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Nikon D4
16 MP FX, 10 FPS, $6,000
© 2012 KenRockwell.com. All rights reserved.
Intro Specs Recommendations More
Nikon D4 (47.2 oz./1,337g, with battery and card) with 50mm f/1.4 G. enlarge.This free website's biggest source of support is when you use these links when you get anything, regardless of the country in which you live. You can order it now at Adorama and at Ritz. See How To Get It to get yours first. Thank you! Ken.
They are impossible to get right now, so if you need one today, you'll have to pay a scalper over eBay. You have to order yours and be patient as I did.
May 2012 More Nikon Reviews Nikon Lenses All Reviews
NEW: High-ISO Sample Images from the Nikon D1, D3 (D700), D4, D800, D7000 and Canon 5D, 5D Mark II, 5D Mark III and Fuji X-Pro1 and X100 06 April 2012
Nikon D4. enlarge.
Nikon D4 with 50mm f/1.4. enlarge.
Introduction top
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The Nikon D4 is Nikon's fastest, tightest professional camera ever made for sports and action photography. It leaves consumer cameras like the D800 and Canon 5D Mark III completely in the dust.
The D4's speed is much more than just its 10 frames-per-second specification; it's all the other things like its metering and autofocus systems that all work twice as hard and fast as other cameras.
Yes, Nikon ditched most of the external autofocus mode controls in favor of video controls, but the great news is that the D4's autofocus system is so clairvoyant that you rarely need the controls anyway. I set AFC and AUTO for anything that moves, and my D4 magically ignores distractions, finds the subject's eyes, and always nails perfect focus. It doesn't get any better than this. The D4's finder is years ahead of the D800 and Canon 5D Mark III; the D4 uses magic auto-dimming LEDs to show the AF areas without covering anything, while the D800 and Canon 5D Mark III use black LCD AF area indicators that cover the subject.
The D4 feels great; its sculpted body fits a man's hands far better than the plasticy D800, whose grip is just too tiny for comfort.
The D4 of course has a built-in vertical grip, shutter release and second sets of command dials.
Even if you don't need the insane frame rate or clairvoyant autofocus system that sets itself, the D4 has more controls on it to give portrait, nature and landscape shooters faster access to more controls so we can adjust our cameras more quickly.
Forget the D800 if you're a working professional; the 16MP of the D4 is more than enough for anything. I usually set my D4 down to its medium (9MP, 3,696 x 2,456 pixel) resolution for just about everything to speed up my post processing.
The D4 cheerfully rips away at 10 FPS, and hiccups not once writing all this to your card, even if the bursts run a hundred shots. Run just a few seconds at 10 FPS, and you'll be recording dozens and dozens of frames at a time. The D4 never misses a beat.
The D4 weighs about 3 ounces less than the D3, which is great news. It's a very nice surprise having this big, tough professional camera that doesn't weigh as much as my old D3. I hate carrying my old D3!
I'm a photographer, not a wedding videographer, but the wedding and video guys are loving the new video abilities of the D4.
Nikon D4 and 50mm f/1.4 G. enlarge.
New
I always use AUTO ISO, and now the D4 lets me have it vary its auto ISO shutter speed with focal length. It's also easy to set up to a ±2 stop shift to the set-by-focal-length AUTO ISO lowest speed. I LOVE this!
The D4 also now works with the good wireless infrared remote, the $15 ML-L3.
Most of the rear buttons are now backlit when you flick the power switch. The left row of MENU -> INFO buttons and bottom rear ISO QUAL WB Mic buttons light, as well as the top left three BKT etc. buttons and the index for the advance mode dial, but the AF-ON and top right buttons don't light. The advance mode dial is invisible in the dark; lighting the index mark doesn't help.
CF and XQD card slots.
The D4 has only one CF card slot, and replaces the second CF slot instead with an XQD slot. I consider this a waste, but since I use my second slot only for backup and my D4 came with a free unannounced Sony 16GB card and reader, I'll call it a draw.
The Nikon D4 offers slightly higher frame rates, slightly higher resolution, an updated AF system that works better with teleconverters, Kelvin white balance settings in 10K increments, a virtual horizon that finally works properly with both roll and pitch, and much higher ISOs than the D3 and D3s, and now, video.
Nikon D4 with 50mm f/1.4. enlarge.
Nikon D4 with 50mm f/1.4. enlarge.
Specifications top
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Sensor
Adorama pays top dollar for your used gear.
|
16 MP FX (24 x 36mm) CMOS.
4,928 x 3,280 pixels native.
Also crops of 1.2x (20 x 30mm), 1.5x DX (16 x 24mm) and 5:4 professional (24 x 30mm).
