Nikon Announces D4 !

[K.C.]

Looks like the MP race is over.

http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/05/nikon-d4-dslr-camera/

[BernardLanguillier]

Yep. I should be available on Feb 16th, 6000 US$ list price in the US.

"Interestingly", it appears to be 20-30% more expensive in Japan than in the US:
- 6000 US$ list price corresponding to 463,000 Yen,
- The current Yodobashi price is 648,000 Yen - 10% in points = 583,000 Yen.

Online stores might end up being 10% cheaper, but it will stil be around 530,000 Yen.

It would seem that the Japanese customers are expected to pay for some of the profit loss Nikon is enduring because of the stronger Yen when selling in the US... I guess many will instead buy from US online stores...

Cheers,
Bernard

[wolfnowl]

And so it begins...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vP1x2DbS55E
http://regex.info/blog/2012-01-06/1916

Mike.

[pegelli]

Looks like the MP race is over.

http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/05/nikon-d4-dslr-camera/

Thanks for the link, interesting!

Not sure about your statement on MP race though, you might be right but maybe it's better to wait until after the D4x specs get published 

[uaiomex]

http://www.nikon.com.au/en_AU/product_details.page?DCRPath=templatedata/en_AU/saleable_product_information/data/Digital%20SLR%20Cameras/D4.xml&currentProductTab=4&CategoryID=gp11zkm9

They look to me real nice. And considering they are "introduction files" they are awesome.

Eduardo

[BernardLanguillier]

http://www.nikon.com.au/en_AU/product_details.page?DCRPath=templatedata/en_AU/saleable_product_information/data/Digital%20SLR%20Cameras/D4.xml&currentProductTab=4&CategoryID=gp11zkm9

They look to me real nice. And considering they are "introduction files" they are awesome.

Sounds very good indeed. Nice and crispy yet devoid of any visible halo or artifacts. Should be perfect for the targeted audience who cannot afford to waste time checking files for possible issues.

The 6400 images seems better than ISO 80 on most compact cameras. 

I wonder whether these are jpg out of camera or raw.

Cheers,
Bernard

[DaveCurtis]

You will be getting one I take it Bernard?

it will be interesting to see how it compares with the 1Dx.

Those files @6400 look impressive.

[BernardLanguillier]

You will be getting one I take it Bernard?

it will be interesting to see how it compares with the 1Dx.

Those files @6400 look impressive.

Hi Dave,

I am not sure whether I'll get one. Not because of concerns about the specs or quality of the files, but because of the opportunity cost.

Low light is a tiny part of my shooting and the D7000 is actually very good already for most practical purposes. At low ISO I don't expect a huge difference eventhough the D4 is probably going to deliver a more forgiving file.

At least not until we have clarity about the rumored D800 and certainly not at the current price in Japan.

Now, never say never. :-)

Cheers,
Bernard

[BernardLanguillier]

I came accross this video sample:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZZMIo7Zfys&feature=youtu.be&hd=1

I don't know much about video, but it seems pretty good to me, no?

Cheers,
Bernard

[NikoJorj]

91k-pixel RGB 3D Color Matrix Meter, and still no ETTR metering mode?

[Philip Weber]

Bernard - I am looking to possibly upgrade from my D700 to the D800 as I do a lot of landscapes. The D4 looks great but for the price and specs, it's really not meant for me. While the rumored specs on the D800 are still unconfirmed, it appears the 36mp is for real.

I'd appreciate any/all insights you might have on things to consider before buying a camera like the D800. I have their top glass and my computer and digital storage are not issues.

However, what's your take on the AA filter (assuming they do issue two models), is shooting hand held a camera with that high of resolution possible, even with VR, etc. I mostly use a tripod but still...

Thanks in advance for any assistance you (or anyone else!) may be able to provide in this matter.

Phil

[Garrick L]

The D4 certainly looks interesting especially for the the style of photographers it's targeted toward, but for me it isn't what I want. I'm really surprised that Nikon didn't target to announce the D800 before the D4, but I admit I'm basing this only on my view of a large group of landscape photographers that jumped ship from Nikon to Canon and went with the 5D MkII. It just feels like this market would be the one Nikon would have wanted to gain some market share more quickly. Anyone else tend to feel the same?

-Garrick

[Wayne Fox]

Looks like the MP race is over.

http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/05/nikon-d4-dslr-camera/

There may be some truth to that as far as Canon and Nikon are concerned... in that camera makers are no longer touting mp's as a main upgrade feature of their cameras.  I don't think that means we won't see much higher resolution sensors in cameras, there is plenty of room for quality improvements in resolution ... even far beyond 36mp.

The high dSLR market is dominated by those that need fast focus, fast capture rates, best possible high ISO performance, and rugged bodies.  They don't need 36mp.  Thus the move by Nikon, similar to Canon's announced 1Dx.

But these aren't the mainstream cameras of either company, which sells a great share of it's dSLR's to a segment that craves more resolution and much less interested in fast capture rates and amazing autofocus.  whether a 36mp sensor can actually deliver that (because many of these shooters also don't buy the best glass) remains to be seen, but both companies appear to be responding accordingly.  thus the rumors persist that both the d800 and 5d mk3 will be @36mp.  there are also rumblings of sony making a ff mirrorless camera sporting a 36mp sensor.

guess we'll wait and see ...

