It's a great workhorse that can see in the dark, but you won't want to use ISO 409,600 very often
The Nikon D4,
launched back in 2012, was a revolutionary camera that combined fast
capture speed, superb ergonomics and control, and truly professional
caliber video options. In our review
we found the D4 to be a multimedia powerhouse that was designed from
the ground up to serve modern photojournalists asked to do it all. As
the company has done with previous generations of pro-level cameras like
the D2X/D2Xs, and D3/D3s, Nikon is back with a subtle refresh of its
top camera, touting greater dynamic range, improved continuous shooting
speed with autofocus, and a frankly ridiculous top ISO of 409,600. Meet Nikon's D4S (MSRP $6,499.95).
As
with those earlier top-level refreshes, the D4S doesn't drastically
alter the D4's blueprint. Instead, it's a minor adjustment of the camera
that preceded it, adding a couple of new features and a new processor
rather than taking the whole thing back to the drawing board.
We've gotten a chance to run the D4S through our full suite of lab
tests along with the standard 24-70mm f/2.8G Nikon lens to see what
working professionals can expect from Nikon's latest and greatest DSLR.
While the improvements are subtle, the D4S is without a doubt the best
digital SLR Nikon has ever produced.
Features
Nikon has been pretty tight-lipped about
the changes made to the D4S's sensor, but we're told that it's new and
that it has an effective pixel count of 16.23million, while the D4's count is 16.25 million. Not a huge change then, and the pixel pitch remains the same at 7.3 µm.
According
to Nikon, the new sensor and Expeed 4 engine combination results in an
approximately 1.5EV improvement in noise performance and this has given
the company the confidence to expand the D4S's native sensitivity
setting by 1EV on the D4 to ISO 100-25,600. In addition, the expanded range is ISO 50-409,600.
Thanks to the Expeed 4 processor, the D4S has a maximum continuous shooting rate of 11fps. The D4 can also manage this speed, but not the accompanied ability to focus and meter between shots.
The
buffer capacity has also been increased, enabling as many as 200 JPEG
Fine quality files, 176 compressed 12-bit raw files or 60 uncompressed
14-bit raw files to be captured in a single burst. As with the D4, these images may be written to either CompactFlash or XQD media as the D4S has two card ports.
The D4S has new mirror and sensor mechanisms, with the former having better dampening than the D4,
to give a more stable image in the viewfinder. The blackout time
between frames is also shorter and there's a shutter lag of just 42ms.
These facts (and the new processing engine) probably explain why the camera is able to focus when shooting at 11fps.
Nikon
has improved the autofocus algorithms for the D4S and it uses an
Advanced version of the Multi-CAM 3500AF module found in the D4.
This adds Group-area AF mode to help when shooting subjects that are
comparatively small and close to a high-contrast or distracting
background.
In
this mode, the user selects an AF point and the camera uses it and the
ones immediately above, below, left and right to keep the subject sharp.
As with the D4
and other Nikon SLRs, the D4S also has 9-,21- and 51-point dynamic-area
AF and 3D-tracking modes. In the latter mode, the camera uses colour
information from the subject and background to track the subject around
the frame.
It's a good option when there is a clear
colour contrast between the subject and its surroundings. It's not a
good choice for team sports, however, when there may be many objects of
the same colour milling around the scene.
It's
also possible to specify the speed at which the camera responds to
changes in the subject's distance. This is especially useful when
objects are likely to come between the camera and the subject
Like the D4,
the D4S has a 91,000-pixel RGB sensor that informs the metering and
white balance systems. In addition to 3D Color Matrix metering III,
there are three centre-weighted metering options and a Spot metering
mode. It's also now possible to select to use full-time face recognition
with Matrix metering when shooting stills, movies, and time-lapse
photography.
Nikon tells us that the D4S processes images differently from the D4 as out of focus areas are treated differently from sharp subjects to enhance shallow depth of field.
Another,
rather strange, addition to the D4S's feature list is the ability to
record small (4Mp), uncompressed 12-bit raw files.
It's
hard to imagine this being used very often, but perhaps those who shoot
exclusively for the internet will welcome it. It's worth noting at this
point that dropping to Small Raw files reduces the burst depth when
shooting continuously to 36, presumably because of the interpolation
that's required.
Naturally,
the D4S is capable of recording Full HD video and this can now be shot
at 50p/60p. Photographers can also set specific sensitivity settings,
rather than ranges in Manual exposure modes, and the sensitivity can be
set to up to ISO 409,600.
As with the D4,
the D4S offers three sensor crop formats, FX, DX, and native crop, the
latter of which gives a focal length magnification of approximately
2.7x. There's also a clean, uncompressed full-resolution HDMI output to
external devices.
Some people found that the D4's
green had a slightly green colour cast. Nikon has given the D4S a
monitor colour balance option that allows the LCD's colour to be
adjusted across two axes, blue-amber and green-magenta, with a total of
11 points along each axis.
