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I am using Nikon D750 and I want to use it to record videos of planets/moon, so that I can later stack them into images. However, the camera wastes its potential by down-sampling the video recording to 1080p. So I wonder if there are (preferably affordable) ways that allow me to record video at 1:1 resolution or capture the zoomed live view signal.

HDMI recorder sounds like an option, though I lack experience in those and, as far as I can tell, a decent one is quite costly. ImagePlus seems like the answer, but a demo is available only via inquiry so I am not sure if it is what I need. Plus, I am certainly interest in knowing if there are cheaper, even free, options.

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    You might be better off using burst mode and taking stills, if your memory card is fast enough. Although you have fewer images they have more dynamic range (using raw) and less compression. The gains will be less if you're doing lucky imaging but on the other hand you're quite vulnerable to the video compression method then.
    – Chris H
    Apr 9, 2016 at 7:41
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    What do you mean by "full resolution"? Do you expect the camera to produce video with a resolution of 6016 x 4016 pixels?
    – null
    Apr 9, 2016 at 10:05
  • It's unclear from your question: are you trying to use frames of video to produce a single stacked image, or is your goal to get a video as a result?
    – scottbb ♦
    Apr 9, 2016 at 12:53
  • @ChrisH: Indeed the goal is to do lucky imaging. Can you elaborate on video compression method? I know D750 is using H.264/MPEG-4 compression but I don't know if it is set to be lossless.
    – Francis
    Apr 9, 2016 at 15:49
  • @null: The goal is to achieve resolution that's 1:1 to the sensor, not necessarily 6016x4016. I guess my purpose is better explained here.
    – Francis
    Apr 9, 2016 at 15:52

2 Answers 2

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  • D750 won't output video at higher resolution unless a hack or firmware update are released
  • D750 does most probably use line skipping and it seems that even Panasonic GH4 (or other camera with full sensor readout) may produce image with fewer noise (if D750 skips 3/4 or 2/3 of lines which is not improbable) even at the same F number and with bigger resolution. Sony A7S and A7S II use full readout too and are most potent for low light video recording at the moment (except some extremely pricey Canon 1080p video camera released few months ago), some specialised video cameras may be competitive too. Sony A7R II will probably output 4K video with best actual resolution because it reads whole sensor and downsamples the image
  • LiveView does not in any way mean that sensor is being read exhaustively, same line skipping is done in LiveView and is only disabled when image magnification is used in LiveView
  • HDMI recorder can be used to record unmodified output but won't give you better resolution
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  • Thanks for replying. Change equipment isn't a viable option for me since I do other general purpose photography too. And do you mean that zoomed live view read the sensor more exhaustively?
    – Francis
    Apr 9, 2016 at 15:56
  • @francis: yes, zoomed-in view will usually read all pixels which are visible on the screen. It is not helpful though because electronics cannot sustain same throughput for whole sensor and not just small crop.
    – Euri Pinhollow
    Apr 9, 2016 at 16:08
  • I think that's not an issue since the objects I am trying to capture usually only occupies fraction of the center area of the image (moon is another story though). Can HDMI recorders or software allow me to capture zoomed live view then?
    – Francis
    Apr 9, 2016 at 16:29
  • @francis: some cameras may indeed read cropped area with full readout (either from factory or with hacks (like Canon 50D)) but still it should be first set up in-camera and external tool cannot enable it itself. You may probably output camera screen over HDMI (zero clue here) but it will be post-processed by camera
    – Euri Pinhollow
    Apr 9, 2016 at 17:23
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Nikon D750 is a full censor DSLR camera ie 35mm. this 35mm censor is meant for vedio recording purpose. while going for video recording you can only reduce ur shutter speed upto 1/30 is will cause problems of under exposure. so the best way to do this is, please the continuous shooting mode in ur STILL OPTION & then stitch it to a vedio using ADOBE AFTER EFX. Thank you bye

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    Your answer isn't very helpful as the OP is asking to record video at full resolution. Moreover, 35mm DSLR sensor aren't meant for video recording...
    – Olivier
    Apr 9, 2016 at 15:00
  • D750 video resolution is a max of 1920x1080.
    – MikeW ♦
    Apr 9, 2016 at 22:55

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