D90 and HVX side-by-side test on Vimeo

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Side-by-side test between the Nikon D90 and Panasonic HVX200. The D90 footage uses the AE-Lock trip before shooting, except for the last shot which you can see us experimenting and locking/unlocking the AE-L to see what happens.

By: Chronicle Project (chronicleproject.org)
Music: From the Cinecue library (cinecue.com)

UPDATE: We ended up using the D90 to shoot a series of short documentary films and are very pleased with the results. You can see them all at deidox.com.

Credits

103 Likes

Danica Northend
7 months ago
kinga kenig
11 months ago
zonix
1 year ago
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1 year ago
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1 year ago
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1 year ago
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1 year ago
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1 year ago

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jsendicott 3 years ago

WOW! I'm really surprise how well the D90 holds up against the big boys. Image Quality is excellent. Thanks for doing this. I'm now convinced. I'll be getting a D90.
Chronicle Project 3 years ago

When looking at full res 720p on a computer monitor you can see the difference in the bit rate (the HVX has way more info), but finishing for the web or itunes HD quality it looks like the D90 holds up. This was our first try with it too. crazy.
david babendreyer 3 years ago

hi,..were can i download the file??
cheers**
EFRAIN PELAYO 3 years ago

i think you need to tweak the settings a bit to get better results
Tynan 3 years ago

Can you change the Vimeo settings on this video to allow us to download the original so we can watch the 720p too.

Cheers :)
Chronicle Project 3 years ago

Oops. Changed now.
Tynan 3 years ago

Excellent service ! :)
Dan Carter 3 years ago

Well done and very informative. Thank you for doing this.
Thebes 3 years ago

Its astounding how well the Nikon holds up in the comparison. A thousand dollar camera compared to a camera that takes memory cards costing almost that much!
Martin Koch 3 years ago

Very, very well made comparison. Thanks a lot for this.

I downloaded the 720p original and watched it at 480p size (853 x 480). The D90 colors look so much better. HVX Video look vs. D90 Film look. If only Nikon would increase the bitrate and allow manual control over ISO and shutter speed.

Into which codec do you convertthe MJPEG for editing? ProRes?
Chronicle Project 3 years ago

The footage was converted through compressor to DVCPRO to match the HXV 220p stuff. However, I did notice that compressor crushes the blacks a bit in the conversion process. We're going to explore some other workflows.
John Caballero 3 years ago

I got mine and I think it is pretty good. The big problem is the image wobbling. The only way to control it, as far as I am concerned, is with a tripod. The camera does not much do it when you move it side to side but when you shake it even slightly. And it becomes difficult when you are focusing on the move. After fixing that problem it needs better bitrates and the manual controls. If Nikon and others keep improving this concept it can be very big.
Chronicle Project 3 years ago

Agreed. All of this was shot with a lens that did not have the VR image stabilization, so I know it can get better. The focusing was the hardest thing because the screen is kind of hard so see when in the sunlight. there's a lot of glare on it.
Barry Lawrensen 3 years ago

Hoodman makes nice collapsible hoods, and you can be sure they'll have one soon specifically for the D90. I wonder if the D80 hood would work?
hoodmanusa.com/prodinfo.asp?number=H-D80
Barry Lawrensen 3 years ago

I just called Hoodman (my D90 arrived today), and they don't have one yet for the D90. This one might work:
hoodmanusa.com/prodinfo.asp?number=HD-300+VIDEO
But I would like to see them make the flip-up cap/hood like they make for these other Nikon models:
hoodmanusa.com/products.asp?dept=1030
Christian 3 years ago

Thanks for doing this test, very informative.
Georg Zechner 3 years ago

Way to go!
What I have seen in all the D90 videos in the shallow DOF- which will be great for people who know what they are doing but it may be a problem in many situations and if you don't focus right on you will have an out of focus video.
Can you fix the aperture at say f8, choose higher ISO to make up for it and have higher DOF?
Chronicle Project 3 years ago

Once you lock the AE-L in you can manually change the aperture. the shutter and iso will not compensate on fly fly when it's locked.

Yeah, focus was an issue when shooting on the fly. But if you get the focus right then it may be worth it.
eggermedia.com 3 years ago

Well, thanks, but next time Whitebalance both cameras. There are many settings you can adjust on videocameras to make a better image. But the DOF is amazing.
Chronicle Project 3 years ago

Ha. For all those commenting on white-balance... we white-balanced for interior so that the two matched, filmed inside a bit, then took them outside and did not re-whitebalance because we cared more about the cameras matching and frankly it takes so much playing to figure out how to use this thing effectively that we didn't think we'd ever post it. just a first test.
we' weren't going to post it. w
Christian Gotzinger 3 years ago

The HVX footage seems to have a bit more resolution (I only watched the streaming video). But this is more than offset by the awesome colors, dynamic range and depth of field of the D90. The D90 looks a lot like film whereas the HVX looks like DV.
White balance seems to have been off in some of the clips, some post processing would surely improve things. It worked well as an out of camera comparison though.
Camp Comet 3 years ago

Naturally, the HVX (even the original version) looks much more pleasing to the eye. A little adjustment to the d90, better glass, etc and perhaps that could change. Despite the terrible compression.

