Nikon D4 and 85mm 1.8 Announced

[Hamish Gill]

Nikon have today announced the latest incarnation of their flagship DSLR in the form of the Nikon D4!
Those who are aware of nikons range of high end cameras will know that there are currently available a D3s and D3x
The D3x has a higher resolution sensor of 24.5 mega pixels and was brought out to rival medium format cameras mainly for studio use and situations where lower light photography is not necessarily the goal.
The D3s has a 12mp sensor and is more of an all round body designed to be used in almost any situation with its high performance in low light with sensitivities extended up to 102,400.

The D4 would seem to be the more natural progression from the D3s.
It has a minor increase in pixel count of 16.2mp as well as having an extended high iso of 204,800. Sensitivity is also extended down to 50iso (the d3s goes down to 100).
It also appears to have an improved video performance perhaps in a bid to help it compete with canon in this area!
Another major improvement on paper is the 91k pixel metering system which replaces the 1005 pixel metering system used in the previous models. This is said to give the camera full time face recognition capabilities ... ...
Possibly more usefully it is also said to improve metering in a wider variety of situations!
As well as this there appears to be an improved carbon fibre shutter with a 400,000 actuation life ...
Other specs include an improved "expeed 3" processor, which ounds great on paper but is meaningless to me until I see any images.
Faster focusing using a "Advanced Multi-CAM 3500FX autofocus sensor module for faster, more accurate autofocusing that performs extremely well under dim lighting" ...
An XQD card slot along side a CF slot (instead of 2 CF slots
Compatibility with the new wt5 wireless transmitter

and ...

Extremely durable shutter that has passed testing for 400,000 cycles
Magnesium alloy adopted for the very strong, durably body that is very resistant to dust and water
Effective sealing using O rings and packing make the camera more resistant to dust and water
Silent shutter-release mode for live view photography that almost completely eliminates the sounds of the mirror and shutter operation
A time-lapse photography feature, with which the camera automatically takes photos at selected intervals to record a time-lapse movie, which can be played back at 24–36,000x normal playback speed
Operation optimized for both horizontal (landscape) and vertical (portrait) shooting
Button backlights (illuminators) for increased visibility when working in dimly lit or dark situations
High-performance viewfinder, utilizing a glass pentaprism, with a frame coverage of approximately 100% (FX format) and magnification of approximately 0.7x
Four image area options for still shooting—FX (36 x 24), 5:4 (30 x 24), 1.2x (30 x 20), DX (24 x 16)—with viewfinder indicator that identifies the current image area
A 3.2-inch, approximately 921k-dot LCD monitor with reinforced glass and wide viewing angle; integration of the glass and panel reduce internal reflections
A virtual horizon that shows the degree to which the camera is tilted sideways (roll), forward or backward (pitch) with display in the monitor and viewfinder
White balance that can be adjusted in units of 10 K; white balance can be specified separately for shooting (white balance applied to images) and monitor display with still-image shooting in live view mode

It does indeed look suitably awesome, and im sure it will be!!

TOKYO - Nikon Corporation is pleased to announce the release of the Nikon D4, a Nikon FX-format camera that serves as the new flagship model in Nikon's lineup of digital-SLR cameras. Nikon will be exhibiting the D4 at the 2012 International CES, to be held Tuesday, January 10 through Friday, January 13 in Las Vegas, Nevada. This electronics exhibition is open to the public.


The D4 is equipped with a new Nikon FX-format CMOS image sensor (imaging size of 36.0 x 23.9 mm) and EXPEED 3, the latest image-processing engine specifically optimized for digital-SLR cameras, making it the next-generation flagship Nikon digital-SLR camera with the ultimate in versatility and functionality that offers superior image quality rich in detail along with excellent high-speed performance. It has an effective pixel count of 16.2-million pixels, and offers superior image quality under a broad range of lighting conditions with its image sensor supporting an incredible range of sensitivities from ISO 50 to ISO 204800.

The new 91K-pixel (approximately 91,000 pixels) RGB sensor supports the Advanced Scene Recognition System, which is able to recognize human faces even when images are framed using the optical viewfinder. In addition, the Advanced Scene Recognition System offers significant improvements in AF, AE, i-TTL flash control, and auto white balance (AWB) control accuracy. The 51 focus point AF system has been improved with faster initiation of autofocusing and the ability to detect and focus on subjects with less lighting. In addition, 11 focus points are fully functional when lenses with a maximum aperture of f/8 are used. All of this means more precise autofocusing when super-telephoto NIKKOR lenses are used with teleconverters (2.0x). The Multi-area Mode Full HD D-movie movie recording function is capable of recording full-HD movies at 30 fps, and offers three movie recording formats for selection according to recording conditions or creative intent.

What's more, the D4 records images to memory cards faster with built-in support for high-speed, UDMA 7-compatible CompactFlash memory cards and next-generation, high-speed XQD memory cards. In addition to built-in wired LAN features, the D4 also supports high-speed image transfer via wireless LAN when the new, compact, easy-to-use Wireless Transmitter WT-5 (available separately) is connected to the camera. The D4 is also equipped with a number of new functions that support a more efficient workflow for professional photographers, including one that allows users to add IPTC (International Press Telecommunications Council) information to images.

Nikon | News | Digital SLR camera Nikon D4


Along side this Nikon have also released a new 85mm 1.8 afs lens

TOKYO - Nikon Corporation is pleased to announce the release of the AF-S NIKKOR 85mm f/1.8G, a fast, medium-telephoto fixed focal length lens with a focal length of 85 mm and a maximum aperture of f/1.8 compatible with the Nikon FX-format.


