Nikon introduces the D800 one exceptional piece of equipment for both photographers and videographers (available in late March, MSRP $3000.) It is evidence of Nikon continuing the campaign for further integrate video capabilities in their DSLRs. Specifics like full HD video resolution at 1080 and the ability to shoot in 30 and 24p as well as 720 at 60 and 30p combine with dedication to audio for solid video producing.

At the core of this 36MP monster is an FX-format CMOS sensor and a EXPEED 3 image processor. Then at the front of the D800 is your NIKKOR FX-lens with the option of zooming in with a DX-lens. Follow the image from the lens, to the 35mm image sensor and up to the viewfinder that has 100 percent frame coverage and you’ll be capturing images with 7360×4912 resolution.

With good audio, comes great video – a 20-step mic volume adjustment with a 30-step headphone adjustment for a dedicated headphone jack will help you monitor audio well.

When it comes to ISO range, the D800 is outstanding with 100-6400 expandable to 500-25,600 and all with low noise images. The EXPEED 3 image processor keeps color well, but having a white balance that recognizes artificial and natural light is even better.

The D800 allows for lots of manual control including live view aperture adjustment either on its 921,000-dot LCD or on an attached monitor. If you want this monitor to be streaming, the displays can be removed, but either way, the camera can provide an uncompressed HDMI output with 4:2:2. Sticking with the LCD is no problem either since it is 3.2-inches with auto brightness control and reinforced glass.

Recording on the D800 may be best with a direct capture device, but it will format video with the H.264/MPEG-4 AVC codec. Clips can be recorded up to 20 min. at the highest quality setting, but going from sleep to shoot takes .12 seconds. And the shutter can be set to activate audio recording. With a 51-point AF system, operators may get spoiled with such response time, because with any shoot you don’t want .12 seconds of prep time, but we know from experience that waiting on a camera is never fun.

Now for the matter of retrieving footage you’ve got options on the D800 to use USB 3.0, CF and SD cards. Start organizing early by recording stills to one card and video to another, and for the highest speed use UDMA-7 or SDXC/UHS-1 cards.

So for about $3,000 the D800 provides approximately 200,000 shutter cycles, all encased in a magnesium alloy that is dust, dirt and moisture resistant. If you are interested in even higher resolution stills you may forgo the low pass filter for $300 and wait another few weeks for the D800E (available mid April, MSRP $3,300.)

Two new mics from RØDE are welcome additions for anyone shooting video on DSLRs. The VideoMic and the VideoMic Pro are very similar, and either one sounds like it will be very capable of recording good audio. In fact many of the specs like frequency range 40Hz-20,000Hz, dynamic range 114dB (per IEC651) and signal to noise ratio, 74dB SPL are exactly the same. Both have features that allow it to be used in multiple situations, high pass filters for different audio environments and 3/8-inch thread for stand or boom mounting.

The biggest differences to notice are really between these and other mics, small and designed specifically for a standard cold shoe, these mics bring warranted quality in a very mobile super-cardioid mic. Other notable differences include weight, the VideoMic is a rugged 6.2 oz, but the Pro is half that coming in at 3 oz. Also on the note of dimensions, the VideoMic extends nearly four inches longer than the Pro’s 6-inch length.

A windscreen is included with the VideoMic to round out the simple differences, but either way, both make use of an integrated shock mount so as to reduce the amount of unwanted vibrations or handling noise that will be recorded. Really, the one aspect of these mics that seems like it wasn’t built for your video kit is the 9V battery requirement. The pro version boasts at least 70 hours of use. The other aspect of mics this size is the lack of XLR output, the only output is via 1/8-inch, but then you wanted to use this with your DSLR anyway right?

For video producers, a super cardioid is one of the most handy types of mic to have, and these two are exceptional options. Strongly considering picking one up for their versatility, portability and quality, and with a ten year warranty and reasonable cost, it is likely that the VideoMic, 249, or the VideoMic Pro, 329, will put your productions in motion.

How can you choose the best video format to make sure that people view and spread your work over the Internet? Find out with our new free guide, What’s the best video format for online distribution?

So you’ve just finished completing the world’s next blockbuster and you want to get your baby on the web fast. The most important preparation is choosing how to format it for the web. Our newest free report explains video formats for the beginning to intermediate user — what the different video formats are and which are the best video formats for web distribution.  You’ll learn the strengths and weaknesses of MOVs, AVIs, FLVs, WMVs, and MP4s, so you can make an informed choice when you decide how the online world will see your movie.

Whether it’s a question of finding the best compression for YouTube or choosing a format that allows your users to interact with the video, there is a video format out there for your exact purposes. Choosing the best video format for web distribution is absolutely vital for getting people to watch your videos on YouTube, Vimeo or other video sharing websites. We asked filmmaker/videographer Chelsey Grasso to decipher the mysteries of getting the best compression for YouTube and the web. Download this all new free report to have all the different video formats explained in plain English.  You’ll never have to worry about your format choices adversely affecting your finished productions again.