Thanks for taking the time to compare
Robin Hemerik 3 years ago

Best D90 video so far. I'm also a bit surprised how soft and smooth the HVX 200 looks. Thought it would be more crisp, sharper.
Stan Chung 3 years ago

I have a question, since you have both the cameras, how does the noise compare in low light conditions?

Thanks for sharing!
keoshi 3 years ago

I really love the look of the D90 shot: warmer, more 'analogic', more real.
Oh, and sure the bokeh helps a lot :)
Michael Dunn 3 years ago

Was there a 35mm adapter on the HVX?
Chronicle Project 3 years ago

No, the HVX was clean with no 35mm adapter.
ChriZZZ Emerson 3 years ago

that is pretty sweet. i didn't realize the D90 had such good video. i bet it would be great for getting footage in public, cause you could point it all over and people wouldnt know your taking video.
Ryan Heatley 3 years ago

Thanks for the hard work man. Great job!
Nathan Pierce 3 years ago

Well the DOF is better on the D90 heh...

You should compare with a DOF adapter on the HVX
P@rTh!v 3 years ago

thanks for all the hard work you put into this. I am convinced and going for D90. Where else one would get the best DSLR with movie mode? Come one guys, it's a steal at this price.
Bas 3 years ago

I don't really get the problem with the framerate. 24 is enough, right? But I absolutely know nothing about this, so could someone bring me some clarity?

Thanks so much for this test, btw!
ido_cinematography 3 years ago

next up : D90 Vs Sony PMW-EX1?
chance 3 years ago

HVX200 seems to have sure more rich colors than D90.
D90 only likes to see a dof function.
Matt E 3 years ago

Thanks heaps for taking the time to post this comparison. The D90 footage looks pretty cool.
Howard Ritter 3 years ago

Now I'm confused. Your D90 video comparison with an HD camcorder shows very favorable performance by the D90. Yet my own new D90's video, viewed on my computer or by HDMI cable to my HDTV, has been a shocking disappointment, very unsharp (in the sense of poor resolution, like cellphone video but better, not poor focus), conspicuously worse than that from my Canon G9 P&S digital camera and far worse than from my Sony HDR-TG1 pocket-size HD camcorder. Yet it's set for highest-quality video, properly focused, etc. Have you had any experience with your D90 that would suggest something that I could be doing wrong? I'm planning to shoot some video with another D90 when my local store gets one in, then compare it with the same scene shot on mine. Hopefully I'll find there's something I've overlooked, or failing that, something clearly wrong with mine that would get me an exchange or a refund.
Laser Ray 2 years ago

Some things I've learned about the D90 by my own experience. The D90 through HDMI has very very poor audio but the video plays about like it might if transfered to your computer. The Audio is fine when played back on my computer. There certainly are scaling artifacts that are noticable in certain types of shots but really, 720P is what it is. It should be sharper than SD if exposed properly but it will never have stunning detail.

I hope Nikon upgrades the compression to handle highly detailed scenes. Lanscapes or detailed scenes seem to soak up the bit rate and rob detail from the frames.

Likewise, lower light levels push gain (which is tough to conltrol [no manual controls for it at all]) and that seems to degrade detail faster than anything else. My guess is that the D90's gain introduces too much noise. That noise constitutes detail and soaks up all the bit rate making for lousy footage. Excessive gain can even look out of focus.

Bright scenes or fast lenses requiring less gain, make less noise and allows the codec to use the bit rate for picture detail. The results are much better but even so, they are only 720P.

But as this demonstration video shows, the D90 is very filmic in its look. I used to shoot Kodakrome Super 8mm to get film look of my family. Kodak discontinued the stock and processing is increasingly inconvenient. I love the D90 because it gives me a respectable film look. Yes it has artifacts but every film or film-like option does, unless you can afford to shoot with a Sony CineAlta or a 35mm Panavision and like shooting family events with a huge camera.

Shoot with as little gain as possible and you should get workable results. Only the tightest shots with the coolest lighting (Golden hour stuff) have made me think "wow". Everything else is like "hmmmm.. ok".
Blue Tree Productions 3 years ago

I think the D90 is a great addition to a HVX but will never replace a camera like it. Just think about the possibilities in the scene file settings. With an adapter you can have all the DOF you want.
The amazing thing about the D90 is it's (in comparison to the HVX) gigantic CCD which produces the great DOF.
I just can't wait for RED's Scarlet at next years NAB.
Steve Rovetti 3 years ago

I'm telling you... I'm most definitely tired of hearing the jello effect with the D90... As shown with a bunch of the other videos, it's in how you want to make it work for you. I'm ordering my D90 today, and am totally excited. Get a tripod, or avoid excessive huge movements, and it looks like you're ok. I've seen some absolutely stunning videos and comparisons (including this one) and I can't wait to start shooting video.... Rock on! I already sold my D80, and am waiting by the door for the D90. I'll put up a sample as soon as I can.
2 Wheel Films 3 years ago

What lense is on the D90? anything special? anything special present or absent on the HVX200?

