Using D800 for Video Interviews

[Biological_Viewfinder]

Everything should be manually set.

WHY> ????? Because the camera can't manage it correctly???

I'm explaining this to you people very nicely. But you're just not getting it. A dedicated video camera doesn't have these problems. You don't have to put up with Manual anything. You don't need 3 people or several externals to make it work.

When DLSRs and Video Cameras finally bridge together, then that will be a good day; but for now a DSLR video is a music video with out of focus trickery, and that's it!! Or, you have a whole team of people running sound and lighting, etc. A dedicated video camera does all of this stuff and with just 1 person and virtually no externals.

--

There are 10 types of people in this world, those who understand binary and those who don't.

 

[RyanWard]

The D800 would be ideal for interviews regardless of what anyone else here is saying. The one thing you will need to be conscious of is that you need to have enough light to stop down enough to get the DOF right and focus one time in manual mode and leave the camera alone.

Ideally, a lapel mic would work best and you would record your audio separately and sync it later in post.

Keep your ISO to 800 or less and there is no dedicated video camera under 2k that can even come close.

I would shoot in full manual mode at 1080/30 at 1/60th in Neutral with contrast ticked down one notch.

You need to set up a bit early and also set your WB manually, not auto. Probably in Kelvin.

I don't understand the disdain for dslr video.

Focus doesn't need to change for a sit down interview so this isn't a problem and since this event does sound very important to you, separate audio should be used anyway.
--
Ryan Ward
http://www.premieratlantarealestate.com

 

[Steve House]

Low quality sound will kill a video's acceptance faster than compromised picture quality every time. Sound is just as difficult to do well and requires as much attention as does picture and slapping an external mic on the camera's hot shoe usually doesn't really do much to improve things

For a sit-down interview, a hard-wired clip-on lav mic will beat a shotgun most of the time. Shotguns ARE NOT "telephotos for sound" and DO NOT reach out to capture distant sounds. What they do is reduce the pickup of interfering sounds arriving from the sides and rear. But for optimum performance theystill need to be close to the subject - for most short 'guns the ideal working distance is around 18-22 inches from the speaker's mouth and aimed within a circle about 8 inches in diameter centred on the subject's throat. That means putting the mic at or near the camera position is completely the wrong way to go 999 times out of a thousand - for quality work a with a shotgun, mounting the mic on a boom that is being held and manipulated by a skilled boom operator who keeps it properly oriented as the subject moves is a must iis you fo the shotgun route. And definitely don't even think about recording the sound directly in the camera single system - DSLRs are a long way from being ready for Prime Time in the audio department - a quality external recorder, slating all takes and syncing in post, is the only way to fly. The best you can expect from the camera's own audio recording is a scratch track to help sync the real audio recording done on a separate recorder.

 

[TerryAnderson]

TheD70Kid,

1st let me say thanks to this group for their service to this country.

You can do video interviews with the D800, it doesn't take buying a lot of other

stuff. I do recommend getting a microphone and cable so you can mount the mic off camera. Eliminates the focusing noise and puts the mic closer to your subject.

Also let me offer my services for free as well. If this is going to be done on the East coast somewhere near Massachusetts. I would love to help in any way I can. =)

This spring I had the pleasure of meeting a couple of survivors, one of Pearl Harbor and other from the battle of the bludge. Meeting more from the greatest generation always makes for a very interesting day!
--
All the best and keep on shooting

Terry Anderson
Boston West Photography

 

[TerryAnderson]

Bill Mcdad,
Very nice work, thanks for sharing your videos!
--
All the best and keep on shooting

Terry Anderson
Boston West Photography

 

[TerryAnderson]

BIO, maybe your justifying why you didn't buy the camera.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wU54Acbsmuk

IMO I think that this camera is capable of very good video. I have seen it enough times online. For what the OP wants to accomplish, the D800 should work like a charm. He isn't trying to make a remake of Gone With the Wind or Ghandi for crying out loud. Interviews with men and woman who aren't most likely going to be moving extremely fast.
--
All the best and keep on shooting

Terry Anderson
Boston West Photography

 

[elliotn]

Of course, there are many other options available, and these suggestions only cover the barest of lighting requirements (you would typically augment either of the above with additional units of varying types for lighting backgrounds, specials, etc.). But, these are two "industry-standard" ENG/EFP kits which should service anyone shooting simple sit-down interviews quite well.

Thanks for sharing your knowledge - dpreview at its best.

 

[shaunly]

That's a D4. That's not a D800.

