Chapter 7. D-Movie
In This Chapter
About video
Tricks, tips, and workarounds
Video-editing software
The D90 is a groundbreaking camera for one simple fact: video. The D90 is the first dSLR in history to offer video. Canon wasn't far behind with the 5D mkII, but the D90 was the first. So, what does this mean for you? Quite simply, it means you can record video with your dSLR.
First and foremost, this statement must be made: The D90 is not a video camera. It's a still camera that just happens to record video by using the Live View feature. The D90 is one of Nikon's midrange dSLR cameras, and it's an excellent example of that. It has a 12-megapixel sensor, low noise at high ISO settings, and a fast continuous shutter speed. Everything you could want from a dSLR. Why am I bringing this up? There are some who aren't happy with the D90 video performance. These evaluations are being based on comparisons to dedicated video cameras. This is an unfair comparison, as the D90 was designed primarily to shoot still photographs, and it does an excellent job accomplishing that. You wouldn't compare a still grab from a video camera to a high-resolution still image from the D90, would you? Of course not. It's like comparing apples to oranges.
The D90's Video mode is, for all practical purposes, fully automatic. Once you switch to Video mode, the camera controls all the settings. Shutter speed and ISO can't be adjusted at all, and the aperture setting is locked in once Live View is activated. The only way ...
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