external recorder with Nikon D7200

[Stefano Stroppa]

hello guys!

 

I might be shooting my first low budget feature film as DOP, I'm so excited about it, I won't get paid but the expenses, but I think it's alright as I finally get the chance to work on a first feature.

 

The director owns a Nikon D7200 and wants to use it for the shooting, and I can't make him change his mind. It shoots 4:2:0 8bit internally, so I suggested him to work with an external recorder like the Atomos Ninja 2 to record ProRes and 4:2:0.

 

 

My question is if anyone has some experience with this camera, I'd love to hear, I believe you can always learn so much from everyone and from people's feedback and experiences, so I wonder if anyone has some experience to share using the D7200 (and maybe with an external recorder).

thank you a lot :)

 

also, I know the Atomos Ninja 2 records at full HD, 4:2:2 10bit, but I read if you pair it with the D7200 you can record 4:2:2 8bits.

So my question is, is the internal 8bit of the camera a limitation cos you can't go higher even if your external record allows you to? or you can actually shoot with the Ninja 2 and D7200 in 10bit?

(it's a general question on any camera paired with ext recorder)

 

 

thank you guys!

[Phil Rhodes]

Often, HDMI outputs are 8-bit. HDMI is capable, in theory, of 10-bit operation, but it is not often used.

 

I don't know anything about the Nikon you mention, but unless it is specifically advertised as having 10-bit output, it almost certainly doesn't. I would be surprised if it did.

 

A quick googling-around reveals no conclusive information, but I didn't look very hard. The ability to record a less-compressed version of what the camera sees is still likely to be worthwhile.

 

P

[Stefano Stroppa]

thank you Phil!

 

I know the Atomos Ninja 2 has only HDMI input and output but it records uncompressed 10bit/8bit 4:2:2 signal, so I was just wondering if an external recorder recording 10bit always gives you that 10bit signal or if the camera internal recording sticks at 8bit you can't improve it using an external recorder.

 

I read this:

"The Ninja-2 supports HD or SD sources and encodes it in real-time to 10-bit, 4:2:2 Apple ProRes or Avid DNxHD at up to 220Mbps. Recording is always in 10-bit, even from an 8-bit source. Color registries are added for integration into higher bit-depth graphics from CG, animation and special effects. This helps avoid banding in your footage, even if your source is 8-bit."

 

could you explain me more on what it means to record 10bit even from an 8bit source? is your final recorded footage then 10bit or 8bit?

 

 

you know if it's possible to use the HDMI output from the external recorder to an external monitor? as you're using the input from the camera to the external recorder? you could link to one more external device?

 

S.

[Phil Rhodes]

Atomos are getting a bit giddy there.

 

You can record an 8-bit signal as 10-bit, but it isn't going to help anything. You'll end up with a 10 bit signal with only 8 bits of information in it.

 

You could theoretically claim that it would help when grading, if you chose to add a lot of contrast, but most grading applications work in a high bit depth internally anyway.

 

Yes, you can daisy-chain from the Atomos recorder to an external monitor. Make sure you restrain the cable so it doesn't yank on the recorder if someone trips on it.

 

P