The Mansurovs » Nikon D3s

Nikon D800 has the best sensor in the world

Nasim Mansurov — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 18:42:24 +0000

If you have pre-ordered the Nikon D800, you will have a smile on your face after you read this. Remember my first post on the Nikon D800, where I said that it will take the #1 spot at DXOMark? Well, guess what – I was right on that one. DXOMark has just released their latest data for the Nikon D800 and it took the #1 spot away from the expensive Phase One IQ180 medium format camera. With an overall score of 95, nothing comes even remotely close to its sensor performance:

While most of us were expecting to see incredible dynamic range performance from the D800, many photographers and critics out there were complaining about small pixels on the sensor and their implication on low-light performance. When I saw the negativity about the pixel size, I published an article on the benefits of a high resolution sensor. For some, the concept of “down-sampling” was quite new, while others strongly disagreed with me and kept on repeating the same old tune on how smaller pixels negatively affect high ISO performance. Well, those who doubted me can now take a look at the data that DXOMark has published today – the Nikon D800 pretty much matches the Nikon D4 in terms of high ISO performance. Wait a second, how is that possible, you might ask? After-all, we are not only comparing two completely different cameras for different needs, but also two cameras at completely different price points – the D4 costs twice as much as the D800.

Well, let me clarify a few things. Again, I highly recommend to follow the above-mentioned links on down-sampling. In short, down-sampling magically reduces noise. At pixel level, or as some say “at 100% view”, the Nikon D4 will obviously surpass the Nikon D800 in high ISO performance. This can be seen clearly from the following graph:

See how the Nikon D800 lags behind in high ISO at the pixel level? But what would happen if you printed an image from both the Nikon D4 and the D800 at 16 MP resolution? Take a look at this chart now:

As you can see, the Nikon D800 performs almost identical to the Nikon D4. Again, this is what reduction from 36 MP to 12 MP does to the image. Some of you might disagree with this sort of testing methodology. But as I have explained before, from the two methods of sensor comparisons, which is pixel to pixel comparison and comparison at the same resolution, the latter is the fair and correct way to assess and compare sensor performance. Taking a 100% crop view from a 36 MP image and putting it against a 100% crop view from a 16 MP image with the same sensor area will surely show deficiencies with the 36 MP image. But then you are completely disregarding the much higher resolution advantage of the 36 MP image. When publishing your photos on your blog, you don’t publish them at 100% image size. You down-sample them to a much smaller image size, something like 800 to 1024 pixels wide. So why should it be fair to compare sensors at 100% view? Judging from the high ISO performance chart above, if you took images from the D800 and the D4 and down-sampled them to 16 MP at ISO 6,400, both would look more or less the same. But it does not just stop there – the D800 would have more resolution / sharpness as well. So if you slightly missed your focus on the D4 image, it would certainly be visible at 100% view and 16 MP, while the image from the D800 would appear sharper. Crazy, but it is true.

Does this mean that the Nikon D800 is better than the D4 and does it make the D4 a less of a camera? No, absolutely not. Again, we are talking about two cameras for completely different needs. The Nikon D800 has the resolution, dynamic range and colors that are very close to the medium format range, while the Nikon D4 has the speed, better weather sealing, shutter durability and many other great features that are not found on the D800. On top of that, the Nikon D800 stops at ISO 25,600, while the Nikon D4 can go all the way to ISO 204,800. So for extreme situations where light conditions are extremely poor, the Nikon D4 can still take pictures. Wildlife and sports photographers will obviously choose the D4 for these reasons.

For anyone who doubts the accuracy of the DXOMark lab tests (Canonites hate DXOMark, because it always shows Canon cameras ranking much lower than Nikon), check out my Nikon D4 vs D3s vs D3 ISO comparison and compare it to the DXOMark data. You will find that my tests very closely match those of DXOMark. While some of their very first tests might have had some flaws, they have since solidified their testing methodology and it has now become a great benchmark tool for sensor comparisons.

As for me, I will post my Nikon D800 high ISO comparisons, along with a review very soon. Comparisons will include Nikon D800, D700, D4, D3s, D3, D7000, Canon 5D Mark II and Canon 5D Mark III. It will be the most complete review I have done so far. Since it will take me a long time to get this review up on the site, I will have to publish it in pieces. I am expecting the very first part to be available as early as Tuesday of next week (03/27/2012). Stay tuned folks, I am very excited!

More images from the DXOMark site:

And the link to the original article on D800 performance from DXOMark.

Nikon D4 vs D3s vs D3 ISO Performance Comparison

Nasim Mansurov — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 03:30:39 +0000

While I have not yet received my copy of the Nikon D4, I had an opportunity to test it today and perform some comparisons against the original Nikon D3 and D3s cameras, thanks to my new friend Michael Sasser, who was kind enough to let me use his D4. The purpose of this Nikon D4 vs D3s vs D3 ISO comparison is to show how the new professional D4 compares to the older-generation Nikon cameras in low and high ISO performance. I will start working on a full Nikon D4 Review once I receive it and hopefully will finish it up with plenty of image samples and my analysis sometime in early April (planning a couple of big projects for the Nikon and Canon DSLR cameras).

Some background information for the below crops:

All photographs were taken in a controlled environment, with a single studio light (octabank, modeling light), placed on the left
All cameras were set to 14-bit NEF / RAW format, Active D-Lighting, Noise Reduction, Vignetting set to Off
White Balance: Auto, changed to 3300 Temp, +6 Tint in Lightroom 4 (Process Version 2012)
Lightroom Settings: Default
Due to the difference in resolution (16 MP on the D4 vs 12 MP on the D3 and D3s), images from the Nikon D4 were down-sampled to 12 MP for a fair comparison

Here is the full image and the cropped area:

1) Nikon D4 vs D3s vs D3 ISO 100-800 Comparison

Let’s take a look at how the cameras perform at ISO levels between ISO 100 and 800. Here is ISO 100, which is considered to be the native ISO of the Nikon D4 (LO1 setting on the Nikon D3/D3s):

ISO 200:

ISO 400:

ISO 800:

Nothing too exciting about the low ISO performance of these cameras – each performs extremely well at low ISO levels, even at ISO 800. Let’s take a look at high ISO performance – that’s where we should see some differences.

1) Nikon D4 vs D3s vs D3 ISO 1600-12800 Comparison

Here is how the cameras compare at ISO 1600:

Differences start getting slightly apparent at ISO 1600 – the Nikon D3 has a tad more noise than the Nikon D3s and the Nikon D4, both of which look about the same.

ISO 3200:

This difference is even more visible at ISO 3200 – the Nikon D4 and the D3s look cleaner than the Nikon D3. I cannot see any difference between the Nikon D4 and D3s though.

ISO 6400:

At ISO 6400, the Nikon D4 seems to be just a tad cleaner than the Nikon D3s, but the difference is too little – I would say less than 1/3 of a stop. The Nikon D3 is pretty noisy at ISO 6400 in comparison, as can be clearly seen from the crops.

ISO 12800:

Pushing ISO to 12800 again shows a slightly better performance by the Nikon D4 compared to the Nikon D3s, I would say around 1/3 of a stop. The Nikon D3 crop looks much noisier in comparison, about 1.5 stops worse than the D4.

