It is too early to say this is THE game changing camera, but it is a step in the right direction.
This could be a big breakthrough for backpack journalists who tell me one their biggest challenges is trying to get the story and fumble with a still camera, then a video camera.
Next month, the new Nikon D-90 hits store shelves with a $1K price tag. It includes a self-cleaning sensor and MacWorld reports that “Nikon says the D90 will also work with the Nikon GP-1, a GPS unit that will sell separately in November, to geotag images with latitude, longitude, and altitude data.”
But the really cool part about this SLR camera is that it will record HD video as well as still pics. (See movie and video samples from Nikon.)
The official specs for the video are:
- AVI Motion JPEG Movie with sound
- HD (1280 x 720 @ 24 fps)
- VGA (640 x 424 @ 24 fps)
- QVGA (320 x 216 @ 24 fps)
So a photojournalist could be shooting a news story, then, using the same lens, flip over and capture video. Think of it, wide angle, telephoto, whatever lens you are using, bang, you have it in video, too.
But photojournalist Vincent Lafloret points out this camera could create new headaches:
He adds some detail to his thinking:
Given that all of these rumors were going around quite a bit in Beijing — I sat down with two very influential people who will each be involved at the next two Olympic Games. Given that NBC paid more than $900 million to acquire the U.S. Broadcasting rights to this past summer games, how would they feel about a still photographer showing up with a camera that can shoot HD video?
I got the following answer from the person who will be involved with Vancouver which I’ll paraphrase: Still photographers will be allowed in the venues with whatever camera they chose, and shoot whatever they want — shooting video in it of itself, is not a problem. However, if the video is EVER published, the lawsuits will inevitably be filed, and credentials revoked etc.
This to me seems like the reasonable thing to do — and the correct approach. But the person I spoke with who will be involved in the London 2012 Olympic Games had a different view. Again I paraphrase: “Those cameras will have to be banned. Period. They will never be allowed into any Olympic venue” because the broadcasters would have a cow if they did.
One of the biggest issues I see is that this camera still does not have an external microphone input, so if you are not close to your subject, you will get ambient noise and not crisp clear sound. But for breaking news, especially, it could be a real solution.
The focus is manual while in video mode, so that may turn off some less experienced folks.
The D90 is the first S.L.R. in the world that can record video.
High-definition video, at that. Stunning, vivid, 720p, widescreen, 1024-by-720, 24-frames-per-second video, with the color and clarity that only an S.L.R. can provide.
The Times‘ reviewer adds:
Think of all the freedom you gain that you wouldn’t generally have on a camcorder: control over focus, depth of field and exposure; special effects like fish-eye, monochrome and vivid; and excellent image stabilization when using a Nikon VR lens.
But here’s the real mind-blower: You now have a video camera that takes interchangeable lenses. Before the D90, if you wanted a hi-def video camera with removable lenses, you’d pay $7,000 for the camera alone, and another $7,000 to $20,000 for each lens.
On this camera, though, I tried Nikon’s $500 fish-eye lens, and filmed a complete 180-degree vista without having to turn or pan. With a macro lens, I filmed a bumblebee, huge and clear as though it were in a National Geographic documentary. With a huge telephoto lens, sitting in my bleachers seat at the Pilot Pen tennis tournament, I was suddenly filming what other people could capture only as still images. (You can see sample stills and videos at nytimes.com/personaltech.) Independent filmmakers, rejoice.