While
there are GPS and Wi-Fi enabled devices available for the D4S, as well
as a Gigabit 100/1000TX Ethernet port for fast image transfer, it seems
rather odd that Wi-Fi connectivity and GPS technology aren't built-in.
The
D4S once again features dual card slots, but one slot can only be used
with CompactFlash cards, while the other can only be used with the newer
XQD card format. We wish Nikon would've just doubled down on one or the
other, as many photographers have loads of CF cards and readers. There
also doesn't seem to be any performance bottleneck with CF cards in
terms of shot-to-shot speed, though we found our high-speed CF card
yielded a capacity of 45 RAW/TIFF/RAW+JPEG frames or 115 JPEGs, which is
a bit lower than Nikon's claimed 100 RAW/200 JPEG capacity when using
XQD cards. The Nikon D4S includes a remote terminal port, USB out,
headphone/mic jacks, upgraded gigabit Ethernet, and HDMI output on the
side of the camera.The
only other major changes here are the new EN-EL18a battery, an upgraded
Ethernet port (Gigabit up from 100Base-TX), the addition of smaller RAW
files, and compatibility with the hotshoe-mounted GP-1A GPS unit.
Everything else is basically the same, as the D4S has the same mount,
viewfinder, metering sensor, autofocus unit, and LCDs as the D4. The
sensor is also "newly developed," but features resolution and
performance characteristics that are right in line with the D4. The only
drastic internal change is the new processor, which allows for the
minor performance improvements we covered above. The back of the D4S contains all the various selectors, as
well as control dials, a third LCD, and the locking door housing the
XQD/CF card slots.
For video shooters there are some big changes with the D4S that are
worth noting. Nikon has added the aforementioned 1080/60p video mode,
which is excellent, but at the high-quality setting clip length maxes
out at 10 minutes. You can also output clean, uncompressed 1080/60p via
HDMI to an external recorder and simultaneously record compressed
footage to the memory card. There's also some improved audio control,
letting you adjust the microphone's frequency response from "Wide" to
"Vocals" depending on your subject. Audio sensitivity can also be
adjusted while recording now.
Build and Handling
While the change to the shape of the memory card bay door
suggests that Nikon hasn't used the same mould for the D4S as it did for
the D4,
most of the other changes to the design are so subtle as to be almost
invisible. The slight changes to the shape of the shallow grooves where
the thumbs rest in horizontal and portrait format, for example, are very
hard to spot.
That's no bad thing, however, as the
camera remains very comfortable in the hand whether you're using the
horizontal or vertical grip. One
fairly obvious change is made to the two mini-joystick style Selector
controls on the back of the camera. These have a new firmer finish and
it makes them easier to find and use when wearing gloves or in the wet.
They are easier to identify when the camera is held to the eye than the
rubber-topped controls on the D4 and they feel a bit more positive in use.
Just like on the D4,
there are two command dials, an AF-on button and a shutter release
available at the top of both the horizontal and the vertical grip.
Logically, the movie-record button found next to the shutter release
above the horizontal grip isn't replicated above the vertical grip, but
there is a customisable function (Fn) button. Although
the layout of these controls is very similar on both grips, the shutter
release above the vertical grip is a little recessed into the body.
While the button is still easy to reach, it makes the front command dial
less prominent than the horizontal one and it's harder to find with
your finger. It's not a major issue, and it's something that D4 users will be used to already.
Most
of the other controls fall within convenient reach and are as
responsive as you'd expect with a pro-end SLR. The menu is also
logically arranged, but there are a few quirks in the D4S's control
system.
For example, it seems strange that the automatic
sensitivity option can only be activated via the main menu and not by
pressing the ISO button and rotating the main command dial. This feature
is useful given the D4S's 'go-anywhere' credentials and huge
sensitivity range. As
we've said before with other Nikon SLRs, some of the features available
for adjustment via the D4S's information screen, accessed by pressing
the Info button twice, seem a little odd. We think that the options to
change the functions of the preview and Fn buttons, for example, would
be better located in the main menu. This would free-up space in the
information screen for other features that may need to accessed on a
shot-by-shot basis, such as Exposure Delay.
Being an SLR,
the D4S has an optical viewfinder, and it's a great one, showing 100%
of the scene and being large and bright. As usual, when a DX lens is
mounted on the camera, the area outside the automatic cropping is
dimmed, so it's easy to compose images.
When the option
is activated via the menu, pressing the front function button brings up
the virtual horizon in the viewfinder to help with getting the horizon
level. As with Canon SLRs, this uses the AF point display to indicate
the camera's pitch, but unlike Canon's cameras it stays active while the
shutter release is pressed. This makes it much more useful, though you
have to remember which is the active AF point while the virtual horizon
is in use. While
the 3.2-inch 921,000-dot LCD provides a nice clear view and displays
colours accurately, as usual it suffers a little from reflections in
very bright conditions. Nevertheless, we found no reason to adjust the
screen's colour settings from their default position.
