08Movie Shooting Menu

The Chimney Tops in Great Smoky Mountains © Darrell Young

The Movie Shooting Menu is a menu subsystem similar to the Photo Shooting Menu discussed in the previous chapter. The Movie Shooting Menu applies its settings to the creation of videos instead of still pictures.

In older Nikon cameras the video functions could be a little hard to locate because they were appended to some of the still picture menus. However, Nikon now wisely provides a completely separate menu for movie functions. These easy-to-locate functions will make it much easier to configure your camera for high-quality video capture.

Figure 8.0: The Movie Shooting Menu

Figure 8.0 shows the location of the Movie Shooting Menu, which is the third menu down on the left. Its symbol is a movie camera on a tripod (in yellow).

Following is a list and overview of the 28 items found on the Movie Shooting Menu:

• Reset movie shooting menu: Restores the factory default settings in the Movie Shooting Menu for the currently selected User setting (i.e., U1, U2, U3).
• File naming: Lets you change three characters of the image file name so it is personalized.
• Destination: Lets you choose a specific memory card as the destination for videos. Also, shows you how much video recording time you have available.
• Choose image area: Allows you to choose whether the camera uses FX or DX mode when shooting videos.
• Frame size/frame rate: Use this function to choose the frame size (i.e., 2160p, 1080p) and the frame rate (i.e., 120p, 100p, 60p, 50p, 30p, 25p, 24p, and slow-motion).
• Movie quality: Lets you select the bit rate (Mbps) of the movie for controlling overall quality.
• Movie file type: Allows you to select the file type (container) of the movie. Your two choices are MOV and MP4.
• ISO sensitivity settings: Allows you to select an upper limit for Auto ISO, from as low as ISO 200 to as high as Hi 2 (ISO 102400 for Z7 II and ISO 204800 for Z6 II). You can also choose your own manual ISO sensitivity.
• White balance: Chooses from nine White balance types, including several subtypes, and it includes the ability to measure the color temperature of the ambient light (Preset manual).
• Set Picture Control: Chooses from 8 regular Picture Controls, or 20 creative Picture Controls, each of which modify how the video looks.
• Manage Picture Control: Saves, edits, loads, renames, or deletes custom video Picture Controls in your camera’s internal memory or on its memory card.
• Active D-Lighting: Helps preserve details in both highlights and shadows so your video recordings will have a more “natural” level of contrast.
• High ISO NR: Uses a blurring and resharpening method, with selectable levels, to help remove noise from videos shot with high ISO sensitivity values.
• Vignette control: For certain lenses with corner vignetting, the camera will lessen the darkened-corner effect.
• Diffraction compensation: Reduces the aperture-blade diffraction effect caused by capturing video with a small aperture.
• Auto distortion control: Attempts to reduce or remove barrel and pincushion distortion in your video frames.
• Flicker reduction: Reduces banding and flickering that occurs when you record video under fluorescent, mercury-vapor, and sodium lighting by attempting to match the frequency of the local power supply (e.g., 50Hz, 60Hz).
• Metering: Allows you to choose the type of light meter your camera will use while capturing video. Choose from Matrix, Center-weighted, and Highlight-weighted exposure metering.
• Focus Mode: Allows you to choose a Focus mode for video capture (how the camera focuses). Your choices are: Single AF (AF-S), Continuous AF (AF-C), Full-time AF (AF-F), and Manual focus (MF).
• AF-area mode: Allows you to choose one of eight AF-area modes for video capture (where the camera focuses). Your choices are: Single-point AF, Wide-area AF (S), Wide-area AF (L), Wide-area AF (L-people), Wide-area AF (L-animals), Auto-area AF, Auto-area AF (people), and Auto-area AF (animals).
• Vibration reduction: Choose a vibration reduction (VR/IBIS) method, including ON Normal, SPT Sport, and Off.
• Electronic VR: Allows the camera to use sensor pixel-shifting in an attempt to stabilize vibration during a handheld video recording. This is not the same as physical VR or IBIS. This method actually shifts the video frame on the sensor’s photosites (pixels) slightly, to mitigate shakiness.
• Microphone sensitivity: Gives you control over the sensitivity of the built-in stereo mic and any external mic plugged into the audio-in (MIC) port.
• Attenuator: If enabled, this allows the camera to automatically control the microphone gain so that loud sounds will not cause audio distortion.
• Frequency response: Allows you to set one of two audio recording modes: Wide, which records a full range of sounds, or Voice, which asks the camera to narrow its audio frequency response to the human voice range.
• Wind noise reduction: Gives you a low-cut filter to remove a portion of the rumbling noise made when wind blows on the built-in microphone. This setting does not work with external stereo microphones plugged into the MIC port.
• Headphone volume: Provides a way to control the headphone volume level. You can adjust the volume from 0 to 30.
• Timecode: Allows you to store the hour, minute, second, and frame number for each frame in your video recording. This function is available only when using the MOV movie format (container).

Let’s examine each of these Movie Shooting Menu functions in much greater detail.

Reset Movie Shooting Menu

Reset movie shooting menu does what it says—it resets the Movie Shooting Menu back to factory defaults. If you want to start fresh with all the settings in the Movie Shooting Menu, use this function.

Figure 8.1: Resetting the Movie shooting menu back to factory defaults

Here are the steps to reset the Movie Shooting Menu:

1. 1.Select Reset movie shooting menu (figure 8.1, image 1).
2. 2.Choose Yes or No and press OK or touch the option (figure 8.1, image 2).

Settings Recommendation: This is an easy way to start fresh because it’s a full reset of all the Movie Shooting Menu values. I use this when I purchase a preowned camera and want to clear someone else’s settings or if I simply want to start fresh.

File Naming

File naming allows you to change the first three characters (prefix) in the video’s file name to three characters of your choice. The default is DSC. You could use your initials, a combination of letters and numbers, all letters, or all numbers.

Following is how to modify the first three characters (prefix) of the video file name.

Figure 8.2: Renaming the file name prefix

Here are the steps to set up your custom File naming characters:

1. 1.Select File naming (figure 8.2, image 1).
2. 2.From the screen shown in figure 8.2, image 2, insert a new prefix by selecting characters, with your fingertip, from the alpha-numeric list at the center of the screen and they will appear in the position marked with the dark-gray cursor in the prefix name field (VID). You can touch the left/right arrows in the top-left corner to move left and right in the name field, or you can touch the individual character locations in the new prefix name. When you have the name completed, touch OK or press the Zoom in button to save it.
3. 3.My camera is now using the prefix VID for all video files. Notice how the red arrows in images 1 and 3 point to the previous (DSC) and new (VID) prefixes. The new prefix will now be the first three characters of each image file name (figure 8.2, image 3).

Settings Recommendation: Because I shoot only a moderate number of videos in comparison to the large number of still images I create, I am not concerned with tracking when a video file name exceeds 9999 and rolls back over to 0001. Therefore, I simply add the prefix VID to my video files.

This works identically to the File naming function in the Photo Shooting Menu. If you will recall, there is a suggestion in chapter 7, Photo Shooting Menu (page 184), for tracking the number of still image files your camera has created so that you can keep up with it when your camera rolls the file name over to 0001 after exceeding 9999 files (i.e., when you exceed DSC-9999, the camera rolls the filename over to DSC-0001).

However, unless you bought your camera to use primarily for video, you will probably shoot less video compared to still images. In that case, you may not be concerned with exceeding 9999 videos. If you are concerned with tracking when your camera’s videos roll over from 9999 to 0001, review both this section and the similar section in chapter 7, under File Naming (page 182).

Destination

Destination allows you to choose one of the camera’s two memory cards to receive new movies you create. Only that card will capture and store videos.

In addition, the camera lists the maximum video recording time available for each card. Let’s see how to select a Destination card.

Figure 8.3: Selecting a Destination card for video capture

Use the following steps to choose a Destination memory card for your movies:

1. 1.Choose Destination (figure 8.3, image 1).
2. 2.Select one of the available memory card slots (CFexpress/XQD card slot or SD card slot) and press OK or touch the setting. All future videos will be written to this memory card, until changed. Also note that you can see the available capture time left on each card in hour (h), minute (m), second (s) format (e.g., 04h 05m 15s).

Settings Recommendation: I normally select the CFexpress/XQD card slot to be the Destination card for video because of its extra speed.

Choose Image Area

Choose image area is designed to allow you to use the normal FX view for most videos and to take advantage of the extra apparent reach of the DX crop mode when you need it for something like videoing distant and/or small subjects.

In figure 8.4A, compare the field of view for the left (FX) and right (DX) Image areas.

Figure 8.4A: FX and DX video modes

You can see two sample videos I created from exactly the same camera position. The FX mode obviously has a wider field of view for the video frame, whereas the DX mode has a stronger apparent telephoto effect.

The camera will automatically adjust the frame size to fit the screen when using either of the two modes. In other words, you will see no box with a grayed-out area like you see in Nikon DSLRs when you select the DX mode for still images. Instead, the camera simply presents the exact field of view you will see in your video.

This is much simpler to use when shooting a video because you don’t have to worry about trying to keep the video within certain lines on the Monitor. The video simply fits the screen and shows only what the camera is actually recording.

Selecting an Image Area Mode

As previously mentioned, you can choose one of two Image area modes (FX or DX) for video recording in all video modes. Let’s examine how to do so.

Figure 8.4B: Choose an Image area mode

Use the following steps to choose one of the two Image area modes:

1. 1.Select Choose image area (figure 8.4B, image 1).
2. 2.Choose either the FX or DX mode (figure 8.4B, image 2), according to whether you need a normal view or a 1.5x cropped telephoto view (figure 8.4A) and press the OK button or touch the option to finish.

Settings Recommendation: For general video recording, I leave the camera set to FX mode. However, when I want to video something smaller or farther away, such as birds in a tree or a bear across a meadow, I may switch to DX mode to maximize the apparent telephoto view of my subject (1.5x crop). The DX mode is convenient for those who need to video things at a distance and would like the subject to appear larger on the screen.

Frame Size/Frame Rate

The camera provides 12 normal-speed Frame size/frame rate settings and three slow-motion settings. Table 8.1 shows the Frame size (pixels) and frame rate (e.g., 60p, 30p) for each option, along with recording speed, whether FX and DX mode is available for that option, and any crop factors applied.

Table 8.1: Frame size/frame rate options and speeds (figure 8.5, image 2).

