4K-Video Archive - Pixelfriedhof

Nikon Z6 and Z6 II in camera 4K Video Settings – Best practise explained step by step

megaadmin — Wed, 11 Nov 2020 07:39:00 +0000

With the following settings we get the best in-camera 4K out of Nikon Z6 and Z6 II without using external recorders.

The complete manual as video

Reading’s not your style? Here you see all settings with explanation in the video.

Ihre Daten werden erst beim Abspielen des Youtube-Videos an den Dienst übermittelt. Your data will only be transmitted to the service when you play the Youtube video.

Setting the Camera to M Mode and video mode

This M mode gives us full control over both exposure time and aperture. At the top right of the display you will find a toggle switch with a photo and a video symbol. Toggles this switch so that the video mode is active.

Choosing the right shutter speed

When creating videos, the shutter speed must always be set in proportion to the video material being made and its frame rate.
As exposure time I use 1/60, because I usually shoot videos later with 30 frames per second (30p), more about that later.
If you use other frame rates, like 60p, 50p, 30p, 25p or 24p, you have to adjust the shutter speed to the next suitable value. Here again the overview:

Framerate	Shutter speed
60p	1/125s, as there is no 1/120s
50p	1/100s
30p	1/60s
25p	1/50s
24p	1/50, as there is no 1/48s

Attention: Please also note the section “Flicker reduction” in this context.

Choosing the right aperture

Which aperture you choose is up to you, depending on how you want to present your motif. If you choose a lower aperture, the background of your motif will blur due to the shallow depth of field, making your motif more prominent.

With a higher aperture, the background of your motif is sharper due to the high depth of field and the entire image is characterized by a high depth of detail due to continuous sharpness.
Note that if you choose a higher aperture, the image itself becomes darker, and if you choose a lower aperture, the image becomes brighter.

The only important thing at this point is that we have control over the aperture, because we use the M mode of our camera to do this. If we were to let the camera control the aperture in A mode, the camera would change the aperture depending on the light situation while shooting and we would take a shot with varying depth of field and brightness all the time. Not only does this look unprofessional, it’s also really annoying for the viewer.

Movie Shooting Menu Settings

For all the following settings, we switch to the movie recording menu. The settings stored there only take effect when we operate the camera in movie mode. I don’t proceed here in the order of the menu entries, as for example some settings are already adjusted automatically by the selection of the resolution and frame rate and we don’t have to deal with them anymore.

Choosing the correct frame size/frame rate

I make my own video recordings in 4k with 30 frames per second.
At 30 frames per second, movements in the picture look most natural and smooth, and 60p shots of action cams can be integrated very easily, for example to create slow-motion functions.

Therefore, I first select the setting “3840 x 2160; 30p” in the film recording menu under “Frame size/frame rate”.
With these settings, the “Choose image area” is changed to “FX” by default, the movie quality is thus automatically set to “High” and so we don’t need to deal with these menu items anymore.

Note: To be honest, nobody buys a Nikon Z6 or Z6 II to make bad videos, I myself never understood why there is the possibility to set the movie quality to “Low” at all.

Movie file type

I use MOV as I think it has the best quality. Further on it is faster when post-editing footage on Mac.

ISO sensitivity settings

Now you can decide how you want to proceed and whether you want to make the ISO settings manually or automatically. In the menu entry “IOS Sensitivity Settings” you can select if the automatic should be used in the field “Auto ISO control (Mode M)”.

• If you are recording a video in an environment where the lighting conditions in the subject will not change, you can manually adjust the ISO settings and then leave them at the correct value.
• If you have to assume that lighting conditions will change during shooting, for example because a person moves in the picture and their illumination varies, use the ISO automatic.
• If you are simply lazy, regardless of the ambient light conditions, you also use the ISO automatic. Seriously, ISO auto works reliably and doesn’t cause any image distortion if the ISO number changes during shooting. Actually, you can use the ISO automatic with a clear conscience.

There is one thing that needs to be considered with regard to the ISO automatic. Set the “Maximum sensitivity” value to “10,000”. Above this value, the image quality can suffer from noise and color noise, so we only allow the ISO automatic to operate up to this value.

