Compact still cameras have also captured video clips for
quite a while.
SLRs have been increasingly aimed at casual photographers in
recent years -- but shot only stills.
That’s now changed: Nikon is offering the first SLR to
capture video.
But even compact cameras have lately evolved from
VGA-resolution motion to HD video — and so Nikon has an interesting new
wrinkle:
The D90 is in effect the first HD video camcorder that takes
interchangeable lenses to sell for anything near an affordable price range -- $999
body-only.
That means you can shoot high-resolution video with, say, a
long telephoto or very wide angle lens -- techniques that would otherwise cost
many thousands more. And with a sensor larger than that in any consumer
camcorder -- one that provides better light sensitivity and image quality.
Suddenly Nikon, a company that has not really ever played in
the video or independent film market, might have on its hands the new darling
of low-cost filmmakers.
It’s likely no accident the D90 captures 24 frames per second -- film speed --
instead of the 30 fps more common on consumer video.
