Nikon launches the D3S - 12mp full framer with HD video.

[Xavier]

http://www.letsgodigital.org/images/artikelen/35/nikon-d3s-digital-slr.jpg

Image from letsgodigital.org

To me this looks like just another 'meh' upgrade with 720p HD video recording. The increased ISO numbers look good though. There were rumours about it being a 14fps machinegun, turned out to be false. Its the same old 9fps in full frame and 11fps in crop. ISO 12800 being base sounds exciting.

http://www.dpreview.com/news/0910/09101402nikonD3s.asp

http://www.dpreview.com/news/0910/09101403nikond3shandson.asp

[KrishnenduKes]

News Approved

[hitanshu]

They are just offering more options for people - horses for unknown courses - in order to compete with canon

[Xavier]

They are just offering more options for people - horses for unknown courses - in order to compete with canon

The D3S isn't really competing with any Canon product actually. I just hope they stop screwing around with the same 12mp sensor to death. D3, D700, D3s, what next?

Oh and the high fps is severely crippled since its in the DX mode and not the FX mode. Nikon's video so far has been an epic fail, and this promises to be no different.

[hitanshu]

oh yes, that angle I completely forgot.

Good point

[powerslave]

I think this body is an epic win.

- Improved pixel pitch == (expectedly) kickass noise free high ISOs. The Hi3 Expansion sounds like a gimmick, but the overall high ISO quality should have most def improved.
- AF in movie mode.
- If I think what the multi exposure option is right, then its an interesting addition.
- 9FPS for a full frame == epic win.

Overall looks like a win to me. For now. Given that it has an FX sensor with such high speed shooting and so many modes, epic win.

I can't wait for the 1d MKIV considering this camera and the 7D.


Edit: Also having used the D2H to shoot baseball, with its AF and features, I can see this is one EPIC camera.

EDIT2: Something to look forward to : http://www.canonrumors.com/2009/10/announcement-october-20-2009-cr3/ I have this crazy urge to splurge. I might just buy this and forget about buying another cam for the next 10 years.

[KrishnenduKes]

I think this body is an epic win.

- Improved pixel pitch == (expectedly) kickass noise free high ISOs. The Hi3 Expansion sounds like a gimmick, but the overall high ISO quality should have most def improved.
- AF in movie mode.
- If I think what the multi exposure option is right, then its an interesting addition.
- 9FPS for a full frame == epic win.

Overall looks like a win to me. For now. Given that it has an FX sensor with such high speed shooting and so many modes, epic win.

I can't wait for the 1d MKIV considering this camera and the 7D.


Edit: Also having used the D2H to shoot baseball, with its AF and features, I can see this is one EPIC camera.

Thanks for all the details. I am not at all a gadget freak. And thus I am not much cued to all this seemingly added paraphernalia. I am sure they deliver something. Maybe I will upgrade within the next decade!

[powerslave]

This camera's a monster!

[Xavier]

'- Improved pixel pitch == (expectedly) kickass noise free high ISOs. The Hi3 Expansion sounds like a gimmick, but the overall high ISO quality should have most def improved. '
Yes, this is the most interesting new spec of this camera.

'- AF in movie mode.'
I'd rather have 1020p and/or 30&60 fps in addition to the AF.

'- 9FPS for a full frame == epic win.'
Nothing new, considering that this is the 3rd Nikon camera to do this.

I can't wait for the 1d MKIV considering this camera and the 7D.
^+666 :p

Something to look forward to : http://www.canonrumors.com/2009/10/announcement-october-20-2009-cr3/ I have this crazy urge to splurge. I might just buy this and forget about buying another cam for the next 10 years.
I've been keeping a track on this too. Stuff like 12fps and the awesome AF mode of the 7D combined with the built of the 1series should make for a delicious package.

[anvancy-(macro analyst)]

i want one!:p...any donors?

anvancy

[powerslave]

If they price the 1d MK IV on the shy side of $4000, it is going to be unbelievably difficult to resist.