White balance

Almost the same applies here as with the ISO automatic.
Actually, the automatic white balance is sufficiently reliable. I use it in 90% of all shots.

Only when using artificial light sources with different light colors or temperatures do I work manually here, because otherwise the camera tends to change the white balance during a shot. This does not look nice.

The same applies when the sky often changes the light conditions due to fast passing clouds.

Picture Control

Here I select the setting “FL Flat”.
This preserves details over a wide range of tonal values, which maximizes the optimization potential in later post-processing, i.e. you can get the most out of this profile afterwards.

Active D-Lighting

Off. I don’t want the camera to manipulate the image independently.

High ISO NR

Here we leave the default value “Normal” set.

Vignette, diffraction and distortion control

Enable all of them, apply “Normal” mode when possible.

Flicker reduction

The flicker reduction is intended to avoid flickering in the image, which can be caused by artificial lighting. Depending on the frequency at which the local power grid operates (50Hz in Germany), some light sources tend to emitt the normal fluctuations in the power grid, so that you will notice them when recording video at that light.

The automatic flicker reduction delivers good results. Sometimes, however, it also fails, this can happen in very bright environments, for example.
To counteract this, you can take the following measures:

Manual setting of the flicker reduction to 50Hz or 60Hz, depending on which setting gives the best result.
If the flicker reduction is not enough, you may need to adjust the shutter speed, even if this would violate the above recommended shutter speeds.
o1/125s, 1/60s or 1/30s at 60Hz power grid
o 1/100s, 1/50s or 1/25s at 50Hz power grid

Metering

I use Matrix metering in 99% of shootings. There are some rare cases where I use single point metering, for example when doing shots of people or objects against very bright or dark backgrounds.

Focus Mode

These settings depend on what you are shooting. For interviews and tutorials I mostly use AF-C or AF-F for making the camera follow my face when I move. In recording landscapes without any moving objects, an initial AF-S is suitable. Go ahead, try out what fits your needs best.

AF-area Mode

Same here, it depends on what you are shooting. Go ahead, try out what fits your needs best.

Electronic VR

Enable it when shooting free hand, turn it off when shooting from tripod.

Microphone sensitivity

When I use the built-in microphone of the Z6 or Z6 II, I use the automatic level.
If I use an external microphone such as my Zoom H2n, I manually level the microphone input.
You can find more details about external microphones in this blog post “Zoom H2n as an external microphone on the DSLR”.

Attenuator

Off.

Frequency response

Here you can choose between “Wide” and “Voice”. I personally don’t like the sound of the “Voice” setting in speech at all and therefore use the much more natural sounding “Wide” frequency response, no matter if I record with the built-in microphone of the Z6 or Z6 II or my Zoom H2n as an external microphone. You can find more details about external microphones in this blog post “Zoom H2n as an external microphone on the DSLR”.

Wind noise reduction

The wind noise reduction settings only work when we use the Z6’s and Z6 II’s built-in microphone.

If I record in locked, windless rooms, I switch off wind noise reduction as a potential source of error.
If I record outside with the built-in microphone, I activate wind noise reduction.

Which memory card is suitable for 4k video?

So that your camera can pack even high data rates quickly on the memory card, you should rely on a correspondingly fast CFExpresscard ( supported by Z6 and Z6 II) or High Speed SD card (supported only by Z6 II).
I myself use the following cards:

SanDisk Extreme PRO 128 GB SDXC-Speicherkarte bis zu 300 MB/Sek, UHS-II, Class 10, U3*

Superschnelle SDHC- und SDXC UHS-II-Speicherkarten mit Aufnahmegeschwindigkeiten von bis zu 260 MB/Sek.
Maximieren Sie die Effizienz mit Übertragungsgeschwindigkeiten von bis zu 300 MB/Sek.

SanDisk Extreme Pro CFexpress-Speicherkarte Typ B 128 GB (1.700 MB/s Lesen, 1.200 MB/s Schreiben, RescuePRO Deluxe, ruckelfreie...*

Lesegeschwindigkeiten bis 1.700 MB/s und Schreibgeschwindigkeiten bis 1.200 MB/s ermöglichen mit der CFexpress Speicherkarte...
Herausragende 4K-Videoleistung. Der CFexpress Formfaktor ermöglicht die Aufzeichnung von RAW-Videodaten in 4K mit zuverlässiger...

