The above stills are taken from HD video shot with the forthcoming Nikon D90. Nikon has posted some video samples highlighting the video prowess of their new pro-sumer DSLR. Needless to say, they’re incredible; this opens a lot of doors into the world of professional quality video for everyone. I have to admit, at first I too was skeptical of the HD video feature as a mere gimmick. But after seeing these videos I am close to sold. Of course I’d have to reserve final judgement for after I’ve done some hands on testing, but these videos are strong supporting evidence.
I’ve been wanting a new DSLR and want to get my first video camera soon too. The D90 just might kill those 2 birds with one relatively inexpensive stone. The only problem with this whole scenario is that by adding such an alluring feature to the D90 exclusively, Nikon has made it really hard to justify buying their new pro offering, the D700, which lacks the D-Movie feature. I want the added performance of the D700, but getting this level of HD video quality in the significantly cheaper package of the D90 is just about enough reason to ditch any delusions of pro-level-gear-grandeur and make due with the lesser of the Nikon DSLR range, spending the surplus afforded by it on a high end lens.
Head on over to Nikon to view the full videos or Gizmodo for a third party take on the action. The Gizmodo article does make a good point about the sound quality, but for my purposes sound would be irrelevant as most of the stuff I’d be shooting would be set to music with no original live audio. Looks like the race for next-gen DSLR superiority just got a lot more interesting.
The long rumored Nikon D90 is now official and is the first DSLR with HD video recording capabilities. The $999 (body only) 12.3MP camera sports a new image sensor with similar high ISO performance to it’s bigger brothers the D700 and the D3, but at a considerably lower price point. Sounds like a winning package; I currently use a D80 and a lot of the features described would be welcome upgrades to my current rig. But at this point, it wouldn’t be worth it to move over to a camera with such marginal performance increases, I am thinking the recently announced D700 will be my next upgrade (or whichever is their latest at that level when I do take the plunge).
This new Nikon release comes in the wake of Canon’s recent 50D announcement. The 50D is the first pro-sumer level camera with the lauded Digic 4 processor. With the 15.2MP sensor on board, it’s a nice entry point for people not willing to fork over the dough for the 5D. At $1400 (body only) the 50D is considerably cheaper than it’s more robust sibling, but will at least get you in the same performance ballpark as the 5D.
I think these two cameras are a great sign of things to come for us graphic designers. Having a high performance camera in your kit is essential for any serious designer, but it’s hard to justify spending so much on one when photography isn’t your primary occupation. I think the D90 and 50D fill a nice little gap in the DSLR price range, and although the 50D carries a larger price tag (a $400 bump over the D90) it sounds like the extra features make a compelling case for the extra expense. I just don’t know if I can make the move to Canon just yet, I’ll have to see how this plays out.
Names: Clu = Kev + Sean Current City: Dublin, Republic of Ireland Website: www.clu.ie
ISO50: Tell me about your first musical memory?
Sean – I remember going to collect dj equipment and with my father, he used to dj at partys as a job for abit,
i always remember he used to set the gear and lights up in our sitting room for the fun times, will always remember dancing about to 2 Unlimited – No Limit, we actually just found this on a home video aswell, must upload it. Kev – Playing Mary Had A Little Lamb using the telephone.
ISO50: Can you list off a 4 song playlist of what you listen to while you’re preparing to work on either Audio or Visual end of Clu?
Sean –
Objekt – Ganzfeld
Ricky Eat Acid – Inside your house; it will swallow us too
Macintosh Plus – リサフランク
Fez – Disasterpeace
Kev –
Aphex Twin – Xtal
Oni Ayhun – OAR003
Nina Kraviz and Luke Hess – Remember
Laurent Garnier – Wake Up
ISO50: If the world lost electricity tomorrow, would you continue to make music and how?
Sean – Yes, id get a very nice piano, so nice that i would have to get very good at playing, and then pick up a hang drum or steel drum and slide onto a nice tropical island.
ISO50: What is your favourite sound and why?
Sean – The hiss as i open a fresh bottle of fizzy water Kev – The sound of yawning – v addictive.
ISO50: Is there any sort of emotional subtext, or something that inspires you to write the music you make?
