ISO 102,400…that’s the first thing that jumps out at you from the new specs for the Nikon D3s. Add to that a standard rating of ISO 200 to 12,800 and if nothing else the king of the high ISOs seems to have had his stay renewed! But is that enough? Check out the first videos to see if you think 720p motion jpeg was a wise move, see what else is new and if it’s worth upgrading. The spec sheet is even more impressive than the original D3, that much is clear. What we now have is a ‘spruced up’ D3 to get some newer technology in to it, making it a bit more current whilst we wait for the inevitable D4 that will appear maybe 12-18 months from now?
Nikon D3s
The specs…
# New 12.1 megapixel Full-Frame (36 x 24 mm) sensor
# ISO 200 – 12800 (ISO 100 – 102,400 in Boost mode)
# 720p / 24 fps HD movie mode
# Eleven frames per second in continuous and DX mode
# Larger buffer for 48 RAW frames in one burst (18 on the D3)
# Multi-CAM3500FX Auto Focus sensor (51-point, 15 cross-type, more vertical coverage), fine-tuned for improved acquisition and tracking
# In-camera RAW processing
# Also supports DX lenses, viewfinder automatically masks (5.1 megapixels with DX lens)
# 14-bit A/D conversion, 12 channel readout
# Nikon EXPEED image processor
# Super fast operation (power-up 12 ms, shutter lag 41 ms, black-out 74 ms)
# Kevlar / carbon fibre composite shutter with 300,000 exposure durability
# Auto-focus tracking by color (using information from 1005-pixel AE sensor)
# Auto-focus calibration (fine-tuning) available (fixed body or up to 20 separate lens settings)
# Scene Recognition System (uses AE sensor, AF sensor)
# Dual Compact Flash card slots (overflow, back-up, RAW on 1 / JPEG on 2, Stills on 1 / Movies on 2, copy)
# Compact Flash UDMA support
# 3.0″ 922,000 pixel LCD monitor
# Live View with either phase detect (mirror up/down) or improved (30% faster) contrast detect Auto Focus
# Virtual horizon indicates if camera is level, available on the LCD during video capture
# HDMI HD video output
# ‘Active D-Lighting’ ‘Extra High’ setting (adjusts metering as well as applying D-Lighting curve)
# Detailed ‘Control Panel’ type display on LCD monitor, changes color in darkness
# Buttons sealed against moisture
Want to pre-order?
Head over to B&H Photo in the US and Grays of Westminster and Amazon
Highlights
After looking through the specs these are some of the things that stand out for me personally…
ISO levels
The ISO is clearly the thing that makes you go WOW here. The old D3 was always impressive in that respect and now here we are with seemingly more impressive results that before. It’s good to see Nikon are starting to spend time improving the key features of camera’s rather than just dumping more pixels in to them. A standard range of ISO 200 to 12,800 would leave us to believe the sensitivity has increased by a stop, although with this being a new sensor I’d like to see some side by side comparisons to know if there is even more of a gain than that. And giving us a new HI3 mode of 102,400 is just insane. Of course this mode will in all likely be an absolute last resort and just allow us to get a record shot where usually we couldn’t…but you have to see this as more than just marketing, you have to see it as an indication that technology is improving and that someday further down the line these crazy high numbers will actually be usable! I mean, just looking back to my D2x days which only went up to an awful looking ISO 800 makes me appreciate how far we’ve come. ISO one hundred and two thousand!!! Check out some sample shots and tell me you are not amazed by the ISO 6400 and 12,800 images…incredible detail I think you’ll agree.
720p video using motion jpeg
I’m undecided about this one! Using motion jpeg on one of your flagship camera’s when Canon have far superior video technology on much cheaper bodies, feels like a wrong move. And now with the Canon 1DmkIV supposedly being announced soon I can’t help but wonder if Nikon are going to have shot themselves in the foot if that turns out to have even better video than the 5DmkII and the 7D – and let’s face it, it’s bound to…and no doubt have ISO levels to come close to the D3s. I’m looking forward to seeing lots of sample video to hopefully be proved wrong on this (and just praying we don’t have that rolling shutter wobble effect or whatever it’s called, that the D300s suffers from when panning. That would be a disaster on a high end camera!!)
Of course it’s not ALL about the video, and many out there will not want or use it…but times are changing and the demand for is amongst pro’s is getting bigger by the day, so it’s now become a feature that should not be overlooked.
Here are a couple of the first video samples…shame they are not actually in HD but nice to see.
Bigger buffer
One thing I have noticed is the buffer size, now holding 48 RAW files. That is quite impressive as the buffer upgrade for the old D3 only doubled the capacity from 18 to 36. So it seems the D3s has been given a boost over that too.
So how much is it?
RRP is going to be around $5,199 which at the current exchange rate is just over £3,200. However, here in the UK the retail price at release is £4,199!
Worth upgrading?
I’ve got to be honest, the thing that had me waiting with bated breath was the thought that the speed may have been increased to an incredible 14fps. But now that the specs are here and the speed is the same, I’m feeling slightly underwhelmed personally. Yep, the higher ISO looks impressive (just look at these to get an idea of where we are over the standard D3’s abilities) but I’m not sure if that and 720 video, using motion jpeg, is enough of a boost to make D3 owners everywhere head for eBay. Had the rumoured 14fps and 1080p video been true it would have made this camera a much more viable upgrade option in my opinion…
That said, once some proper reviews come out and we see more and more sample images and video maybe my thoughts could change but that eye watering £4,199 is a hard pill to swollow for anyone who wants to upgrade! One things for sure, anyone that was looking in to getting a D3 as an upgrade from a D300s or a D700 is now getting an even more incredible camera than they were before with the new D3s. The best just got (a bit) better!!
What do you think?
I’d love to know your thoughts on this one, is 720p motion jpeg a good move? Are there enough tweaks in this refresh? is there something missing that they should have added? Are you thinking of upgrading from the current D3? Or is this the push you needed to get one after coming from the D300s or similar?
Links
Official D3s micro site
Sample shots from Nikon.com
Sample images AND video from Studio Impressions blog
Hands on preview from Lets Go Digital
Some of the latest real world samples to arrive on the net can be found here. Very impressive!