** 60p/50p are available in the Z6 II only if Firmware version C1.10 or greater is installed.

Normal-speed videos play back the same number of minutes you recorded. If you record for 10 minutes, the video will be 10 minutes long. Slow-motion videos are recorded at four or five times the rated speed. For instance, a 1920 × 1080; 30p ×4 video is recorded at 120 frames per second (30 × 4 = 120), but it is played back at 30 fps. If you capture slow-motion video for 3 minutes, the playback will be 12 minutes (3 × 4 = 12). Let’s see how to choose a frame size and frame rate.

Figure 8.5: Choosing a Frame size/frame rate setting for the video

The following steps allow you to select a Frame size/frame rate for your next movie:

1. 1.Choose Frame size/frame rate (figure 8.5, image 1).
2. 2.Choose a size (i.e., 1920×1080, 3840×2160) and rate (i.e., 120p, 100p, 60p, 50p, 30p, 25p, 24p) for your movie from the list of 15 Frame size/frame rate choices (figure 8.5, image 2), and then press OK or touch the option to finish.

Note: This function is also available on the i Menu. Press the i button to open the menu and you will find the Frame size and rate/Image quality function on the top row, second from left.

Also, the actual frame rates (e.g., 24p, 30p) for recording video do not exactly match the numbers provided. The majority of companies that publish frame rates are usually rounding up from the actual values. Here is a list of the actual fps (frames per second) values for your Nikon:

• 120p = 119.88 fps progressive
• 100p = 100 fps progressive
• 60p = 59.94 fps progressive
• 50p = 50 fps progressive
• 30p = 29.97 fps progressive
• 24p = 23.976 fps progressive

Basically, the camera can record video in Full HD (1080p) and 4K UHD (2160p), along with 1080p slow-mo. The 4K UHD (ultrahigh definition) video modes are a welcome addition for many advanced videographers. If you have the equipment necessary to process and display 4K video, why not enjoy the higher resolution and sharper display?

Just keep in mind that a 4K video is quite large, requiring a larger memory card and greater hard drive storage on your computer. Plus, it is harder to work with the video files later because the file size is significantly larger. The mode in which you shoot video most often will most likely be governed by available computer hardware capacity and processing power.

Computer Suggestion: I’ve found that the new Apple silicon Mac computers do a marvelous job processing 4K and even 8K video. I use an M1 MacBook Pro with Final Cut Pro software and I’m astounded by the smooth and fast processing by these new Macs for my Nikon Z video. I still write my books with an Intel-based MacBook Pro, but for video processing I now use my Apple silicon M1 Mac only. In my opinion, these new M1 Macs are game changers for serious videographers.

External Video Recorder Suggestion: Please investigate using an external recorder, such as the Atomos Ninja V (https://www.atomos.com/ninjav), to record 4K 10-bit 4:2:2 N-Log or HDR (HLG) video through your camera’s HDMI port. There are no time limits for this type of recording and the quality is on the professional level.

Camera Upgrade Recommendation: If you are willing to ship your Z6, Z6 II, Z7, or Z7 II camera to Nikon and pay a $199.95 upgrade fee, Nikon will upgrade your camera to output 12-bit Apple ProRes RAW and Blackmagic RAW directly from the imaging sensor, through the HDMI port, to an external video recorder, such as the Atomos Ninja V. Here is a link to the rather long web address that describes the upgrade:

https://www.nikonusa.com/en/nikon-products/mirrorless-cameras/firmware-updates/raw-video-output.page.

Or do a Google search for the keywords: “Nikon RAW video update” to find the update information on NikonUSA.com.

Settings Recommendation: I tend to prefer the cinematic look (nice motion blur) provided by one of the 24p modes. That’s what we see when we go to the movies. However, if you want to use a somewhat faster frames-per-second rate for action, select 30p or 60p, which gives you 30 or 60 frames per second in progressive (p) mode for less motion blurring.

I am experimenting with the new 4K video modes and I am finding them delightful to use. I still tend to shoot at 24p in 4K mode because of the cinematic look. You will need to experiment and determine your favorite video modes. Being able to shoot up to 29 minutes and 59 seconds of 4K video for each clip is quite powerful, as long as you have enough memory card space!

If you want to shoot some slow-motion video, you will need to set the camera to one of the three 1920 × 1080 (Full HD), slow-motion modes. Just remember that a few minutes of slow-motion shooting will create a much longer video (4 or 5 times longer) than normal recording speed will create (up to 12 or 15 minutes for up to 3 minutes recorded). For more information on shooting slow motion, I suggest discussing this subject in the Nikon Video forum at www.Nikonians.org.

Movie Quality

Movie quality affects the “bit rate” (Mbps) at which the movie is shot. The bit rate decides the quality level of the movie, much like how the JPEG type (Fine, Normal, Basic) sets the quality of a JPEG still image. The higher the bit rate, the better the video quality. For video written to the memory card, two bit rates are available: High quality and Normal. The Frame size/frame rate of the video controls how these are applied.

If your camera’s Movie quality menu selection is grayed out and unavailable, it is because you have one of the five 4K UHD (2160p) video modes or a 1080/120p or 1080/100p mode selected. In those modes, the camera defaults to either High quality or Normal quality mode and cannot be changed. Check table 8.2 for details.

Table 8.2 shows a list of Frame size/frame rates, Movie quality bit rates, and maximum video lengths controlled by the bit rate.

Table 8.2: Movie quality affects video recording length and quality

Now let’s examine how to select one of the two Movie quality choices.

Figure 8.6: Choosing a Movie quality (bit rate)

Use these steps to choose a Movie quality:

1. 1.Select Movie quality (figure 8.6, image 1).
2. 2.Choose a Movie quality mode and press OK or touch the item (figure 8.6, image 2).

The Movie quality setting is applied to compressed (H.264 MPEG-4 AVC) video written to the camera’s memory cards only. Streaming uncompressed video through the HDMI port to an external video recorder is not affected by this setting.

Note: This function is also available on the i Menu. Press the i button to open the menu and you will find this function on the top row, second from left, under the Frame size and rate/Image quality setting.

Settings Recommendation: Because I am interested in maximum video quality, I leave my camera set to High quality. Any important video that will be displayed on a local computer or HDTV for friends and family to view deserves the High quality setting. (All video shot in 4K mode—except for 60p and 50p—is fixed at High quality.)

However, if you are shooting some fun video for uploading to certain social media sites, which may compress the video to the max—destroying its high quality in the process—you could select Normal. Or, if your camera is low on card space and you need to cram as much video onto the card as possible, use the Normal setting.

Movie File Type

The default video file format (container) used by the camera is the popular MOV format (Apple QuickTime). However, you may also choose the even more popular MP4 format (MPEG-4 Part 14), which is closely related to the QuickTime format but may be better for streaming over the internet. Both of these file types should be compatible with virtually all computer and smart device movie player apps. See the sidebar titled What Is a Container?

Figure 8.7: Choosing a Movie file type

Use the following steps to select your favorite Movie file type (container):

1. 1.Select Movie file type (figure 8.7, image 1).
2. 2.Choose MOV or MP4 and press the OK or touch the option (figure 8.7, image 2).

Settings Recommendation: I generally choose the MOV format for my best videos because I am a Mac user and prefer the MOV file type. These days, almost any computer will play a MOV file, so it doesn’t matter as much as when a MOV file was exclusive to the Apple world.

When I am shooting fun videos that I plan to upload to Facebook or YouTube, I often switch to the MP4 format because it is so highly accepted by social media in general.

Honestly, I can’t tell much difference in the video quality between the two formats and the file size doesn’t really seem much different—although the MOV file can be slightly larger sometimes.

Use whichever format you find most convenient for your purposes. If you need more information on video file types (containers), stop into the Nikonians.org Nikon Video forum and ask a few questions of the helpful experts and enthusiasts there. Here’s a convenient link: www.nikonians.org/forum/402/nikon-video.

ISO Sensitivity Settings

Movie ISO sensitivity settings give you control over the light sensitivity of the imaging sensor while capturing a video, whether you manually control it or the camera sets it automatically.

Because light levels in a scene will often vary as you move the camera, it is more critical that you allow it to adjust its ISO sensitivity automatically; otherwise, you could easily end up with under- or overexposed video. At times, you may want to leave the camera on one ISO setting—and you can—such as when you are shooting under controlled lighting. However, in general, it is better to allow the camera to adjust the ISO sensitivity on the fly so you can concentrate on capturing the best video compositions.

Let’s examine the various settings within the ISO sensitivity settings function. Specifically, we will examine how to use automatic ISO sensitivity and manual ISO sensitivity while shooting video.

Maximum Sensitivity

The Maximum sensitivity setting is a safeguard for you (figure 8.8A, image 2). It allows the camera to automatically adjust its ISO sensitivity within a specific range, from a minimum value of ISO 100 (controlled by the camera) to whatever value you have set in Maximum sensitivity (up to Hi 2.0, or ISO 204800 for the Z6 II and ISO 102400 for the Z7 II), according to light conditions.

This setting gives the camera freedom to immediately change the ISO sensitivity value to one that will give you an acceptable exposure, allowing you to concentrate on capturing the best movie instead of constantly trying to maintain the best exposure. The camera will try to maintain the lowest ISO sensitivity it can use to make a good video. However, if needed, it can rapidly raise the ISO to the Maximum sensitivity level.

When you are using P, S, or A auto exposure modes, the camera will always use automatic ISO sensitivity for video, using whatever you set as the Maximum sensitivity value as its highest potential setting and ISO 100 as its lowest potential setting. Only when using manual exposure mode (M) can you turn off automatic ISO sensitivity and use manual ISO sensitivity. We will discuss how to do that in the next subsection, Auto ISO Control (Mode M). First, though, let’s see how to set the camera’s Maximum sensitivity for video.

Figure 8.8A: Auto ISO sensitivity control – Maximum sensitivity

Use the following steps to choose a Maximum sensitivity (ISO) for your video:

1. 1.Follow the screen flow shown in figure 8.8A, images 1 and 2 (ISO sensitivity settings > Maximum sensitivity) until you arrive at the third screen in the series.
2. 2.Select an ISO sensitivity value to be used as the automatic maximum ISO if the light drops below normal (figure 8.8A, image 3). My camera has ISO 12800 selected. Press OK or touch the option to finish.

When you are using P, S, or A exposure modes, the camera ignores the values set in Auto ISO control (mode M) and ISO sensitivity (mode M) settings (discussed in the next two chapter subsections).