[Xavier]

If they price the 1d MK IV on the shy side of $4000, it is going to be unbelievably difficult to resist.
Rich guy! :D

[anvancy-(macro analyst)]

If they price the 1d MK IV on the shy side of $4000, it is going to be unbelievably difficult to resist.

yeh garib ko thoda paisa de do baba..:p

but i love the fact of the D3s that the shooting goes at 24fps..proper film ishstyle!

anvancy

[powerslave]

Abbey rich hoga tumhara baap :p. I'm looking at it as the most stable investment! That and glass. Better than investing in stocks or MFs :D

[Xavier]

but i love the fact of the D3s that the shooting goes at 24fps..proper film ishstyle!

anvancy
Nikon did not get right in their previous video implementations. There were many problems like the rolling shutter and the maximum length amongst other things. The D3s should do better, not better than the 7D or the 5D Mark II though.

[Xavier]

Abbey rich hoga tumhara baap :p. I'm looking at it as the most stable investment! That and glass. Better than investing in stocks or MFs :D

I wish! :p
MF? Mutual Funds or Manual Focus glass? :p

[anvancy-(macro analyst)]

Abbey rich hoga tumhara baap :p. I'm looking at it as the most stable investment! That and glass. Better than investing in stocks or MFs :D

in ur dreams bro!!

u then have seen me flouting latest and rare glasses for my cam.

an input for mic is an added advantage when making movies.

but sometimes i feel this HD videoing becomes a big hype.either way you keep on clicking,when u shoot HD the card fills up.so putting extra money for HD??
before you say HD is superior,i know its superior..but considering main as photoing,HD will be in backside considering my case.

anvancy

anvancy

[Xavier]

but sometimes i feel this HD videoing becomes a big hype.either way you keep on clicking,when u shoot HD the card fills up.so putting extra money for HD??
before you say HD is superior,i know its superior..but considering main as photoing,HD will be in backside considering my case.

anvancy

Hyped or not, you get 'kickass' (sorry Manas :p) video quality at <$1000. The equivalent pro camcorder would cost > $5000. And it's not like its costing the manufacturers extra. So, why not? I believe that no new Canon DSLR will lack HD video recording.

Check this video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXH_2KVT8uY&annotation_id=annotation_193100&feature=iv) shot using the Canon 5D Mark II and a couple of L Lenses. Crazy DoF!

[powerslave]

I welcome video with the DSLRs as long as its not coming the way of improving photographic features. I would hate to see a time when the next major upgrade would be all about video features only.

Edit: I agree with anvancy, an input for a external mic is ESSENTIAL for any semi-serious video camera(/wannabe).

But seriously, think about the 1D MKIV.. ahh.. drool. I used to think a 1D MKIII is all I would ever need in life. I can make do with my XTi too, but just one cam, One cam to rule them all. Ahh... of course glass is on the list, I'm just waiting for the prices to stabilize and canon to replace whatever glass they're planning to upgrade. I wish I had some money back in December 08. The glasses/bodies were their cheapest and HEAVY discounts abound (not just for camera stuff).. think flat 30% off the price. I still bought my nifty250/430exII/bg-e3 + lot of small miscellaneous stuff then.

Fingers crossed for a good christmas. C'mon eBay!

[Xavier]

One cam to rule them all.

The Dark Lord speaketh! I agree with you, the 1DMk4 would be THE camera.

[synn]

The D3S isn't really competing with any Canon product actually.

Actually, the D3 is the most used pro action photography camera now. The bastion of Canon in the 90s. So yeah, competing very much.

I just hope they stop screwing around with the same 12mp sensor to death. D3, D700, D3s, what next?

Their 12 MP sensors still have the cleanest output, so where is the problem that needs to be fixed?

