Gone are the days when film-making used to be a costly and cumbersome affair, requiring large crew and lots of time to set up and handle equipment. Thanks to Nikon DSLR cameras like the D850 and D5, and even DX format bodies like the D500 and D7500, the size of the whole set up becomes a fraction of a traditional film-making set up, while delivering professional quality videos.

The range of lenses offered by the NIKKOR line up is perfectly suited for film making. With zooms and primes with wide apertures up to f/1.2, or high end super telephotos up to 800mm, there is a lens for almost any situation for your video projects.

The latest Nikon D-SLR cameras offer technologies which make them perfectly suited to professional filmmaking. Some of these technologies are discussed below. 

4K UHD Movie and slow motion :-

The 4K format is fast becoming the new standard in Digital multimedia. If your video projects require 4K resolution, the D850, and D5 in the FX format range, and the D500 and D7500 in the DX format range offer 4K UHD format with a frame size of 3840x2160 pixels. This format offers four times as much resolution as the full HD format (1920 x 1080). You can choose from frame rates of 30p, 25p or 24p at the 4K UHD format, to suit the look of your project.

With the D850, you can also shoot slow motion movies right in your camera at full HD resolution! You can choose slow motion speeds of x4 (films at 120/100p and records at 30/25p) or x5 (films at 120p and records at 24p).

Simultaneous recording to external device :-

With the D5, D850, D500 and D7500, you can simultaneously record uncompressed, broadcast quality 4:2:2 8-bit 4K UHD files on a compatible external HDMI recording device.

Choice of movie file type :-

With the D850, and the D7500, film-makers have the choice of filming in the conventional .MOV format or the MP4 format, which enables easy playback on most smart devices.

Time lapse :-

Whether you’re shooting a documentary, short film, or a wedding film, time lapses have become integral to modern day videos. With built-in-time lapse feature in Nikon D-SLR cameras, you get the time-lapse movie made right inside your camera. Of course, for greater control, you also have the option of interval timer shooting. Exposure smoothing function is very helpful in reducing unwanted flicker due to exposure variations during time lapse shooting.

The D850’s interval timer mode can be used to capture over 8K-size images for making spectacular time-lapse movies with amazing details (requires third-party software).

Not all Nikon D-SLRs support this feature. More information on www.nikon.co.in

Auto-Focus :-

The latest Nikon D-SLR cameras have upgraded focus tracking technology that can track most moving subjects efficiently, thereby, ensuring your subjects stay sharp throughout your shots.
With focus area modes Face-priority AF, Wide-area AF, Normal-area AF, pinpoint AF, Subject-tracking AF, a wide variety of situations are covered by the AF system.

In Full HD and HD formats, the D850’s focus peaking display helps in confirming manual focus, by detecting the scene’s highest-contrast edges, which are highlighted in a chosen colour.

Electronic VR :-

To maintain stability in your footage, especially with non-VR lenses, the electronic Vibration reduction feature in D850, D500 and D7500 is very helpful. It reduces camera shake in the horizontal, vertical and rotational directions (centering on the lens). 

ISO Performance :-

The amazing ISO performance of Nikon D-SLRs, particularly of full-frame bodies like the D750, D850, and D5 makes shooting videos even more convenient. With fixed Shutter speed and aperture settings to keep the look of the footage uniform, changes in ambient light can be tackled by the Auto ISO feature without worrying about image quality.  

Flat picture control :-

Most professional video work will require colour grading as per the requirement of the project. Nikon D-SLRs like D850, D750, D5 offer a flat picture control which is great for colour-grading videos.

D’lighting in movie :-

The D’lighting feature during movie recording helps in capturing scenes with high contrast more effectively, while preserving details in both highlights and shadows.

Compatibility to external accessories :-

Nikon D-SLR cameras help film makers with their compatibility to a large number of accessories. These include external microphones, stabilizers, sliders, focusing attachments, and external monitors.

With these amazing new technologies, making professional videos with Nikon D-SLRs is now possible with a lot less effort and manpower than with conventional camera systems. No wonder film-makers all over the world are relying on Nikon D-SLRs even for their professional video projects.