The camera will attempt to use a lower ISO sensitivity until it can no longer make good video without raising the ISO value. My Z6 II camera’s factory default Maximum sensitivity value was set to ISO 51200, while my Z7 II was set to ISO 25600. This default setting will let the camera take the ISO sensitivity all the way up to a maximum in a low-light situation (up to Hi 2.0 if adjusted that high). However, if you think a certain high ISO value may cause too much noise to appear in your video, you may want to reduce the ISO value. I keep my camera’s Maximum sensitivity set to ISO 12800 on the Z6 II and ISO 6400 on the Z7 II for video.

Auto ISO Control (Mode M)

Auto ISO control (mode M) is designed to let the camera automatically adjust the ISO sensitivity even when you are using manual (M) exposure mode, applying the Maximum sensitivity (ISO) set in the previous subsection. This mode has no effect when you are using auto exposure modes P, S, or A.

However, when you are using exposure mode M, you can disable Auto ISO control (mode M), and the camera will use only the manual ISO value you set in the ISO sensitivity (mode M) setting (next subsection).

In other words, Auto ISO control (mode M) allows you to choose whether to use automatic ISO control or manual ISO control. Often, you may want to manually control the camera in most aspects (e.g., aperture, shutter speed), while still taking advantage of automatic ISO sensitivity. Or, you can set Auto ISO control (mode M) to Off and manually control all aspects of the video capture, including ISO sensitivity. Let’s examine how to adjust Auto ISO control (mode M).

Figure 8.8B: Enabling Auto ISO control (mode M)

Use the following steps to enable or disable the Auto ISO control (mode M):

1. 1.Follow the screen flow shown in figure 8.8B, images 1 and 2 [ISO sensitivity settings > Auto ISO control (mode M)], until you arrive at the third screen in the series.
2. 2.Select On or Off and press OK or touch the option (figure 8.8B, image 3).

Once you’ve set Auto ISO control (mode M) to On, you should immediately set the Maximum sensitivity (ISO) that you want to use while shooting a video.

Now let’s discuss how to set the single ISO sensitivity you will use when capturing video in manual exposure mode, with the Auto ISO control (mode M) set to Off.

ISO Sensitivity (Mode M)

ISO sensitivity (mode M) allows you to choose a certain ISO sensitivity value to use in manual (M) exposure mode only. This value is applied only when you have Auto ISO control (mode M) set to Off (previous subsection), and it has no effect when you are using P, S, or A auto exposure modes.

Notice in figure 8.8C, image 3, that you have a scrollable list of ISO sensitivity settings. It extends from ISO 100 to ISO 204800 (Hi 2) for the Z6 II and ISO 64 to ISO 102400 (Hi 2.0) for the Z7 II. Let’s see how to adjust for pure manual exposure (no ISO automation at all).

Figure 8.8C: Setting ISO sensitivity

Here are the steps to select an ISO sensitivity setting:

1. 1.Follow the screen flow shown in figure 8.8C, images 1 and 2 (ISO sensitivity settings > ISO sensitivity (mode M)), until you arrive at the third screen in the series.
2. 2.Scroll up or down in the ISO sensitivity (mode M) menu until you highlight the ISO value you want to use while capturing video (figure 8.8C, image 3). Again, you can choose an ISO value from ISO 100 to Hi 2.0 (ISO 204800) for the Z6 II and from ISO 64 to Hi 2.0 (ISO 102400) for the Z7 II. Press OK or touch your choice to finish.

Settings Recommendation: Most of the time I leave my Z6 II set to a Maximum sensitivity of ISO 12800 for video capture and my Z7 II set to ISO 6400. I appreciate the fact that Nikon has given us the ability to use automatic or manual ISO values even when capturing video in manual (M) exposure mode. When I am shooting serious video outside, I will often use Auto ISO control (mode M). I especially like that setting to prevent large changes in ambient light from ruining the video. However, sometimes, such as when I am videoing something under studio lighting, I will use a single manual ISO sensitivity value by setting Auto ISO control (mode M) to Off, and then setting an ISO value for the session with the ISO sensitivity (mode M) setting (e.g., ISO 100).

White Balance

The White balance (WB) settings for video recording work basically the same way they do for making still images. You can select a specific WB type, such as Direct sunlight, Fluorescent, or Cloudy, or you can let the camera decide which WB to use with the Auto WB modes.

If you prefer to be extremely accurate, you can choose a specific Kelvin color temperature from 2500K to 10000K, or you can do an ambient light reading from a white or gray card for the best color temperature matching.

Virtually everything you know about WB for still images works the same way for video recording. To prevent this section from repeating material covered in other chapters, we will consider only how to make a WB selection in this section. For deeper information on how to use White balance, see the more detailed white balance information found in the chapter titled White Balance on page 111.

Now, let’s examine how to select a particular WB value for your video.

Figure 8.9A: Choosing a WB value for video recording

The steps to select a White balance setting for video recording are as follows:

1. 1.Select White balance (figure 8.9A, image 1).
2. 2.If you prefer to use a carefully prepared WB value currently in use in the Photo Shooting Menu for still images, you can highlight the Same as photo settings selection and press or touch OK to use the same settings you were using previously for your still images (figure 8.9A, image 2). If this setting is satisfactory, you can skip the following steps. To use a different WB for video recordings than you use for still images, proceed with step 3.
3. 3.Choose a White balance type, such as Auto or Direct sunlight and scroll to the right (figure 8.9A, image 3).
4. 4.If you choose Auto, Fluorescent, Choose color temperature, or Preset manual you will need to select from an intermediate screen with additional choices, similar to the one shown for the Fluorescent WB in figure 8.9B. The Auto WB screen presents three settings: AUTO0 Keep white (reduce warm colors), AUTO1 Keep overall atmosphere, and AUTO2 Keep warm lighting colors. Fluorescent presents seven different types of fluorescent lighting (as seen in figure 8.9B). Choose color temp. allows you to select a color temperature manually from a range of 2500 K (cool or bluish looking) to 10000 K (warm or reddish looking). Preset manual (PRE) provides stored White balance memory locations d–1 through d–6 and allows you to choose one of them to store or reuse a certain WB setting. (Note: These Preset manual values are stored separately from any Preset manual values you’ve created in the Photo Shooting Menu for still photography.) If this seems a bit overwhelming, just choose AUTO1 Normal for now. The chapter titled White Balance (page 111) explains how to use all these settings for both video and still images. Once you have selected the WB value you want to use, press or touch OK to lock in the WB value and skip step 5, or scroll to the right to fine-tune the value.

Figure 8.9B: Sample Fluorescent intermediate screen

1. 5.If you want to fine-tune the WB value, you will use the screen shown in figure 8.9A, image 4. You can make an adjustment to how you want this White balance to record color by introducing a color bias toward green (G), amber (A), magenta (M), or blue (B). You do this by using the Multi selector pad to move the little black square in the middle of the color box (image 4, red arrow) toward the edges of the box in any direction. If you make a mistake, simply move the black square to the middle of the color box. You can also introduce a color bias by touching the four little arrow pointers (G, A, M, B) on the four sides of the color box. Most people do not change this setting. After you have finished adjusting (or not adjusting) the colors, press or touch OK to save your setting. Most people select OK as soon as they see the fine-tuning screen so they don’t change the default settings for that particular White balance.

Note: This function is also available on the i Menu. Press the i button to open the menu and you will find this function on the bottom row, first on the left.

Settings Recommendation: I generally leave my camera set to the Same as photo settings selection when I am shooting video (figure 8.9A, image 2). A nature photographer can generally shoot both still images and video with similar WB values. However, your style of video may require a WB setting completely different from the setting you use to shoot still images. The camera offers you the ability to have separate WB values for both photos and video.

Set Picture Control

Set Picture Control lets you choose a certain look for your video from a wide selection of color templates called Picture Controls. The camera allows you to choose from:

• The same Picture Control you have set in the Photo Shooting Menu for taking pictures
• One of 8 regular Nikon Picture Controls
• One of 20 Creative Picture Controls
• Up to 9 Custom Picture Controls you have created yourself (page 345)

Set Picture Control works in a similar way for both video and still images. In fact, the factory default for this function is the same as the settings you last used when taking pictures (figure 8.10A).

Each Picture Control has individual settings for Sharpening, Mid-range sharpening, Clarity, Contrast, Brightness, Saturation, and Hue; plus it has a Quick sharp setting that quickly modifies Sharpening, Mid-range sharpening, and Clarity as a group.

Here is a list of each choice on the Set Picture Control menu and what each one does for your videos:

Figure 8.10A: Picture Control settings for video

• Same as photo settings: Uses the same Picture Control settings as when you were last taking still pictures (factory default).
• A Auto: Uses the Standard Picture Control as a base, but changes how the camera approaches portraiture and landscapes. When a human face is detected, the camera will adjust the hues and tones of the skin for a softer, more pleasing look. When using this mode for landscapes, the foliage and sky will be a bit more saturated (tending more toward the Vivid Picture Control without being so strong). Other subjects will be rendered more like the Standard Picture Control.
• SD Standard: A Picture Control setting that gives a medium level of Sharpening, Mid-range sharpening, Clarity, Contrast, Brightness, Saturation, and Hue. This is a good general-purpose Picture Control for video; it’s not too saturated and not too weak colored.
• NL Neutral: A Picture Control setting that gives a low level of Sharpening, Mid-range sharpening, Clarity, Contrast, Brightness, Saturation, and Hue. Good for videos with subjects that require low saturation and contrast.
• VI Vivid: A Picture Control setting that gives a high level of Sharpening, Mid-range sharpening, Clarity, Contrast, Brightness, Saturation, and Hue. Use this Picture Control for nature videos where you want very saturated reds, blues, and greens. This is not a good Picture Control to use for videos where skin tones are important because the VI control uses very strong colors and high contrast.
• MC Monochrome: A Picture Control for those who like to shoot old-style, black-and-white videos. The standard settings within the control are medium in level, which means you may want to experiment with the contrast settings. This control also provides filter effects that allow you to use the equivalent of a yellow, orange, red, or green filter for special effects. Additionally, you can use toning to tint the video in interesting ways. Toning filter options include B&W, sepia, cyanotype, red, yellow, green, blue green, blue, purple blue, and red purple.
• PT Portrait: This Picture Control uses settings that make it good for videos featuring people, in which skin tones are important. It is a bit more saturated and contrasty than the NL Neutral control, but not quite as strong as the SD Standard control, and no where near as strong as the VI Vivid control.
• LS Landscape: This Picture Control is designed for those who want natural landscape videos without the extra saturation of the VI Vivid control. While this control does add some additional saturation to natural colors, they are not garish or oversaturated.
• FL Flat: This Picture Control is designed for professional videographers. It has very low sharpening, contrast, and saturation. A video shot with this control will have maximum dynamic range (low contrast) and weaker colors. It allows the videographer to grade the video in professional video editing software (e.g., Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premier Pro, DaVinci Resolve), selectively adding the needed amounts of saturation, sharpening, and contrast in a computer software program.