--

There are 10 types of people in this world, those who understand binary and those who don't.

So the D4 is not a DSLR?

 

[shaunly]

Everything should be manually set.

WHY> ????? Because the camera can't manage it correctly???

I'm explaining this to you people very nicely. But you're just not getting it. A dedicated video camera doesn't have these problems. You don't have to put up with Manual anything. You don't need 3 people or several externals to make it work.

When DLSRs and Video Cameras finally bridge together, then that will be a good day; but for now a DSLR video is a music video with out of focus trickery, and that's it!! Or, you have a whole team of people running sound and lighting, etc. A dedicated video camera does all of this stuff and with just 1 person and virtually no externals.

--

There are 10 types of people in this world, those who understand binary and those who don't.

By your logic, all RED camera must terrible since everything on that camera is manual.

 

[dnorth12]

You are a pro, you must have a pro shop that you deal with. Just rent the proper video gear you need from them for this one time event and be done with it.

With the D800 set at manual focus, you may well have issues with focus if your subject moves. Then which way do you turn the focus ring to re-achieve focus? It would look very unprofessional if that happens. Proper video gear will give you the depth of field you need to cover that issue.

 

[Bruce Bracken]

TheD70Kid, a very noble project you are working on, and I wish you the best of luck.

My thoughts:

The Interview - you didn't say what kind of interviews/setups these shoots will be. Is it sitting in a chair in a room, walking and talking down a road, interviewing one at a time, a couple at a time, or the whole group at one time? Will all interviews take place in one spot, or will they be broken up with various types of settings? You need to plan in advance as much of this as possible, because the answers to these questions could change the type, and amount, of gear you need.

Lighting - to help bring costs and purchases down a bit, use natural lighting as much as possible. You can get away with quite superb and dramatic effects with natural lighting if you use it well. For example, shoot during the day, interior setup, place them near a window and have the sunlight act as main light, use a bounce card on the opposite for a little fill light, then add a lamp or house light behind for backlight, etc.

If you are shooting outside during the day, make sure you bring along an ND filter.

Mics - if you are shooting only one or two at a time, you can buy a couple lavalier mics. If you are shooting a group, you might want a mic on a stand that can capture the whole group.

 

[KnightPhoto2]

That's a D4. That's not a D800.

--

There are 10 types of people in this world, those who understand binary and those who don't.

Which is even better ;-) (the D800 has some video shapness advantage over the D4 when shot in non-cropped mode)

Anyhow the Joe McNally video is a good reminder to ME that my D4 video capability is not holding me back!

The other thing that PJs can do is shoot with a wider focal length so there is some forgiveness in Depth of Field.

I use a technique of using AF-S to establish my focus and then starting the clip and not reestablishing focus during the clip. Works great and even I can master that!

And external sound is not that tough either via an external mic or an external sound recorder like the Zoom H4-N.

So I'd say - go for it!

--
Best Regards,
SteveK

http://images.nikonians.org/galleries/showgallery.php/cat/500/ppuser/119002

 

[primeshooter]

Everything should be manually set.

WHY> ????? Because the camera can't manage it correctly???

I'm explaining this to you people very nicely. But you're just not getting it. A dedicated video camera doesn't have these problems. You don't have to put up with Manual anything. You don't need 3 people or several externals to make it work.

When DLSRs and Video Cameras finally bridge together, then that will be a good day; but for now a DSLR video is a music video with out of focus trickery, and that's it!! Or, you have a whole team of people running sound and lighting, etc. A dedicated video camera does all of this stuff and with just 1 person and virtually no externals.

--

There are 10 types of people in this world, those who understand binary and those who don't.

Good lord, one of the biggest troll like posts I've read on here, and the irony is you don't even realise you are a troll, sorry! Dedicated handicams etc are for newbies. Professional film makers use manual cameras. Manual everything, there is no autofocus on big sensors. The reason your "dedicated camera" has autofocus is because the sensor is tiny, and this has ALOT of disadvantages, aside from an amateur "digital" look to the footage you cannot control dof which is hugely important. You also are stuck with the one lens. Secondly you keep going on about zooming. And what professional films have the director of photography tell the camera operator to zoom in and out erratically? It happens rarely, and if it does it's for various affects. You are evidently a video "amateur", so stick to your "dedicated video camera" and stop going on about this in every thread about D800 video.

If you want professional video, YES you will need extra kit and sometimes extra people to operate the camera. That's agreed, what did you expect? Did you expect film making to be easy?