3) Nikon D4 vs D3s vs D3 ISO 25600+ Comparison

I personally rarely use extreme ISO levels above ISO 6400 on my D3s, but let’s see how all three cameras compare at very high ISOs. Shooting at such ISO levels obviously results in sharpness/detail and color loss, so the images are only usable when down-sampled to smaller resolution, in my opinion.

Here is ISO 25,600:

I cannot really see any difference in noise between the Nikon D4 and the D3s – both look more or less the same, with a little bit larger grains on the D3s – most likely due to down-sampling performed on the D4 image. The Nikon D3 is limited to ISO 25,600, but it looks really bad in comparison. In fact, if you take this Nikon D3 sample at ISO 25,600 and compare it to ISO 102,400 on the D4, both crops will look more or less the same (2 full stops of difference).

The Nikon D3s can also be pushed to ISO 51,200:

Again, very similar performance by both the D4 and the D3s, with slightly bigger grains on the D3s.

Here is ISO 102,400:

Interestingly, this is where the Nikon D4 clearly shows better performance – more details are preserved across the frame. Again, down-sampling certainly plays a role here.

Finally, the Nikon D4 can be pushed to the super high ISO 204,800, which I find unusable:

4) Nikon D4 vs D3s vs D3 ISO Comparison Summary

Looking at the above crop samples, we can see that the Nikon D4 performs very similarly to the older Nikon D3s – the performance differences seem to be rather small. At the same time, we should not forget that the Nikon D4 has a higher resolution sensor with a 4 megapixel advantage. This means that Nikon was able to push the camera’s resolution higher, while retaining the impressive high ISO performance of the Nikon D3s. As for the Nikon D3, it performs well all the way to ISO 1600, but starts to suffer from there in comparison to the D3s and the D4 (especially at ISO levels above 6400, where there seems to be 1.5 to 2 stops of difference).

To be honest, I was hoping for a little more difference in high ISO performance between the Nikon D4 and the D3s. When the Nikon D3s was introduced, it showed significantly better performance than the D3, as I demonstrated in my Nikon D3s Review. Sadly, the Nikon D4 does not seem to be that much better, even after its 16 MP image is down-sampled to 12 MP. While a higher resolution sensor presents better cropping opportunities, which is important for sports and wildlife photographers, it still caps the usable high ISO performance at the same level as the Nikon D3s. I think Nikon fully understood this, which is why they packed other nice features into the Nikon D4 such as better AF system with usable AF at f/8, built-in Ethernet port, higher dynamic range, advanced movie features, better shutter, huge memory buffer and better ergonomics. I will talk about these feature differences in much more detail in my upcoming Nikon D4 Review, but for now you can also check out my previous Nikon D4 vs D3s article.

Stay tuned!

Nikon D4 vs D3s

Nasim Mansurov — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 13:13:44 +0000

Many of the current Nikon D3s owners like me probably wonder about the differences between the new Nikon D4 and the now obsolete Nikon D3s DSLR cameras. While I do not yet have the Nikon D4 to do more in-depth side by side comparisons, I decided to write about differences in body design and specifications between the two. More details about the Nikon D4 will be published in my upcoming Nikon D4 review.

First, let’s talk about differences in camera body design.

Nikon D4 vs D3s Camera Body Design Comparison

As expected, the Nikon D4 went through rather significant changes in camera body design. The overall shape of the camera has been completely changed and it now looks more curved than the D3/D3s/D3x models. Let’s start from the front of the camera, which went through the least number of changes. The only major change I see on the front is the C/S/M focus lever (bottom left side of the camera) that has been modified to adapt to the same switch we see on the Nikon D7000 DSLR. This was a good design change, because it will prevent accidental changes to autofocus when you pull the camera out of the bag. Now the switch only has two options – AF for autofocus and M for manual focus. The button on top of the switch replaces the AF mode switch on the back of the camera. Now you can switch between the different AF modes (single, dynamic and 3D) by pressing this button and rotating the camera dial. Oh and it looks like the grip is shaped a little differently, which should help with handling the camera a little more.

Now on to the camera left side:

There are some noticeable changes to the camera connector panels – the Nikon D4 has everything separated out by groups, while the Nikon D3s has a more consolidated look. The top left round connection is for the new WT-5a wireless unit. The bottom connection on the D4 shows Ethernet + HDMI connections. The Nikon D3s does not have an Ethernet port.

The top of the camera went through significant design changes:

Let’s start from the left, the camera dial. The front of the dial is fully closed and only the rear of the dial is exposed. The dial modes are the same, but there is a change on the top buttons – the useless “Lock” button on the D3/D3s/D3x has been replaced with a metering mode button. I really like this idea, because the metering mode switch on the right side has been eliminated as well! Now that I see this change, I started to realize how much I hate the old metering mode switch on the D3/D3s cameras. Pressing the button and then rotating the metering mode dial was never comfortable. I am glad that this annoyance has been finally taken care of. The right side of the camera has also been redesigned. The shutter release is now located at a lower angle for comfort and the camera mode and exposure compensation buttons have been moved up a little to make room for the new and small video recording button.

Now let’s talk about the back of the camera, which went through the most number of changes:

There are things I really like about what Nikon did with the D4 back layout/design and things I don’t. Let’s start from what I believe are good changes. Compared to the D3s, there is one extra button on the back of the D4. Finally, Nikon adapted a similar layout as the D700, which is the ability to zoom in out by pressing a button. I remember when I first held the D3s on my hand, I could not figure out how to zoom in. I then realized that I have to press the zoom button and then use the dial on the back of the camera to zoom in and out. What a pain! Now this pain goes away, because you just press the zoom in and zoom out buttons without having to rotate any dials! The lock/help button has been moved up right under the Menu button, which I would rather have on the bottom, because I never use it. In addition, all the new buttons are back-lit, which is great news for those of us that shoot in low-light or at night.

Let’s move to the LCD. The new LCD on the back of the camera has the same 921,000 dot resolution as the one on the D3s, but is now a little bigger in size (by 0.2 inches diagonal). While Nikon says that they always individually calibrate these screens, it is still the same old LCD technology we see on all other cameras. We are in 2012 now, come on, why doesn’t Nikon use higher-end screens on their new cameras? OLED is not cheap, but it uses a lot less energy than LCD and it lasts forever.

The button placement under the LCD, also went through some changes. While the ISO / QUAL / WB buttons are still in their respective places (come on Nikon, that QUAL button is evil! – see my Nikon D3s Review why), the audio record button has been moved to sit together in the same group. I don’t really care about this button, because I never use it. The Live View button has moved a little to the left now and has a lever for selecting between photo and video live view modes.

The vertical grip should now be a lot more comfortable, because the AF-ON button has been moved deeper into the camera body. This is great news, because the old AF-ON placement was never good to start with – I kept on accidentally hitting it while shooting horizontally and had to constantly turn it off when I was not using it. AF-ON should have been where it is now on the D3/D3s/D3x models.

Finally, let’s talk about the rest of the buttons to the right side of the body and LCD. Similar to the Canon DSLRs, we now have two joysticks (the joystick is borrowed from the MB-D10 grip) – one to use in horizontal position and one to use in vertical position. The top joystick replaces the customizable AE-L/AF-L button (still wondering where it went). I don’t know about others, but I hate joysticks. If we have to use a joystick to move the AF point now, what is the purpose of having the bigger dial? Is there there now to move around while viewing pictures? I very much hope that I can still use the big dial to select AF points. Joysticks are the reason why I do not like the ergonomics of many Canon DSLRs. It is sad to see Nikon trying to copy Canon in that regard.