Record video – what do I have to do?

Now it’s getting easy. Now switch on Live-View and you will see the camera’s field of view in 4K mode on the display. By pressing the red “Record” button on the left under the release button, you start and stop the recording.

All the links in this text are Amazon Affiliate Links, and by clicking on an affiliate link I will earn a percentage of your subsequent Amazon purchases. However, this circumstance does not influence the background of my product recommendation. This product recommendation is independent, honest and sincere.

Bei allen genannten Links handelt es sich um Amazon-Affiliate-Links. Durch einen Klick auf einen Affiliate-Link werde ich prozentual an Euren darauf folgenden Amazon-Einkäufen beteiligt. Dieser Umstand beeinflusst aber nicht die Hintergründe meiner Produktempfehlung. Diese Produktempfehlung erfolgt unabhängig, ehrlich und aufrichtig.

Der Beitrag Nikon Z6 and Z6 II in camera 4K Video Settings – Best practise explained step by step erschien zuerst auf Pixelfriedhof.

Useful basic settings for cinema-quality video material with DJI Mavic 2 Pro – Cinematic Video

megaadmin — Sun, 19 Jan 2020 10:41:00 +0000

DJI’s Mavic 2 Pro gives creative professionals every opportunity to create fantastic video footage. The Hasselblad camera with its 1-inch sensor produces razor-sharp 4K video even in low light conditions. With the right settings, we were able to make the most of the drone’s potential.

Gimbal settings

Before we get into the video-only settings of our DJI Mavic 2 Pro (Amazon Affiliate Link), we should familiarize ourselves with the gimbal settings. These settings affect how fast the gimbal pans and how abruptly the gimbal stops after a movement. Both are properties that inevitably influence the fluidity of our video recordings.

In the settings menu of the drone we go to the menu submenu of the gimbal and then to the advanced settings.
Max. Gimbal pitch speed = 3 This setting determines the maximum speed of the gimbal. This low setting ensures smooth gimbal movement even when the wheel is at maximum pitch. With higher values the camera with the wheel is hardly controllable and unattractive, hectic movements of the gimbal would be the result.
Gimbal pitch buffer = 25 This setting determines how long the gimbal will continue to run out after a movement. If the value is 0, it would stop abruptly.

Video settings of the camera

Let’s get down to business. In the video settings we store the parameters with which the videos are recorded. This is where we have the greatest leverage for high-quality video, but we can also do a lot wrong.

Make sure that we are in video mode and not photo mode and open the video settings.
Switch to “M” mode for manual control of ISO, aperture and time
ISO = 100 (if necessary bump up to about 1000, when only very little light is available, but the image noise increases dramatically.
The aperture should be adjusted according to the available light. If little light is available, the iris should be opened completely, if a lot of light is available, the iris can be closed further. But be careful from an aperture of 5 and upwards, the image quality can suffer at the edges of the image. So if you want to be on the safe side, only adjust the aperture up to a value of 5 and from then on use ND filters to regulate the incident light, see section “Tips for flying”.
Exposure time = 1/60th Here is the key, here we decide whether our video material will look like in the cinema or not.
The exposure time of 1/60 should not be changed, the reason for this is the so-called 180 degree rule. Since we will later create video material with 30 frames per second, we have to choose twice the frame rate as exposure time, and the video material created in this way will be slowed down to 80% of the original speed (we slow it down by 20%). Exactly this will later provide a cinematic experience of our videos. You can find more information on this page: https://www.premiumbeat.com/blog/how-to-achieve-perfect-slow-motion-results-in-post/
The selection of the video size first determines the resolution of our material.
I create my videos with 4K resolution, which corresponds to a setting of 3840 x 2160 pixels.

At this point you notice that there are two settings with this resolution: HQ and FOV. Which of these settings you choose basically depends on the desired image detail and the motif.