The "S" series always have marked minor updates anyway. The real game changer; the D4 would come in another year's time (And hopefully bring a D700X with it).

Nikon's video so far has been an epic fail, and this promises to be no different.

The official reasoning is that the video in this camera is aimed at photojournos, who are content with 720p. I personally couldn't give a flying duck about video on a DSLR anyway. :D

[Xavier]

Actually, the D3 is the most used pro action photography camera now. The bastion of Canon in the 90s. So yeah, competing very much.
It still isn't competing with any Canon product technically, because Canon doesn't have a fast full framer.

Their 12 MP sensors still have the cleanest output, so where is the problem that needs to be fixed?
Many nikon forums are being filled complaints with how they need at least 4-5 extra megapixels for super large prints. 12mp is good enough for most mortals, but apparently not for all. And the 24mp D3X comes at the cost of 2 D3's.

The "S" series always have marked minor updates anyway. The real game changer; the D4 would come in another year's time (And hopefully bring a D700X with it).
Which I seriously hope will be bested by the 1Ds Mark IV and the Canon 5D Mark III/ 3D :p

The official reasoning is that the video in this camera is aimed at photojournos, who are content with 720p. I personally couldn't give a flying duck about video on a DSLR anyway. :D
I was talking about the problems that are plaguing the video on Nikon DSLRs. Rolling shutter, limited file length, jell-o effect, etc.
Also, whilst 720p is enough for most, some people do need 1080p.

[synn]

It still isn't competing with any Canon product technically, because Canon doesn't have a fast full framer.


Technically, yes. But if you look at any event, you'll see a sea of White Canon lenses and Black&gold Nikkors. More often than not, 1DMkIIIs and D3s are behind them.

So on paper, they may not compete but for professionals, these two bodies are the options in the respective camps.



Many nikon forums are being filled complaints with how they need at least 4-5 extra megapixels for super large prints. 12mp is good enough for most mortals, but apparently not for all. And the 24mp D3X comes at the cost of 2 D3's.



Which is why I was wishing for a D700X. Trust me, I'd love to see a cheap, 20+ MP Nikon too. But as it stands, the 12MP sensors are very, VERY good at what they do.

Some D700 toting pros use a fractal-based resizing plug-in for accurate upscaling, btw. The name of it escapes me at the moment, but I'll find it and post it here.

There are rumours of 15MP sensors for the D30o and D700 successors, btw. Nothing confirmed though. Hopefully, we'll see something at Photokina.


Which I seriously hope will be bested by the 1Ds Mark IV and the Canon 5D Mark III/ 3D :p


And I seriously hope not. :p


I was talking about the problems that are plaguing the video on Nikon DSLRs. Rolling shutter, limited file length, jell-o effect, etc.
Also, whilst 720p is enough for most, some people do need 1080p.


You see, there's a good reason for it. Canon has years of experience in making video equipment. Nikon doesn't. This is why Canon's video recording was way better even though the D90 was the first video DSLR. To match this, Nikon needs to throw some serious dough into R&D and frankly, I'd rather that it goes into improvements on the photography front. And I think I can safely say that photographers who buy Nikons and Canons easily outnumber the videographers at this frame of time.

For the kind of money one throws onto a video DSLR, get a semi-decent full HD video cam, a novoflex movie adapter, some old school (read: Dirt cheap) Nikkor primes and shoot at 24FPS. You'll get the same tight DoF and "movie-like" feel. With equipment that was actually meant for it.

We've used this professionally for the Nokia E63/E75 video and it worked brilliantly.

[Xavier]

Technically, yes. But if you look at any event, you'll see a sea of White Canon lenses and Black&gold Nikkors. More often than not, 1DMkIIIs and D3s are behind them.

So on paper, they may not compete but for professionals, these two bodies are the options in the respective camps.
I know Synn, I was merely making a point about Canon's inability to make fast full frame cameras. There are rumours about a merger of the 1D and 1Ds lines which I guess are anything but true right now. Anyway, we'll find out a lot of things, come October 20th.