OK, let’s move on to differences in camera specifications. The below specifications comparison only shows differences between the two cameras – identical information has been intentionally removed.

Nikon D4 vs D3s Specification Comparison

Camera Feature	Nikon D4	Nikon D3s
Sensor Resolution	16.2 Million	12.1 Million
Total Pixels	16.6 Million	12.87 Million
Sensor Pixel Size	7.3µm	8.45µm
Image Size	4,928 x 3,280	4,256 x 2,832
Storage Media	1x Compact Flash and 1x XQD	2x Compact Flash
Buffer Capacity	Up to 100 12-bit RAW Up to 70 14-bit uncompressed RAW Up to 200 JPEG Large	Up to 43 12-bit RAW Up to 36 14-bit uncompressed RAW Up to 78 JPEG Large
EXIF Version	2.3	2.21
Focusing Screen	BriteView Clear Matte Mark VIII	BriteView Clear Matte VI
Continuous Shooting Speed	10 FPS, 11 FPS with AE/AF Locked	9 FPS
Shutter Durability	400,000 cycles	300,000 cycles
Shutter Lag	0.042 seconds	0.04 seconds
Exposure Metering Sensor	91,000-pixel RGB sensor	1,005-pixel RGB sensor
Metering Range	-1 ± 20 EV	0 to 20 EV
Base ISO	ISO 100	ISO 200
Native ISO Sensitivity	ISO 100-12,800	ISO 100-12,800
Boosted ISO Sensitivity	ISO 50, ISO 25,600-204,800	ISO 100, ISO 25,600-102,400
D-Lighting Bracketing	Yes	No
Autofocus System	Advanced Multi-CAM 3500FX	Multi-CAM 3500FX
AF Detection	Up to f/8	Up to f/5.6
Focus Modes	AF-A AF-S AF-C Face-Priority AF M Normal Area Wide Area	AF-S AF-C M
Flash Sync Modes	Front-curtain sync Rear-curtain sync Red-eye reduction Red-eye reduction with slow sync Slow rear-curtain sync Slow sync	Front-curtain sync Rear-curtain sync Red-eye reduction Red-eye reduction with slow sync Slow sync
Flash Compensation	Yes, -3 to +1 EV	No
Flash-ready Indicator	Yes	No
Live View Shooting Modes	Photography Mode Movie Mode	Handheld Mode Tripod Mode
Live View Lens Servo	AF AF-S AF-F MF	N/A
Live View AF Area Mode	Face-priority AF Wide-area AF Normal-area AF Subject-tracking AF	N/A
Video Output	MOV, Compressed and Uncompressed	AVI, Compressed
Video Maximum Record Time	20 min in 24p, 30 min in 30p	5 min
Video Maximum Resolution	1920×1080 (1080p)	1280×720 (720p)
Audio Recording	Built-in microphone External stereo microphone (optional)	Built-in microphone
LCD Size	3.2″ diagonal TFT-LCD	3.0″ diagonal TFT-LCD
LCD Adjustments	5 Levels	7 Levels
Playback Functions	Auto Image Rotation Full-Frame and Thumbnail GPS data display Highlights Histogram Display Image Comment IPTC Information Movie Playback Movie Slideshow Photo information Playback with Zoom Slideshow Voice Memo	Auto Image Rotation Full-Frame and Thumbnail Highlights Histogram Display Image Comment Movie Playback Shooting Data Slideshow Voice Memo Zoom
In-Camera Image Editing	Color Balance Color Outline Color Sketch D-Lighting Distortion Control Edit Movie Filter Effects Fisheye Image Overlay Miniature Effect Monochrome NEF (RAW) Processing Perspective Control Quick Retouch Red-eye Correction Resize Selective Color Side-by-Side Comparison Straighten Trim	Color Balance D-Lighting Edit Movie with Save Selected Frame Filter Effects Image Overlay Monochrome NEF (RAW) Processing Red-eye Correction Resize Side-by-Side Comparison Trim
HDR Support	Yes	No
Interface	HDMI output: Type C mini-pin HDMI connector Headphone Connector NTSC Stereo Microphone Input Super Speed USB 2.0	10-pin Terminal HDMI Hi-speed USB NTSC PAL
Wi-Fi Functionality	WT-5A, WT-4A	FTP and PTP/IP with WT-4A
Total Custom Settings	58	46
Built-in LAN	Yes	No
Remote Shutter Release Compatibility	Corded and infra-red	Corded-only
Supported Languages	Arabic Chinese (Simplified and Traditional) Czech Danish Dutch English Finnish French German Indonesian Italian Japanese Korean Norweigan Polish Portuguese Romanian Russian Spanish Swedish Thai Turkish Ukrainian	Chinese (Simplified and Traditional) Dutch English Finnish French German Italian Japanese Korean Polish Portuguese Russian Swedish Spanish
Battery	EN-EL18 Lithium-ion Battery	EN-EL4 Lithium-ion Battery EN-EL4a Lithium-ion Battery
Battery Life	2,600 shots (CIPA)	4,200 shots (CIPA)
AC Adapter	EH-6b AC Adapter	EH-6 AC Adapter
Battery Charger	MH-26 Quick Charger	MH-21 Quick Charger MH-22 Quick Charger
Dimensions	Width 6.3 in. (160mm) Height 6.2 in. (156.5mm) Depth 3.6 in. (90.5mm)	Width 6.3 in. (159.5mm) Height 6.2 in. (157mm) Depth 3.4 in. (87.5mm)
Weight (Body Only)	41.6 oz. (1,180g)	43.7 oz. (1,240g)
MSRP Price	$5,999	$5,199

Something in favor of the D3s is its battery life. I understand that there are some new battery requirements in Asia, but it is sad to see D4 have almost half the battery life of the D3s. This is a serious disadvantage, especially when shooting in cold environments where batteries die quickly. The new wireless WT-5a wireless transmitter also draws power from the camera, so expect to have even worse battery life with the WT-5a attached.

You can find more information on the Nikon D4, along with my thoughts on its features in the Nikon D4 article I posted earlier. A comparison between the Nikon D4 vs Canon 1D X is also coming.

Nikon D3s Review

Nasim Mansurov — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 07:30:49 +0000

Overview

Just a few days before Nikon D4 is announced at CES, I decided to write a review of the Nikon D3s DSLR that I have been shooting with for the past two plus years. I have been putting off writing the Nikon D3s review for a while now, because I wanted to first review all the gear that I have been testing lately, while the gear I use every day for my photography has been just sitting at the end of my long “to-do” list. The Nikon D3s has received numerous awards, including “best product / camera” from various reputable organizations and websites. And it did for a reason – its image quality, high ISO performance, superb autofocus, fast speed and rich features make it a phenomenal camera – truly one of the best cameras in the world.