It's
clear that Nikon has done little if anything to improve the camera's
autofocusing in live view mode. This is slow and indecisive, although
it's unlikely to be a major issue for the camera's target audience.
Performance
The D4's AF system is no slouch, but the D4S's raises the
game even further. The peripheral AF points seem a little more
responsive and the new Group-area AF mode does an excellent job of
keeping a moving subject sharp.That's helpful as the AF points are still clustered around the middle of the image frame.
Apart
from the number of points involved (5 in Group-area AF) it's a little
unclear how this differs from the 9-, 21- and 51-point dynamic-area AF
modes, so it seems odd that it wasn't called 5-point dynamic-area AF
mode.
On the whole, the Matrix metering system copes
well with 'average' and bright scenes. In fact, it fairs impressively
well with some very bright subjects, delivering a well-exposed image
when lesser cameras would have underexposed.
It also
copes pretty well with dark subjects, but there's a slight tendency
towards overexposure in some situations. This only happens at times
where you might expect it, and it's easily dealt with via the exposure
compensation facility. A
pixel count of 16 million may be comparatively low by modern standards
(especially considering that Nikon favours 24 and 36Mp sensors in the
likes of the D7100 and D800)
but the D4S can resolve an impressive level of detail. Furthermore,
this is maintained a little better throughout the sensitivity range than
by the D4.
Our
images have little sign of chroma noise throughout the native
sensitivity range, ISO 100-25,600. The results at the first upper
expansion setting, ISO 51,200 are also impressive. At 100% on screen,
higher sensitivity JPEGs look a slightly smoothed appearance, but they
look very good at normal viewing sizes.
Of course the
burning question that the D4S raises is: what does an ISO 409,600 image
look like? The answer: pretty terrible. Our resolution chart images,
which are captured in bright conditions with even illumination flatter
it somewhat, but the darker side of our sensitivity series images show a
rather different picture. Even at small viewing sizes there's visible
banding in the JPEGs and at close scrutiny they have a cross-hatched
pattern.
The raw files look a little better, but there's
still some banding. However, it's important to remember that this is
not a sensitivity setting for everyday use. It's designed to be used by
professional photo journalists reporting important events in near
darkness in situations when any image is a bonus. Although
many pros shoot exclusively in raw format, some also need the immediacy
of JPEGs, so it's important that the D4S delivers good colours direct
from the camera.
Our tests reveal that it produces
vibrant images with natural-looking colour. Our lab results reveal that
it isn't quite as accurate as the D4
for colour, but it's very good and the difference probably comes down
to a slight boost in saturation, which makes images more pleasing.
We
found that the D4S's automatic white balance system does a very good
job in a range of lighting conditions. There are two options available,
Auto1 and Auto2, with the latter retaining the warmth of warm lighting.
We found that the Auto1 setting also produces images that retain the
atmosphere of the scene and that aren't over-corrected. Consequently,
images captured in heavily overcast conditions have a slight coolness,
while those taken in brighter conditions look slightly warmer. Switching
to the Direct sunlight setting produces slightly warmer images in very
overcast conditions, which some may prefer even if it's not strictly
accurate.
Importantly, we found that the LCD screen gave
an accurate representation of images during our testing. With some Nikon
cameras, such as the D5300, we've found that the LCD screen makes images taken in overcast or shaded conditions look colder than they actually are.
This
can cause photographers to change the white balance setting when they
don't actually need to and produce images with a colourcast. Thankfully,
the D4S doesn't suffer from this problem and we found that it shows
colours accurately.
In order to verify the D4S maximum
continuous shooting rate and burst depths, we shot several series of
images at the various sizes, compression ratios and bit-depths. We were
able to match the claims made by Nikon (11fps for 200 JPEG Fine quality
files, 176 compressed 12-bit raw files or 60 uncompressed 14-bit raw
files etc) with both a Lexar Professional 1000x UDMA7 CompactFlash card
and a Sony XQD. However,
as the shoot progressed we found that the grip gradually heated up a
little and as this happened, the burst depth dropped off. In some cases,
we were only able to fire off a short burst. Leaving the camera to cool
a little restored the burst depths to their former glory.
Sample Image
Colours
generally look good straight from the camera, with pleasant saturation
and nice skin tones. The auto white balance system has retained the
warmth in this scene well.
This
ISO 400 shot was taken using a 70-200mm f/2.8 lens at f/4 to blur the
distracting background. The detail on the bird's beak really leaps out
at you.
This shot has all the vibrancy of the original scene, the colours and contrast are spot-on.
The
D4S's Group-are AF system had no trouble keeping up with this
skateboarder as he came towards the camera. The images was taken at ISO
51,200 – the lowest sensitivity expansion setting and noise is
controlled well.
This
shot reveals the level of noise and banding in images taken at ISO
409,600. You wouldn't use this setting routinely, but it's useful for
pros reporting important events in near darkness.
There's
little sign of noise in this shot taken at ISO1250 and the details of
the main subject are nice and sharp, while the background is blurred
thanks to the f/2.8 aperture.
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