I'm starting to think Nikon loves video simply because it gives the engineers something to increment. Every Nikon DSLR since the D90 has had a "bit more video." The D5100 finally hit a complete basic set of HD support: 1080P/24/25/30 and 720P/24/25/30. As a reminder, the D90 started the whole DSLR-video thing with 720P/24 support only. So in three or so years we went from "whoopee I can do something that's a lot like a video camera" to the basics you'd expect from a consumer video camera.
I sincerely doubt Nikon is done incrementing video. I didn't catch any details, but someone said to me in passing to expect some frame rate other than 24/25/30. I wouldn't be surprised to see a D4 with some ability to overcrank and undercrank (that's videospeak for slow motion and speeded up motion). After all, 8 fps in stills is really a movie business undercrank of 3x. But the more obvious thing is 1080P/60. Basically gives you a 2.5 overcrank (slow motion) for all those motion picture junkies out there filming at 24 fps. Note that most recent Sony cameras, even compacts, have started sporting 1080P/60, so it's something that the Sony sensors must be supporting.
If Nikon's really thinking ahead (and has engineered enough internal bandwidth in the new model), we have larger-than-HD formats, a no line skipping crop (ala Panasonic's GH2), plus raw video to consider, too.
NHK (Japan's public broadcaster, which has been instrumental in many of the video standards creation and testing in Japan) has defined two formats larger than 1080P, and we have RED and others now providing some variant of what is called 4k raw video. (Aside: if you ever want to get confused, just look at video formats. 1920x1080 = 2mp but 2k = 2048x1080 while 4k = one of four different formats depending upon the aspect ratio, but is essentially 12mp at 3:2!)
I think a more likely addition for Nikon is simultaneous video/stills, though. Simple description: start the camera recording video, as usual, which provides a 1080P stream to the second EXPEED chip (did I forget to tell you that the D4 will have two EXPEED chips? ;~) at the normal 1/50 or 1/60 shutter speed. But if you press the shutter release while that stream is flowing, the sensor "grabs" a full frame still in between the video frames and sends that to the first EXPEED for processing. This presents both an engineering problem (which Nikon loves), and a user interface problem (which Nikon doesn't do so well on for new things). The engineering problem is a tough one, but I think solvable. The UI problem is even more difficult. We don't necessarily want (and we can't always grab) a 1/60 second still. There's going to be a low-end barrier to shutter speeds for stills captured this way, but what's the high end? Do you use Auto ISO techniques to drive a faster shutter speed for the still, do you let the user set the shutter speed, or what? I can just see the extra sub-menu in the Auto ISO sub-menu and my multi-page explanation of what's really happening already.
Dare I mention a Nikon proprietary video format? NVF (video raw) is absolutely going to rear its head at some point, with Capture NX3 being the only thing that comes close to understanding it when it's finally launched. That doesn't sound like something Nikon would do, is it? ;~) Oh right, yes, it does sound like something Nikon would do. Too bad they won't provide a Premiere or Final Cut Pro codec at the same time, though. Let's see, the D2x introduction would tell us NVFs will be encrypted in some way, too, right? (Yes, this paragraph is mostly tongue-in-cheek. But it hits awful close to home, doesn't it?) Nikon raw video probably won't show up in the D4. It all depends upon what Nikon thinks Canon will have in the 1DsIV and 5DIII.
Audio is part of video, and I'm pretty sure we'll see changes there. Prepare for mini-XLR. XLR is too big a connector for even the pro DSLR bodies, I think. But two mini-XLR connections will fit under the current connection doors and solve the problem. That's what it's going to take to be "pro" in the video realm moving forward (let's hope Nikon didn't miss that memo). Plus a headphone out jack is a given. These changes would also imply manual audio controls, which could mean more external controls are needed. I personally expect the ISO and WB buttons to move to the top deck (replacing the flash and Lock buttons) and audio control buttons to take their place on the camera back. Oh my. Bonus feature: the D4 then also becomes a digital audio recorder. We already have Voice Annotation on the D3 series, so it's easy enough to see that feature blossom into something even more useful. The modern pro photojournalism DSLR: jack of all trades. It captures stills, it takes video, it records audio, it queues up for you at Apple Stores for the next iProduct... (well, maybe not that last one ;~).
Whatever the actual changes in video abilities, I think it almost certain that a D4 will have video features that go beyond what the D5100 gave us. If not, then Nikon has completely lost the thread. (That would be the Canon and Camera Industry thread, not necessarily the "right" thread.) Minimum I expect in video changes:
- 1080P/24/25/30/50/60 support.
- Stills while recording video.
- Dual audio input, possibly some form of XLR.
- Headphone monitoring.
"But wait a minute," you're saying, "where are the photography features?" More soon.