I clearly remember the day I ordered the D3s. For a while we were quite happy with our two cameras – the Nikon D700 and the D300. I would normally shoot with the D700 and Lola was doing most of her work, including food photography, with the D300. As Lola started to shoot more weddings and events, I was often left with the D300. After a short while, neither Lola nor I wanted the D300 anymore. Yup, we both got spoiled by the full-frame sensor. Realizing that we would eventually fully move to full-frame, I got rid of all DX lenses by then and using lenses like the Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8G or the standard Nikon 50mm f/1.4G on DX just did not feel right. By then, Lola was already in love with the Nikon D700 + 50mm f/1.4 combo and she would simply refuse to use the D300 with the 50mm lens. With her wedding work and my passion for nature photography, it was clear that we did not need another DX camera. That’s when Nikon announced the D3s. After seeing image samples and camera specifications, it did not take long before both of us realized that we needed it for our work.

As you might have already seen on “Our Gear” page, I call the Nikon D3s “a serious camera for serious photographers”. Ever since the Nikon D3s was announced back in 2009, it has been dominating the camera world with its impressive high ISO performance. It has been numerously called “the low-light king” by many well-known photographers and reviewers, because it delivers outstanding image quality with an unmatched high ISO performance. For over two years now, there has not been any camera on the market that can do what the D3s can. A serious camera indeed! But the Nikon D3s is not for everyone. With its high price tag, bulky body and heavy weight, it is often hard to justify it. Lola does not like the D3s, because of its large size and heavy weight, especially after long and tiring wedding events. In this review, I will talk about my overall experience with the D3s and provide feedback on its strengths and weaknesses.

Click here to download the above photograph in a large wallpaper format (1920×1200).

1) Nikon D3s Specifications

Main Features:

Nikon-original FX-format CMOS Sensor: Newly engineered for striking image fidelity and low-noise, optimizing pixel size and count in a 12.1-megapixel sensor to produce extraordinarily rich files.
Continuous Shooting Up to 9 FPS: Secure exacting moments in time with an expanded buffer, allowing continuous capture of up to 82 JPEG (fine) or 36 14-bit NEF (RAW) images.
One-button Live View with Two Shooting Modes: Two modes for studio or remote shooting—Tripod Mode offers 27x magnification for precise focus confirmation.
Dynamic Integrated Dust Reduction System: Ultrasonic process combats the accumulation of dust on the optical low-pass filter, safeguarding image quality.
Fast, Accurate 51-Point AF System: 4 Dynamic modes and 15 cross-type sensors deliver AF precision and razor sharpness.
Scene Recognition System: Referencing an onboard image database, teamed with RGB metering, SRS enhances exposure and white balance evaluation and improves AF speed and accuracy.
Nikon Picture Control: Four preset options and 9 customizable settings provide personalized style control.
Dual CF Card Slots with Overflow, Backup and Copy Options.
Approx. 4,200 Images per Battery Charge.
Low Noise ISO Sensitivity from 200 to 12,800: Renowned low-noise performance at 12,800, plus expanded settings to an astounding ISO 102,400 (equivalent) and ISO 100 (equivalent).
HD Video Capture: Record smooth 24 fps HD video, leveraging low-noise D3S image quality along with high fidelity stereo sound capability.
3-Inch Super-density 921,000-dot VGA LCD Monitor: D3S monitors are individually calibrated during assembly to assure accuracy.
Nikon EXPEED Image Processing: Drives breathtakingly rich image fidelity, low-noise and fast image processing.
1,005-Pixel 3D Color Matrix Metering II: Nikon-pioneered RGB metering includes color information to intelligently determine more accurate exposures.
Rugged and Precise Magnesium Alloy Construction: Effectively protected from invasive dust, moisture and electromagnetic interference with a self-diagnostic shutter mechanism tested to exceed 300,000 cycles.
100% Viewfinder Coverage
Virtual Horizon Graphic Indicator

Click here to download the above photograph in a large wallpaper format (1920×1200).

Detailed camera specifications can be found on Nikon USA.

2) Camera construction and handling

The one area where one would expect to have no complaints whatsoever on the D3s is camera construction. With its magnesium-alloy camera frame and fully weather-sealed body, the Nikon D3s is designed to be abused. Like many other pros, I heavily rely on these features, whether I am shooting landscapes in extremely cold, hot, humid or dusty conditions, or photographing wildlife in rain and snow. My Nikon D700 took a lot of beating, but my D3s took even more. And I expect it to live for many more years to come. The phrase “build like a tank” easily applies to the D3s, enough said.

Click here to download the above photograph in a large wallpaper format (1920×1200).

Handling-wise, the D3s is superb, with the exception of two issues. The first one is its heavy weight and bulk. As I have already pointed out, Lola does not like the D3s because of this reason alone. At over 1.2 kilos without a battery, the camera is very heavy, approximately 20% heavier than the D700. While 20% might not sound like a lot, once you add a pro lens and a flash, it all adds up. This difference is even greater with batteries, because the EN-EL4a is twice the size and weight of the EN-EL3e. Size-wise, the Nikon D3s is also much taller than the D700 and is almost as big as the D700 with a battery pack. On the positive note, the Nikon D3s is slightly smaller and lighter than the D700 with a battery grip and two batteries. So if you already have a Nikon D700 and you are comfortable using it with the MB-D10 grip + batteries, then you will find the Nikon D3s to be overall easier and lighter to handle. The second issue has to do with button placement on the back and the top of the camera. While I absolutely love the extra display with three buttons on the rear of the camera, the “QUAL” button (stands for “Quality”, changes image format) right next to the ISO button is a very bad design mistake in my opinion. I had a few accidents, when I found myself shooting TIFF or JPEG, just because I accidentally changed my image format while attempting to change ISO in low light, with my gloves on. On one occasion, my whole day of photography went to waste because I managed to set the camera to “JPEG BASIC” without knowing it. Nikon should make these buttons programmable, or at least allow us to turn them on and off, so that this does not happen. Sure, I could have taken my gloves off and could have used a flashlight, but it was -10F at night! I did not want to use a flashlight, because my friend was standing right next to me and taking a long exposure. I really wish this “QUAL” button went on the top left dial of the camera, just like on the D700, and replaced the useless “L” (Function Lock) button that I have not been using at all. Other than these annoyances, I find the rest of the camera layout to be great. I often use the rear buttons without even looking at them, which speaks for the superb ergonomics of the professional Nikon D3s camera. By the way, Nikon has been paying Italian designers to design every pro camera since 1980, including the original Nikon D3; Nikon D3s has the same camera body design and very similar button layout as the D3.

Click here to download the above photograph in a large wallpaper format (1920×1200).

The Nikon D3s balances very well with all heavy professional Nikkor lenses like Nikon 14-24mm, Nikon 24-70mm and Nikon 70-200mm – you just grab the lens with the left hand and the camera with the right. When using smaller lenses like the Nikon 50mm f/1.8G, holding the camera can be a little awkward, because the lens is too light. In those situations, I use my left thumb, index and middle fingers to hold the lens, while resting other fingers on the camera body and using my left palm to support the camera. My right hand goes on the grip, with my thumb holding the “AF-ON” button that I use for focusing and my index finger on the shutter. The grip is superb and very comfortable.

Click here to download the above photograph in a large wallpaper format (1920×1200).

The dual card slots on the D3s are extremely useful. When shooting important events, I just use two identical CF cards and configure the camera to write photos to both cards simultaneously. This way I know that the photos are protected against potential failure and it also helps to keep my clients confident that their photos won’t be lost due to card failure. Dual card slots used to be considered a “pro-only” feature in the past – even the Nikon D700 does not have dual card slots (which I believe is a huge disadvantage). However, Nikon has been adding dual card slots to all new semi-pro and pro cameras lately (even the Nikon D7000 has dual card slots), so we should be seeing this feature on most Nikon cameras in the future. When shooting wildlife and landscapes, I typically use the “overflow” method, which writes to one card and then switches to the next one when it gets full.