Additionally, Nikon has provided 20 special Creative Picture Controls. Each of these has filtered color or black-and-white tones that impart a different look than normal to your videos. We have discussed these controls in our previous chapter on still photography. Please refer to Set Picture Control (page 341) for a look at color styles based on an X-rite color chart. These creative controls give you room to have some fun with your family video, or even impart a certain look that is rare in commercial videos. These will require experimentation on your part to fully understand what each control does.

If you leave this function set to Same as photo settings, the camera will use the same Picture Control settings for both still images and video. By selecting any of the listed Picture Controls instead of Same as photo settings, you are separating Picture Control Use for still image and video shooting. Each will use their own settings, instead of sharing Picture Control settings.

Now let’s consider how to select one of the Picture Controls for shooting a video with a specific look.

Figure 8.10B: Choosing a Picture Control

Use the following steps to choose a Picture Control:

1. 1.Select Set Picture Control (figure 8.10B, image 1).
2. 2.If you prefer to use the same Picture Control settings for still images and videos, simply leave the selection set to Same as photo settings (figure 8.10B, image 2). The camera will then use the settings you have configured for still images when you are shooting videos. Press or touch OK to lock in the Same as photo settings selection (default) and skip the following steps.
3. 3.If you prefer to use different settings for still images and videos, scroll down and select one of the eight Picture Controls (figure 8.10B, image 3), or scroll even farther down and find the 20 Creative Picture Controls (figure 8.10C), or your Custom Picture Controls (not shown). Press or touch OK to choose that Picture Control, unless you would like to fine-tune its internal settings. If so, scroll to the right to open the adjustment screen.

Figure 8.10C: Creative Picture Controls

Figure 8.10D: Using touch controls to access and adjust internal settings

1. 4.You now have access to the Quick sharp, Sharpening, Mid-range sharpening, Clarity, Contrast, Brightness, Saturation, and Hue settings for any of the Picture Controls (figure 8.10D, image 2). Use the Multi-selector pad to make your adjustments by scrolling up or down to select a setting and then scrolling left (–) or right (+) to adjust the setting. Or, you can touch the –/+ adjustment slider for one of the settings and open a touch screen to make the adjustment (figure 8.10D, image 3). Touch the arrowhead buttons to change the setting and then touch the back arrow in the top-right corner to lock in the setting. The name of each setting is self-explanatory. (If you adjust a Picture Control, a small asterisk will appear to the right of the control name in camera menus, letting you know that this is a modified Picture Control.) When you are done, press or touch OK to finish. To reset a Picture Control’s internal settings, press the Delete button (garbage can) or touch Reset, and then choose Yes when prompted with the screen that says Selected Picture Control will be reset to default settings. OK?

As previously mentioned, this Set Picture Control function for videos is very similar to the Set Picture Control function for still images. To prevent duplication of material, we have only considered how to select the controls in this chapter. For a much more detailed discussion of how the Picture Controls work, including the internal adjustments within each control, please reread the section Set Picture Control in chapter 7, Photo Shooting Menu, on page 213.

Note: This function is also available on the i Menu. Press the i button to open the menu and you will find this function on the top row, first on the left.

Settings Recommendation: I normally leave my camera set to the SD Standard Picture Control, unless I am shooting nature videos. I like the idea of separating my use of Picture Controls for still images and video. When I am shooting nature videos on an overcast, low-contrast day, I will often use the VI Vivid Picture Control to add a little snap to the video. If I am shooting nature in direct sunshine, I do not like the extra high contrast of the VI Vivid Picture Control and therefore use the LS Landscape Picture Control.

If I am shooting a high school graduation or wedding, I will usually use the PT Portrait Picture Control to prevent odd skin coloration in my human subjects. If I plan to grade the video myself in my computer, I will use the FL Flat Picture Control to record as much dynamic range as I can in the video for later manipulation in software.

This is a very subjective setting. You will need to experiment with the various Picture Controls to see what they can add to your videos. Each of them has a certain look that can be useful at different times.

Manage Picture Control

Manage Picture Control is designed to allow you to create and store Custom Picture Control settings for future video use. You can take an existing Nikon Picture Control (A, SD, NL, VI, MC, PT, LS, or FL) or an existing Creative Picture Control (e.g., Dream, Sepia, Charcoal), make modifications to it, and then rename it.

If you modify a Picture Control using the Set Picture Control function discussed in the previous section, you simply create a one-off setting. If you’d like to go further and create your own named Custom Picture Controls, the camera is happy to oblige.

Any changes you make to a Nikon Picture Control within this function affect that particular control for video use only. The camera saves Custom Picture Controls separately for still images and video. You will not see custom controls for still images on the video menu, and vice versa.

Let’s look at each of these settings and examine how to manage Picture Controls effectively.

Save/Edit a Custom Picture Control

There are six screens used to save and edit a Nikon Picture Control (figure 8.11A)—storing the results for later use as a Custom Picture Control.

Figure 8.11A: Save/edit a Custom Picture Control

Here are the steps to edit and save a Picture Control with modified settings for use in your video productions:

1. 1.Select Manage Picture Control (figure 8.11A, image 1).
2. 2.Highlight Save/edit and scroll to the right (figure 8.11A, image 2).
3. 3.Choose a Picture Control that you want to use as a base for your new settings and then scroll to the right (figure 8.11A, image 3). I am modifying the SD Standard Picture Control and will save the new control under a different name.
4. 4.Make your adjustments to Sharpening, Contrast, and so forth. I simply used the Quick sharp setting and added +1 to it, increasing the overall effect of Sharpening by 1 (out of 2). When you have modified the control in a way that makes it yours, press or touch OK (figure 8.11A, image 4). If you want to abandon your changes and start over, you can simply press the Delete button (garbage can) or touch Reset and reset the control to factory specs.
5. 5.Select one of nine storage areas named C-1 to C-9 and scroll to the right (figure 8.11A, image 5). Only seven of the nine storage areas are viewable without scrolling down. In figure 8.11A, image 5, they are all currently marked as Unused. I can save as many as nine different Custom Picture Controls here for later selection with Set Picture Control.
6. 6.You will now see the Rename screen (figure 8.11A, image 6), which works just like the other screens you have used to rename things. Insert a new name for the control by touching on characters at the center of the screen and they will appear in the position marked with the dark-gray cursor in the name field (STANDARD-02). You can touch the left/right arrows in the top-left corner to move left and right in the name field. To change case from upper to lower, touch the Aa& button in the lower-right corner of the screen (just above OK). If you make a mistake, position the dark-gray cursor over the error and select Delete. When you have the name completed, press or touch OK to save it. The word Saved will briefly appear on the Monitor. The camera will create a default name for you by appending a dash and two numbers at the end of the current control name. I left it at the default of STANDARD-02. Press or touch OK to finish.

Once you have created and saved a Custom Picture Control, you can still tell which control was used as its base, just in case you name it in a way that does not suggest its origins.

Notice the red arrow in the upper-right area of the screen in figure 8.11B. This is the control we just created in the previous steps (STANDARD-02) and it is derived from an SD Nikon Picture Control, as shown by the SD label at the red arrow.

Figure 8.11B: Identifying the base of a Custom Picture Control

Your camera is now set to your Custom Picture Control. You switch between your Custom Picture Controls and the basic Nikon Picture Controls by using Set Picture Control (see the previous section titled Set Picture Control on page 341). In other words, each of your newly named Custom Picture Controls will appear at the end of the Set Picture Control menu for later selection.

Now, let’s examine how to rename an existing Custom Picture Control.

Rename a Custom Picture Control

Now that you have created and saved a new Custom Picture Control or two, you may want to rename one of them. Here’s how.

Figure 8.11C: Rename a Custom Picture Control

Use the following steps to rename an existing Custom Picture Control for video use:

1. 1.Select Manage Picture Control (figure 8.11C, image 1).
2. 2.Choose Rename and scroll to the right (figure 8.11C, image 2).
3. 3.Pick one of your Custom Picture Controls from the list (C–1 to C–9) and scroll to the right (figure 8.11C, image 3). I selected to rename STANDARD-02. This is the Custom Picture Control we created in the preceding subsection.
4. 4.You will now be presented with the Rename screen (figure 8.11C, image 4). Insert a new name for the control by touching on the characters at the center of the screen and they will appear in the position marked with the dark-gray cursor in the name field (STANDARD-EX2). You can touch the left/right arrows in the top-left corner to move left and right in the name field. To change case from upper to lower, touch the Aa& button in the lower-right corner of the screen (just above OK). If you make a mistake, position the dark-gray cursor over the error and select Delete. When you have the name completed, press or touch OK to save it. The word Saved will briefly appear on the Monitor. The name is limited to a maximum of 19 characters. I renamed the STANDARD-02 Custom Picture Control STANDARD-EX2. Press or touch OK to finish.

Note: You are able to have more than one control with exactly the same name in your list of Custom Picture Controls. The camera does not get confused because each control has a different location (C–1 to C–9) to keep it separate from the rest. However, I don’t suggest that you give several custom controls the same name. How would you tell them apart?

When a Custom Picture Control is no longer needed, you can easily delete it. Here’s how.

Delete a Custom Picture Control

You cannot delete a Nikon Picture Control or a Creative Picture Control. In fact, they don’t even appear in any of the Manage Picture Control menu screens.

Figure 8.11D: Delete a Custom Picture Control

However, you can delete one or more of your video Custom Picture Controls with the following steps:

1. 1.Follow the screen flow shown in figure 8.11D, images 1 and 2 (Manage Picture Control > Delete) until you arrive at the third screen in the series.
2. 2.Select one of your nine available Custom Picture Controls and select the item you want to delete (figure 8.11D, image 3). I selected VIVID-02 for deletion.
3. 3.Choose Yes at the Delete Picture Control? prompt (figure 8.11D, image 4) and then press or touch OK to delete the custom Picture Control.

