# nikon d800 video recording sensor size is smaller than 5D???



## ssrdd (May 2, 2012)

according to kenrockwell D800 '' Video only uses a central 32.8 x 18.4mm section of the sensor, at most.''
but 5D utilizes 36X20.3mm.

why haven't nikon tell this before....?


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## psolberg (May 2, 2012)

Because Ken Rockwell doesn't know what he is talking about?

What Mr Rockwell didn't bother to do was actually view the movies he recorded. Surprised? you shouldn't be because after all the guy isn't a reviewer but a salesman that is trying to tell you want you want to hear to buy stuff from his links. This is how he makes a living.

Live view on the D800 is slightly cropped, to 95% IIRC from the manual. It has been documented on nearly every review. But this crop is just on the monitoring signal for the live view, not what goes in the card. If you hook up a monitor to the hdmi, you see it as it records (full frame) to the card, or if you use the 4:2:2 out 1080p record option to an external device, you get the full frame.

in other words, Ken Rockwell once again pulls facts out of his rear end.


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## Canon-F1 (May 2, 2012)

wrong forum.. and a ken "the color" rockwell quote :

well you can´t be doing worse that´s for sure. 

_if this was helpfull please support my growing family by sending 15$ to my paypal account!!_


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## 3kramd5 (May 2, 2012)

http://www.dpreview.com/previews/nikonD800/3

"Movies can also be shot at two different crops from the sensor, FX and DX. This makes it easy to vary the field-of-view for grabbing footage, even if you’ve got a prime lens mounted. However, the ‘FX’ size is a significantly cropped version of the full sensor (it’s 91% of the sensor’s width), so the field-of-view will be a little narrower than you’d expect for any given focal length."


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## psolberg (May 2, 2012)

3kramd5 said:


> http://www.dpreview.com/previews/nikonD800/3
> 
> "Movies can also be shot at two different crops from the sensor, FX and DX. This makes it easy to vary the field-of-view for grabbing footage, even if you’ve got a prime lens mounted. However, the ‘FX’ size is a significantly cropped version of the full sensor (it’s 91% of the sensor’s width), so the field-of-view will be a little narrower than you’d expect for any given focal length."



interesting. I will be testing it now that I got a hold of a D800. but every 5DIII vs D800 comparison looked identical. the live view does look cropped.

edit:
so I did some testing and found that yes there is indeed a slight crop. I'm unfamiliar with the camera, but I found it on the manual(so Nikon does disclose it using a diagram). The actual factor I roughly calculated is about 1.095X from a quick snap vs video. So yes, technically you'll gain some focal length (or lose wideness if you prefer). So I guess I owe Ken an apology...this ONE time.

Reading the manual, I found that the HDMI out has two modes. 95% crop or 100%. I don't know if the HDMI set to 100% does this out does this as I have not yet used a external recorder (but definitively plan to since one reason I'm switching to the D800 is the 4:2:2 8bit for external recording).
see ->vimeo.com/40788982

Once I find out, I'll report back here for whoever would like to know.

The question is it noticeable? I think the answer is it depends. If you are shooting very wide AND look for it (and I'm talking below 24mm before the FOV change may matter in composition) you'll see footage is not as wide as with a 1.0 crop. I just took delivery of the D800 yesterday and had been shooting video quite a bit, and hadn't noticed which tells me I don't shoot that wide that much. For mid lengths to telephoto, the difference is far less noticeable.

For practical purposes, I think the full frame "look" (if there is such a thing since they all crop the tops) of the footage isn't affected by the slight crop (this isn't like a 1.5 crop or anything like that). But if you're shooting sweeping vistas with an ultra wide it is definitively something to keep in mind. Conversely if you shoot telephoto (bids, sports) the slight crop is a plus. Not a big issue IMHO (and actually a plus if you shoot telephoto) but YMMV. As mentioned, I'm ordering an atomos Ninja and will test the 100% HDMI out output setting from the menu to see if that yields the missing 0.095 8)


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