Half of my life is spent operating websites. It is getting quite difficult to give them all the attention they deserve based on individual camera models. I have decided to consolidate all of my photography websites into one. D7000pro.com and 60dpro.com will be folded over into DSLRPRO.net.
But wait there is even a bigger reason. My day job is rewarding me with a longevity bonus after 25 years of service. This bonus is the new NIKON D800 CAMERA BODY. This will be my first forray into full frame FX sensor photography. Currently the D800 is considered pre-order as supply can not keep up with demand.
Two weeks ago I volunteered to help with some safety videos at a sportsman’s club I belong too. I had intended to use my Canon EOS 60D but after some informal testing I was concerned that the video capabilities were not up to task. I briefly entertained buying a video camera then decided what the heck I will give the NIKON D7000 a try. Unfortunately I had no time to get acquainted and my brief testing was simply recording 3 minutes of TV and my cat walking around outside. satisfied with the video quality I knew the D7000 would work. I did have a concern with the audio though. While the D7000 audio was acceptable it was not great. I had also read reports of the internal microphone picking up noise from the lens focusing as well as from simply touching the camera.
Based on this I decided an external microphone was the way to go. An external microphone would allow for better placement, sound quality and would not pick up the noise from the camera itself if mounted away from the lens. My research lead me to the RODE VIDEOMIC. The RODE VIDEOMIC is available in two versions MONO and STEREO. I opted for the mono at is was about $70 cheaper than the RODE VIDEOMIC PRO stereo version. I also ordered the DEAD CAT WIND COVER for the outdoor breezy videos.
I received my hardware on Monday and Tuesday after work I was off to the club. Nervously I mounted the NIKON D7000 with a NIKON 1919 24mm f/2.8D AF Nikkor Lens in my MANFROTTO 055XPROB TRIPOD with the MANFROTTO 460MG HEAD. I mounted the RODE VIDEOMIC in the NIKON D7000 HOTSHOE. I did this because I was confident that the microphone’s isolation mount and relative distance to the lens would prevent unwanted noise. I should add though I brought a 10 foot microphone extension cable and a light stand with a hotshoe mount just in case I wanted the RODE VIDEOMIC off the camera’s body.
The subjects of the video were three adult men sitting side by side at a table. There was the clubs logo on the log cabin wall directly behind them. Lighting consisted of some hanging log cabin appropriate incandescents with an 8 foot flourescent mounted and hidden behind a beam directly over the subjects. All in all it was a warm light.
I placed just far enough back to view the entire table and most of the clubs logo on the rear wall. The height of the lens was about at the forehead of my 6 foot tall body.
The video was shot completely in automatic with the D7000 making all the decisions.
We spent about two hours getting 25 minutes of good video. The 20 minute max limit of video length was perfect although we had a few close calls of time running out before the speakers finished.
The next day I nervously reviewed the results and was pleasantly surprised. The audio from the RODE VIDEOMIC was perfect. In fact I had trouble understanding some of the dialog in person and it was more coherent in the video. Video quality was pretty good as the D7000 was set for 1080P at 30fps.
A great first time out? You bet. Would I do anything different? Absolutely. I think I would have brought my LOWELL TOTA LIGHT and illuminated the wood ceiling for more light and warmth on the subjects. I think I would also disable face detection. A few times while one person was speaking the other two gentleman would get a little antsy and the camera would focus on them. It didnt actually change focus but it caused very slight and I mean very slight shifts in color.