Let’s move to our last menu selection from the Manage Picture Control screen: Load/save.

Load/Save a Custom Picture Control

There are three parts to the Load/save function. They allow you to copy Custom Picture Controls to and from the memory card or delete them from the card.

Figure 8.11E: Load/save a Custom Picture Control

Here are the three selections on the Load/save menu, as shown in figure 8.11E, image 3:

• Copy to camera: Loads Custom Picture Controls from the memory card into your camera. You can store up to nine controls in your camera’s nine available memory locations (C1–C9).
• Delete from card: Displays a list of any Custom Picture Controls found on the memory card. You can selectively delete them.
• Copy to card: Allows you to copy your carefully crafted Custom Picture Controls (C1–C9) from your camera to a memory card. You can then share them with others. The camera will display up to 99 control locations (01–99) on any single memory card.

Let’s examine each of these selections and see how best to use them.

Copy to Camera

You can use the Copy to camera function to copy Custom Picture Controls from your camera’s memory card to the camera’s Set Picture Control menu for video use. Once you have transferred a Custom Picture Control from your memory card to your camera, it will show up in the Movie Shooting Menu > Set Picture Control menu.

Figure 8.11F: Manage Picture Control – Copy to camera

Here are the steps to copy a Custom Picture Control from the memory card to the Set Picture Control menu:

1. 1.Figure 8.11F continues from the last screen shown in figure 8.11E (Load/save on the Manage Picture Control menu). Choose Copy to camera and scroll to the right (figure 8.11F, image 1).
2. 2.You will be presented with the list of Custom Picture Controls that are currently on the memory card (figure 8.11F, image 2). If there are no controls on the memory card, the camera will display a screen that says, No Picture Control file found on memory card. My camera in figure 8.11F, image 2, shows two controls—NEUTRAL-02 and VIVID-02. Choose a control from the list and press or touch OK. [If you scroll to the right instead, you will be able to examine and adjust the control’s settings before saving it to your camera (figure 8.11F, image 3). If you don’t want to modify it, simply select OK.]
3. 3.You will now see the Manage Picture Control Save as menu, which lists any Custom Picture Controls already in your camera (figure 8.11F, image 4). Select one of the Unused memory locations and scroll to the right.
4. 4.You’ll be presented with the Rename screen (figure 8.11G), just in case you want to change the name of the Custom Picture Control. If you don’t want to change the name, simply press or touch OK and the custom control will be added to your camera’s Set Picture Control menu. It is possible to have multiple controls with exactly the same name. The camera keeps each control separate in its list of controls (C–1 to C–9). However, I always rename them to prevent future confusion. To create a different name, touch the characters at the center of the screen and they will appear in the position marked with the dark-gray cursor in the name field (NEUTRAL-02). You can touch the left/right arrows in the top-left corner to move left and right in the name field. To change case from upper to lower, touch the Aa& button in the lower-right corner of the screen (just above OK). If you make a mistake, position the dark-gray cursor over the error and select Delete. The name is limited to a maximum of 19 characters. When you have the name completed, press or touch OK to save it. The word Saved will briefly appear on the Monitor.

Figure 8.11G: Choose a new name (or rename)

Delete from Card

Once you’ve finished loading Custom Picture Controls for video to your camera, you may be ready to delete a control or two from the memory card. You could format the memory card, but that will blow away all images and Picture Controls on the card. A less drastic method that allows you to be more selective in removing Picture Controls is the Delete from card function.

Figure 8.11H: Manage Picture Control – Delete from card

Here are the steps used to remove Custom Picture Controls for video from your camera’s memory card:

1. 1.Figure 8.11H continues from the last screen shown in figure 8.11E. Choose Delete from card and scroll to the right (figure 8.11H, image 1).
2. 2.Choose one of the Custom Picture Controls that you want to delete (figure 8.11H, image 2). I chose VIVID-02. You can confirm that you are deleting the correct control by scrolling to the right, which gives you the fine-tuning screen with current adjustments for that control (figure 8.11H, image 3). If you are sure that this is the control you want to delete, move on to the next step by pressing or touching OK.
3. 3.You will be shown a screen that asks, Delete Picture Control?, with the control’s name shown below (VIVID-02). Choose either Yes or No (figure 8.11H, image 4). If you choose Yes, the Picture Control will be deleted from the memory card. If you choose No, the camera will return to the previous screen. Press or touch OK to execute your choice.

Copy to Card

After you create up to nine Custom Picture Controls for video using the instructions in the last few sections, you can use the Copy to card function to save them to a memory card. Once they are on a memory card, you can share your custom video controls with friends who have compatible Nikon cameras.

Figure 8.11I: Manage Picture Control – Copy to card

When your Custom Picture Controls for video are ready to go, use the following steps to copy them to a memory card:

1. 1.Figure 8.11I continues from the last screen shown in figure 8.11E. Choose Copy to card and scroll to the right (figure 8.11I, image 1).
2. 2.Select one of your current Custom Picture Controls and scroll to the right (figure 8.11I, image 2). I chose FLAT-02 to copy to the memory card.
3. 3.Now you’ll use the Choose destination menu to select the location in which you want to save the custom control (figure 8.11I, image 3). You have 99 choices; select any Unused location by scrolling down.
4. 4.Press OK or touch an Unused location and you’ll briefly see a message that says, Data saved to memory card. Your Custom Picture Control is now ready to distribute to the world or load onto another of your compatible Nikon cameras.

Active D-Lighting

The Active D-Lighting function allows you some contrast control while capturing video. If shadows are deeper than you’d like, you can open them up somewhat and maintain more dark detail. If the highlights are in danger of burning out to pure white, you can rein them in a little and preserve more highlight detail.

We discussed Active D-Lighting in detail in the Photo Shooting Menu chapter on page 236. Refer to that section for deeper information. Active D-Lighting works the same for both still images and video. Here is a review of how it works.

Figure 8.12A: Active D-Lighting controls contrast

Notice in the images of a rose (figure 8.12A) how the various levels of Active D-Lighting affect the image or video [including the A (Auto) selected under Same as photo settings]. The shadows are progressively opened up while the highlights are protected from becoming blown out.

Figure 8.12B: Choosing an Active D-Lighting level

Use the following steps to select an Active D-Lighting level:

1. 1.Choose Active D-Lighting (figure 8.12B, image 1).
2. 2.Select one of the four levels of Active D-Lighting: H* Extra high, H High, N Normal, or L Low (figure 8.12B, image 2). You can also choose Off (no Active D-Lighting) or Same as photo settings, which carries over your favorite Active D-Lighting setting from the Photo Shooting Menu (page 236). Highlight your choice and press OK or touch the option to finish.

Settings Recommendation: When I am shooting video on a sunny day, I will usually add some Active D-Lighting, either L Low or N Normal. When there is a lot of contrast, such as with direct sun, shadow detail can be hard to see and brighter subjects tend to become overexposed due to bright reflections. Some level of Active D-Lighting can be useful to contain excessive contrast. Why not experiment by shooting video with various levels until you determine what works best for you?

High ISO NR

High ISO NR (High ISO Noise Reduction) lessens the effects of digital noise in your videos when you use high ISO sensitivity settings.

The Z6 II and Z7 II have better noise control than most cameras, so they can record video with an ISO setting of up to 3200 with little visible noise. However, no digital camera is completely without noise, so it’s a good idea to use some noise reduction above a certain ISO sensitivity.

If High ISO NR is turned Off, the camera still does a small amount of noise reduction—less than the Low setting. Therefore, at higher ISO settings there will always be some noise reduction.

You can control the amount of noise reduction by choosing one of the four High ISO NR settings: High, Normal, Low, or Off.

We covered how High ISO NR works in greater detail in the Photo Shooting Menu chapter on page 239. The function works the same for both still images and video. Review that section if you need deeper information on how High ISO NR works.

Figure 8.13: Setting High ISO NR

Use the following steps to choose a High ISO NR setting for video:

1. 1.Choose High ISO NR (figure 8.13, image 1).
2. 2.Select a level and press OK or touch the option (figure 8.13, image 2).

Settings Recommendation: I leave High ISO NR set to Low or Normal. I do want some noise reduction above ISO 1600 for videos. However, since any form of noise reduction blurs the video slightly, I don’t go too far with it. Shoot some high-ISO videos and decide for yourself which settings you are comfortable with.

Vignette Control

Vignette control allows you to reduce the amount of vignetting (slight darkening) that many lenses have in the corners of the frame at various apertures. The angle at which light strikes a sensor on its edges is greater than the angle at which rays go straight through the lens to the center areas of the sensor. Because of the increased angle, some light falloff occurs at the extreme edges of the frame, especially at wide apertures. In recognition of this fact, Nikon has provided the Vignette control setting. It can reduce the vignetting effect to a large degree for Nikkor type G, E, D, and S lenses (excluding PC lenses) on an FTZ adapter. Nikkor Z lenses are generally less likely to have a lot of vignetting, compared to older lens types.

Let’s see how to configure the Vignette control for edge light falloff reduction with your lenses.

Figure 8.14: Vignette control range

Here are the steps to choose a Vignette control level for your camera:

1. 1.Choose Vignette control (figure 8.14, image 1).
2. 2.Select a level and press OK or touch the item (figure 8.14, image 2).

Settings Recommendation: A new Nikon Z camera defaults to Normal, so I have been capturing most of my video with it set to Normal and I like this setting. It does help remove vignetting in the corners. I have not noticed any additional noise or image degradation in the corrected areas. I suggest leaving your camera set to Normal at all times unless you are shooting with a lens that has a greater tendency to vignette, in which case you can increase the setting to High. Even High does not seem to fully remove vignetting when a lens is wide open, so this is not an aggressive algorithm that will leave white spots in the corners of your images. I suggest making a few videos with your lenses at wide aperture and see how Vignette control works with your lens and camera combinations.

Diffraction Compensation

The Diffraction compensation function is designed to help reduce diffraction unsharpness in your videos caused by using small apertures (e.g., f/11, f/16, f/22). When light hits the edge of an aperture blade it deflects slightly, arriving at the sensor at a slightly different angle than the light going through the middle of the aperture opening. This tends to cause a video to be less sharp than a one shot at a larger aperture (e.g., f/4, f/5.6, f/8).

Figure 8.15: Enabling Diffraction compensation

Use the following steps to enable or disable Diffraction compensation:

1. 1.Choose Diffraction compensation (figure 8.15, image 1).
2. 2.Select On or Off and press OK or touch the item (figure 8.15, image 2).