Which is why I was wishing for a D700X. Trust me, I'd love to see a cheap, 20+ MP Nikon too. But as it stands, the 12MP sensors are very, VERY good at what they do.
Some D700 toting pros use a fractal-based resizing plug-in for accurate upscaling, btw. The name of it escapes me at the moment, but I'll find it and post it here.
A photog who recently switched from a 5D MII to a D700 was ruing about the same lack of MP. They can easily get a 16-18mp full framer with the same noise performance as the 12mp cameras. This is what I was hoping with the D3s. Anyway, this year has been neither 'evolution' nor 'revolution' for Nikon.


And I seriously hope not. :p
:p

You see, there's a good reason for it. Canon has years of experience in making video equipment. Nikon doesn't. This is why Canon's video recording was way better even though the D90 was the first video DSLR. To match this, Nikon needs to throw some serious dough into R&D and frankly, I'd rather that it goes into improvements on the photography front. And I think I can safely say that photographers who buy Nikons and Canons easily outnumber the videographers at this frame of time.
Yes, I agreee. However that's no excuse for a poorer video module than the likes of Pentax.

For the kind of money one throws onto a video DSLR, get a semi-decent full HD video cam, a novoflex movie adapter, some old school (read: Dirt cheap) Nikkor primes and shoot at 24FPS. You'll get the same tight DoF and "movie-like" feel. With equipment that was actually meant for it.

We've used this professionally for the Nokia N-gage video and it worked brilliantly.
That's a nice alternative, however I read somewhere that to get comparable quality from a HD camcorder to that of a 5D MkII, one would need to shell out 4X more.

[synn]

4X is pushing it. Our Panasonic HD video-cam cost around 7k SGD. The novoflex and some Nikkors cost probably 2K tops. The 5D Mk II costs 4.2k with the 24-105 f4 L.

We shot them side-by-side for a new project and the video quality was about the same. The 5D Mk II's output was a little cleaner (But only when we zoom in at 600% for rotoscoping); but you have to understand that the Panny is a 7 YO cam. I don't know if you've seen this leaked video before it was pulled, but this was the one we shot with the adapter setup: http://www.cellphones.ca/news/post004017/ If you have, you'd remember that the output quality was pretty neat.

Edit: You also have to remember that you need to buy elaborate rigs that cost a couple of grands to use focus, tracking and zoom professionally (Like a proper video cam) on a DSLR. All the famous videos shot with the 5D Mk II use these.

End of the day, these are still photography oriented products. No matter how many videographers use it, there are a 100 times more photographers who buy these for the primary purpose. Is video nice to have? yes. But would I discount a perfectly good camera because it takes meh videos? Nope.

For all the video-savvy features that the 5D Mk II has, one can't deny that it is bested on AF and ISO performance. Probably the reaon why the guy you mentioned here...

A photog who recently switched from a 5D MII to a D700 was ruing about the same lack of MP....switched systems.

To put things into one simple line, I'll quote the great Thom Hogan on video on DSLRs. "Yes, my horse can juggle dishes, but it's not very pretty". :p

[Xavier]

Thanks for the info on the video rigs.

Anyway, the reason why the guy switched systems wasn't either ISO or AF, it was weather sealing. He wanted a weather sealed body without the added bulk of the 1 series bodies. His 5D MkII got drenched by an oncoming wave and stopped working. In the same scene, a D700 would have probably taken the blow without damage. This is what many Canon users have been wanting. A 3D with the weather sealing of the 1series without the built in grip and pro features.
Something like a 7D with a full frame sensor and better sealing.

[synn]

http://nikonrumors.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/nikon-nasa.jpeg

Image captured in outer space by the D3s, unmodified in every way.

More details here: http://nikonrumors.com/2010/07/08/new-images-from-space-captured-with-nikon-d3s.aspx