Professional DSLRs need to be peak performers. They have to be tough, fast and accurate to meet the demands of some unforgiving disciplines – press, sports and wildlife photography, the particular requirements of which insist upon very high specification.
Such cameras have short careers being soon superseded and so it was with the Nikon D4. An immediate winner when launched in 2012, it has been caught by its competitors.
So, the company took its best features and made small but telling changes to the image processing, shooting rate and autofocus then some deft touches, nips and tucks to the body for better ease of use and handling.
Nikon D4S: Features
Even so, the improved processing speed allows the D4S to continuously shoot up to 200 fine, large JPEGs or 104 uncompressed 14-bit raw files with a XQD memory card.
The fast and accurate AutoFocus (AF) system is the same as in the D4 – the Advanced Multi-CAM 3500FX, which has 51 AF points and ‘3D tracking’. There is also AF Group selection.
The D4S doesn’t have built-in Wi-Fi
connectivity. Instead - access is provided via Nikon’s WT-5 wireless
transmitter (costing around £500), which can also be used to trigger
multiple remote cameras with the press of the shutter.
This facility has been taken a step further to allow one of the function buttons to fire the remote cameras separately, without actually firing the commanding D4S camera. Press photographers who want to quickly send images back to the press office can do so using the D4S’s new 1000 Base-T (Gigabit) Ethernet socket.
In terms of video capture, the D4S has been given a much-needed 1920x1080 resolution with a 60/50p frame rate, bettering the 24/25/30p rates of the D4.
As before, there’s a stereo microphone socket with the option to adjust the recording sensitivity level. However, unlike the D4, the recording volume can now be altered while recording, when previously it was fixed while shooting.
Uncompressed video footage can be output from the HDMI socket to an external recording device, and the new camera can record the compressed footage simultaneously to the memory card.
This facility has been taken a step further to allow one of the function buttons to fire the remote cameras separately, without actually firing the commanding D4S camera. Press photographers who want to quickly send images back to the press office can do so using the D4S’s new 1000 Base-T (Gigabit) Ethernet socket.
In terms of video capture, the D4S has been given a much-needed 1920x1080 resolution with a 60/50p frame rate, bettering the 24/25/30p rates of the D4.
As before, there’s a stereo microphone socket with the option to adjust the recording sensitivity level. However, unlike the D4, the recording volume can now be altered while recording, when previously it was fixed while shooting.
Uncompressed video footage can be output from the HDMI socket to an external recording device, and the new camera can record the compressed footage simultaneously to the memory card.
The D4S doesn’t have built-in Wi-Fi
connectivity. Instead - access is provided via Nikon’s WT-5 wireless
transmitter (costing around £500), which can also be used to trigger
multiple remote cameras with the press of the shutter.
This facility has been taken a step further to allow one of the function buttons to fire the remote cameras separately, without actually firing the commanding D4S camera. Press photographers who want to quickly send images back to the press office can do so using the D4S’s new 1000 Base-T (Gigabit) Ethernet socket.
In terms of video capture, the D4S has been given a much-needed 1920x1080 resolution with a 60/50p frame rate, bettering the 24/25/30p rates of the D4.
As before, there’s a stereo microphone socket with the option to adjust the recording sensitivity level. However, unlike the D4, the recording volume can now be altered while recording, when previously it was fixed while shooting.
Uncompressed video footage can be output from the HDMI socket to an external recording device, and the new camera can record the compressed footage simultaneously to the memory card.
This facility has been taken a step further to allow one of the function buttons to fire the remote cameras separately, without actually firing the commanding D4S camera. Press photographers who want to quickly send images back to the press office can do so using the D4S’s new 1000 Base-T (Gigabit) Ethernet socket.
In terms of video capture, the D4S has been given a much-needed 1920x1080 resolution with a 60/50p frame rate, bettering the 24/25/30p rates of the D4.
As before, there’s a stereo microphone socket with the option to adjust the recording sensitivity level. However, unlike the D4, the recording volume can now be altered while recording, when previously it was fixed while shooting.
Uncompressed video footage can be output from the HDMI socket to an external recording device, and the new camera can record the compressed footage simultaneously to the memory card.
Other features are a new interval timer
and time-lapse image capture. Those who want to shoot such footage will
be pleased that the new EN-EL18a battery can take 3,020 shots, compared
to 2,600 with the D4 and EN-EL14 battery.
Finally, the sensor is the same 16.2-million-pixel full-frame (36 x 23.9mm) CMOS version as the D4. However, the processor it is coupled with is the new Expeed 4, which is 30% faster than its predecessor.
This, of course, is the main driving force behind the faster speed of capture but it also brings improvements to image-processing speed and quality.
Consequently, ISO sensitivity now runs from ISO 100-25,600 instead of ISO 100-12,800. The extended sensitivity settings have also been improved with a new Hi4 extended mode that represents a sensitivity of an incredible ISO 409,600.
At
first glance the D4S and the D4 appear to be dead ringers, the only
difference being their respective designations. Look closer, though, and
modifications are evident. Though they are small, they should make
operating the camera easier.
To begin with, the contours to the grip have been altered slightly, making the hefty 1,350g camera more comfortable to hold generally, but especially when wearing gloves.
The buttons have been modified a touch too, with the rear joystick controls having a textured finish, rather than the raised crowns on the D4.