If you choose the HQ mode, you will get a smaller section of the drone’s field of view in high quality. The picture is very sharp right into the corners.
The FOV (Full field of view) mode records a wider field of view, especially practical for large panoramas, the sharpness of the image decreases in the outer areas, especially at small aperture values.
As file format you can choose if you want to record in MP4 or MOV. The choice has no effect on the quality of your videos. If you edit the videos on a Mac, you should choose MOV, if you edit the videos on a Windows PC, you should choose MP4, because the systems can read the respective format faster, which speeds up your workflow. Apart from the speed advantage in editing, there are no limitations in choice, both Windows PCs and Macs can read both formats.
When I do the white balance, I turn off the automatic. The reason for this is that I want to avoid that the camera regulates the white balance during a recording and then the color temperatures in the video visibly change. So I ALWAYS set the white balance to 6000K. From this value, I can change the white balance in any direction later on in post production.
As style I choose “None”/”Standard”. This ensures the best possibilities for later processing.
As coding I use h.265, because only in this coding the following color profiles D-Log-M and HSL are possible.
For the color filters, I choose the D-Log-M format for 90% of my shots. This profile looks boring and colourless immediately after recording, but is best edited later. In very low light conditions, for example at dusk I use the HLG format (Hybrid Log Gamma). This achieves richer colors and less image noise in dark environments during post-processing.Attention: The use of D-Log-M or HLG leads to distortion of the video recordings, because the distortion of the lens in these recordings is not eliminated inside the drone. Therefore the lens correction is essential in the later video processing. Premiere Pro and final Cut provide these functions by default.

Tips for flying

Removing the gimbal protection

I personally remove the gimbal protection before every flight, even if some Mavic pilots leave it installed during the flight. However, the plastic protection can affect the video recordings e.g. by micro-scratches, reflections and dust.

Cleaning the camera

Sounds logical, but I often forget myself. To be on the safe side, you should clean the camera with a microfiber cloth before every flight. Better safe than sorry. Otherwise fingerprints and dust can cause unwanted light refractions or blurring, up to the failure of the autofocus.

5er Set Mikrofaser-Reinigungstücher in praktischem Aufbewahrungsbeutel: Mikrofasertuch für Kamera Objektiv, Filter, Display,...*

✅ FUSSELFREIE & EINFACHE REINIGUNG: Für alle Optikflächen egal ob trocken oder mit Reiniger angefeuchtet. Die weichen...
✅ ZWEI FARBEN IM SET (3x blau + 2x weiß): Säubern mit System! Die beiden verschiedenen Farben in diesem Kit machen es Ihnen leicht,...

ND filter better than high aperture values

If the surroundings are too bright, you will probably first close the aperture further so that less light falls on the sensor. Up to an aperture value of 5 this is also unproblematic. At higher aperture values, however, the image quality may suffer due to blur. What sounds paradoxical at first, is actually the case.

If you still want to reduce the light entering the sensor, you can do so with ND filters for the Mavic 2 Pro. For example, those who want to film a Greek beach in the Mediterranean midday sun will hardly be able to avoid the use of ND-filters without having overexposed large parts of the image.

DJI - Filterset für Mavic 2 Pro - Filterset ND4, ND8, ND16 und ND32 - Der ND Filter verhindert, dass die Fotos von der Abbildung...*

Verbesserte kontrolle: diese hochwertigen nd-filter reduzieren die lichtmenge im sensor und sorgen für eine bessere kontrolle über...
Filter-set: dieses set enthält filter nd4 , nd8, nd16 und nd3 2 , die einen 1tieg von 14 , 18, 116 und 13 2 ermglichen, was 2 3 4 5...

There are different offers for ND filters, I myself have chosen the original filters from DJI. I have not tried any third party products before, but trusted the original filters right away. I didn’t want to take the risk that the image quality would be impaired with inferior filters. That’s not to say that there are not possibly cheaper and good alternatives, I just didn’t have time to try them out. So the laziness won with me. On the other hand I don’t buy such an expensive drone to save on essential parts and take a risk with filters.

Tips for post-processing

As mentioned before, it is important to note that our created video material is slowed down in post-production and only plays back at 80% of the original speed. This ensures a cinematic experience of our pictures.

The use of D-Log-M or HLG leads to distortion of the video footage, because the distortion of the lens is not eliminated inside the drone during these recordings. Therefore, lens correction is essential in the later video processing. Premiere Pro and Final Cut provide these functions by default.