Click here to download the above photograph in a large wallpaper format (1920×1200).

Just like all other top-of-the-line Nikon DSLRs, the Nikon D3s does not have a built-in camera flash. While this is done primarily for better weather-sealing, it is a definite disadvantage if you have been using a built-in flash in emergency situations or perhaps as a master to trigger an off-camera speedlight. It does not come with an AF assist lamp either, so focusing in extremely dark environments can be more problematic.

3) Camera Sensor

The Nikon D3s has a modified full-frame sensor from the legendary Nikon D3 camera. While the size and the number of pixels remained the same, Nikon found a way to push high ISO performance to new limits with the D3s. As can be seen from the next page of the review, it is roughly 1-1.5 stops better at high ISOs, which is incredible. Shooting at ISO 6400 on the Nikon D3s gives better results than shooting at ISO 3200 on the original Nikon D3 and Nikon D700 cameras! As I have already pointed out, the Nikon D3s has been the king of low-light photography since it was announced in 2009. However, this incredible high ISO performance comes at a cost – the Nikon D3s still has the same 12 Megapixel sensor as the original Nikon D3. Considering that most new cameras from other manufacturers now have at least 16-18 MP, 12 Megapixels is definitely on the low side (the new Sony A77/A65/NEX 7 cameras have a 1.5x crop factor sensor with a whopping 24 MP!), so Nikon needs to start catching up with a higher resolution sensor. Sure, many of us rarely need more than 12 MP, but for photographers like me that shoot nature and events it would be nice to have one camera that sort of sits in the middle, having a good balance of resolution and high ISO performance.

Click here to download the above photograph in a large wallpaper format (1920×1200).

4) Autofocus Performance

Just like the Nikon D3 and D700 DSLRs, the Nikon D3s sports the industry-leading Multi-CAM 3500FX 51-point AF system with 15 cross-type sensors. AF is incredibly quick and accurate, even in low-light situations. Both Lola and I have shot many different events with the D3s in mixed light environments and the AF system just never disappoints. You can customize AF behavior through the camera custom settings menu and the Nikon D3s provides lots of options to control and tweak the AF system. You can choose between Single and Continuous Servo modes and use continuous mode in combination with four different AF driving modes: single point, dynamic-area, 3D tracking and Area AF. You can choose from 9 to 51 AF points and you can even set focus tracking delay, which holds focus for a specific amount of time when the subject moves out of the focus area. Speaking of which, I use the Nikon D3s for bird photography and I am amazed by how well subject tracking works. I can set my camera one way for perched and slow birds, while for quick action and birds in flight I modify my AF and subject tracking settings and I end up with a lot more in-focus images. Overall, this AF system is so good, that many Canon sports and wildlife pros that got sick of the plagued AF system on their Canon 1D ended up switching to the Nikon D3 and D3s cameras.

Click here to download the above photograph in a large wallpaper format (1920×1200).

The 100% FX viewfinder coverage is very nice, because I know that I get exactly what I am looking at, whereas with the D700, I have to plan for the extra space that the viewfinder does not show. While this is not a critical feature, it is always nice to know that “what you see is what you get”. The large FX viewfinder on the Nikon D3s simply cannot be compared to DX viewfinders, making it much easier to see if your subjects are out of focus – yes, it is that much bigger in size.

All in all, and I know most pros will agree with me on this, Nikon’s 51-point AF system is still the best on the market today.

Click here to download the above photograph in a large wallpaper format (1920×1200).

5) Metering and Exposure

What about metering and exposure accuracy? While the Nikon D3s features the older 1,005 pixel RGB metering sensor (the Nikon D7000 has a 2,016-pixel RGB sensor), I personally like it better than the new one. As I have described in my Nikon D7000 review, the new 2,016-pixel RGB sensor can be tricky to work with, especially if you are used to the 1,005 pixel RGB sensor. The new face recognition patterns, along with the new complex sensor system seem to prioritize skin tones more, often resulting in over-exposure. I mainly shoot in 3D Matrix metering mode (about 90+% of the time) and occasionally in spot and center-weighted metering modes. All three have given me great exposures on the D3s in normal lighting conditions. When the light is tricky, I usually use exposure compensation to get the result I need. There are times when I dial +1 EV and shoot like that for a while and there are times when I dial -1 to -2 for the best exposure. But that does not happen very often – the metering sensor on the D3s is usually very accurate.

Click here to download the above photograph in a large wallpaper format (1920×1200).

6) Shooting Speed (FPS) and Battery Life

The Nikon D3s is Nikon’s flagship sports and wildlife camera, which is why it has the fastest speed Nikon can deliver on a pro body. At 9 fps you can capture action and when using DX lenses, you can get up to 11 fps (I can’t imagine anyone would shoot with a DX lens on a full-frame body, because resolution is halved). In comparison, the Nikon D300s and the Nikon D700 can shoot 6 and 5 fps, respectively (without a grip; up to 8 fps with the MB-D10 grip). The battery lasts up to 4,200 shots on a single charge, which is more than 4 times what the D700/D300s batteries can do. I also found the EN-EL4a battery to perform very well in extremely cold conditions, whereas the EN-EL3e battery used by the D700/D300s does not last very long in temperatures below 32F.

Click here to download the above photograph in a large wallpaper format (1920×1200).

7) Movie Recording

I remember when Nikon announced the D3s, the videography community was rather disappointed with its maximum 720p video mode. Canon was leading the game by putting 1080p in all of its new cameras, including many of the entry-level models, while Nikon was stuck with the same puny 720p 24fps AVI that it pioneered on the Nikon D90 DSLR. Granted you can shoot 720p with really high ISO levels and get incredible videos at night, the 720p limit just does not cut it anymore. If you are looking for a good video camera, you will be disappointed – even the new mirrorless Nikon 1 V1 camera beats the D3s in video capabilities. The reason why Nikon could not deliver high resolution videos was related to the older EXPEED processor that it used on the Nikon D3s – the processor just could not handle that kind of bandwidth. Nikon finally delivered 1080p with the EXPEED 2 processor and we will surely be seeing 1080p on the upcoming Nikon D4 as well, which will feature Nikon’s latest EXPEED 3 processor.

Click here to download the above photograph in a large wallpaper format (1920×1200).

8) Dynamic Range

The dynamic range on the D3s is excellent, but not quite as good as some of the newer sensors from Nikon, including the Nikon D7000 DX sensor. While you can surely recover plenty of details from base ISO images if your scene is exposed correctly, some of the great dynamic range capabilities are lost because the Nikon D3s does not have a native ISO 100 capability (dynamic range is largest at base ISO and is reduced as ISO is increased). For this reason, DxOMark rated Nikon D3s only 38th in its “dynamic range” rating chart, with Pentax K-5 topping the list and Nikon D7000 coming second. In contrast, the Nikon D3x (which is considered to be a landscape camera) is rated #3, because it offers much greater dynamic range at native ISO 100. But again, take all this with a grain of salt – you can still recover lots of data from D3s 14-bit RAW NEF files. Nikon found a way to go back to ISO 100 without compromising ISO performance, so all new cameras are manufactured with ISO 100 as base ISO. The new Nikon D4 will also feature native ISO 100, so its rating in the DxOMark charts should be very impressive once the results are published. Don’t be disappointed with this D3s dynamic range score though – the overall score from DxOMark still puts D3s 6th on the list, right along medium format cameras from Pentax and Phase One. That’s because by losing on dynamic range, it regains its ground on low-light ISO charts, where it ranks #1.

