D800 and video

Hi,

I am going next month to Mexico and want to make besides pictures some video of the whalesharks.

I am a photographer for over 10 years but I am new to video.

Are there some starting settings. shutter speed??, aperture priority?? auto ISO ( what maximum high 800??)??. Would it be a good Idea to focus on your finns and lock that focus for manual focus?? Auto white balance or a fixed colour temperature??

Any help would be great

Rob

If you are shooting 1080/25p, then set the shutter speed @ 1/50. Basically the idea is to double the fps speed. I would consider shooting under ISO 800 as the D800 can get pretty noisy. Plus the dynamic range of the sensor allows mabe 1/2 stop of pushing of the shadows. I'd use AF-S and use the AF-ON button to focus on the subject then shoot, unless you are fisheye or very wide angle (14-24mm), in which case, just focus on something about 1-2.5m away (as an inverse to focal length i.e. 14mm=1.2m 24mm=2.3m ) and maintain f8-11 for DOF coverage.

If you are one of those who like to just point and shoot, using the program will work, but it's best to shoot manually and block your shots in several takes, adjusting white balance for each shot at a particular depth or lighting condition. Good luck.

Thanks Drew,

a very useful answer also for me and my D800 and one more reason to use it in video mode.

Chris

hi Drew,

would you also change the white balance when you are snorcheling at the surface when you change your position to the position of the sun??

Rob

Depends on the user really and distance to subject really. If you MWB to a subject further away, you get the red rays of sun/bubbles just below the surface nearest you.