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Corel, a company that has a long history in the photo editing world, has released a new RAW photo editing application called AfterShot Pro for $99. The coolest part? The program will work on Linux, Mac, and Windows. Basically, no matter what operating system you’re using, Corel’s got you covered.

This new release is in direct competition with other RAW photo editing software such as Aperture and Lightroom and seems to be based in part off a previous Linux photo editing software named Bibble. The program is basically a complete RAW workflow, a fast and flexible photo management system, and an advanced non-destructive adjustment tool all in one.

Some features of the program include selective editing, where you can apply adjustments using unique Layers and Regions similar to the way that a mask would work in Photoshop, heal and clone tools for removing dust and blemishes, and something Corel calls Perfectly Clear which automatically adjusts lighting for ever pixel in the shot without clipping any information. The software will also be using Metadata to let you search for photos by camera settings, keywords, tags, and more in a similar fashion as Adobe Bridge and LightRoom. They’ve also included something called Noise Ninja that reduces noise while supposedly preserving detail in an image. Lastly, Corel also allows for batch outputs so that you can process images while getting other, more important work done.

Aftershot Pro will cost $99 and is already available on Corel’s site for a free trial download. With support for Linux, this program could very well be the most popular RAW processing tool on that platform and at a price of only $99, it has potential on Mac and Windows as well. Only time and some experience will tell!

If you happen to have a thousand dollars weighing you down and are in need of some of the best monitoring headphones on the market, Sennheiser has released the HD 700 and HD 25 that might just be for you. Believe it or not, the HD 700 cans are actually quite a bit less expensive than their HD 800 offering that Sennheiser revealed last year at $1,500 a pair. A fact that can only be comforting to someone who needs to justify why an entire grand has gone missing from their bank account. The headphones, as expected, have a great range of sound since they come with 40mm Duofol dynamic drivesrs and are capable of an incredible frequency response of 10 Hz to 42 kHz. For those who are real audiophiles, the HD 700 headphones are designed in such a way that the sound waves are directed to the ears at a slight angle which is supposed to result in a natural listening experience. In addition, the transducer is mounted in a high-precision gauze made of stainless steel which should get rid of any partial vibrations. Sennheiser also added a ventilated magnet system that gets rid of any unwanted wobble in the diaphragm of the unit. However, whether or not these features are worth $1,000 is entirely up to you.

Sennheiser also announced another inexpensive option for monitoring headphones with the HD 25.  Apparently, these headphones had been popular among DJ’s since they could cope with an extremely high sound pressure level. These headphones are expected to have a 16 Hz to 22,000 Hz range which ends up being almost half the range that the HD 700s can achieve (though to be honest most human ears can’t hear tones higher than 20,000 Hz). One of the more interesting part about these pair of cans is that they have a switchable cable that comes with a control for changing settings on an iPad or iPod along with being able to take phone calls with a built in mic. Though I can’t think of too many DJ’s that would be using this feature while rocking out beats, it’s a nice feature to have nonetheless. The headphones will cost $350.

Lastly, for those of you who don’t like cables, Sennheiser also revealed a new wireless headphone option at CES called the RS 220s. These headphones feature an uncompressed wireless audio transmission, digital and analog inputs, and include a charger that also serves as the audio transmitter as well. The headphones are supposed to work up to 300 feet away and have easy buttons for adjusting volume and input right on the headphones themselves.  These beauties will cost $599.95

SanDisk just announced two new products: a 128 GB SD card dubbed the “world’s fastest”, and a 64 GB iNAND Ultra flash drive using their 19nm process technology. Much like it’s rival, Lexar, which also announced a 128 GB SD card due later in the year, SamDisk is also trying to push out higher capacity and faster flash memory. To be honest, most camcorders don’t require speeds as high as SanDisk claims for their newest flash offering but it can help capture high definition footage more reliably at higher sustained speeds. Of course it’s biggest advantage is being able to offload footage from the cards to a computer or laptop in record time. In this regard, SanDisk actually claims that you can offload an hour-long HD video in 5 minutes using their card which can reach speeds of up to 45 megabytes per second.

Much like Lexar, SanDisk is also emphasizing it UHS-I rating for the card, or the Ultra High Speed architecture, which is certified to capture hours of top -quality video footage without any dropped frames. That might be great but the biggest question that remains is how many shooters will be wanting to buy a card that can store 10 hours of HD video at a time. That’s an awful lot of footage to go the way of the DoDo if something happens to the card between taking it out of your camcorder and putting it in a card reader. I suspect that for most shooters, 64 or even 32 GB will be all they’ll be willing to risk.

In addition, SanDisk also announced their move into the iNAND flash world with their 64 GB iNAND Ultra flash memory unit. These units are designed to be the main storage unit for mobile phones and tablets. At 64 GB, and a size of 11.5mmx13mm, they’ve given mobile phone manufacturers another way to offer more to their customers. The iNAND flash unit is rated for 20 megabyte per second write speeds and 80 megabyte per second read speeds. There’s no set price for either of these products yet.