During a timelapse in cold at altitude over about 90 minutes, I was impressed with the endurance of the D600 and its battery. You can view the timelapse at my Facebook site, and see many more still images at Joann Loo’s FB site as well.
I feel confident taking it into full winter in December in the eastern Sierra, when we shoot the final third of this project.
Part II of the backpacking/mountaineering piece ETERNAL GRANITE will be shot in late fall/early winter conditions, as we head from Lodgepole and Wolverton to the Pear Lake region.
This shoot will involve the Nikon D600 and Rode StereoVideomic Pro, and HDR/timelapse will be done in-camera.
In December we plan to film the third and final part of EG in the eastern Sierra.
This combination of items has permitted simple, accurate geotagging of both stills and video to Google Maps while online. I must add that the altitude measurements have proven less accurate than the location coordinates, in my experience.
I really like that the GP-1 is so small, compact and light and derives power from cameras- no additional batteries or chargers, and of course the camera can be run on AC-DC converter. Startup for satellite acquisition varies with conditions, but I’ve been satisfied overall on this front.The ports for USB and MC-DC2 wired remote are reliable and I very often use the latter, especially since it allows remote video ON/OFF. With the supplied attachment to the camera strap, this frees the hot shoe of the camera for a microphone or flash, monitor,etc. Am I glad that I kept the 4-pin cable connector for the GPS unit when I sold my D90 or what?
The tight integration between LR4 and Google Maps makes it easy to even retrospectively geotag images and video.
So what?
For me, geotagging is becoming a standard feature for inclusion in my workflow for documentaries, slideshows, and location scouting. I can directly show the audience where the action (or lack of) is taking place. It’s much simpler to organize shots by location at times for editing.
For a multicam shoot, a Giottos tripod is used with its own QR plate and a Weifeng fluid head to run the B camera. Both tripods work with either of my floor dolly models.
The splitter is located on one of the tripod legs in the lower left. The director or talent in front of the camera can view on a separate monitor, at the same time as both the camera operator and the focus puller with this system. The camera, both monitors, LED lighting, and wireless lav microphone can all run from an AC outlet as shown here. All of these components are easy to use with independent batteries, as well.
It would be nice if sound could also be reviewed with no adjustments… but I can still listen to it, simply by disconnecting the splitter from the camera. After all- I’m on budget.
If you look closely, there’s also a mounted ball head for low-angle shooting at one of the base arms.
First: Looped HDMI out. This means that one can retain the camera’s monitor image while sending it simultaneously to a second monitor- allowing a DP or other director to evaluate files, at the same time or after they’re shot by the camera operator. I’ve made the adjustments on my Marshall 5″ monitors so that the displays match those on the camera.
Second: The amount of additional image detail in video attainable with uncompressed HDMI on an Atomos Ninja is significant! (I can’t fork out the $1K for one yet)
Third: A major side benefit to headphone monitoring of sound on-camera is the ease with which you can assign optimal microphone settings, especially for ENG.
Fourth: The beep function has been expanded greatly since D7000, allowing audio cues for self-timer countdown and remote control actuation among other items.
Fifth: Adding the lock for the left top function wheel is much appreciated. This greatly reduces settings errors in actual use of the camera. I do miss the absense of exposure setting lock which has not been around since the D3s…..PLEASE put these in a firmware update if possible??
These will help me when doing ENG/location interviews and studio/location cinema rig work, respectively.
The backpack is optimal for traveling with a D600 and up to 70-200 VR, compact microphone set, ZOom H4N audio recorder, shoulder rig, cables, SB-700 flash, headphones and some small lenses. The all-weather cover WILL be used!
The Manfrotto is designed to hold my RedRock cinema rig with provision to directly attach short monitor arms, freeing up the hot shoe on the camera for a light or other accessory. It’s very stable especially for its size and weight, and allows for Dutch angles by actually tilting the rig on it.
There’s a pan lock; I like the large size of the quick-release plate and that it can’t accidentally fall off- it attaches with 2 screws to the rig base, so there is no torque on the rig. The XY, pan/tilt friction controls are excellent. It’s a good fit with my smooth floor dolly which is mostly used indoors.
This way, I’ll use my smaller Weifeng 718 tripod/head for a camera with no rig (such as tutorial videos) or for a B camera.
I’m very impressed with the capability of the D600 and of the Stereo VMP, after setting them up for defaults in video and still work…. MUCH more to come as I gain more experience with them.
Unfortunately, I had to sell my coveted 200 mm f/2 VR Nikkor in the process. Maybe some day I’ll rent or obtain another if the need arises, but I hope that the low-ISO ability of this camera helps obviate that need since I still use a 70-200 f/2.8.
It is wonderful to be able to closely monitor audio directly from the camera with headphones!!! This should be a boon for remote field videography and run-gun interviews.
I had the camera for initial evaluation at Samys Camera, Pasadena this morning and was able to work with its AV and photo settings, with these impressions:
1-Audio capability seems very similar to that of the D800/D4 including-important to me- the ability to closely monitor sound levels with headphones directly from the camera. It appeared that the 20 level graph had a somewhat steep volume ‘cliff’ between the 2 highest and all other levels, at least with the on-camera microphone; I was not able to test with an off-camera mic yet. To access this function it seems necessary to get into menus, as with the other cameras. Playback volume was adequate through headphones relative to ‘optimized’ level settings for capture.
2- Aperture cannot be changed in Live View, unlike the D800/D4. Otherwise, similar capability including uncompressed HDMI (!!). I prefer the LV button setup to that of the D7000, it’s the same as on the D800/D4.
3-Build quality seemed very good by comparison, at least on a par with the D800.
4-Similar layout of left dial atop camera to D7000 but upgraded in appearance. Includes 2 user-defined banks (!) which I typically set to video and sports/PJ on the D7000. Frame rate similar to D7000, faster than D800- I consider it borderline adequate for typical sports at 5.5 FPS.
5-Overall ergonomics: Very easy to learn this camera from a D7000; controls generally intuitive. I would have added the battery pack if it were available- probably within a few weeks.
In summary: I believe that if you shoot Nikon for video and want to keep your camera budget under $2500 (body and battery grip), the D600 is a revolutionary camera- because of its combination of price and overall feature set. A bonus is its 24 mp
still resolution- which would allow me to do a great deal of cropping for sports and pj images.
This is an exciting prospect for my own work, as I travel and often shoot in field/remote locations. The form factor is important and especially at this price, I’m going to take a serious look at the D600. [Wish it had more high ISO performance, above nominal 6400!]
This camera is supposedly going to be available later in Sept 2012.
William Hooks
maximpactphotography 