Click here to download the above photograph in a large wallpaper format (1920×1200).

My field tests have proven that shooting between ISO 200 and 800 is quite acceptable without much loss of dynamic range. Anything beyond ISO 800 will decrease dynamic range dramatically, especially beyond ISO 1600. So when I shoot landscapes (often hand-held), I try to stay below ISO 800-1600. When photographing people and wildlife, on the other hand, I do not hesitate to crank up ISO all the way to 6400 and sometimes even to 12,800. There is some loss of detail at ISO 12,800 though.

Click here to download the above photograph in a large wallpaper format (1920×1200).

See the next page to see more examples of D3s’ ISO performance, along with comparisons against Nikon D700 and D300.

ISO Performance

9) ISO Performance at low ISOs (ISO 200-800)

Some technical junk:

White Balance: Auto
EXIF information is preserved in the images
Focusing was performed through Live-View Contrast Detect
Long exposure NR: Off
Image Format: RAW/NEF
Imported images into Lightroom and cropped to 100% – no resizing was performed in Photoshop
Lightroom export: sRGB JPEG Quality 80

Here is the full image, showing which area of the image I cropped below:

Let’s take a look at how the Nikon D3s performs at low ISOs. Here are some crops at ISO 200, 400 and 800:

As I have pointed out before, the Nikon D3s produces noise-free images at low ISOs. If you compare the above crops, you will barely notice any difference, even between ISO 200 and ISO 800.

10) High ISO Performance (ISO 1600-12800)

High ISO performance is a very important measure of DSLR sensor quality for low-light photography. Here is how the Nikon D3s performs at high ISO levels between ISO 1600 and 6400:

ISO 1600 looks almost as good as ISO 800, while ISO 3200 adds a slight amount of visible grain. I would not hesitate to use ISO 3200 on the D3s and if noise bugs me, Lightroom’s built-in noise reduction would get rid of it. At ISO 6400 we are seeing a noticeable amount of grain, especially in the shadows, but the image is still quite usable with plenty of details. The last “native” ISO range of 12,800 is about twice noisier than ISO 6400 and the grain size is also bigger. Getting rid of noise at these ISO levels would require a more selective noise reduction algorithm, so software like Noise Ninja or Nik Software Dfine would have to be used for best results. See my “Photo Noise Reduction Tutorial” for examples of selective noise reduction.

11) High ISO Performance “Boost” (ISO 25600-102400)

Nikon D3s gives us three “bonus” ISO levels to be used in extreme low-light situations – ISO 25,600, ISO 51,200 and ISO 102,400. Let’s take a look at these in more detail:

As expected, there is plenty of noise all over the image at ISO 25,600 and even more loss of small details. ISO 51,200 worsens the situation by introducing large grain and lots of detail is lost all over the image. At ISO 102,400 we see loss of most detail and colors, which in my opinion is downright unusable. Forget about noise reduction software at these ISO levels. If you shoot at anything above ISO 25,600, I would down-sample the image to much smaller resolution to get anything usable. Still, it is pretty darn impressive that we even have the option to shoot at these ISO levels today!

12) ISO Performance Summary

Now that you have seen image samples, you understand why this camera has been getting so much hype over its high ISO performance and you now know why it is dubbed the “low-light king”. Its low-ISO performance below ISO 800 is practically noise-free and it retains lots of details and colors all the way to ISO 12,800. When I photograph wildlife and I need the highest quality, I set my Auto ISO maximum to ISO 3200 and I get plenty of details of birds, their features and feathers. ISO 6400 adds more visible grain, but I still use it in very low light situations. I would rather have a sharp, but noisy image, rather than a blurry noise-free image. Noise can be cleaned up in post-production, while blur and lack of details destroy photographs. As for other ISO levels higher than 6400, I occasionally use ISO 12,800 when shooting events in low light, but avoid using anything above that. Overall, the low and high ISO performance of the D3s sensor is incredible.

It is hard to judge the performance of the Nikon D3s without direct comparison against other cameras, which is why you should definitely check out the next pages of this review. Let’s see what kind of a difference there is between the Nikon D700 (FX), Nikon D300s (DX) and the new Nikon D7000 (DX). Click the next page below to see the comparison.

Camera Comparisons

Compared to Nikon D300s

There is no such thing as a fair comparison when you put an FX sensor against a DX sensor. A larger sensor means larger pixels, which translates to cleaner images. I know FX vs DX is always a heated debate, with plenty of people defending each side, but for me – the low ISO performance of a full-frame sensor was something that made me permanently switch to FX. I was simply never happy with noise showing up even at base ISO on DX sensors. Everybody talks about high ISO performance difference between FX and DX, but people rarely show examples of low noise of the FX sensor at low ISOs. Below you will find comparisons at both low and high ISO levels between D3s and D300s. Please note that ISO 200 is the base ISO for both D3s and D300s.

13) Nikon D3s vs D300s ISO Comparison at low ISOs

Let’s see how the D3s FX sensor compares to the D300s DX sensor – take a look at the below crops at ISO 200, 400 and 800:

At base ISO 200, the Nikon D3s has very smooth and clean shadows, whereas the Nikon D300s has a little bit of noise that is particularly visible in the shadows.

At ISO 400, the D3s still has a clean and noise-free image, while D300s is already showing plenty of noise in the shadows.

Even at ISO 800 the D3s looks very clean, while the D300s has plenty of noise.

14) Nikon D3s vs D300s High ISO Comparison

What about high ISO levels above ISO 800? Let’s take a look:

ISO 1600 is very grainy on the D300s, while the image from the D3s adds just a little bit of noise in the shadows. We are starting to see loss of details on the D300s.

The D300s image at ISO 3200 looks unusable to me, while D3s still looks very good with much less noise in comparison. D300s lost a lot of colors and dynamic range too.

At ISO 6400 the amount of detail loss on the D300s is significant. Colors are off and lots of dynamic range is lost. The Nikon D3s looks better at ISO 6400 than Nikon D300s at ISO 800.

15) Nikon D3s vs D300s Summary

It is hard to explain the difference between FX and DX until you see image samples at different ISOs, including base ISO. While D3s’ full frame sensor produces very clean images from ISO 200 to 1600 even in the shadows, D300′s crop sensor already shows some amount of noise at ISO 200. The difference between the sensors increases even more as ISO levels are increased. The ISO 6400 crop from the D3s looks slightly better than the ISO 800 crop from the D300s, so there is more than 3 stops of difference between the two. I was never happy with the image quality of D300/D300s above ISO 800, while I do not hesitate to use ISO 6400 and even ISO 12800 on the D3s. Obviously, the difference between FX and DX sensors is much more than noise levels. There is a significant different in field of view, dynamic range, colors, etc. Again, see my Nikon FX vs DX article for more details on differences.

Compared to Nikon D700

What about comparing the D3s to my favorite Nikon D700? Let’s take a look.