I myself have been rendering all my videos with Final Cut Pro for years. For color grading, especially when shooting in D-Log video formats, I use the plugin Epicolor from Lemke Software.

It is one of the best plugins for color grading and helps you to make the video material look like what you have recorded with the human eye.

https://www.lemkesoft.de/produkte/epicolor/

Epicolor is available through the FXFACTORY plugin suite https://fxfactory.com/ , a kind of supermarket for video effects. Like most other plugins, Epicolor is available as a trial version within FXFACTORY. So you can check if you get the desired results with Epicolor. I am very sure that this will be the case.

Der Beitrag Useful basic settings for cinema-quality video material with DJI Mavic 2 Pro – Cinematic Video erschien zuerst auf Pixelfriedhof.

Best practise settings for cinema-quality video material with FIMI X8 SE for Cinematic Video

megaadmin — Sat, 14 Dec 2019 10:41:00 +0000

the Fimi X8 SE is capable of producing stunning 4K video footage. With the right settings, we are able to make the most of the drone’s potential.

Gimbal settings

Before we get into the video-only settings of our Fimi X8 SE (Amazon Affiliate Link), we should familiarize ourselves with the gimbal settings. These settings affect how fast the gimbal pans and how abruptly the gimbal stops after a movement. Both are properties that inevitably influence the fluidity of our video recordings.

In the settings menu of the drone we go to the menu submenu of the gimbal and then to the advanced settings.
Max. Gimbal pitch speed = 3 This setting determines the maximum speed of the gimbal. This low setting ensures smooth gimbal movement even when the wheel is at maximum pitch. With higher values the camera with the wheel is hardly controllable and unattractive, hectic movements of the gimbal would be the result.
Gimbal pitch buffer = 25 This setting determines how long the gimbal will continue to run out after a movement. If the value is 0, it would stop abruptly.

Fimi X8 SE in flight

Video settings of the camera

Make sure that we are in video mode and not photo mode and open the video settings.
Switch to “M” mode for manual control of ISO and time
ISO = 100 (if necessary bump up to about 1000, when only very little light is available, but the image noise increases dramatically.
The aperture on this drone is fixed. You can’t change this value. If you want full control over aperture settings, you should go for DJI’s productline of Mavic drones (Amazon Affiliate Link).
Exposure time = 1/60th Here is the key, here we decide whether our video material will look like in the cinema or not.
The exposure time of 1/60 should not be changed, the reason for this is the so-called 180 degree rule. Since we will later create video material with 30 frames per second, we have to choose twice the frame rate as exposure time, and the video material created in this way will be slowed down to 80% of the original speed (we slow it down by 20%). Exactly this will later provide a cinematic experience of our videos. You can find more information on this page: https://www.premiumbeat.com/blog/how-to-achieve-perfect-slow-motion-results-in-post/
The selection of the video size first determines the resolution of our material.
I create my videos with 4K resolution, which corresponds to a setting of 3840 x 2160 pixels.At this point you notice that there are two settings with this resolution: HQ and FOV. Which of these settings you choose basically depends on the desired image detail and the motif.

If you choose the HQ mode, you will get a smaller section of the drone’s field of view in high quality. The picture is very sharp right into the corners.
The FOV (Full field of view) mode records a wider field of view, especially practical for large panoramas, the sharpness of the image decreases in the outer areas, especially at small aperture values.
When I do the white balance, I turn off the automatic. The reason for this is that I want to avoid that the camera regulates the white balance during a recording and then the color temperatures in the video visibly change. So I ALWAYS set the white balance to “Cloudy” (around) 6000K. From this value, I can change the white balance in any direction later on in post production.
For the color profiles, I choose the D-Log. This profile looks boring and colourless immediately after recording, but is best edited later.
Attention: The use of D-Log leads to distortion of the video recordings, because the distortion of the lens in these recordings is not eliminated inside the drone. Therefore the lens correction is essential in the later video processing. Premiere Pro and final Cut provide these functions by default.

