Photography Thailand Forum

[Gregg Spradling]

Nikon announces D4

16.2MP
extended iso up to 204,800
brand new full-frame FX-format sensor
10fps
51 AF points (cross type)
1080p /30 video
supports UDMA7 CF and XQD format (up to 125 MB/sec write speeds)

$6,000 price tag  

There's also a 91k-pixel RGB color matrix (D3S was 1k) which supposedly will allow it to evaluate color and brightness to a much higher degree.

The back-lit controls sounds pretty cool as well.

[Michael Luthi]

it sure is pricey but i think not much different to a D3
but the features are awesome, i hope that some of it will find its way into the D800 due soon...

http://nikonrumors.com/2012/01/06/nikon-d4-demohands-on-videos-wow.aspx/#more-30134

[Marc Schultz]

The high frame rate and pixel count is similar to the recent announcement from Canon. I think what these camera manufacturers are going to learn the hard way is that Canon people for example are not going to spend $6,000-$7,000 for the latest model camera (unless they need the high frame rate) when they can get one with more pixels for half the price. And in general I think people are also buying less into the whole "pro build" body concept now. So ruggedness of the body is becoming secondary and both Canon and Nikon are completely missing what the market really wants by trying to charge double for the same camera specs (and with less resolution) simply because the body is stronger and has a higher frame rate.

Chances are I will never spend the money for another Canon "pro body" in the US$7,000-$8,000 price range again when the prosumer bodies they are offering (and will continue to offer for half the price of the pro series) adequately serves the purpose. In fact, I was prepared to pay the requisite $8,000 for a new pro body up until recently. But since Canon hasn't released anything new at the top of the range for 4 years already, I simply got tired of waiting. And so then I went prosumer and saved myself US$5,000 instead.

As a result they now got me hooked as a prosumer user instead and a bit of a marketing "fau pas" in my opinion on their behalf to drop the MP count on the pro model down below that of the prosumer model in exchange for giving specs most working photographers don't need.

Meanwhile, I heard Sony will be putting out a 30+ MP DSLR very soon. Sounds like they might be pulling ahead in the market knowing that at the professional level people still want more pixels (I know I do), despite there being talk that the pixels race is over. More pixels means I can crop more. And if I could crop half the frame and still be left with 20 million pixels, then that would be something that interests me a lot. It also means if I shoot something at say 30MP or 40MP, and the focus on a shot is a bit soft, then I can sometimes downsize the resolution on the image and increase sharpness that way. And while still being left with a lot of pixels if the original image was very high res to start with.

10-14 frames per second is something that would only interest people shooting auto racing and other very high speed action in my opinion and something I would never spend the money for.

[Michael Luthi]

Good Morning Mark
i am going to agree and disagree with your. I think things changed a lot since we last shot film. Things then were very clear when it comes to pro equipment. It was the F3, F4 and F5 (i am on the darkside so i talk Nikon but Canon has its equivalents) for the pros, there was just nothing else, though the introduction of the F100 brought a bit of a change.
The digital era did not start any different D1 D2 for the pro, the rest could not really hold the water. Since the D3, released together with the D300 and the release of the D700 the following year things have changed. Now pros started to have a choice depending on what you shoot. D3S for low light performance and fast fps appealing to the photo journalist, D3X for more pixels geared towards the studio shooter, D700 a lighter version of the D3 for portability for the landscape and travel photograph and the D300 in DX format for the wild life shooter who needs more reach. Hell, the D7000 is even an option.
The D4 and what will follow (D800 soon, D400 a bit later) just build on this. The D4 is totally geared towards photojournalist, be it daily news sports or anything else. These guys still want great pics but they don't need the pixels but want connectivity, they got it, Video on top. Want more pixels, wait a month and a 36MP D800 will be presented, the low light capability will be lower, that is a given, but it will be a very good camera for landscape, travel. looking at the D4 features then there are some great things in there and they will filter down to the lower bodies over the years. Would i want one? yes definitively! would i pay 6000$, no i am not making money with photos, do i want a D800 with similar features? oh yes.
i am sure there will be much more demand for the camera than supply and non-NPS people will not see one until another 8-10months.

[Marc Schultz]

Michael - I think you summed it up when you said you wouldn't pay $6,000 for one and neither would I even though I might be able to justify the cost for business purposes. It just doesn't suit for non sports/journalism shooters, nor does the new Canon equivalent that was just announced in that price range.

My point was at the moment the prosumer bodies have more of what professionals need than the newer flagship bodies they just announced. And where I thought both Nikon and Canon are making a mistake is by announcing something with less pixels geared towards sports and news photographers rather than putting out a much needed update to their flagship pro bodies by adding more pixels and a newer processor with less noise.

Look at Canon's 1DS Mark III for example being 4 years old already and with a processor that is already 2 generations back. And this is their top of the line body at the moment???

In fact, I know more pros shooting with the 5D Mark II than the current flagship 1DS Mark III. Case in point. And would I spring $8,000 for a 1DS Mark IV (if it ever is released) with specs of 28-30MP at this point? Probably not.

I would though spend another $3,000 for the next generation 5D Mark III (even though I recently bought a 5D Mark II) assuming the pixel count jumps high enough on the next 5D release to where I can see it being a useful addition to my workflow.

[Gregg Spradling]

I think this has been going on since the 5DmkII came out as it canabalized part of the 1Ds mkIII sales. It will be interesting to see what the 5DmkIII is (if ever released) as it very well could eat into the 1D X sales, and I think Canon knows this. 

[Marc Schultz]

Good point. But I think the current 5D Mark II will already eat into 1DX sales. I had been waiting nearly 2 years for Canon to announce a new 1DS series camera and out of pure need for more resolution I bought my 5D Mark II a week or two after the 1DX was announced knowing there was nothing forthcoming anytime soon from Canon that would meet my expectations in a new 1DS series body.

[Michael Luthi]

One more month and we should see the D800, the D700 replacement and 5D equivalent.
Nikon will be releasing the two top cameras quite close together and it should become clear what target markets the two have... Wait and see :)

[Marc Schultz]

For people who do a lot of both video and stills, the quick switch button on the back for switching from still to video does look handy:

[David Salmanowitz]

Look at this D4, the back looks like Mission Control. I am sure it is a fine camera but there are so many bells and whistles one will never use even if one could find them within the menu. I have been shooting a D700 the last few years, a fine camera. Yet for street shooting still like a brick hanging off  the shoulder, and is anything but unobtrusive. To me the best thing about the D3s and now the D4 are the low light capabilities, but still to get that one is forced to carry around a massive heavy camera. If they put this low light capability in a lot smaller package they would have me a lot more interested.

Last month was fooling with a store's Leica S2 SLR and wow, stellar image quality, ergonomically just great, and a menu that is understandable--yes not cheap, I think just the camera is 23k and with the sapphire crystal cover and platinum warranty 28k. Design wise Leica seems to understand stuff all the others do not, it felt great in my hands and was very intuitive. Cannot say enough about the Leica glass, it is superior to any of the Japanese glass but one pays for it w/o a doubt.  Have seen where an older Leica 400mm was rigged to the S2 SLR. http://www.reddotforum.com/content.php/176-Testing-the-Leica-400mm-APO-Telyt-Modular-R-on-the-Leica-S2   If Leica came out with long glass for that camera many wildlife photographers who could afford it would be shooting that camera, but till I find my winning lottery ticket I am not one of them. 

[Marc Schultz]

Speaking of glass, the sharpest lens I ever shot with was the Hasselblad 120mm macro. My favorite lens of all time :)

Sadly all that is left of it is this photo: