New Nikon D3100 good for jumping

[guscabana 0]

Finally Nikon came with a good, small and cheap dslr, ready to jump.

Nikon D3100:

-14,2 megapixels.
-3 frames/sec in raw & jpeg fine.
-3200 ISO.
-HD Video 1920 x 1080 (24p) .mov
-Shutter release connector! Remote cord: MC-DC2.
-Hdmi out.
-3 inch screen.
-Body only 16 oz. (455g).
-With a 18-55mm (27-82 equiv) vibration reduction lens for $700.

Thats it, put a Nikkor 10.5 or 16 mm and you're set!

http://nikonusa.com/Find-Your-Nikon/Product/Digital-SLR/25472/D3100.html#tab-ProductDetail.ProductTabs.TechSpecs

[DSE 5]

Gus,
you shot any vid with it yet? 24p isn't terribly good for most people to use (limitation of human application, not the format) and MJPEG vs AVC has some issues as well, I'd be curious to see how it performs.

[guscabana 0]

I didn't see any sample video, and the camera is not yet available.
It has:
1920 x 1080 (24p): 24 fps (23.976 fps)
1280 x 720 (30p): 30 fps (29.97 fps)
1280 x 720 (25p): 25 fps
1280 x 720 (24p): 24 fps (23.976 fps)
But what is really new is they autofocus in video mode! I think thats a first, isn't it? and you can choose between:
Face-priority AF
Wide-area AF
Normal-area AF
Subject-tracking AF
Lets see if they fixed the jelly effect and the exposure adjustment.
If they put this specs in their lowest cameras, what the middle and top ones will bring... exciting!

[DSE 5]

They can't fix the jello'ing. It's inherent to ALL CMOS that use rolling shutter. Shutterspeed helps tremendously with this, but few skydivers are gonna be thrilled with shooting 1/48, 1/50, or 1/60 shutters. For low motion, you can get away with up to 1/120 on most CMOS systems.
Even the RED has "jello."

I'm not a Nikon insider, so haven't seen what they have/are going to have...but they do use MJPEG which exacerbates jelloing effects in the compression. It *might* be that they've got an algorithm that helps...dunno.

Either way, it's an exciting time to be looking at new cams.

[lilchief 1]

I've not been able to test our my 7D with 50fps@720p. Have you seen any footage from it? is it usable? how is it compared to CX100 footage?

"Once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been and there you long to return." - Da Vinci
www.lilchief.no

[DSE 5]

it's not as good as CX100 footage if you don't know how to control it, but it _can_ be better because of the glass. However, it's huge by comparison, and it's AVC, not AVCHD, and it's lower bandwidth, and a lot of other things. IMO, I'd not use a 7D for skydiving except for some very exclusive types of uses. Sho' is pretty tho, when it's set up right.

[4dbill 0]

Since I no longer shoot tandem videos and try to get the absolute highest video quality possible on every 'special' jump, I sold the very capable CX100 and got myself a Canon T2i, which has identical video quality as 7D. I have not perfected the fine art of ideal profile setting and the finesse of color grading just yet, but man... it's pretty so far, to a degree. It's the closest thing to film, for cheap, in my humble opinion.
Here's a video sample, shot exclusively with Canon T2i.
http://vimeo.com/13130234
It was shot in 1920x1080 24 fps, 1/50 sec shutter speed. I will try 1280x720 60 fps tomorrow for some extra smooth slow motion.

4DBill
http://4dbill.com

[lilchief 1]

Moist! =D

Whenever I've been shooting film with the 7, I've used 720p @ 50fps to aviod jellying when the object is moving fast. Please post the new vid when you've completed it. would be really nice to compare 24fps tp 60fps =)

But what I dislike so far is that the IS is not activated when you film. It's really annoying.. =/

"Once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been and there you long to return." - Da Vinci
www.lilchief.no

[DSE 5]

This vid was shot with the T2i, color graded and all post in Sony Vegas.
For us, the T2i is a non-starter due to lack of HDMI output for monitoring, but for skydiving....has some super nice options.
With *good* glass, the Canon T2i, 7D, 5D, or 1D are great options for the would-be filmmaker. We just finished a training DVD for Canon on this exact subject. However, it can also generate more problems than it solves for the average video cat.

*warning* the audio may be annoying. Be glad you didn't cut it.

[4dbill 0]

I know this thread is about D3100, but the discussion applies to both.
Having said that, here's the 720p 60 fps you asked for.
http://vimeo.com/14368752
It was edited in 24 fps, with the slow motion part on the second footage conformed from 60 to 24 fps for true slow motion. The 'regular' motion parts of the video feels and looks different then footage natively shot in 24 fps. I can't explain it. It's subtle, but I can tell it's not 'normal' 24 fps footage I am used to.

4DBill
http://facebook.com/4dbill

[DSE 5]

Quote

The 'regular' motion parts of the video feels and looks different then footage natively shot in 24 fps. I can't explain it. It's subtle, but I can tell it's not 'normal' 24 fps footage I am used to.

4DBill
http://facebook.com/4dbill

Because the resample isn't terribly good. Are you doing the resample in FCP, Motion, Shake? AE doesn't do it well either, but there are plugins that do "OK".
24 isn't a straight divide from 60 like 30p is. PAL people have it best; 50i to 25p, and no one can tell 25p from 24p.
You can:
drop some frames (which is likely what is shifting the cadence that you notice)
Blend frames (multiple frames resampled into one frame
Interpolate and blend where motion is anticipated and compensated (very costly and slow)

I believe you have Vegas on bootcamp, try this;
Open a new project
Set properties to 23.976 on the project.
Drop 60p footage in there.
Disable resample on the clips.

It's important you set the project properties first. Usually, Vegas doesn't care. In this instance, it does.
Also, if you're using converted ProRez, it'll be weird because of the way ProRez converts the AVC...

See what you think.

[lilchief 1]

yeah..it feels edgy and motions is notisable as if they where...yeah. can't describe it but I get what you mean.

Love the look on the girls face! new skydivers has that childish expression on their faces. =)

"Once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been and there you long to return." - Da Vinci
www.lilchief.no