Tips for flying

Cleaning the camera

5er Set Mikrofaser-Reinigungstücher in praktischem Aufbewahrungsbeutel: Mikrofasertuch für Kamera Objektiv, Filter, Display,...*

✅ FUSSELFREIE & EINFACHE REINIGUNG: Für alle Optikflächen egal ob trocken oder mit Reiniger angefeuchtet. Die weichen...
✅ ZWEI FARBEN IM SET (3x blau + 2x weiß): Säubern mit System! Die beiden verschiedenen Farben in diesem Kit machen es Ihnen leicht,...

Tips for post-processing

I myself have been rendering all my videos with Final Cut Pro for years. For color grading, especially when shooting in D-Log video formats, I use the plugin Epicolor from Lemke Software.

It is one of the best plugins for color grading and helps you to make the video material look like what you have recorded with the human eye.

https://www.lemkesoft.de/produkte/epicolor/

Der Beitrag Best practise settings for cinema-quality video material with FIMI X8 SE for Cinematic Video erschien zuerst auf Pixelfriedhof.

Nikon D500 4K Video Settings – Best practise explained step by step

megaadmin — Thu, 16 May 2019 19:01:26 +0000

In this manual I will explain the settings I use to record videos on the Nikon D500 and why I use these settings. So you can create clear video with high recording quality with your D500.

The complete manual as video

Reading’s not your style? Here you see all settings with explanation in the video.

Ihre Daten werden erst beim Abspielen des Youtube-Videos an den Dienst übermittelt. Your data will only be transmitted to the service when you play the Youtube video.

Setting the Camera to M Mode

This mode gives us full control over both exposure time and aperture.

Choosing the right shutter speed

Framerate	Shutter speed
60p	1/125s, as there is no 1/120s
50p	1/100s
30p	1/60s
25p	1/50s
24p	1/50, as there is no 1/48s

Attention: Please also note the section “Flicker reduction” in this context.

Choosing the right aperture

Movie Shooting Menu Settings

Choosing the correct frame size/frame rate

Therefore, I first select the setting “3840 x 2160; 30p” in the film recording menu under “Frame size/frame rate”.
With these settings, the “Choose image area” is changed to “DX” by default, the movie quality is thus automatically set to “High” and the digital VR is off, so we don’t need to deal with these menu items anymore.

Note: To be honest, nobody buys a Nikon D500 or D7500 to make bad videos, I myself never understood why there is the possibility to set the movie quality to “Low” at all.

ISO sensitivity settings

White balance

Almost the same applies here as with the ISO automatic.
Actually, the automatic white balance is sufficiently reliable. I use it in 90% of all shots.

Picture Control

Active D-Lighting

Off. I don’t want the camera to manipulate the image independently.

High ISO NR

Here we leave the default value “Normal” set.

Flicker reduction

Manual setting of the flicker reduction to 50Hz or 60Hz, depending on which setting gives the best result.
If the flicker reduction is not enough, you may need to adjust the shutter speed, even if this would violate the above recommended shutter speeds.
o1/125s, 1/60s or 1/30s at 60Hz power grid
o 1/100s, 1/50s or 1/25s at 50Hz power grid

Microphone sensitivity

When I use the built-in microphone of the D500, I use the automatic level.
If I use an external microphone such as my Zoom H2n, I manually level the microphone input.
You can find more details about external microphones in this blog post “Zoom H2n as an external microphone on the DSLR”.

Frequency response

Here you can choose between “Wide” and “Voice”. I personally don’t like the sound of the “Voice” setting in speech at all and therefore use the much more natural sounding “Wide” frequency response, no matter if I record with the built-in microphone of the D500 or my Zoom H2n as an external microphone. You can find more details about external microphones in this blog post “Zoom H2n as an external microphone on the DSLR”.

Wind noise reduction

The wind noise reduction settings only work when we use the D500’s built-in microphone.

If I record in locked, windless rooms, I switch off wind noise reduction as a potential source of error.
If I record outside with the built-in microphone, I activate wind noise reduction.

Which memory card is suitable for 4k video?

So that your camera can pack even high data rates quickly on the memory card, you should rely on a correspondingly fast SD or XQD card.
You don’t have to buy the expensive XQD cards, even a fast SDXC card is sufficient.

