THE NEW NIKON D3s: VIDEO DISAPPOINTMENT

“Nikon today announces the introduction of the D3S, the camera that enables professionals to take control of the unpredictable and extends the possibilities for action photographers everywhere. Built upon the widely acclaimed Nikon D3, the D3S advances low light photography to another level and sets in motion new creative options for multi-media movie shooting.” -DP Review

Nikon is marketing this camera as the “ultimate camera for news, sports and wildlife.” An interesting marketing ploy… And to be perfectly honest, it probably is the ultimate for that industry. As a still camera, the D3s is top notch and a hell of a choice for any photographer. But what about video?

The rumors for the longest time were this camera would be the first from Nikon to offer 1080p video at 24fps. That got me excited, because Nikon makes amazing lenses and I could only imagine how great the video would be. But alas, Nikon didn’t deliever… This camera, like all the ones before it, shoots only in 720p at 24fps. Don’t get me wrong, that is still nice HD, but it’s not full HD.  But you don’t get manual controls or manual focus. The camera is completely auto in movie mode. And for the price range, ( a whopping $5100!!) you might as well go with the Canon counterpart that does shoot in 1080p at a fraction of the cost.

The real redeeming quality of this camera is the High-Sensitivity ISO set at an unmatched 102400. Nikon says it is “low noise” but I can imagine those images would be a little rough. It does have a full frame sensor though, so it might end up working out.

Complete Specs:

-12.1MP CMOS FX sensor 36.0 x 23.9mm
-ISO from 100 to 12800 (High ISO at 102400)
-9fps continuous shooting
-Fast Shutter Speed at 1/8000 sec.
-2 CF card slots
-Movie Mode 1280×720/24fps MOTION JPEG format

THE RUMOR MILL: OCTOBER 20TH - CANON 1D MARK IV

IT’S COMING…

This time from a very reliable source!

It looks certain that Canon will introduce a new camera on Tuesday Oct. 20th. Most likely it will be the 1D Mk IV, with very high ISO. Probably as high as ISO 102,400. The camera will have an APS-H (1.3x Crop) sensor.

I have no information on resolution, fps or movie options yet.

My feelings are that Canon has responded to the Nikon D3s that is supposed to be released in the next week. The D3s will also have super high ISO at 102,400. But! The Nikon D3s will NOT have 1080p video! Only 720p. Looks like Nikon really isn’t trying to compete there.

Another smaller rumor is that Canon will announce a 1Ds Mark IV in the spring that will be a projected 32MP camera. Not only that, but these two cameras have been lined up to be the LAST of Canon’s 1D line. To me that means that things are only going to get better!

THE RUMOR MILL: NIKON D3s OUT IN OCTOBER

For those of you who were wondering when Nikon was planning to bounce back to all of the recent Canon buzz, here’s your answer!

The Nikon D3s

An update to the beloved Nik0n D3, this guy has some pretty sweet rumored specs and finally a jump into the Full HD world.

Most notably:

-12.1 MP FX sensor (at a 1.3x crop)
-14 fps in still mode (whoa!)
-1080p HD video at 24fps
-ISO 200 to 12800
-Brand New HI-3 ISO range at an expandable 102400 (WTF?!)

No real word yet on whether Nikon is gonna tackle the various frame rates that the Canon 7D is doing, but there is still time. Word on the street it will be announced October 15th.