The Nikon D5100 is pretty impressive. I have a lot of nightclub dinner theater work and i'm trying to find a camera that is great in low light. Do you think the D5100 would be a good candidate?

The most controversial aspect of the Nikon D5100's video capabilities is its lack of manual exposure settings. Although videos can be recorded in Manual exposure mode, the camera will silently override the manual shutter speed and ISO settings with its own auto-exposure settings. When shooting video, the D5100 operates very much like the GF1 did before Vitaliy hacked that camera to enable its Manual controls. This has led YouTube pundits to proclaim the D5100 useless for serious video work.

After investigating this matter, I concluded that even if manual settings were available, the D5100's Manual exposure mode still wouldn't be useful for shooting video. Here's why:

* The D5100 doesn't show an exposure histogram in Live View video modes.
* Manual mode doesn't display Live View images at actual exposure levels on the LCD.

Without a histogram or WYSIWYG display, there is no reliable way to determine correct manual exposure. The bottom line is that you must rely on the camera's light meter to set correct video exposure for you. As a result, it's best to shoot in Aperture Priority mode, where you can visually confirm exposure levels on the LCD, and use auto-ISO to set exposure. Once you understand how Nikon cameras work in auto-ISO mode, their semi-manual approach to setting exposure makes sense, and is actually very convenient. After shooting several hours of footage, I've come to prefer it to conventional manual controls. Here's how to set up the D5100 for video shooting:

In the ISO Sensitivity Settings sub-menu:

Auto ISO Sensitivity Control: ON
ISO Sensitivity: 100 (set to lowest ISO you want the camera to use)
Maximum Sensitivity: 3200 (set to max ISO you want the camera to use)
Minimum Shutter Speed: 1/60 (preset to your desired shutter speed)

The twist here is that you use Minimum Shutter Speed to manually preset the video shutter speed you want the camera to use. Since I always shoot at 1/60, I've only needed to set this once. The camera then uses its light meter to automatically set exposure with an ISO between the (minimum) ISO Sensitivity and Maximum Sensitivity presets. However, if the required ISO for a scene lies outside your preset ISO range, the camera will override your Minimum Shutter Speed preset. If shutter speed is too slow, I use the Exposure Compensation button to lower exposure until the shutter speed is boosted back up to my preset speed. Once all settings look good, I use the Exposure Lock button to keep the exposure fixed during your shot.

While this may sound convoluted, it gives you just as much control over exposure as Manual mode would. Here's how you use it in practice:

1. Set your desired aperture.
2. If you prefer, adjust focus in viewfinder.
3. Enter Live View mode and confirm focus.
4. If needed, use Exposure Compensation to set desired shutter speed.
5. Press Exposure Lock button.
6. Press Video Record button to start filming.