The AF-S NIKKOR 85mm f/1.8G is the new addition to the FX-format lens lineup. It utilizes an all new optical design allowing users to enjoy shooting portraits with pleasing blur characteristics only possible through fixed focal length lenses. Even with a fast maximum aperture of f/1.8, the AF-S NIKKOR 85mm f/1.8G is very lightweight at roughly 350 g, allowing users to easily carry their camera around with this lens mounted. The Silent Wave Motor (SWM) ensures not only quiet autofocus operations, but also makes autofocus shooting possible when the lens is used with entry-level Nikon DX-format digital-SLR cameras such as the D5100 and D3100, which are not equipped with an autofocus drive motor.

Nikon has long had the support of professional, advanced amateur and entry-level photographers for its consistent development of innovative products that respond to the demands of customers and are equipped with the optical technologies Nikon has spent years cultivating as a manufacturer of optical devices. Nikon intends to continue to expand and strengthen the NIKKOR lineup as well as improve customer convenience with the steady release of new, high-performance lenses that offer advanced functions.

Nikon | News | AF-S NIKKOR 85mm f/1.8G

 

[Chris Dodkin]

Somehow I knew you'd be posting on this topic Hamish! Looks like a great camera - I was checking it out on B&H.$5,999!

 

[Mark Grant]

It does look the business, so many buttons and at least 4 little scroll wheels.

The ISO range looks impressive.

 

[Dave Moss]

it is available for pre order at £4799 in the UK

 

[Hamish Gill]

I'll certainly be interested to see how it compares in low light/high ISO situations to the D3s...

 

[Larry Bolch]

I'll certainly be interested to see how it compares in low light/high ISO situations to the D3s...

Not radically different. More like the difference between the D200 and D300. Keep everything that works great and refine everything that didn't. When I saw the specifications of the D300, I decided that there was no reason to move from the D200. I did a test shoot with the D300 and gave my D200 away. In a thousand small ways, the D300 was better, and when added together made the D200 seem like a work in progress and the D300 the final result.

 

[Hamish Gill]

If the step up in low light focusing is as big as the difference between the d200 and d300 that alone makes it promising ...

 

[Pete Askew]

It does look interesting and the lift in resolution will help with cropped images. I suspect a lot of the functionality will be of more benefit to the DSLR video community. The clean DVI out will be a big attraction allowing the use of external recorders. As I said in thee other thread, a D3x is the current priority to replace the D700 for technical applications where we need a Nikon fit.

 

[Hamish Gill]

It's all just too much cash for me nowadays ...
What was the d3 when it came out £3500 ish??
£4800 I such a lot of money
And what's a d3x now? £5000?
I'm not saying they are not worth the cash, it's just an aweful lot of it...
I just need to get better at photography so I can afford one...
I bought my d3 a good year and a bit after it was released I think ... That gives me a goal to aim for anyway

 

[Larry Bolch]

Hamish, prices drop after the initial surge of early adopters. It is likely to be the go-to camera for most sports shooters, and should pay for itself quickly. If you do not use the front-heavy super-telephotos, do not need full auto-focus at 10 fps, will never reach 400,000 actuations before first maintenance, then you probably are not the person for whom the camera was designed. It—like the D3 before it—was Nikon's way of getting into the ball-park literally. Prior to the D3, the sidelines of any sport were a sea of white lenses. Sports and wild-life shooters are the constituency for this camera as they were for the D3.

The only things the D3 offered that I wanted was that my lenses would function at the focal lengths for which I bought them, and the fact that I could shoot available darkness at levels that were not previously possible. I had no need for high frames per second, dual card-slots, 300k activations, full weather-proofing and so on that made it a bargain at its initial price. The D700 delivered on everything I needed.

Were I still shooting sports for meat, I would be very excited about the D4. Now I simply have no need for it. I think it brilliantly addresses the needs of its intended constituency.

 

[Dave Moss]

Well fishing around the internet about the D4 it looks if the German Nikon site is right a second new pro camera is about to be released as well and rumours abound it will be the Nikon D800 if the specs are right it looks as if Nikon are looking to beat the 5D

 

[Hamish Gill]

As always Larry, it's available light shooting that's of interest to me!

My choice for d3 over the d700 at the time was down to a: the d3 second hand being only fractionally more expensive than a new d700 (which was brand new out at the time) and b: I felt it was less likely to limit me...
I always like to buy kit that is least likely to impose limitations on my shooting ... The highest end Nikon range, from any brand, is in my opinion the best for that goal... Regardless of subject matter and shooting circumstance!

 

[Brian Moore]

Were I still shooting sports for meat,

Personally I much prefer this ethos to shooting meat for sport. Larry,...what sports did you shoot for meat? (Sorry all, don't wish to hijack the thread here,...just curious.)

 

[Larry Bolch]

Personally I much prefer this ethos to shooting meat for sport. Larry,...what sports did you shoot for meat? (Sorry all, don't wish to hijack the thread here,...just curious.)

All high-school sports, plus college basketball and football, major league baseball spring training, all motorsports (I lived in Daytona Beach, FL), boxing—whatever sport was happening. The newspaper wanted sports covered from a photojournalistic point of view, not just a repetition of cliché sports shots and so they made me lead sports shooter.