I think the D90 holds up very well against the HVX, in fact I am shocked it looks as good as it does......
Modge 3 years ago

The D90's rolling shutter is too intense. The lens quality is obviously amazing, but the compression is too lossy. Probably not saying anything new here.

HVX = my favorite cam under 10k. This one just needs an adapter.
Len Ramirez 3 years ago

How's the audio on the D90? I've heard a lot of people complain that it's not stereo, and no mic inputs but is the audio usable for nats?
Steve Deboo 3 years ago

Looks like it has hideous rolling shutter issues but apart from that its a great start from Nikon, I already have the D200 with lots of lenses but I really fancy the Canon 5D mark ii but I have to say I am thinking of sticking the D200 on ebay and getting the D90 to replace it. thanks
Alex 3 years ago

that's what i did - sold d200 got d90. its lighter and does way better for pics in low light. not as strong of a body as d200 but for me it topped d200 in many areas
Adam Nollmeyer 3 years ago

Nice, I've been testing a D90 out a bit... thanks for putting this together.

Steve, I have a D200 and really like how the 200 feels when "driving it".. .(same as a D2x, D1x etc)... the D90 even with a vertical grip does not feel as "beefy" as I like.... the way the buttons push, etc.

If you're not shooting a ton or can overlook it, then yes it's ok.
John Hwang 3 years ago

if your hvx had a 35mm adapter, maybe it will be better comparison
btw, i have my girl carry my tripod too. haha.
Ski13 3 years ago

Whilst I admire your idea of showing the difference in video between the two you have ultimately failed to do so as you are comparing apples to oranges. The problems in these tests are many as you state yourself you were trying to make them look as much alike as possible. The fact that the majority of your test is outside and not properly white balanced is problematic at best...

Also if you had intended to make them look the same why then did you not use a 35mm adapter such as a movie tube or letus? People are commenting the dof on the D90 as being better... well of course it is the way the lenes are made are fundamentally different, thus they produce far different dof. If you re did these tests with proper white balance (which takes 2 seconds on the HVX) and put a 35mm adapter on it and used the same lens as on the D90 the results will not be close to the same.

Whilst the D90 is fun to play with the reality is an HVX with a 35mm adaptor is far superior as it supports a vast number more frame rates and 24pN which the D90 does not. And also the HVX has a far higher bit rate. So if you just want to put D90 video on the internet then its not bad but if you want to do anything else with it, it just looks like poop.

OH and as far as the color issue people are talking about all that is adjustable in the controls of the HVX so you can get more saturated colors if you would like. Also you could just color correct in post.
Ski13 3 years ago

for example here is the HVX with a letus 35mm adapter
youtube.com/watch?v=-PQWKpUfLUA

This is the Redrock M2
youtube.com/watch?v=uM-6Z3LvEaI

And this is the Movietube.
movietube.com/index2.php
Chronicle Project 3 years ago

Fun comments. Thanks for the dialogue all.

We've learned a lot since shooting this test. If you want to see what the D90 is really capable of, check out our new series... 90% was shot on the D90... deidox.com.
[capsaicin] 2 years ago

Ski13: The colorspaces on the D90 and HVX are different. The HVX records to DVCPRO HD which is is YUV 4:2:2, while the D90 records to MJPEG RGB (which is the equivalent of 4:4:4 color.) On paper AND to my eye, the D90 has better color, especially reds and yellows.
Jesse Brauning 2 years ago

Dang. The D90 is so Filmic!
Mike McHale 2 years ago

Thanks for the tip on cinecue.com/
Gutsy Heron 2 years ago

thanks for doing the test!
Nuestros Videos 2 years ago

Thanks for taking the time, I've owned the HVX200 but photographically speaking, the D90 blows the HVX200 away. The HVX200 has no depth of field at all... too videoish for my taste.
Lotenna Enwonwu 2 years ago

I wonder how the Canon 5D would do?
Laser Ray 2 years ago

The D90 looks much more like film but the HVX has more detail and no rolling shutter artifacts.

I guess I still prefer the D90. I like the depth-of-field and the smoother, more film-like color and contrast rendition. Doesn't look video-ish at all.
Isabelo Pascual 1 year ago

The D90 certainly has a deeper DOF. As an HVX owner, I am considering moving towards the DSLR market. The HVX is great, but without any adapters, it looks like video. Any suggestions?
Chronicle Project 1 year ago

We currently shoot much of our work with both a Nikon D90 and a Panasonic HMC150. Both have their strengths and weaknesses and neither is completely perfect IMO. If you want to see what we've been able to pull off with the D90 check out vimeo.com/3312951
Eric Vaughan 1 year ago

I think your HVX white balance was clearly off. It would be nice to have all the meta data for both side by side. Without it this seems pretty meaningless.