Settings Recommendation: Diffraction has been a problem for as long as lenses and apertures have existed. Photographers have tried to take pictures and videos at mid-sized apertures instead of small apertures to prevent diffraction. I set this function to On and I’m happy to have it. I tested it on some videos and it does make a difference in sharpness. The camera is capable of extra sharpness and this function is one of the reasons. Why not test this for yourself and see if you have sharper video with Diffraction compensation enabled? It defaults to On and I left it that way permanently on my camera.

Auto Distortion Control

Auto distortion control is designed to reduce barrel and pincushion distortion in your videos. This function may be best used by architectural photographers who are concerned about keeping lines and edges straight, for obvious reasons.

The Auto distortion control is designed to be used with Nikkor G, E, and D lenses, and not with PC, fisheye, or aftermarket lenses. When my Nikkor Z 24–70mm F/4 S lens was mounted, this function was grayed out and unavailable. Therefore, certain S lenses may not allow you to use this feature (it may not be necessary or is done automatically). My Nikkor Z 24–70mm F/2.8 S pro lens causes the function to become available (no longer grayed out), which allows me to choose whether or not I want to use the function.

To prevent even mild cases of barrel and pincushion distortion from affecting straight lines in your videos, you can use this function.

Of course, if you are out shooting nature videos, it is unlikely you will gain much benefit from this function. If a lens you are using needs automatic barrel and pincushion distortion control, you will probably know it from previous work.

Figure 8.16: Auto distortion control

Use these steps to enable or disable Auto distortion control:

1. 1.Choose Auto distortion control (figure 8.16, image 1).
2. 2.Highlight On or Off and press OK or touch your choice (figure 8.16, image 2).

Settings Recommendation: If you are a videographer who needs this function, you will already know it. If you question whether it will benefit you, it probably won’t. However, this may be a handy function when you are out in the field making videos—with a lens that allows you to use it—and you immediately need some distortion correction.

Flicker Reduction

Flicker reduction helps reduce the banding effect we’ve all seen in videos, where darker-than-normal bands travel down the screen during playback. When you record video under certain types of lighting, especially fluorescent, mercury-vapor, and sodium lights, your video may be more susceptible to banding (flicker).

To help prevent this banding effect, it’s a good idea to enable Flicker reduction. You may want to start by selecting Auto Flicker reduction (figure 8.17, image 2), which directs the camera to detect the frequency of the flickering and to time the video frame capture in a way that reduces banding.

If you do not have good results with Auto, you can try the 50Hz or 60Hz setting (figure 8.17, image 2); choose whichever one gives you the best results.

When subjects are especially bright, flicker may be worse. In this case, it is a good idea to use a smaller aperture (e.g., f/8 or smaller).

Figure 8.17: Choosing a Flicker reduction setting

Use these steps to select a Flicker reduction setting:

1. 1.Choose Flicker reduction (figure 8.17, image 1).
2. 2.Select Auto, 50 Hz, or 60 Hz and press OK or touch it (figure 8.17, image 2).

Settings Recommendation: I usually start with Auto mode, and if that doesn’t work, I try the 50Hz and 60Hz settings to see what happens. Another way to control banding, besides using the Flicker reduction, is to shoot the video in Manual (M) exposure mode and experiment with a shutter speed setting that more closely matches the frequency of the local electricity supply. If the frequency of electricity in your area is 50Hz, use a shutter speed of 1/100 sec, 1/50 sec, or 1/25 sec. For 60Hz (United States), try 1/125 sec, 1/60 sec, or 1/30 sec.

Metering

The Metering function allows you to control the type of light meter your camera uses to make a good exposure. There are three types of meters available in the Nikon CAMERA for video. Here is a description of each type:

• Matrix metering: The camera meters a wide area of the frame using a matrix of zones. It uses these patterns along with tone distribution, color, composition, and subject distance to capture the best exposure for the subject. Matrix metering is accurate in most cases and is generally used as a default setting by most videographers.
• Center-weighted metering: The camera measures light from the entire frame but concentrates 75 percent of its metering attention on a 12mm circle in the middle of the frame, with only 25 percent for the areas outside the circle. However, the camera can be set to use the entire frame and average the light reading across 100 percent of the frame. For more information see the b3 Center-weighted area function in the Custom Setting Menu chapter (page 397).
• Highlight-weighted metering: The camera meters for highlights in this mode, mostly ignoring surrounding darkness. For example, if you are videoing a concert with a performer in a spotlight, this mode is excellent.

Let’s examine how to choose one of the meter styles for your videos.

Figure 8.18: Metering modes on the Photo Shooting Menu

Use these steps to choose a Metering mode from the Movie Shooting Menu:

1. 1.Select Metering (figure 8.18, image 1).
2. 2.Pick a Metering mode and press OK or touch the item (figure 8.18, image 2).

Note: This function is also available on the i Menu. Press the i button to open the menu and you will find this function on the bottom row, third from left.

Settings Recommendation: The majority of photographers will leave their Metering mode set to Matrix metering. This is a well-established and often uncannily accurate form of exposure metering. Nikon has been working on their Matrix metering algorithms for many years and the camera has benefitted from that work. If you have special needs, such as for shooting highlighted subjects, you also have that choice. Center-weighted metering is an old style of metering that comes from the days of film glory. It works pretty well and some people prefer it, especially those who cut their teeth on old film cameras with center-weighted metering only. Use whichever one you like best or need at the time. I’ve found that Matrix metering works best for me most of the time.

Focus Mode

Focus mode allows you to control how the camera focuses on your subject. You will need various autofocus capabilities for static and moving subjects. It can use four methods:

• Single AF (AF-S): This focus setting is best for static or slowly moving subjects. The camera will obtain an initial focus and lock focus on the subject. If the subject moves, the focus may become invalid and will need to be updated.
• Continuous AF (AF-C): This focus method is best for rapidly moving subjects or subjects that rarely stop moving. The camera acquires focus but never locks the focus. Instead, it keeps trying to maintain good focus on your subject as long as your subject is under the current AF point area (see AF-area modes on page 93).
• Full-time AF (AF-F): This mode works like a combination of AF-S and AF-C. When you initially focus on a non-moving subject, the camera may lock focus on the subject. However, if the subject moves, or if you move the camera, the camera will update and maintain focus on your subject until it, or you, stops moving, at which point the focus will lock again.
• Manual focus (MF): You must manually turn the focus ring on the lens to focus on the subject. Many people will use Focus peaking to assist with manual focusing. We will discuss Focus peaking when we talk about Custom Setting d11 Focus Peaking (page 422).

Let’s see how to select a Focus mode.

Figure 8.19: Choosing a Focus mode

Use the following steps to choose a Focus mode for video capture:

1. 1.Choose Focus mode (figure 8.19, image 1).
2. 2.Select a Focus mode and press OK or touch the item (figure 8.19, image 2).
3. 3.In figure 8.19, image 3, the location of the Focus mode (red arrow) is shown on the video screen (Monitor or EVF). You can immediately change to a different Focus mode by pressing and holding the Fn2 button on the camera’s front while turning the rear Main command dial (unless Fn2 has been assigned to a different function). Pressing Fn2 and turning the front Sub-command dial changes the AF-area mode (see next chapter).

Note: This function is also available on the i Menu. Press the i button to open the menu and you will find this function on the bottom row, last item on the right.

Settings Recommendation: Experiment to find the Focus mode that is best for you. For most of us the Full-time AF (AF-F) mode is preferred because it lets the camera control autofocus. The camera usually does a good job with automatic focus, so I use AF-F often for family videos.

Hardcore enthusiasts and commercial videographers will use manual focus lenses, often with special rings added to a lens’s focus ring to assist with focus control. In that circumstance Manual focus (MF) with Focus peaking (page 422) may be best.

If you prefer to use back button focusing or to simply focus on a certain spot, such as when creating a video in your studio, you can use Single AF (AF-S) or Continuous AF (AF-C).

AF-Area Mode

The AF-area mode system allows you to choose a single focus point (AF point), or a group of AF points selected from the Z6 II camera’s 273 AF points or the Z7 II camera’s 493 AF points, to cover your subject and help capture it in sharp focus. (Ninety percent of the screen is available for choosing the AF-area).

There is one Single-point AF setting, four Wide-area AF settings, and three Auto-area AF settings. To prevent repetition of already considered material, I will show only how to select a mode in this section. For deeper information on how each AF-area mode works, please review the AF-Area Modes section of the Focus, AF-Area, and Release Modes chapter (page 93).

Following is a list of each of the AF-area modes with a brief description and a reference to more detailed information on that mode:

• Single-point AF (page 94): Uses a small AF point frame that can be moved to specific areas of the subject to focus on that small area.
• Wide-area AF (S) (page 95): This mode works in a similar manner to Single-point AF but it has a wider group of AF points in its AF point frame.
• Wide-area AF (L) (page 96): This mode also works in a similar manner to Wide-area AF (S) but it has a much larger group of AF points in its AF point frame. Autofocus works only within the moveable frame.
• Wide-area AF (L-people) (page 96): This mode works in a similar manner to Wide-area AF (L) but also adds human face and eye detection to its AF point frame. Only within the moveable AF point frame does autofocus with human face and eye detection work.
• Wide-area AF (L-animals) (page 97): This mode works in a similar manner to Wide-area AF (L) but also adds animal face and eye detection to its AF point frame. Only within the moveable AF point frame does autofocus with animal face and eye detection work.
• Auto-area AF (page 98): This mode gives full control of the AF system to the camera. The entire 273-point frame in the Z6 II and 493-point frame in the Z7 II is involved in autofocus. The camera will automatically choose a combination of AF points within the frame to obtain the best focus on your subject. You will see one rectangle, or groups of small rectangles, marking the areas of your subject that the camera is using for auto-focus. The corners of the monitor or EVF display a non-moveable red frame within which all autofocus capability resides.
• Auto-area AF (people) (page 98): This mode works like Auto-area AF, except that the camera adds human face and eye detection to help focus on people. If a human face is detected in the frame, a yellow square will surround the face or eyes and will attempt to maintain focus on that human face. You can press the OK button to enable and disable human subject focus tracking.
• Auto-area AF (animals) (page 98): This mode works like Auto-area AF, except that the camera adds animal face and eye detection to help focus primarily on dogs and cats and maybe some other animals. If an animal face is detected in the frame, a yellow square will surround the face or eyes and will attempt to maintain focus on that animal face. You can press the OK button to enable and disable animal subject focus tracking.

