Digital Home Thoughts - News & Reviews for the Digital Home

What's funny about this video - and it's not the ham-handed joke at the beginning - is that it's highly unlikely that a first-time DSLR buyer would pick one of these up. More likely is that pros or semi-pros with lots of money already invested in a lens system would pick a model from their brand of DSLR. Still, it's fun to compare each model and see where each one shines - Nikon really trumps Canon now in low-light shooting in terms of noise, but Canon has a clear lead in the realm of video while Nikon sputters along at 720p 24fps video.

"When the Nikon D3 was launched in August 2007, it had an immediate impact on the DSLR market, and not only in the professional sector.... A little over two years later, and Nikon is trying to build on the foundations laid by the D3's runaway success. Enter the D3S. Ergonomically, very little has changed. ... [B]ut the D3S does offer some significant improvements, not least a new 720x1280p video capture mode, and several minor tweaks designed to make the new camera more competitive."

Barnaby Britton, of dpreview.com, has published an extensive review of the new Nikon D3S, as befits a fairly expensive ($5,199 MSRP, US, body only) professional level DSLR. In addition to the new video mode, the D3S adds an even broader ISO range (all the way out to ISO 102,400!), and a larger memory buffer, to go along with dual CF slots, a Virtual Horizon Graphic Indicator, and batteries capable of approximately 4,200 images per charge. This is a large camera - note the relative size of the 3-inch LCD monitor in the photo above - and also apparently a complex one, "that rewards a careful reading of the bible-thick instruction manual, even if you are a habitual Nikon shooter." Nikon made several marketing decisions in the design and feature content of the D3S: read the full review to learn the details - and then let us know where you stand on the "Higher ISO vs. Higher Resolution" debate!

"Nikon Canada today introduced the FX-format D3s digital SLR, providing professional photographers with a powerful tool that redefines the boundaries of digital SLR versatility, while maintaining the strength of superior image quality and high speed performance inherited from its groundbreaking D3. The D3s enables new opportunities in low-light photography, providing photographers with an added shutter speed and aperture choice with a base ISO sensitivity range from ISO 200 to a remarkable 12,800; and features an incredible Hi3 setting of 102,400, enabling photographers to create images previously thought impossible. The Nikon D3s builds upon the success of the Nikon D3 -- the camera that set new standards for professional digital SLR performance -- and utilizes a newly designed, Nikon original 12.1-megapixel FX-format CMOS sensor that also integrates its amazing low-light ability to High Definition (HD) video, creating a uniquely capable multi-media tool to meet the needs of the ever-changing imaging industry"

The big deal with the Nikon D3s seems to be the ISO sensitivity - it uses a newly-designed sensor that works from ISO 200 to ISO 12,800...or ISO 100 (Lo 1) up to ISO 102,400 (Hi 3). No, that's not a typo - Hi 1 is ISO 25,600, Hi 2 is 51,200, and Hi 3 is a staggering ISO 102,400. Somewhat curiously, this new sensor is only 12.1 megapixels. I'm not a proponent for more megapixels "just because", but as anyone who's had to crop the heck out of a short-lens shot will tell you, more megapixels do come in handy - as long as the quality doesn't suffer. It might simply be that in order to reach those insanely high ISO values while still maintaining quality, the resolution had to be kept at 12 megapixels.

I'm really curious to see what kind of noise an image would have at ISOs that high - or, conversely, how clean the images are at ISO 3200, a value that I consider to be high when I have to shoot at it. Worth noting is that this sensor is touted as a "Nikon Original FX-format CMOS sensor" - Sony has designed many of the sensors in Nikon cameras. Is this the start of something new for Nikon? I think the D3 sensor might have been Nikon-designed as well - can anyone confirm that?

[The video above wasn't uploaded in HD, so someone fell off the cluetrain, but you can see the hella-good ISO performance. Another video here.]

Other features on the D3s include 720p 24fps HD video, which apparently includes a new algorithm that "severely reduces" the rolling shutter effect. No mention of what's needed most for shooting videos though: auto-focus with subject tracking and in-body image stabilization. I recently purchased a Nikon D5000 to get my first taste of DSLR HD video, which I'll write more about later, but the lack of in-body image stabilization when I'm shooting with my f/1.8 35mm prime makes for some nausea-inducing videos unless I'm extremely careful.

The remainder of the press release is after the break, along with a shot of the back of the camera. Read more...