N-Photo

The 4K future

ew sensor designs

and more powerful

Expeed 5 processors

have allowed Nikon

to push its new

cameras’ ISO

settings higher than ever before.

The improvements to the

standard ISO ranges, however,

are fairly modest. The D

improves on the D4S by two

stops, with a maximum of

ISO102400 compared to

ISO25600 on the older model.

The D50 0 improves on its

nearest predecessor, the

D7200, by just one stop, with a

maximum standard rating of

ISO51200, compared to

ISO25600 on the D7200.

Outside this standardised

ISO range are ‘expanded’ ISO

settings. These do not

necessarily comply with ISO

he D5 and D500 are

the first Nikon D-SLRs

to shoot 4K video, and

not before time, some

might say. Nikon faces

increasing

competition not just from other

D-SLR makers, but mirrorless

models like the Sony A7 series

cameras and Panasonic’s fast

and powerful 4K Micro Four

Thirds models.

Video is a contentious

topic, and many traditional

photographers object to its

presence in their cameras at all,

but for others it’s a professional

necessity as clients start

to demand not just stills

photography in their

briefs but video too.

Regular stills photographers

may be slow to warm to video

modes, but videographers are

swarming to D-SLRs as a

powerful, inexpensive and

flexible way to shoot top-quality

ISO extremes

NIKON FINALLY STEPS UP TO ULTRA HIGH DEFINITION VIDEO SHOOTING

BOTH THE D5 AND THE D500 PROMISE ASTONISHING LOW LIGHT PERFORMANCE

video for artistic, documentary

and commercial projects.

The next step

4K represents the nex t big

step up in qualit y from Full HD,

offering twice the horizontal and

vertical resolution and four

times the number of megapixels

per frame. Full HD image frames

have two million pixels, 4K

frames have eight million pixels.

4K video doesn’t just produce

stunning quality (on devices that

can display it), it gives much

more leeway for post-shoot

cropping while still maintaining

high levels of quality.

Frame rates explained

The D5 and D500, like other

video-enabled cameras, offer

a choice of frame rates. It’s

important to choose the right

frame rate before you start

shooting because changing it

later is a second-rate fix that’s

best avoided. The routine

setting for capturing motion

smoothly and for playback on

digital devices is 30 frames per

second. If you’re filming video

for DVD or broadcast, you may

need to check whether it’s

destined for territories that use

NTSC devices (29.97 frames per

second) or PAL (25 frames per

second). The 24 frames per

second frame rate is designed to

give video a ‘cinematic’ look

because it matches the frame

4K vs UHD vs Full HD

‘4K’ is used as a generic term for this high-resolution video format, but

it’s not strictly accurate. In principle, 4K is video with frames measuring

4000 pixels across. In practice, most devices shoot a slightly different

standard – UHD. UHD video dimensions are 3840x2160 pixels. That’s

why Nikon puts UHD in brackets in its specifications. There’s not much

in it, but if we’re

going to be

accurate about the

definitions it needs

explaining. Both

formats offer a

massive resolution

increase over the

Full HD format.

UHD (3810x2160 pixels)

Full HD

(1920x1080 pixels)

regulations about speed

measurement and image

quality parameters, but can

offer equivalent exposures.

Both the D5 and D500 have

five expanded ISO settings,

numbered Hi 1, Hi 2, Hi 3, Hi 4

and Hi 5, offering another five

stops of ISO expansion beyond

the maximum standard value.

This gives the D5 a maximum

expanded ISO of over three

million! The D500’s maximum

expanded ISO is 1,638,400.

The lower figure for the D

is easily explained. Its DX sensor

is half the size of the FX sensor

in the D5, which means that its

photosites are half the size and

so half as sensitive to light.

Quality still counts

These high ISO figures are no

guarantee of image quality! We’ll

need to give both cameras a

proper test to find out how

useful these settings really are.

But high ISO capability does

tend to have a knock-on effect

on image quality further down

the ISO range, so even if you

never use the ISO settings these

cameras are capable of, you

still likely to see the benefit

at medium to high set tings

such as ISO6 4 0 0 or 1 280 0.

Both cameras offer ISO

expansion ‘downwards’, too,

with a setting of ISO50. This

extra one-stop reduction in

sensitivity could prove useful

in bright daylight, for example.

This downwards ISO expansion

often brings a reduction in

dynamic range with other digital

cameras and our lab tests will

reveal whether this happens

with the new Nikons.

This chart shows the evolution in high

ISO settings with the D5 and D500,

compared to their immediate

predecessors. It’s the expanded ‘Hi’

settings that push the maximum ISO

values through the roof.

ISO ranges compared

3276800

1638400

819200

409600

204800

102400

51200

25600

12800

6400

3200

1600

800

400

200

100

50

Lo 1

Hi 1

Hi 4

Hi 2

Hi 3

Hi 1

Hi 2 Hi 1

Hi 3

Hi 2

Hi 4

Hi 5

Lo 1

Hi 3

Hi 4

Hi 5

Hi 1

Hi 2

Lo 1

D7200 D500 D4S D

14 March 2016 http://www.digitalcameraworld.com

SPECIAL FEATURE THE NEW NIKON D500 AND D