Today I received the following email (screenshot below) from Nikon Customer Support regarding the issue with the black frame around the image when capturing video on an external recording device (such as the Atomos Ninja or Blackmagic Hyperdeck Shuttle) via the HDMI port of the D600. It looks like they’re escalating this to the engineers (I assume) in Japan. (see the previous post covering the D600 HDMI bug here)
Quick iPhone pic of D600 + Ninja (left) and D800 + Ninja (right) showing the difference in HDMI output frame size — see the second shot below for a closeup:
I’ll update with a new post once I hear back from Nikon.
In the meantime, if you are using the D600 with an HDMI recorder, note that you can size out the black frame completely by scaling your clips up to 105.5% (or larger) in your post-production apps (e.g. Final Cut Pro), or via a transcoding tool such as MPEG Streamclip (under the Zoom option). 105.5% is the minimum scale amount I’ve found to work, as 105% scaling as others have suggested still leaves a slight black edge for me. Hope that helps!
[…] UPDATE 4: Nikon has finally sent me a brief, albeit non-conclusive, response via email. See the post here: https://blog.iamron.com/photography/d600-update/ […]
Dear RON ,
I recently (a week ago) recieved a brand new D600 NIKON .
I send an e-mail to NIKON asking explanation over the “crippled HDMI out” issue ….
I provide you with their official response !
I have not tried what they are proposing , yet …. Nevertheless , i thought you should know !
————————————————————————————
Dear Evangelos,
Thank you for contacting Nikon. I apologize for the inconvenience. May I ask what kind of lens you are using while shooting footage? Are you using a DX lens or a FX lens? The D600 image sensor only supports any FX lens, you can put a DX lens on the camera with no problem but since the sensor support FX you’re going to get a black box around any photo or video footage.
Hope this information was helpful.
If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Thanks,
Natalie
Nikon Customer Support
—————————————————————————————–
Thanks for adding your input from Nikon, Evangelos. It’s good to see other people are reaching out to Nikon as well — with enough noise, Nikon is more likely to listen and respond.
In this case, I believe they (Nikon CS) are confusing the DX lens in FX mode “black area” issue (or the phenomenon of a smaller image circle from DX lenses) with this separate HDMI output issue. I suggest you respond to Natalie indicating that these are two different issues, and let them know that their information does not resolve your original question.
I have tested the HDMI output in all modes, resolutions, and frame rates, and none of these tweaks affects the output size of the HDMI stream. Hope that helps!
Dear Ron ,
I did as you advised ….
Here is the new response fron Nikon Support Team !
NATALIE TALKING =
” … I apologize for the misunderstanding. After doing some research on your issue, I have figured that the issue may be with the third party software that you are using. I am not trained to advise you on any third party software. 1920×1080 resolution is full HD. Attached are links that contains the technical specifications and the product manual for your D600.
Product Manual, D600:
http://www.nikonusa.com/pdf/manuals/dslr/D600_EN.pdf
Technical Specifications:
http://www.nikonusa.com/en/Nikon-Products/Product/Digital-SLR-Cameras/25488/D600.html#tab-ProductDetail-ProductTabs-TechSpecs ……”
ME =
From all the above i conclude that either they do not have a single idea of what is the real PROBLEM with the D600 HDMI out or the SUPPORT TEAM has been told to stall on this particular matter so they (NIKON) can gain some days or weeks , and figure out what is wrong , but it is so frustrating that they do not admit it and trying to complicate things ….
I too have experienced the same cropping with my D600.
I have been in touch with Nikon support here in the UK. After supplying them with a video example this we their reply:
“Thank you very much for providing me with a sample video. I have reported this issue to our manufacturing and design department in Japan. They are planning on addressing the issue shortly but I do not have a guaranteed time frame to offer you at the moment.
I would suspect that this will most likely be through a firmware update. As you have your D600 registered to your account you will be notified of future updates for this camera.
Once again I would like to thank you for brining this to our attention. Your feedback is greatly appreciated.”
