consider using a Hot Mirror and UV filter to cut the extra heat the ND filters are not blocking. To much IR on the sensor can create color issues.

The native ISO of the Nikon sensor is not as clearly documented as Canon devices. I have read that the native ISO is 100, I find iso 100 to have to much contrast, and so would put the native iso at about 200 or 320. The 7100 is the same sensor I believe.

Basically I would set the camera up this way using the stock firmware.
Manual Mode
ISO 200
Shutter – 30th or 60th
F/T-stop – 4 plus ND
Format: 1080-30p – HQ
Image Profile: Portrait
Active Lighting: off