I myself use the following card:

SanDisk Extreme PRO 128GB SDXC Memory Card up to 170MB/s, UHS-1, Class 10, U3, V30*

Professionelle Leistung für schnelle Aufnahmen und 4K UHD Videos mit der SanDisk Speicherkarte; Im Lieferumfang inbegriffen ist die...
Dank der schnellen Übertragung von bis zu 170 MB/s warten Sie nicht mehr lange, während Ihre Bilder und Videos auf Ihre SD Karte oder...

Record video – what do I have to do?

Now it’s getting easy. At the bottom right of the display you will find a toggle switch with a photo and a video symbol. Toggles this switch so that the video mode is active. Now switch on Live-View and you will see the camera’s field of view in 4K mode on the display. By pressing the red “Record” button on the left under the release button, you start and stop the recording.

My first choice as a Lightroom alternative

I’m gonna do some advertising. I’ve been dealing with all kinds of image editing software for months, comparing a lot, testing a lot and finally choosing RAW developer and Lightroom alternative Luminar 3.

Have a look and try the free trial version. Just click on the banner:

Der Beitrag Nikon D500 4K Video Settings – Best practise explained step by step erschien zuerst auf Pixelfriedhof.

Nikon D7500 4K Video Settings – Best practise explained step by step

megaadmin — Thu, 16 May 2019 19:01:26 +0000

In this manual I will explain the settings I use to record videos on the Nikon D7500 and why I use these settings. So you can create clear video with high recording quality with your D7500.

The complete manual as video

Reading’s not your style? Here you see all settings with explanation in the video.

Ihre Daten werden erst beim Abspielen des Youtube-Videos an den Dienst übermittelt. Your data will only be transmitted to the service when you play the Youtube video.

Setting the Camera to M Mode

This mode gives us full control over both exposure time and aperture.

Choosing the right shutter speed

Framerate	Shutter speed
60p	1/125s, as there is no 1/120s
50p	1/100s
30p	1/60s
25p	1/50s
24p	1/50, as there is no 1/48s

Attention: Please also note the section “Flicker reduction” in this context.

Choosing the right aperture

Movie Shooting Menu Settings

Choosing the correct frame size/frame rate

Note: To be honest, nobody buys a Nikon D500 or D7500 to make bad videos, I myself never understood why there is the possibility to set the movie quality to “Low” at all.

ISO sensitivity settings

White balance

Almost the same applies here as with the ISO automatic.
Actually, the automatic white balance is sufficiently reliable. I use it in 90% of all shots.

Picture Control

Active D-Lighting

Off. I don’t want the camera to manipulate the image independently.

High ISO NR

Here we leave the default value “Normal” set.

Flicker reduction

Manual setting of the flicker reduction to 50Hz or 60Hz, depending on which setting gives the best result.
If the flicker reduction is not enough, you may need to adjust the shutter speed, even if this would violate the above recommended shutter speeds.
o1/125s, 1/60s or 1/30s at 60Hz power grid
o 1/100s, 1/50s or 1/25s at 50Hz power grid

Microphone sensitivity

When I use the built-in microphone of the D7500, I use the automatic level.
If I use an external microphone such as my Zoom H2n, I manually level the microphone input.
You can find more details about external microphones in this blog post “Zoom H2n as an external microphone on the DSLR”.

Frequency response

Here you can choose between “Wide” and “Voice”. I personally don’t like the sound of the “Voice” setting in speech at all and therefore use the much more natural sounding “Wide” frequency response, no matter if I record with the built-in microphone of the D500 or my Zoom H2n as an external microphone. You can find more details about external microphones in this blog post “Zoom H2n as an external microphone on the DSLR”.

Wind noise reduction

The wind noise reduction settings only work when we use the D7500’s built-in microphone.

If I record in locked, windless rooms, I switch off wind noise reduction as a potential source of error.
If I record outside with the built-in microphone, I activate wind noise reduction.

Digital VR

Off, because this setting is not available due to the 4K recording.

Time-lapse recording

Off, because no one who seriously wants to take time-lapse shots has them recorded by the camera as video, but rather composes the film from individual photographs.

Which memory card is suitable for 4k video?