So it sounds like they plan on fixing it, which is great to hear. It just can’t happen soon enough for me.
Thanks for sharing your findings with us, Stuart. I’m glad they have acknowledged this issue clearly to someone, and I too hope they expedite the fix. I’ll keep my fingers crossed.
From what I can tell, different Nikon outlets seem to have different information. Nikon Asia seems to have no idea.
This was my response from them:
___________________________________________
Dear customer,
After we have checked, we would like to share with you that D600 is capable of outputting uncompressed footages to external recording devices. However, the external recording device would also be required to be able to receive such signals from the camera, in order for this setup to be flawlessly working.
Thus, we would suggest you to contact to Atomos pertaining to the best suitable setup.
We have checked on Atomos website and found some recommended settings from them for Nikon cameras. You may enquire from them about D600.
Example link: http://atomos.activehosted.com/kb/article/ninja/h4-seeting-up-an-nikon-d800-to-work-with-the-ninja-1-and-ninja-2.
Thank you once again for your support on Nikon Products. We hope that we have addressed your concerns.
Please feel free to contact us for more information.
With Regards,
Nikon Asia Technical Support
___________________________________________
Interesting that they send a page about the D800, which contains instructions to change settings that don’t exist on the D600. It almost seems like Nikon Asia doesn’t know the difference between the D800 and D600.
Regardless, I replied back explaining it’s not my setup and I’m awaiting another response. I’m glad that at least some parts of Nikon seem to be acknowledging the issue.
Hello!
Did you get any update? It would be very strange if there is no workout from Nikon yet.
Dear Ron,
Thanks for fighting for the D600! I’m impressed and what do u think we gather the signature via internet and to send to Nikon for more aggressive change on the coming firmware?
Gary
Hi Ron,
Any new updates in relation to the crippled HDMI output? I’ve been actively following your blog entry posts & checking for updates on a weekly basis. Greetings from England.
Dave
Hi Ron,
I also contacted Nikon to find out if there would be any firmware update, because I “was” interested in purchasing a Nikon D600.
My questions were targeted at the Aperture (unable to change while filming) and the HDMI borders problem.
They took 5 days to respond to my email enquiry!
Their response was:
“Pertaining to the firmware update, please be informed that there is currently no information on firmware updates for the D600” followed by “We hope that we have addressed your concerns”.
It seems that there is no hope for D600 firmware update. For FullHD HDMI output I should by D800. It makes me angry, they do not say “guys, this camera will never have FullHD output”, but give some useless replies.
Thanks Vlado and Alex. I am dubious of any updates from Nikon as well, as the promises have seemingly been long abandoned.
I’ll ping them again and see if they provide any more clarity.
Thanks for the info Ron. I submitted my concerns to Nikon USA and await a reply. USA tech support, genuinely seemed unaware of the problem. Nikon should fix this OR provide a refund to anyone who has voiced dissastisfaction.
The bottom line is the issue of truth in advertising. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) oversees and regulates advertising and marketing law in the United States and abroad. I am preparing a letter addressing the Nikon D600 issues to the FTC and researching the Uniform Commercial Codes (UCC’s) that govern onterstate commerce in the United States and abroad.
If you have any additional information that would be helpful to include, please share it.
Thanks for all the info on your blog.
Regards,
Dale Dimmick
703-655-2606 (USA)
Thanks for these posts Ron and all you contributors. I am SO disapointed in Nikon for not addressing the HDMI and exposure in live view issues. I have read everything I can find about this. Judging from Nikon’s lack of response and concern have decided to procede with Nikon as follows, but I need help from many D600 owners, regardless of whether the HDMI Out & exposure in live view issue is affecting them in their workflow. So, here I go.
I am not an attorney but have consulted with one who believes D600 owners have legal standing in this situation. Legal standing is the first step in reviewing an infraction of law and proceeding to any legal action.
A variety of laws at both the federal and state levels regulate consumer affairs. Among them are the Federal Consumer Protection Act, a series of laws enforced by the Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice.