 

[Biological_Viewfinder]

you keep going on about zooming.

Watch any movie, any television show; and chances are high that you'll see a very slow zoom toward the actors whenever they are speaking.

For that matter, look at any magazine and you'll notice that the tops of heads are often cut so that there is more face value. The same is true in TV and movies.

I realize that you want to justify your expense here, but the truth of the matter is that there are dedicated video cameras and decicated still cameras; and as of right now there is nothing in between.

If you want pretend that the D800 is a video camera, then that's fine. But it's primary use is for still pictures. Also, notice how I disagreed with you without calling you names or insulting you.

 

[shaunly]

Not trying to insult you in any way but if you can't see how DSLR video revolutionalized videography then you are in serious denial. Have you even heard of RED camera? Look into it.

you keep going on about zooming.

Watch any movie, any television show; and chances are high that you'll see a very slow zoom toward the actors whenever they are speaking.

For that matter, look at any magazine and you'll notice that the tops of heads are often cut so that there is more face value. The same is true in TV and movies.

I realize that you want to justify your expense here, but the truth of the matter is that there are dedicated video cameras and decicated still cameras; and as of right now there is nothing in between.

If you want pretend that the D800 is a video camera, then that's fine. But it's primary use is for still pictures. Also, notice how I disagreed with you without calling you names or insulting you.

 

[primeshooter]

you keep going on about zooming.

Watch any movie, any television show; and chances are high that you'll see a very slow zoom toward the actors whenever they are speaking.

For that matter, look at any magazine and you'll notice that the tops of heads are often cut so that there is more face value. The same is true in TV and movies.

I realize that you want to justify your expense here, but the truth of the matter is that there are dedicated video cameras and decicated still cameras; and as of right now there is nothing in between.

If you want pretend that the D800 is a video camera, then that's fine. But it's primary use is for still pictures. Also, notice how I disagreed with you without calling you names or insulting you.

Yes, and all the zooms for Nikon and any camera manufacturer are for still images. You can buy zooms for video. You are spouting this rubbish over and over, I bet you've never even held a D800. Like I said, keep on producing handicam footage if you want...

 

[primeshooter]

Not trying to insult you in any way but if you can't see how DSLR video revolutionalized videography then you are in serious denial. Have you even heard of RED camera? Look into it.

you keep going on about zooming.

Watch any movie, any television show; and chances are high that you'll see a very slow zoom toward the actors whenever they are speaking.

For that matter, look at any magazine and you'll notice that the tops of heads are often cut so that there is more face value. The same is true in TV and movies.

I realize that you want to justify your expense here, but the truth of the matter is that there are dedicated video cameras and decicated still cameras; and as of right now there is nothing in between.

If you want pretend that the D800 is a video camera, then that's fine. But it's primary use is for still pictures. Also, notice how I disagreed with you without calling you names or insulting you.

He's too busy with his point and shoot video camera to get the time to read about the RED cameras...

 

[studio460]

Probably more than you're looking to spend, but another excellent video option is the Sony NEX-VG20 (available as a body-only for as low as $1,598). It uses an APS-C sized sensor for cinema-like, depth-of-field, and shoots 1080p24. To emulate film, shoot at a 1/50th shutter speed, at 24p (to emulate "live" video, shoot at 1/60th at 30p).

With the Sony, you gain the look of a large-sensor camera, along with the convenience of a traditional camcorder. You can mount any Sony E-mount lens, or even your favorite Nikkor DX lenses (with a 1.5x crop factor) with an available third-party adapter for about $200 (FX lenses, of course, also work with the adapter). If you want to save some money, you could opt for the VG10 instead (but I think they're now sold only bundled with a Sony lens, so, about the same money as a VG20 without a lens), but you'll be sacrificing 24p capability (but not much else).

 

[studio460]

For a low-ball kit, you could also go with:

Lowel Tota-light (open-face key).
Lowel Tota-brella
Lowel ViP Pro-light (backlight)
Manfrotto stands.

The 1,000-Watt, axial-mount, open-face Tota-light puts out a ton of light, and the small Tota-brellas are silvered for high reflectance. The only downside is that Totas spray light everywhere. Still, decent lighting for the money. The plus is, Lowel units are extremely compact and portable. Don't forget--for all lighting kits, bulbs must be ordered separately!

Good luck!

 

[tvnewsbadge]

The D800 would be perfectly fine for your project but not for you. Dslrs really take a very skilled hand to get that beautiful video they are capable of.