Why is Nikon video poorer in quality than Canon? - 1

I was recently helping a guy get some better camera angles at a live performance in a record store, and I have a Nikon d5100 and he has a Canon crop-sensor camera, but I can't remember what it was called. There was not a lot of light available. He had an 85mm 2.0 and I had a 35mm 1, 8. We both shot at 30fps 1080p and similar exposure.

But his video looked almost perfectly clean while mine had noticeable noise. I don't know if he's going to be able to use it. Why is this the case for video? According to DXOmark, the Nikon d5100 has the best low light ISO capability of any APS-C camera except 1 Pentax one and most of the Canon ones are much less capable, so it must be exclusively a video thing.

Added (1). My lens was not stopped down or anything, it was at 1.8. Also, when I said 30fps, what I meant to say was shutter speed of 30, 25fps.

I'm looking back over the video comparisons and it's not actually as different as I remember, but it is still there.

As for what my ISO was set to, I can't say because on the d5100, the ISO setting doesn't affect live view at all, which is always set to auto-ISO, but I had my exposure set to -0.3 to give the right lowish lighting look and all my settings locked in manual.

Added (2). I know about the aperture bug in live view. I changed it before I changed to live view.

All cameras are different and some sensors are better in low light than others. Nikon has better low light sensors in general. The Nikon cameras put out a file that needs color grading. It tends to be flat which is a great thing in post. Canon puts out a file that has more punch but a Nikon file that is processed properly will look fantastic.

Your Question might be hard to answer with specifics, since we don't know what Canon model you are comparing to, but one thing I'm aware of with your specific Nikon DSLR (the D5100) is that there's a slight exposure-setting "bug" that can have you shooting at an earlier f-stop setting than the one you changed to after entering Live View mode. (See the DP Review article that discusses this bug: http://www.dpreview.com/...ond5100/18 )

You might have thought your lens was wide-open at f1.8, but if you made that setting AFTER entering Live Mode, it did not actually change until you exited Live Mode or shot a still photo. This would account for added noise if the camera's circuits tried to compensate for a smaller actual aperture.

And you didn't say whether you had chosen the 1920x1080@xx High Quality or the 1920x1080@xx Normal settings in the Nikon "Movie Quality" menu. This choice would also impact the final "grain" or "detail noise" of the played back video images.

hope this helps,
--Dennis C.

The video files (720p) I have created useing my Canon SX-150is seem over exposed.
While my Canon Vixia HF R200--is a better prospect for capture.
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What your describing is movie making indoors without lighting.
That's risky however you cut the cake.
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For my camcorder capture--I have stopped useing filters/
I'm getting much better quality. I use highest quality settings for the Canon Vixia HF R200 (MXP)