Now let’s consider how to choose an AF-area mode.

Figure 8.20A: Choosing an AF-area mode from the Movie Shooting Menu

Use the following steps to choose an AF-area mode for video:

1. 1.Choose AF-area mode (figure 8.20A, image 1).
2. 2.Pick one of the AF-area modes and press OK or touch the option (figure 8.20A, image 2).
3. 3.You can also change to a different AF-area mode by pressing and holding the Fn2 button on the camera’s front while turning the front Sub-command dial (unless Fn2 has been assigned to a different function). The red arrow in figure 8.20B shows the location of the AF-area mode symbol on the Monitor (or EVF). This symbol will change as you rotate the front Sub-command dial. By pressing Fn2 and turning the rear Main command dial, you can also set the Focus mode (see previous chapter section).

Figure 8.20B: Each of the four AF-area modes available for video

Note: This function is also available on the i Menu. Press the i button to open the menu and you will find this function on the top row, last item on the right.

Settings Recommendation: Unless I am using manual focus (MF Focus mode), I will usually use the Continuous AF (AF-C) Focus mode (page 87) and Wide-area AF (L-people) AF-area mode (page 96). I like the way the camera handles autofocus for people when using that combination. I have also found subject tracking to be pretty reliable when shooting videos, as long as the subject is not moving too quickly.

Of course, you may prefer to use the other AF-area modes, according to your subject. Try shooting a video with each of these AF-area modes, in both AF-S and AF-C Focus mode (pages 86, 87), just to learn how well the camera focuses for you.

Vibration Reduction

Vibration reduction (VR) attempts to counteract small movements of the camera due to shaky hands. It is designed to keep the image sharp, even when you are handholding the camera and following your subject.

The Vibration reduction function is different in the Nikon Z cameras compared to Nikon DSLRs. Current Nikon DSLRs do not have in-body image stabilization (IBIS), whereas the Z cameras do. IBIS is a vibration reduction (VR) system where the sensor assembly can move in up to 5-axes to counter camera vibration: left and right, up and down, pitch, yaw, and roll. Best results are achieved when using Nikkor Z-mount lenses. If you are using an F-mount, AF-S Nikkor lens on an FTZ adapter, the camera provides up to 3-axis IBIS (pitch, yaw, and roll).

When you are using a Nikkor lens that has VR built in, the camera and lens communicate and work together to get the best vibration reduction. With the camera’s VR you may well be able to get steady video, even without your camera mounted in a balanced video frame device.

There are two VR modes available, along with Off (no VR). Let’s examine what each mode is designed to accomplish:

• Same as photo settings: The camera will use the current VR configuration for the Photo Shooting Menu > Vibration reduction setting (Photo mode). Using any other mode besides this one separates the Vibration reduction settings for Photo and Movie modes.
• On Normal: This mode is designed for shooting static subjects. If you are handholding the camera, walking around, or videoing a slowly moving subject, this is the best mode to use.
• SPT Sport: This mode is designed for shooting sports where athletes, or other subjects, are moving around rapidly and unpredictably. Use this mode for panning. The camera will detect when you are panning with your subject and turn off VR for horizontal movement. It will correct for vertical movement only when panning. When the subject stops, VR will again work for both horizontal and vertical vibration reduction.
• Off: The camera disables the VR system for the camera body and Z-mount lenses.

The Vibration reduction menu item on the Photo Shooting Menu and in the i Menu will become grayed out and unavailable when an AF-S Nikkor lens with VR is mounted on the camera with the FTZ adapter. To control VR in that case, simply use the VR On/Off switch found on the side of Nikkor VR lenses. The VR On/Off switch will enable or disable in-lens and in-body image stabilization at the same time.

When a Nikkor lens having no VR (e.g., AF-S Nikkor 50mm f/1.4G) is mounted, the Vibration reduction menus become available again. Now, let’s see how to choose a VR mode.

Figure 8.21: Selecting an IBIS/VR mode from the Movie Shooting Menu

Use the following steps to choose a Vibration reduction mode from the camera’s Movie Shooting Menu:

1. 1.Choose Vibration reduction (figure 8.21, image 1).
2. 2.Pick a VR mode and press OK or touch the item (figure 8.21, image 2).

Note: This function is also available on the i Menu. Press the i button to open the menu and you will find this function on the bottom row, next to the last item on the right.

Settings Recommendation: I normally use On Normal VR mode. I video mostly static or slowly moving subjects, such as cascading rivers, waterfalls, mountains, meadows, and sunsets. If I were videoing an action event, such as a football game, I would definitely consider using the SPT sport mode.

Another marvelous thing about in-body image stabilization is that it will work for virtually any lens mounted on the camera or on an adapter. Even older F-mount, manual focus AI and AI-S lens favorites, along with non-VR autofocus lenses, will have VR. Many videographers appreciate that the camera offers VR, even with their favorite manual-focus cine lenses.

Electronic VR

Electronic VR gives you a way to stabilize your videos when you shoot handheld. This is not the same thing as the physical sensor-shifting IBIS technology discussed in the previous subsection. Instead, Electronic VR works by pixel-shifting the video frame to add stability.

In other words, as slight vibrations occur during handheld video capture, the image recorded by the sensor will change position slightly. The camera attempts to shift the pixels that are capturing video, in time with the vibration from minor camera shake.

Electronic VR works alongside the normal in-body image stabilization (IBIS) and lens vibration reduction (VR) found in most newer Nikkor lenses, to keep the frame more stable. Let’s see how to configure Electronic VR.

Figure 8.22: Selecting Electronic VR

Use the following steps to enable or disable Electronic VR:

1. 1.Choose Electronic VR (figure 8.22, image 1).
2. 2.Pick On or Off and then press OK or touch the option (figure 8.22, image 2).

Settings Recommendation: This function may be useful if you are not moving around much while shooting a video handheld. However, if you are shooting a video while walking around, Electronic VR may tend to make the video look jumpy. For serious videos, I would stick with normal IBIS or lens VR, but for fun videos, you might want to give it a try. Experiment with this function before putting it to serious use, especially for a commercial video!

Microphone Sensitivity

Microphone sensitivity allows you to choose how sensitive the camera’s audio recording circuit is to sound. You can use your camera’s internal stereo microphone or an accessory-shoe mounted microphone such as the Nikon ME-1 stereo mic.

Figure 8.23A: External Nikon ME-1 mic and the built-in left and right stereo mic ports for the Nikon Z5, Z6, Z7, Z6 II, and Z7 II

In figure 8.23A you can see the two main types of microphones. One is an external, accessory-shoe mounted microphone that plugs into the audio-in port found on the side of the camera under the rubber flap labeled MIC (image on left). The other is the built-in stereo microphone on the top front of the camera (image on right; the stereo left and right ports are at the two red arrows). When you plug in an external mic, the camera automatically disables the built-in stereo mic.

There are three available Microphone sensitivity settings. Let’s learn how to use them.

Figure 8.23B: Choosing a Microphone sensitivity setting

The following steps allow you to select a Microphone sensitivity setting for your movie:

1. 1.Select Microphone sensitivity (figure 8.23B, image 1).
2. 2.Choose Auto, Manual, or Microphone off (figure 8.23B, image 2). These settings are live, so you can test them immediately. Press OK or touch the option.

If you decide to adjust the microphone sensitivity manually, instead of using Auto mode (as selected in figure 8.23B, image 2), you will need to use the Manual sensitivity setting (as selected in figure 8.23C).

Figure 8.23C: Choosing a Microphone sensitivity setting manually

Use these steps to choose a sound level manually:

1. 1.Follow the screen flow shown in figure 8.23C, images 1 and 2 (Microphone sensitivity > Manual), until you arrive at the third screen in the series.
2. 2.Select a level for the microphone from the up/down menu by scrolling up or down with the Multi selector pad or by touching the up/down arrows. You can choose from level 1 to level 20. The higher the number, the greater the mic sensitivity, and vice versa. The microphone’s factory default setting is 15 (figure 8.23C, image 3). These settings are live, so you will be able to test them immediately. Press or touch OK to lock in your choice.

As displayed in figure 8.23D, image 2, you can also choose to disable the microphone completely and record a silent movie by selecting the Microphone off setting. Use this setting if you are using a clapperboard for synchronization and an external sound-recording device.

The Microphone off setting will separate sound recording from the camera body or attached mic, removing the little squeaks, clicks, and whines that all cameras make while autofocusing, zooming, and changing apertures, or from the sound of a cooling fan in an external recorder mounted in the camera’s accessory shoe.

Figure 8.23D: Disabling the internal microphone and audio-in MIC port

Use these steps to turn the internal stereo microphone off and disable the MIC audio-in port on the camera:

1. 1.Choose Microphone sensitivity (figure 8.23D, image 1).
2. 2.Select Microphone off and press OK or touch the item. This will disable the internal stereo mic and the audio-in MIC port (figure 8.23D, image 2).

Settings Recommendation: For basic video using the built-in stereo mic, or even with an external Accessory-mounted mic, such as the Nikon ME-1, the Auto setting seems to perform well.

Experiment with this setting at Auto and Manual to see which works best for you. Auto sensitivity works for most of us, and Manual sensitivity is better for those with more critical needs.

If you are using an external video recorder and streaming uncompressed video from the HDMI port, you will generally set the camera’s Microphone sensitivity setting to Microphone off and use an external audio recorder and a sound synchronization device.

Attenuator

The microphone Attenuator is a function that will automatically adjust the sensitivity of the microphone when there are large changes in the sound level. For instance, you might be recording a local sports event and suddenly someone scores, causing the crowd to go wild. The Attenuator will automatically reduce the mic sensitivity to help prevent overwhelming the camera’s audio circuit. Let’s see how to enable it.

Figure 8.24: Enabling or disabling the microphone Attenuator

Use the following steps to enable or disable the mic Attenuator:

1. 1.Select Attenuator (figure 8.24, image 1).
2. 2.Choose Enable or Disable and press OK or touch the item (figure 8.24, image 2).

Settings Recommendation: Whenever I am capturing video at any type of event where loud sounds suddenly occur—or there is constant loud ambient sound—I use the Attenuator to prevent audio distortion. However, I do not use the Attenuator for normal video. Why not experiment with this setting to see if you find it useful?

