Nikon releases the D800, which now becomes the DSLR to beat.

As most of you know, the Canon 5D Mark II was the DSLR that kickstarted a filmmaking revolution and changed indie filmmaking as we know it. But it’s been over 3 years since the 5D Mark II was released and it’s getting, as they say, “a little long in the tooth.”

But how many of you remember that Nikon was actually the first camera manufacturer to come out with an HD-enabled DSLR? The D90 was announced back in August of 2008 (it’s still in production) and like the 5D Mark II, it was a technological breakthrough with high-end cinematographers flocking to the large CMOS sensor that enabled them to use specific lenses to capture more shallow depth of field. But perhaps the biggest difference between the two systems was that the 5D Mark II captured 1080 resolution, while the D90 only recorded 720. Although Nikon has upped their resolution to 1080 in recent years, another knock against the Nikon system was the difficulty in shooting in full manual mode (being able to manually control your shutter speed, exposure and ISO settings). The damage was done and as a result, Canon has created an army of DSLR filmmakers while Nikon has struggled to keep up.

But no longer.

At this year’s CES, Nikon announced the D4, their flagship full-frame DSLR that offers revolutionary video and sound capabilities for a DSLR. Filmmakers took notice but at a retail price of $5,999.95, it was out of reach for most shooters.

Today, Nikon announces the highly anticipated D800, which takes their very successful D700 to the next level. The D800 contains a 36.3-megapixel FX-format CMOS sensor, a 91,000-pixel RGB Matrix Metering System, Advanced Scene Recognition System, a 51-point AF system, and many other great features. For still photographers, the new CMOS sensor (35.9 x 24mm) has 7360 x 4912 resolution but still maintains a wide ISO range of 100-6400 and is expandable to 50 (Lo-1) – 25,600 (Hi-2).

The D800 contains a 36.3-megapixel FX-format CMOS sensor and a 91,000-pixel RGB Matrix Metering System.

It’s interesting to point out that Canon used to be known for it’s high megapixel count with Nikon focusing more on light sensitivity. But even with the high 36.3-megapixel count, according to Nikon, the D800 has improved its light transmission to the sensor by developing an enhanced optical low pass filter and 14-bit A/D conversion with a high signal-to-noise ratio. From there, images are then routed through a 16-bit image processing pipeline. Adding to this, Nikon’s new EXPEED 3 image processing engine can process a lot more data in a more efficient manner, giving you better color and less noise.

Features For Filmmakers

In terms of motion capture, the D800 offers roughly the same features as Nikon’s flagship D4 at half the price. The D800 captures full HD 1920 x 1080 at 30/24p, as well as 720 at 60/30p. The optimized CMOS sensor and EXPEED 3 processor is able to read image data much faster than previous Nikon DSLRs, which should cut down on some of the negative effects of rolling shutter, although this does not mean line skipping has been eliminated.

I interviewed cinematographer Matthew Libatique, ASC a few months ago regarding a Nikon commercial he shot using the Nikon D5100, which is more of a consumer DSLR. Libatique is a huge fan of Nikkor glass and thought the D5100 produced terrific images. The only downside for him was he had difficulty figuring out how to shoot in full manual mode with the camera. For most consumer users, the need for keeping a fixed 1/50th shutter speed while shooting in 24p is not a high priority as it is for professional shooters. The D800 has smartly fixed this and lets you manually control your exposure, ISO, and shutter speed without having to dig through the menu system.

Fit For Studio Work?

One feature of the D800 that may raise a few eyebrows for video shooters is the amount of compression in its H.264 codec. Unlike the 5D Mark II’s 38-Mbps bit rate or the 7D’s 47-Mbps, the D800 only records 24-Mbps. Although disappointing, there is a strategy behind it. The D800 utilizes B-Frame data compression, which is an improved and more efficient form of compression, and it allows you to capture longer clips (up to 30-minutes per clip). For most users, 24-Mbps should be sufficient (large sensor video camcorders like the Sony FS100U and Panasonic AF100 capture roughly the same bit rate). For the D800, you can output an uncompressed full HD signal via the HDMI 1.4 port (8-bit, 4:2:2) to a digital recorder. With an external recorder like the Atomos Ninja or the AJA Ki Pro, you can capture higher quality Apple ProRes files that are more suitable for post, making your D800 closer to a studio camera. The Ninja, which retails for around $1,000, can also function like an external monitor and with the D800, you can still view the camera’s LCD screen while an image is being output to an external monitor via HDMI. (Something the 5D Mark II and 7D can’t do.) Speaking of the LCD screen, filmmakers will also appreciate the D800′s new 921,000-dot 3.2-inch LCD monitor with reinforced glass and automatic brightness control.

Sound Control

Another feature that separates the D800 from most DSLR systems is its sound capabilities. Unlike most DSLRs that contain just one minijack input, the D800 contains both a dedicated stereo microphone jack, as well as a headphone jack in order to monitor sound levels. With microphones that contain just a minijack output (e.g., the RØDE VIDEOMIC), sound levels can be adjusted at up to 20 steps of sensitivity. Although this feature is a big improvement for DSLR filmmakers, I think it’s about time for a camera manufacturer to release a DSLR with an XLR input. (Or how about HD-SDI? Too much?)

For Nikon to gain back marketshare, another thing that will need to grow is their ecosystem, in which Canon has built an entire industry from their system in terms of camera accessories and software. With expanded latitude being all the rage, I’d also love to see Technicolor work with Nikon engineers in developing Log-like profiles similar to the CineStyle profile they developed with Canon for the 5D Mark II . Recently Nikon has been attending trade shows like Createasphere and DV Expo with their cameras, so they’re definitely paying more attention to the filmmaking marketplace.

The D800 contains a new 3.2-inch 921,000-dot LCD screen.

As many of you already know, Canon will be announcing the follow up to the 5D Mark II possibly later this month but at the present time, I think the D800 is the DSLR to beat.

The D800 has a retail price of $2,999.95. For more information, please visit www.nikonusa.com.

An interesting sidenote – Bloomberg has reported this morning that the Nikon Corp’s stock price has jumped 13%, the most in three years for Nikon. But obviously, a camera’s success is not built on Wall Street. Stay tuned.