16) Nikon D3s vs D700 ISO Comparison at Low ISOs

Both cameras produce noise-free images between ISO 200 and 800. Here is a head to head comparison between D3s and D700 at ISO 200:

I cannot see any difference between the two. What about ISO 400:

Still the same story, the images look almost identical.

The same goes for ISO 800 – again, both cameras are excellent between ISO 200 and 800. Finally, here is ISO 1600:

At ISO 1600, both still look great, but the Nikon D3s image looks a tad cleaner in the shadows.

17) Nikon D700 vs D3s High ISO Comparison

The battle begins at ISO levels above ISO 1600. Here is ISO 3200:

Now the difference is clear – the Nikon D3s has less noise at ISO 3200, especially in the shadows:

At ISO 6400, the difference is significant – take a look at the shadows and the figurine on the right side. If my maximum workable ISO level on the D700 is ISO 3200, on the D3s it is raised to ISO 6400.

ISO 12800 is unusable on the D700 due to the significant amount of noise and loss of colors, while it still looks OK on the D3s.

And the difference is even more significant at ISO 25600 – look at the figurine on the right side and note how much detail is lost on the D700, while D3s still preserves most of it.

Nikon D700 is maxed out at ISO 25600, while D3s can push it all the way to ISO 102400. I never shoot at ISO levels above 25600 on the D3s, so the performance at these ISO levels is not important for me.

18) Nikon D3s vs D700 Summary

As you can see from the above image crops, both cameras are comparable at low ISOs between ISO 200 and ISO 800. Starting from ISO 1600, the Nikon D3s shows better handling of noise in the shadows. The difference grows as ISO levels are increased. At ISO 6400 and above, the Nikon D3s shows roughly a stop of difference and this difference slightly increases at ISO 12800 and above. Take a look at ISO 51200 on the D3s and compare it to ISO 25600 on the D700 – the D3s looks better and retains colors. Obviously these kinds of extreme ISO comparisons are not very useful for most photography needs and I personally avoid shooting at ISO above 6400, but it is nice to know that the D3s could save a picture if the lighting conditions are extremely poor.

Summary and Image Samples

19) Summary and Image Samples

With its excellent image quality, extreme low-light sensitivity capabilities, reliable metering, fast speed, quick and accurate AF, weather-sealed magnesium alloy body, dual card slots and a boatload of customization options, the Nikon D3s can satisfy even the most demanding sports, news and wildlife photography needs today. Whether you are shooting events in low-light situations or photograph nature in extreme weather conditions, the Nikon D3s delivers. However, as I have already pointed out, all this comes at a price – with its bulky size, heavy weight, a steep $5K price tag, the Nikon D3s can be classified as a very “specialized tool”. Its low-resolution (by today’s standards) 12 MP sensor is more than enough for event photography and portraiture, but rather low for landscapes and fashion. Its lack of built-in flash and AF assist lamp means that you will have to plan ahead of time and most likely carry a speedlight or at least a bright flashlight with you, especially when shooting in dark environments. And if you are into street photography, the size and the bulk of the camera can easily intimidate people around you. And if you suffer from back pain, neck pain or have carpal tunnel, you might want to think again before even considering it. My wife Lola shot a couple of weddings with the D3s and she was not happy with it. She was very happy with the images she was getting, but carrying the D3s with a couple of lenses all day long was too painful for her. Towards the end of the day, she just could not take any pictures anymore. I have seen a couple of cases when photographers sold their high-end DSLRs to get something smaller and lighter. So before you commit to a camera like the D3s, prioritize your needs and ask yourself if it is worth the investment. If you are into sports and wildlife photography, with your camera and very heavy/long lenses mounted on a tripod, then the Nikon D3s is a no-brainer.

20) Where to buy and availability

B&H is currently selling the Nikon D3s body only for $5,199 (as of 01/02/2011).

21) More image samples

Many more image examples from the Nikon D3s are available in the Wallpapers section of the website.

Click here to download the above photograph in a large wallpaper format (1920×1200).

Concert photography and videography with Nikon D3s

Nasim Mansurov — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 05:24:07 +0000

During my last trip to Florida, I was fortunate to attend Carlos Santana‘s concert, during which I had a good opportunity to take pictures and video with Nikon D3s DSLR and Nikon 300mm f/4.0 AF-S lens. As I have pointed out in my previous D3s articles, the performance of Nikon D3s in low light environments is incredible.

Take a look at the following shot of Santana:

The image was shot at ISO 6400, 1/250, f/4.0 @ 300mm approximately 30 meters away from the subject.

Here is the 100% crop:

There is plenty of detail in this shot and the grain can be easily removed using noise reduction software such as Neat Image or Nik Software Dfine (which is the topic of next article that I am currently working on). It is always better to have a grainy image that is sharp than a noise-free blurry image.

Here is a short video clip from the concert, using the same setup. I apologize for the camera vibration and bad sound – my left leg did not perform very well as a tripod and it was too loud to capture the sound using the built-in microphone in the camera.

I highly recommend checking out the 720p (HD) version. Although I really wish Nikon had 1080p on the D3s like most modern Canon DSLRs, 720p does not look bad either…

Nikon D3s – Coyote Hunting

Nasim Mansurov — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 06:09:35 +0000

I have been trying the Nikon D3s in different environments with a variety of lenses and so far I am very impressed by its performance and quality of the images and video. The below coyote images were shot at ISO 3200 after sunset:

It was getting dark quickly, so after taking some pictures of the coyote, I decided to shoot some video at ISO 6400. If you have enough bandwidth, I highly suggest viewing the 720 HD version – just select 720p from the drop-down once the video starts playing.

I apologize for the camera shake – I had to set the camera on the driver window without any proper support.

Now if only the D3s could shoot 1080p video…

Red-Winged Blackbird

Nasim Mansurov — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 06:33:59 +0000

Red-Winged Blackbirds are very common in Colorado. They are permanent residents in most local parks, including Cherry Creek State Park, where I captured one of them while it was singing to attract a female. Spring is a great time for birds in Colorado, except when it gets very cold. It snowed today in Denver and the temperatures dropped below 40F, which is not abnormal for Colorado in April :)

Red-Winged Blackbird

Hoping for a sunny day next week, so that I can get out and do some spring birding!

Captured with Nikon D3s and Nikon 300mm f/4.0 AF-S + 1.4x TC.

Nikon D700/D3 vs D3s High ISO Noise Comparison

Nasim Mansurov — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 06:06:53 +0000

In this Nikon D700/D3 vs D3s High ISO Noise Comparison, I will be focusing on providing information and image samples from the first-generation Nikon full frame cameras (Nikon D700 and Nikon D3) as well as from the current high ISO king – Nikon D3s. High ISOs are needed in low-light environments, where the amount of ambient light is insufficient for hand-held photography at standard ISO sensitivity values. While doubling the ISO number doubles the shutter speed to freeze motion or prevent camera shake, it also introduces noise into the picture.

All tests below were performed on a sturdy tripod, with timed exposure to prevent camera vibrations. Both Nikon D700 and Nikon D3s were set exactly the same way, shot in manual mode with Nikkor 50mm f/1.4G at f/8.0. Exposures were exactly the same on both cameras, depending on ISO value. I shot in RAW (Active D-Lighting: Off, High ISO NR: Normal), then imported into Lightroom, cropped and exported with “Camera Standard” camera profile. The rest of the data is available via EXIF in the files to those who are interested in technical details.