Frequency Response

The Frequency response function allows you to choose two different ranges of audio-frequency response to use while recording sound for a video. Sound is a very important part of quality video recording!

Maybe you want to record a video in the wilds of the jungle and would like to pick up the sound of every birdsong, leaf rustle, and buzzing insect. On the other hand, you could be recording a video of a famous lecturer and would rather not pick up the sounds of people walking by, a bird singing outside the window, and road traffic outside.

The camera gives you better control of sound quality than many Nikons before it. With a combination of the Microphone sensitivity, Attenuator, and Frequency response functions, you can capture high-quality sound. Microphone sensitivity affects how sensitive the microphone is, the Attenuator prevents distortion from loud sounds, and Frequency response determines which sound frequencies the mic is most sensitive to. We’ve already considered Microphone sensitivity and the Attenuator, so now let’s see how Frequency response works.

Figure 8.25: Choosing a microphone frequency response setting

Use the following steps to choose a Frequency response setting for your camera’s microphone:

1. 1.Select Frequency response (figure 8.25, image 1).
2. 2.Choose one of the two Frequency response settings and press OK or touch the option (figure 8.25, image 2). Select Wide range for those times when you want to record every sound near your camera. This setting is best for nature, travel, and general family videos. Choose Vocal range when you are recording a person or group of people talking. This setting helps eliminate spurious background noises.

Settings Recommendation: Because I am a nature photographer, I often use the Wide range setting when capturing video in the Great Smoky Mountains. However, when recording a wedding ceremony, I use the Vocal range setting so that I won’t get so much spurious noise from the audience.

Test these two settings carefully for your style of photography to see which works best for you. Most people use Wide range for general video recording.

Wind Noise Reduction

The Wind noise reduction function helps remove that aggravating sound you hear when wind blows on the camera’s stereo microphone ports. This function will not work with external, accessory shoe–mounted, stereo microphones; it works only with the internal stereo mic.

Have you ever recorded a video on a beautiful, breezy spring day, only to later find that you have recorded that distinctive rumbling sound of wind blowing across the mic ports instead of the clear sound you desired?

While that sound may not be completely eliminated without using special external microphones designed to deal with it, it can be significantly reduced with a selective low-cut filter, which removes or cuts low-frequency noises like wind rumbles.

Fortunately for Nikon Z users, Nikon has included a low-cut filter setting for when you are recording video. If you turn this filter on, you can remove a portion of the rumbling wind noise when recording outside.

However, if you are recording an orchestra, with deep cello and bass parts, a low-cut filter may take away some of the depth in the recording, so maybe it shouldn’t be left on all the time. Let’s see how to enable and disable the Wind noise reduction low-cut filter.

Figure 8.26: Using the Wind noise reduction low-cut filter

Use the following steps to choose a Wind noise reduction setting for your camera’s microphone:

1. 1.Select Wind noise reduction (figure 8.26, image 1).
2. 2.Choose On or Off and press OK or touch the item (figure 8.26, image 2).

Settings Recommendation: I use this wind noise filter selectively. Most of the time I am using an external Nikon ME-1 accessory-shoe mounted microphone, which has a foam screen around the mic to reduce or eliminate most wind noise. I do use Wind noise reduction when I am outside using the built-in stereo mic to record family events, such as a cookout in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Headphone Volume

The Headphone port under the rubber Connector cover is an excellent addition to the Nikon camera (figure 8.27A). It allows you to plug in a headphone set to isolate yourself from surrounding sounds and focus on hearing what the camera is actually recording. This is important for those who are concerned about maximum sound quality.

Figure 8.27A: Headphone and Microphone ports

Figure 8.27B: Choosing a Headphone volume output level

Use these steps to select a Headphone volume to use while recording your video:

1. 1.Choose Headphone volume (figure 8.27B, image 1).
2. 2.Touch the up/down arrow pointers or press up or down on the Multi selector pad to adjust the headphone volume (figure 8.27, image 2). You can select from a range of 0 to 30. Press or touch OK to finish.

Settings Recommendation: The headphone you use doesn’t have to be an expensive outfit to be effective. I often use a set of normal isolation earbuds, like the ones you would plug into your smartphone or iPod. Earbud headsets can be stored in a small pocket in your camera bag, so they will always be with you.

I have found that output level 15 is about right for me. However, my hearing isn’t as good as it was when I was young due to listening to my Walkman (remember those?) at high volume as a kid. Be careful not to go too loud because sudden sound increases might damage your hearing. You may be more comfortable with the volume around 10 or 12.

Timecode

The Timecode function allows you to do commercial-level synchronization of your camera with other devices, such as additional video recorders and sound recorders. Since sound, for instance, is often recorded separately from the video stream in commercial recording, there needs to be an accurate way to synchronize an external sound recorder with your camera’s video stream. Nothing is more distracting in a video than sound being out of sync with the video frames (remember the old Kung Fu movies?).

Basically, Timecode is a clock that counts in video frames. Timecode clocks can be synchronized so that the timecodes are identical on each device. Synchronizing two timecode clocks to run independently yet remain in time with each other is called Timecode “jamsynching” or “jamming.” Do some internet research on those words to learn more about jamming.

Timecode relies on high-precision timecode clocks. When synchronized (jam-synched), two timecode clocks should run for a period of time without “drifting” or losing their synchronization. The more accurate the clocks, the longer the two devices will remain synched. Over time you may have to resynch the two clocks to make sure they are keeping the same time. Here is a sample Timecode readout, with the numbers on the top row and an explanation on the bottom row:

In the explanation line HH stands for hours, MM for minutes, SS for seconds, and FF for frames. When you enable the Timecode feature, your camera’s video recording screens will display the Timecode in this format:

A full discussion of using Timecode to synchronize your camera with another device is beyond the scope of this book, but there are quite a few good videos on YouTube about this subject. Let’s discuss how to select the Timecode settings and what each does.

Note: The Timecode is not displayed on the video itself; it is recorded as part of the video’s metadata for synchronizing purposes.

Recording Timecodes

Recording timecodes has three settings. Let’s examine each one:

• On: Timecodes will appear on the camera’s display screens using the previously discussed format. The camera will output a running Timecode along with the video stream as it records the video to the memory card or external recorder.
• On (with HDMI output): You will need to use one of the following Atomos external video recorder series types: Shogun, Ninja, or Sumo. When you connect an external Atomos video recorder to your camera, the camera will output a running Timecode value that will be included with the video stream and recorded by the external recorder. Go to www.Atomos.com to examine the previously mentioned recorders. I currently use an Atomos Ninja V.
• Off: No Timecode will be output with the video stream from the camera.

Figure 8.28A: Recording timecodes

Use the following steps to enable the Timecode system on your camera:

1. 1.Follow the screen flow shown in figure 8.28A, images 1 and 2 (Timecode > Record time-codes) until you arrive at the third screen in the series.
2. 2.Refer to the previous list and highlight one of the three settings. Press OK or touch your choice to lock in the value (figure 8.28A, image 3).

Count-Up Method

The Count-up method lets you choose how you want the Timecode output to run. Here are explanations of the two types:

1. 1.Record run (REC): Timecodes are incremented while the video is being recorded only.
2. 2.Free run (FREE): Timecodes are incremented continuously, even when the camera is turned off.

Figure 8.28B: Count-up method

Use the following steps to set a Count-up method:

1. 1.Choose Count-up method (figure 8.28B, image 1).
2. 2.Refer to the previous list and highlight one of the two settings. Press OK or touch your choice to lock in the value (figure 8.28B, image 2).

Timecode Origin

The Timecode origin setting allows you to control how the Timecode receives its initial values in the 00:00:00.00 (HH:MM:SS.FF) positions. There are three methods available to input these values:

• Reset: The camera automatically resets the Timecode to 00:00:00.00.
• Enter manually: You will need to enter the HH:MM:SS.FF values manually.
• Current time: The camera gets the initial values directly from its internal clock.

Figure 8.28C: Timecode origin

Use the following steps to set a Timecode origin:

1. 1.Choose Timecode origin (figure 8.28C, image 1).
2. 2.Refer to the previous list and highlight one of the three settings. Press OK or touch your choice to lock in the value (figure 8.28C, image 2).

Drop Frame

The Drop frame method allows you to compensate for discrepancies between the frame count and the actual recording time when using frame rates of 30 and 60 fps. What does that mean?

Even though the camera lists the frame rates as 30 fps and 60 fps, the actual rate for 30 fps is 29.97 fps, and for 60 fps it’s 59.94 fps. Since the camera can count video frames only in whole numbers, there ends up being a discrepancy between the frame count in the Timecode and the actual frame count recorded.

Using 30 fps as our example, the difference between the frames actually recorded and the count of those frames is 0.03 second per frame (30 – 29.97 = 0.03). In other words, for every second of recording time, 0.03 frames are unaccounted for—that’s about 1.8 frames per minute.

The Drop frame method causes the camera to drop a whole frame count number when those 0.03-second discrepancies add up to a whole frame. The camera does not actually drop or remove a recorded video frame; it just drops a single frame count number to bring the counting sequence back to actual frames recorded. Here is a list of what each setting does:

• On: Uses the Drop frame method to compensate for the unaccounted frames, keeping the Timecode frame count accurate.
• Off: The Drop frame method is not used and the Timecode gradually becomes inaccurate compared to actual frames recorded.

Figure 8.28D: Drop frame

Use the following steps to set a Timecode origin:

1. 1.Choose Drop frame (figure 8.28D, image 1).
2. 2.Refer to the previous list and highlight one of the two settings. Press OK or touch your choice to lock in the value (figure 8.28D, image 2).

Settings Recommendation: If you are using your camera to record family videos for fun, you can safely ignore Timecode usage. Timecode is for advanced videographers who are capturing video using multiple devices, such as external sound recorders. I suggest doing a little internet research if you think you might use this type of functionality. Search for “video timecode” and you will find many sources to help you.

Author’s Conclusion

The Nikon Z6 II and Z7 II Movie Shooting Menu brings virtually all the video functions together into one convenient menu system. This means no more searching among the other menus for video functions.

This shows how much progress the video subsystems have made in the last few years for our Nikon cameras. They are fully endowed with both video and still image capability. With so many video functions all together in one menu, it is even easier than ever before to create excellent videos with your camera.

The next chapter begins a discussion of the very large Custom Setting Menu, which is the core of the camera’s configuration for various shooting styles. Be sure to have your camera in hand as we proceed through the deepest, most technical parts of camera customization, the Custom Setting Menu.