Of course, being Nikon’s flagship DSLR, the body is magnesium alloy and fully weather-sealed to withstand the tough conditions and rough handling that’s the lot of every such camera.
Although the myriad buttons adorning the camera may look perplexing, the D4S is actually straightforward to use. All main functions have a dedicated button or control, and the small rear and top-plate LCD panels mean all the current settings are displayed – so changing them can be easily done.
Straightforward doesn’t necessarily mean simple. The D4S’s menu system hosts a huge amount of customisable features, and most professionals will no doubt head straight to the autofocus settings to tailor them to their requirements.
The D4S’s viewfinder is the same as the D4, with 0.70x magnification and 100% coverage. It is large enough to allow a really good look around the scene, and bright enough to manually focus, especially with the focus indicator in the bottom of the window.
There’s also a shutter to prevent light entering the camera from the viewfinder during extremely long exposures.
Once again, the rear 3.2in, 921k-dot LCD screen has been brought over from the D4 but, as well as automatic brightness adjustment, there’s the ability to fine-tune its colour.
Photographing moving subjects in continuous AF, and with 3D tracking on, the camera tracked more than capably. I shot 11fps and all the frames were in focus. What’s also impressive is that when shooting at 11fps while in 51-point AF with 3D tracking mode activated you can actually see the AF point changing in the viewfinder.
There are a host of alternative focus settings, including the Group Optimised AF mentioned earlier. This uses a group of 5 points and switches between these when focusing – ideal for subjects that remain in roughly the same point in the frame.
The 91k-pixel RGB metering system coped admirably with a variety of scenes including a dawn in central London, a bright afternoon in a country park, and an overcast but bright day at the races. The camera’s scene recognition almost always second-guessed the exposure I wanted.
Images shot in flat lighting with moving subjects are pleasingly bright, with highlights in the sky taken to the point of clipping, leaving plenty of detail in the foreground.
Likewise, highlights in the cityscape were at the point of clipping, leaving lovely detail in the sky, with a brooding, slightly underexposed foreground.
The near-perfect balance between highlight and shadow was helped by a nice JPEG tone curve when in standard image mode. Switching the Active D-Lighting helped lift shadows, with little
Finally, the sensor is the same 16.2-million-pixel full-frame (36 x 23.9mm) CMOS version as the D4. However, the processor it is coupled with is the new Expeed 4, which is 30% faster than its predecessor.
This, of course, is the main driving force behind the faster speed of capture but it also brings improvements to image-processing speed and quality.
Consequently, ISO sensitivity now runs from ISO 100-25,600 instead of ISO 100-12,800. The extended sensitivity settings have also been improved with a new Hi4 extended mode that represents a sensitivity of an incredible ISO 409,600.
Nikon D4S: Design
To begin with, the contours to the grip have been altered slightly, making the hefty 1,350g camera more comfortable to hold generally, but especially when wearing gloves.
The buttons have been modified a touch too, with the rear joystick controls having a textured finish, rather than the raised crowns on the D4.
Of course, being Nikon’s flagship DSLR, the body is magnesium alloy and fully weather-sealed to withstand the tough conditions and rough handling that’s the lot of every such camera.
Although the myriad buttons adorning the camera may look perplexing, the D4S is actually straightforward to use. All main functions have a dedicated button or control, and the small rear and top-plate LCD panels mean all the current settings are displayed – so changing them can be easily done.
Straightforward doesn’t necessarily mean simple. The D4S’s menu system hosts a huge amount of customisable features, and most professionals will no doubt head straight to the autofocus settings to tailor them to their requirements.
The D4S’s viewfinder is the same as the D4, with 0.70x magnification and 100% coverage. It is large enough to allow a really good look around the scene, and bright enough to manually focus, especially with the focus indicator in the bottom of the window.
There’s also a shutter to prevent light entering the camera from the viewfinder during extremely long exposures.
Once again, the rear 3.2in, 921k-dot LCD screen has been brought over from the D4 but, as well as automatic brightness adjustment, there’s the ability to fine-tune its colour.
Nikon D4S: Performance
It’s fair to have high expectations of the D4S’s AF system, and on the whole these were met.Photographing moving subjects in continuous AF, and with 3D tracking on, the camera tracked more than capably. I shot 11fps and all the frames were in focus. What’s also impressive is that when shooting at 11fps while in 51-point AF with 3D tracking mode activated you can actually see the AF point changing in the viewfinder.
There are a host of alternative focus settings, including the Group Optimised AF mentioned earlier. This uses a group of 5 points and switches between these when focusing – ideal for subjects that remain in roughly the same point in the frame.
The 91k-pixel RGB metering system coped admirably with a variety of scenes including a dawn in central London, a bright afternoon in a country park, and an overcast but bright day at the races. The camera’s scene recognition almost always second-guessed the exposure I wanted.
Images shot in flat lighting with moving subjects are pleasingly bright, with highlights in the sky taken to the point of clipping, leaving plenty of detail in the foreground.
Likewise, highlights in the cityscape were at the point of clipping, leaving lovely detail in the sky, with a brooding, slightly underexposed foreground.
The near-perfect balance between highlight and shadow was helped by a nice JPEG tone curve when in standard image mode. Switching the Active D-Lighting helped lift shadows, with little