Here is the full area that I shot for these tests:

The first test is at ISO 800. The image on the left is Nikon D700 and the image on the right is Nikon D3s (click to enlarge). Both are extremely good at ISO 800, but Nikon D3s is a little cleaner in the background areas.

At ISO 1,600, the Nikon D3s starts to shine, showing a significantly less amount of noise in the background.

The same thing at ISO 3,200 and this time Nikon D3s is showing a 1-1.5 stops of improvement over Nikon D700.

At ISO 6,400 we are already seeing some loss of details on the Nikon D700, while Nikon D3s is still super sharp, with a slight amount of noise.

ISO 12,800 looks pretty darn good on the Nikon D3s, while the image from Nikon D700 is almost unusable with color blobs appearing in random spots.

As expected, the image is unusable at ISO 25,600 on the Nikon D700, while Nikon D3s is still kicking butt at ISO 25,600 with very few, barely noticeable color spots.

As you can clearly see from the above images, the Nikon D3s outperforms D700/D3 by approximately 1.5 stops. I cannot say that the difference is full two stops, because the Nikon D3s has a little more noise/grain at two stops than Nikon D700. For example, here is what we see when Nikon D700 @ ISO 3,200 is compared against Nikon D3s @ ISO 12,800:

Sharpness-wise both images are very similar, but when you look at noise levels, Nikon D700 @ ISO 3200 is a tad better than Nikon D3s @ ISO 12,800, which is already remarkable. The ISO on Nikon D3s can also be “boosted” to ISO 51,200 and 102,400 for those, who need to be able to shoot in extremely dim environments or want to get faster shutter speeds. Let’s take a look at those crazy ISOs:

ISO 51,200 is not bad at all and is much more usable when compared to Nikon D700′s ISO 25,600. I wouldn’t use ISO 102,400 though, because it is not only too grainy, but there seem to be issues with blue and red color blobs getting added to the picture (nearly impossible to deal with in post-production).

Conclusion:
The Nikon D3s is labeled as “high ISO king” for a reason – it clearly delivers outstanding results on high ISOs when compared to the first generation Nikon FX sensor. Nikon did the right thing by keeping the resolution the same as in Nikon D3 and not chasing after more megapixels like Canon has been lately. Keeping the number of pixels low allowed Nikon to use the same pixel size, also known as “pixel pitch” as in Nikon D3 (8.4 µm), while significantly increasing the sensitivity of the sensor. The difference between DX and FX has been shifted to a new level now, making it a whopping 3 full stops of light! This means that ISO 1,600 on a DX sensor will look very close to ISO 12,800 on a D3s FX sensor.

I will be posting a full high ISO noise test between Nikon D300 (DX), Nikon D700 (FX) and Nikon D3s (FX) tomorrow, so stay tuned!

Nikon DSLR and Lens Rebates

Nasim Mansurov — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 02:43:54 +0000

As I have noted before, Nikon is currently offering rebates for customers who are buying a DSLR together with a lens. Although not all Nikon lenses are available with this offer, some of the best Nikon lenses such as Nikon 70-200mm VR, Nikon 70-300mm VR and Nikon 24-70mm are available for an instant rebate.

NOTE: All camera and lens rebates have expired.

These rebates are good until March 27th, 2010, so if you want to buy a Nikon DSLR with a lens, hurry up and do it now.

Nikon D5000 Body

Nikon D5000 with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR – $30 off
Nikon D5000 with 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6G VR – $30 off
Nikon D5000 with 18-55mm & 55-200mm & Bag & DVD – $150 off
Nikon D5000 with 18-55mm & 70-300mm VR & Bag & DVD – $250 off
Nikon D5000 with 24-120mm f/3.5-5.6G VR – $230 off
Nikon D5000 with 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 VR – $230 off
Nikon D5000 with 18-200mm VR II Lens – $280 off

Nikon D90 Body

Nikon D90 with 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6G VR – $50 off
Nikon D90 with 18-105mm VR & 70-300mm VR – $250 off
Nikon D90 with 24-120mm f/3.5-5.6G VR – $250 off
Nikon D90 with 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 VR – $250 off
Nikon D90 with 18-200mm VR II Lens – $300 off

Nikon D300s Body

Nikon D300s with 16-35mm f/4.0G VR – $300 off
Nikon D300s with 24-120mm f/3.5-5.6G VR – $200 off
Nikon D300s with 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 VR – $200 off
Nikon D300s with 18-200mm VR II Lens – $250 off
Nikon D300s with 24-70mm f/2.8G Lens – $300 off
Nikon D300s with 70-200mm f/2.8G VR II – $400 off

Nikon D700 Body

Nikon D700 with 16-35mm f/4.0G VR – $300 off
Nikon D700 with 24-120mm f/3.5-5.6G VR – $200 off
Nikon D700 with 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 VR – $200 off
Nikon D700 with 18-200mm VR II Lens – $250 off
Nikon D700 with 24-70mm f/2.8G Lens – $300 off
Nikon D700 with 70-200mm f/2.8G VR II – $400 off

P.S. Please help us maintain this website by buying from the above links.

Canon EOS-1D Mark IV Autofocus vs Nikon D3s

Nasim Mansurov — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 19:35:18 +0000

Rob Galbraith, a well-known and respected photographer from Canada, has recently posted an article on autofocus performance of the new Canon EOS-1D Mark IV after using the camera for a while photographing various athletes that were preparing for the Vancouver 2010 Olympics. After weeks of shooting the camera, he compared the autofocus performance of the Canon EOS-1D Mark IV with the new Nikon D3s.

Here is a quick excerpt from his article:

It’s worth noting one other fundamental difference between the AF system in the D3S and that of the EOS-1D Mark IV. When Nikon focus is out, it doesn’t tend to be way out. More often than not, peak action frames that are not perfectly focused aren’t that blurry, making some of them still viable. That is, if you’re of a mind that it’s better to have a slightly soft frame of a great peak moment than a totally blurry one. The EOS-1D Mark IV, on the other hand, produces many more frames that are too soft to use for anything, no matter how sweet the moment.
To sum up, our experience with the D3S’ AF system is that it’s trustworthy and dependable enough for us to be confident using it for peak action sports. Not perfect: it needs to be a bit faster off the line, in addition to the other quibbles we’ve mentioned. But it does work as needed most of the time, which is in stark contrast to the experience of the EOS-1D Mark IV in the last month.

The above review is pretty much in line with what many other sports and action photographers have said after doing comparisons between the two cameras – the Nikon D3s is currently, without a doubt, a leader in both autofocus and low-light photography (high ISO performance).

When I looked at some sample pictures of the Canon EOS 1D Mark IV, I got a little worried about Nikon D3s future. However, after seeing some high ISO comparisons and hearing from pros on autofocus performance of both cameras, it turned out that D3s is the leader and it looks like it will stay that way for at least another two years! Sure, it is unfair to compare Nikon’s full frame sensor with a 1.3x cropped sensor, but poor autofocus performance has been Canon’s biggest weakness (especially in 1D Mark III) and despite the fact that Canon re-engineered their autofocus system from scratch in 1D Mark IV, it is still worse than Nikon’s legendary 51 point autofocus system.

Nikon D3s wins, end of story.