Nikon may not have Vitally or Magic Lantern behind them but they do have support from some diligent hackers. Today these brave souls have unlocked the first door to Nikons encrypted guts. Inside was the ability to record video without a limit of the usual 29 minutes. This patch is available for the D3100, D5100 and the D7000. Depending on the quality that you choose you are still limited to the archaic limitations of FAT32 of a 4GB maximum file size. A beta tester released these times on the dedicated forum page for the patch:
1080p 30 frame high quality – ~24 minutes
1080p 30 frame normal quality – ~42 minutes
1080p 24 frame high quality – ~24 minutes
1080p 24 frame normal quality – ~42 minutes
720p 30 frame high quality – ~42 minutes
720p 30 frame normal quality – ~59 minutes
720p 24 frame high quality – ~49 minutes
720p 24 frame normal quality – ~59 minutes
640p 30 frame high quality – ~59 minutes
640p 30 frame normal quality – ~59 minutes
Of course we at The Phoblographer can’t be responsible for whatever you decide to do with your personal time. If you would like to jump head first into the hack head over to the announcement page. Thanks to DIY Photography for the heads up.