Sean – Yes everything has a point, some of it instinct with no emotions attached other then the ones i was feeling at the time of making, and there is also things going on and memories in my life that directly make me chase a certain sound/mood to try and portray what i was feeling & thinking about.
ISO50: Something your fans might not know about you?
Sean – If I’m having trouble sleeping i put on a WWF dvd or PPV, like a royal rumble or something, its my white noise. Kev – I do it all for them.
ISO50: Dream gig (location, mood, pick a show opener or closer) and how important is it to you to have a live show?
Sean – I would also love to do a Blast off to Mars AV show, we could play in the missile silo full of funkion 1s, under the sea inside some sort of aquarium to start, id also like Binary Finary to open and Atlantic ocean to close. Kev – Let us do the AV show for the people that are being blasted off to Mars. The show has to be live, we’re not RTÉ.
Here’s the video for the single Mirrors:
ISO50: Do you collect anything other than music gear?
Sean – Yea i have collected quite a few video game consoles, i also had a strange obsession with collecting subbuteo, its a minature table football game where you flick loads of little players about who are glued to a semi-circle, on a felt pitch with sometimes a fake crowd.
ISO50: Who would you want to take out of hiding dead or alive and sit in the studio with, even if it was just for one song?
Sean – I have always wanted to work with Gary Numan, or Moondog, both are idols of mine. Kev – C. Cunningham
ISO50: Why do you think US beat scene isn’t as prolific as Northwestern Europe?
Sean – I actually have no idea, i think it is still quite popular and growing, i just think everyone doing fresh stuff is moving away from genres in general, now artists, if they want to get though on raw talent, have to take their own path, in every single way not just the music, needs to be authentic to fly now which is class or it can just be heavily backed, which is crap. Kev – No idea, good question though.
ISO50: Whats the story behind the ideas in the “Mirrors” video?
Kev – “A lack of want”
ISO50: Name off 2 records each you’d take to a deserted island, these would be the last 2 records you’ll ever here.
Sean – Bon Iver – For Emma
Aphex twin selected Ambient works V 2 ( Me and my friend Rob used to stick it on before we went to sleep on our shitty burst blow up beds when we lived in a tiny little basement in Vancouver, we put it on for 4 months straight.) Kev – Oneohtrix Point Never’s R Plus Seven and Kurt Vile’s Walkin On A Pretty Daze
Inspired by 1980’s science fiction films, contemporary dance and 8 bit computer soundtracks a la Donkey Kong… Dublin born musician Sean Cooley and visual artist Kevin Freeney formed Clu in 2011 as a way to play music and showcase artwork simultaneously to their friends in venues and galleries across the city. Growing up in the 1990s, they witnessed the birth of mass produced 3D computer animations and the conceptual god complexes that came with the internet.
These two very apparent influences made the guys immerse themselves in the ever intertwining mediums of sound and vision, giving Clu a very unique approach to their live AV shows. Cooley’s productions bubble with multitudes of synths and maintain a focus on bass driven twists that create soaring galactic oddities while visually Freeney engages in a surrealist depth that skips on the brink between digital film and generative animations. This connection between the two, forms a symbiotic chemistry that hopes to bridge the gap between the white cubed galleries of visual art and the dark basements of electronic music.
This iconic Bubble series was created by fashion photographer Melvin Sokolsky for the Harper’s Bazaar 1963 Spring Collection.
Haunted by a particular image from Hieronymous Bosch’s ‘The Garden of Delights,’ Sokolsky experienced a re-occurring dream in which he saw himself floating inside a bubble across exotic landscapes. Inspired, he quickly used the idea for the series. The Bubble was crafted to emulate a Faberge Egg, for which Sokolsky had great admiration for its design and workmanship.
Complicated and unrealistic at first, he was able to realize his dream. Sokolsky commented:
“With the awareness that I was prone to live in my own head much of the time, and inclined to severe self-criticism, I began to have doubts whether I could create images on film that reflected the images in my mind’s eye.”