Nikon is in violation of several of the laws regarding misrepresenation of the D600. Misrepresenting their product through published an /or actual performance is a direct violation of Federal Trade Commission law. I will provide this information in my correspondance to Nikon making Nikon aware of the legal consequences pertaining to their misrepresentation of the D600 specifications and delays in resolving the problem.
According to Nikon USA, thousands of cameras have been shipped and it appears they all have the same issues. Nikon is dragging it’s feet to provide a solution, meanwhile many have invested in a D600 and peripherals for digital video production. Yes, we can work “around” with SD cards, but that’s not the point. Nikon has mis represented the technical capability of the camera, is not responding to our requests to remedy, and that is our justification for the lawsuit.
As soon as I receive the first responese to this email from D600 owners, I will contact Nikon legal department seeking a binding commitment and date of completion from Nikon to provide a viable solution to the D600 problem. If Nikon ignores the request, I will proceed by filing a class action suit against Nikon, seeking damages for those of us who have purchased a D600.
To be included in the action, please respond with your basic contact information to my email below. This information will remain private and shared only with Nikon IF it becomes necessary to file the class action. Please forward this email to the appropriate D600 forums and user groups.
I encourage you to contact me at dale@theportraitartists.com so that I might include your information as a “wronged” consumer. I will follow up as this action escalates. I hope for the simple solution, to force Nikon to provide an immediate firmware update for the D600. Sincerely, Dale Dimmick. tel. (360) 636-7743.
no new news from Nikon and Atomos, see my email correspondence:
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361316/atomos%20d600.png
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/2361316/nikon%20d600.png (dutch)
very frustrating
It’s sad to say that HDMI crop is not a bug, but a feature. It is a feature to prevent D600 cannibalize D800 sales. It will be very difficult to sue Nikon because in detailed specifications they note that this camera does not have FullHD output through HDMI. The best thing that you can do is to move to some other brand. I am waiting for some mystified Nikon announcement this week. If there will be no good news I’ll move to Panasonic GH3. This camera is better than any Nikons and Canons in video compression and its footage is stunning:
I ended up buying the Canon 5D Mark III, and I’m soooo glad I did.
The camera is absolutely amazing.
And they are “really” actually coming out with a HDMI update in April, as stated on their website.
Yes, Canon gives you firmware updates!
I am loving this camera!
v.
Well an update…. I’ve just received a call out of the blue from Nikon.
They just had a quick chat with me to say that they are well aware of the cropped output issue and they are working on it as we speak. The guy on the phone went on to say that Nikon were not just going to leave this problem in place and they WILL rectify it. No time frames were mentioned but it did sound like it is being worked on with some urgency.
Very interesting that they called me out of the blue…. good to be kept updated. Fingers crossed a firmware update appears soon.
Nice customer service touch I thought.
I was working as the head of engineering department and I know that such issues are fixed within 1-2 months. I have read that Nikon has VERY bad results at 4 quarter and it seems that they are trying to fix the holes in the sinking ship. We voted with our money and they understood that it is a bad idea to make idiots out of their customers.
It’s not as simple as taking out the memory card, by any chance ?
That’s mentioned for the D800, but I haven’t seen anyone mention it for the D600.
I guess Nikon engineers would have tried, even if we haven’t …
[…] Update: Nikon is also working on a fix for the D600 cropped HDMI output issue. […]
A quick bit of good news:
http://nikonrumors.com/2013/04/02/nikon-releases-new-firmware-upgrades-for-the-d600-and-d800-cameras.aspx/
Now that this issue has been solved, What menu settings should I use in my nikon D600 in order to record clean with an external recorder like hyperdeck? Thank you. (They are both my first recorder and camera with clean hdmi out.)
For anyone not up to date on this, the cropped HDMI issue is fixed in the latest D600 firmware. NOTE: You MUST hit the “info” button to go “full” on the HDMI output. I have great results with my Hyperdeck Shuttle recording clean 1080 output.