So that your camera can pack even high data rates quickly on the memory card, you should rely on a correspondingly fast SD card.
I myself use the following card:

SanDisk Extreme PRO 128GB SDXC Memory Card up to 170MB/s, UHS-1, Class 10, U3, V30*

Professionelle Leistung für schnelle Aufnahmen und 4K UHD Videos mit der SanDisk Speicherkarte; Im Lieferumfang inbegriffen ist die...
Dank der schnellen Übertragung von bis zu 170 MB/s warten Sie nicht mehr lange, während Ihre Bilder und Videos auf Ihre SD Karte oder...

Record video – what do I have to do?

My first choice as a Lightroom alternative

Have a look and try the free trial version. Just click on the banner:

Der Beitrag Nikon D7500 4K Video Settings – Best practise explained step by step erschien zuerst auf Pixelfriedhof.

Zoom H2n as an external microphone on the DSLR

megaadmin — Thu, 16 May 2019 18:48:55 +0000

With the right settings, Zoom’s portable recorders can be used as an external microphone to DSLR and system camera. The unit can be attached to the camera using a hot shoe adapter.

Integrated microphones often have their weak points

The microphones used in SLR cameras or system cameras are often not necessarily the best of breed. The dynamic range and the clarity often fail us, because the microphone is placed too far away from the sound source, and in the worst case the built-in microphone also captures camera noises, such as focus buzzing.

That’s why I bought a Zoom H2n recorder some time ago, which I now use to record speech and motion sounds.
The recorder has high-resolution microphones and an SD card slot where the sound recordings are stored. I am amazed by the sound quality!

Special offer

ZOOM H2n Handy Recorder – Tragbarer Digitalrekorder mit 5 Mikrofonen und Surround-Sound – Ideal für Musik, Interviews,...*

Square and rectangular shapes maximize spaceefficiency
Exotisches Design

Using the recorder as an external microphone on the DSLR

One day I was sitting in the office editing one of my videos. I muted the sound track of the camera and instead placed the sound track of the recorder under the video. The idea came to me to save this step in the future if I would only use an external microphone on my Nikon D500 (Amazon Affiliate Link). I thought for a moment whether I had a suitable microphone lying around and at that moment I thought that I might also be able to use my Zoom Recorder “H2n” as a microphone.

The “Zoom H2n” recorder only has to permanently output the recorded noise via the headphone socket. Therefore we go to the menu of the recorder under the following path: Input -> Monitor -> ALWAYS ON

All you need now is a 3.5mm jack cable with two angled plugs to connect the headphone jack of the recorder to the microphone jack of the DSLR.

deleyCON 0,5m Klinkenkabel 3,5mm AUX Kabel Stereo Audio Kabel Klinkenstecker 90° Gewinkelt für PC Laptop Handy Smartphone Tablet...*

deleyCON Stereo Audio Klinken Kabel // 2x 90° gewinkelt // Für AUX Eingänge 3,5 mm Klinken Stecker zu 3,5 mm Klinken Stecker
Hochwertig vergoldete Kontakte // Flexibles Kabel // 3,5 mm Klinkenstecker mit 90° Winkel

It is also important that we first level the “Zoom H2n” manually and then level the camera manually.
From now on our DSLR video recordings get a clean audio signal from the mobile “Zoom H2n” recorder.

Attaching the recorder to a camera with a flash shoe adapter

The Zoom H2n recorder has a 1/4-inch thread on the bottom. If you buy a flash shoe to 1/4-inch adapter, you can mount the Zoom Recorder on your camera.

Neewer® Zwei (2) Packung mit Haltbare Pro 1/4 "Montageplatte für Stativgewinde auf Blitzschuh*

Dieser Adapter ermöglicht die Geräte mit Standard 1/4 "Gewindebohrung auf Blitzschuh-Steckplatzzu installieren. Es verfügt über 2...
Es kann NIKON SC-28 Blitz das VH2000 Kamera Blitzschiene Griff installieren. Es kann YONGNUO CTR-301P Blitz Fernauslöser auf...

My first choice as a Lightroom alternative

Have a look and try the free trial version. Just click on the banner:

Der Beitrag Zoom H2n as an external microphone on the DSLR erschien zuerst auf Pixelfriedhof.