[craigwashburn]

The D4 certainly looks interesting especially for the the style of photographers it's targeted toward, but for me it isn't what I want. I'm really surprised that Nikon didn't target to announce the D800 before the D4, but I admit I'm basing this only on my view of a large group of landscape photographers that jumped ship from Nikon to Canon and went with the 5D MkII. It just feels like this market would be the one Nikon would have wanted to gain some market share more quickly. Anyone else tend to feel the same?

-Garrick

The Olympics are this year and the journalism equipment depots will need to be making their purchases soon.  This is who the D4 is aimed at - it even has an ethernet plug!  It's a camera for journalism, sports and others who need speed/high ISO/durability/rapid access over resolution.  

I doubt there's a D4X in the works just like Canon did away with the 1DS.  The D800 will be the high resolution body (Canon's equivalent will be the 5D mkIII).   Also, the D800 factory was walloped by the floods in Thailand, so who knows when it will be ready...

[RobSaecker]

The Olympics are this year and the journalism equipment depots will need to be making their purchases soon.  This is who the D4 is aimed at - it even has an ethernet plug!

I don't believe that's true. I saw that in the DCR article, but I see no mention of it in Nikon's official announcement.

Also, the D800 factory was walloped by the floods in Thailand, so who knows when it will be ready...

I don't think that's accurate either, the Thailand factory made consumer bodies; D3100/51000, not the D700. Though the earthquake/tsunami surely had an effect on the matter.

[LKaven]

Yep, it has a jack for an RJ45 cable for direct internet connection, or with an adaptor, a WiFi connection.  You can log in from anywhere on the web to control your camera, and that includes iPhones and iPads.

[BernardLanguillier]

Bernard - I am looking to possibly upgrade from my D700 to the D800 as I do a lot of landscapes. The D4 looks great but for the price and specs, it's really not meant for me. While the rumored specs on the D800 are still unconfirmed, it appears the 36mp is for real.

I'd appreciate any/all insights you might have on things to consider before buying a camera like the D800. I have their top glass and my computer and digital storage are not issues.

However, what's your take on the AA filter (assuming they do issue two models), is shooting hand held a camera with that high of resolution possible, even with VR, etc. I mostly use a tripod but still...

Hi Phil,

About AA or no AA, I frankly don't know. On the principle I prefer a AA filter because the real life impact on sharpness is small while the near total lack of artifacts results in an image that is truer to the scene and faster to process (no need to waste time looking for moire that you often only see in large prints). Now, I often do panos also, so the 5% sharpness loss resulting from the AA filter is mostly unsignificant.

Then it is about whether you can deal with the fact that your images will need a degree of sharpening to appear sharp at 100% on screen. It seems that many folks enjoy the immediateness if sharpness when opening an image shot with an AA filter less device, whether the details are real or not.

Now Pentax has shown that very clean AA filter less files are possible, so I would say that we'll have to wait for actual images).

As far as being able to shoot sharp images hand held, if I judge from my d7000, the answer is yes when using live view. I am rarely 100% satisfied by AF images when using a lens wide open. Some place is critically sharp but not always exactly the one I would want to be.

Cheers,
Bernard

[craigwashburn]

I don't believe that's true. I saw that in the DCR article, but I see no mention of it in Nikon's official announcement.

The last image on this overview is of the ports:  http://www.dpreview.com/articles/7799914638/nikon-d4-overview/3

Ethernet cable can be useful for reliable high speed transfers over a network and remote control.  Cameras mounted high up on a catwalk come to mind.  A lot of stage lighting is ethernet controlled these days, so it's not unusual to find such connections in that area.   I don't see a huge demand for it, but some people will be glad to have it.  

I don't think that's accurate either, the Thailand factory made consumer bodies; D3100/51000, not the D700. Though the earthquake/tsunami surely had an effect on the matter.

You're correct, however parts are/were made in Thailand and it is known that the announcement of the D800 was delayed for this reason.

[BernardLanguillier]

As far as the D4 being announced earlier, there are probably a few factors:
- the need to react to the Canon 1DX paper launch. The D4 will ship 1.5 months earlier, but many people see it already as a reaction to the 1DX,
- the Olympics approaching and the need for pros to fully validate the performance for still and video,
- although the D800 is probably going to be produced/assembled in Sendai (Japan), it could be that some critical components were to be produced in Thailand,
- the reactions to the D800 rumors were very negative in some forums (possibly Orchastrated by competitors) and most people then wrote that they didn't care about more resolution... Now of course it is the opposite. :-)

Cheers,
Bernard

[RobSaecker]

The last image on this overview is of the ports:  http://www.dpreview.com/articles/7799914638/nikon-d4-overview/3

Ethernet cable can be useful for reliable high speed transfers over a network and remote control.  Cameras mounted high up on a catwalk come to mind.  A lot of stage lighting is ethernet controlled these days, so it's not unusual to find such connections in that area.   I don't see a huge demand for it, but some people will be glad to have it.

Great, now we're going to have cameras sending spam.