The Bubble was produced in ten days of Plexiglass and aircraft aluminum for the hinged rings. After a successful test run, Sokolsky was off to Paris to shoot the Spring Collections for Harper’s Bazaar. The challenge was to position a telescopic crane at each location from which the Bubble would be suspended. Using his favorite model at the time, Simone d’Aillencourt, she would get into the Bubble that was suspended a few feet off the ground, (hinged at the top like a Faberge Egg) so that it could easily swing open for entry. After being locked in safely and able to breathe due to the space between the hemispheres; the Bubble was raised into the final position. Sokolsky describes one particular event:
“There were times when this choreographed dance turned into a Laurel and Hardy comedy. The morning we shot on the Seine, the Bubble was lowered overzealously into the water, flooding it up to Simone’s ankles, and in turn ruining an important pair of designer shoes.”
Turning out to be an amazing adventure for him, Sokolsky was praised and congratulated for his unconventional yet triumphant work. He had ignited the world of fashion photography with his innovative style.
Some inspiring artwork from Carolina Niño. The level of detail in her work is amazing. Just a small portion of a full image is a composition on its own. Be sure to check out her portfolio and if your are interested in prints you can find her on S6.
If you’re in need of some editorial or layout design inspiration, head over to the Behance site for POGO. I’ve just been cruising the archives of all issues of the online magazine SOKO. There is a ton of great typography and photography throughout each issue and I’m sure you’ll find something you like. Content-wise, it’s mostly fashion we’re talking, but it’s really just a playground for POGO to go crazy and design what they like. I also included their video Voyeur, because the color and post-processing is so good it made me forget I have to go to work tomorrow.
Just in case you’re in the market for a new DSLR and all of the recentannouncements weren’t enough for you, this supposedly leaked ad from Nikon Japan just hit the web. The word “Big” appears next to a shadowy DSLR body, perhaps insinuating an impending compact, full-frame Nikon on the horizon. Here’s to hoping this potential model bridges the rather large chasm between the D90 and the D700 and maybe even throws in some of that HD video lacking from the D700 for good measure.
21-megapixel, full-frame, Digic 4, full HD video, 6400 ISO….Game over. The ridiculously anticipated Canon 5D MKII is now official and if this wasn’t worth the wait, I don’t know what is. Canon has hit each and every feature and performance threshold I was looking for in a new DSLR and then some. Expect it on store shelves by end of November with a sticker price of $2700 for the body or $3500 with the 24-105mm kit lens. Yes, that’s steep, but take a look at these features:
•14-bit conversion •3.9FPS unlimited burst rate with JPEG using UDMA CF card, or 14 RAW (standard CF card is 78 JPEG, 13 RAW •Four-channel readout that’s 2.2x faster than the 5D •Lens peripheral illumination correction, like 50D, but better supposedly •15-point auto-focus •Creative auto mode, also like 50D •Auto-lighting optimizer •Three levels of noise reduction that kicks in above ISO800 •RAW, sRAW1 (10MP), sRAW2 (5MP) •Three-inch, 920,000 dot-screen •New and improved battery (incompatible with old one) that delivers 850 shots or 1.5 hours of video •150,000 cycle shutter •Magnesium alloy body •NO built-in flash BTW
Jumping from my $2000 D80 kit to this price threshold will be a bit of a stretch, but if this new 5D lives up to it’s performance claims, it will be well worth it. I know nothing can truly be future-proof, but com’on, 21MP? That’s more than enough to make this my workhorse camera for the foreseeable technological future. I love it when a new piece of kit comes out that is so far superior to it’s rivals that it makes the decision easy for you; the 5D seems like one of those things. After my long deliberation over which DSLR to upgrade to it’s nice to see a logical conclusion. I had toyed with the idea of moving to the D90 for the HD video alone, but it’s other specs were so similar to my D80 that it just didn’t seem worth the upgrade.
In my book, the 5D MKII beats Nikon’s recently announced D700 for two reasons: HD video (which is inexplicably absent from the D700) and price (it’s $300 less than it’s Nikon counterpart). I don’t own any pricey Nikon glass, both my lenses are decidedly sub-par, but even if I did, I’d have to believe I’d still give this thing more than a passing glance. How about all you other Nikon users? Would any of you who are invested in Nikon lenses still consider moving to Canon for a camera like this? Let us know