ISO 100 - 12,800 in in full, half or third stops.
ISO 50 to ISO 204,800 available in stupid modes.
White balance: Auto (2 types), incandescent, fluorescent (7 types), direct sunlight, flash, cloudy, shade, preset manual (up to 4 different settings can be saved and recalled), 2,500 K to 10,000 K in 10K intervals; all with fine-tuning!
Frame Rates
10 FPS.
11 FPS if AF is locked.
AF
CAM3500FX sensor.
51 AF points (15 are cross-type sensors).
Works with auto- and manual-focus lenses f/5.6 and faster.
11 of these sensors will work with lenses as slow as f/8.
AF range is rated down to LV-2 with any lens. (SLR AF systems have never used the full speed of lenses; they look through anulii equivalent to about f/8 regardless of lens speed.)
Finder
100% coverage.
0.7x magnification (50mm at infinity).
18mm eyepoint.
-3 to +1 diopters.
Live-View LCD.
Meter
Nikon invented the Matrix Meter, the color meter and the 3D meter, which is what really matters.
For the first time, Nikon is wasting their time by upping the resolution of the meter sensor for marketing purposes to 91,000 RGB pixels.
It also measures flash at this resolution.
Nikon D4. enlarge.
Shutter
Kevlar/carbon fiber-composite, rated 400,000 shots.
1/8,000 - 30 seconds in full, half or third stops.
Bulb.
X 250 flash sync.
"Silent" mode.
Flash
1/250 flash sync.
i-TTL flash control using the 91,000 pixel RGB sensor with the SB-910, SB-900, SB-800, SB-700, SB-600 and SB-400.
Won't meter flash with other flash guns.
Lens Compatibility
Built-in motor and AI coupling feeler, so all AF lenses work, as well as classic AI, AI-s and AI-P manual-focus lenses all work as well as they do on all of Nikon's better DSLRs.
File Formats
JPG.
NEF 12 or 14 bit, uncompressed, or lossy or lossless compressed.
NEF + JPG.
TIFF.
Video: H.264/MPEG4 stored in .MOV files.
Storage and Data
One CF slot (UDMA 7), and one XQD slot. (NOT two CF slots).
XQD cards are bogus — Lexar doesn't make them, and I don't know about SanDisk. Therefore, the XQD slot is largely useless. I'll only use Lexar and SanDisk cards. Got a XQD reader? I didn't think so.
USB.
HDMI (mini-C).
RJ-45 Ethernet.
Wireless
WT-4 or WT-5A/B/C/D.
Video
All of these variations have two different file size (quality) options:
1,920 × 1,080 (full or cropped) at 29.97p, 25p and 23.976p.
1,280 × 720 at 59.94p, 50p, 29.97p and 25p.
640 × 424 at 29.97p and 25p.
H.264/MPEG4 stored in .MOV files.
24–36,000x time-lapse mode.
Audio
Mono internal mic.
3.5mm jack for external stereo mic, with power.
Auto and manual level control.
Linear PCM recording.
3.5mm stereo output jack.
LCD
3.2" (8cm) LCD.
921,000 dots.
Auto brightness control.
Live View.
Power
EN-EL18 battery.
MH-26 charger.
Optional EH-6b AC adapter and EP-6 connector.
Size
6.3 × 6.2 × 3.6 inches.
160 × 156.5 × 90.5 millimeters.
Weight
47.165 oz. (1,337.2 g), actual measured with battery and card and lugs, but no strap or lens.
Nikon specifies 47.3 ounces (1,340 g or 2 pounds, 15.3 oz.) with battery and XQD memory card.
Nikon specifies 41.6 ounces (1,180 g or 2 pounds, 9.6 oz.), stripped naked.
Environmental
0 ~ 40ºC (32 ~ 104ºF), operating.
85% RH or less, non condensing.
Included
D4 body
Rechargeable Li-ion Battery EN-EL18
Battery Charger MH-26
USB Cable UC-E15
Camera Strap AN-DC7
Body Cap BF-1B
Accessory Shoe Cover BS-2
Eyepiece DK-17
Battery Chamber Cover BL-6
USB Cable Clip
ViewNX 2 CD-ROM
Price, USA
Box, Nikon D4.
January 2012 (introduction): $6,000.
Announced
06 January 2012.
Available
Promoised for late February 2012.
The first D4s shipped in March 2012.
As of May 2012, they are still on deep backorder.
You have to order yours and be patient.
Recommendations top
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The Nikon D4 is for full-time professional news, sports and action photographers. You guys know who you are.
If you're a full-time pro, all these little things add up to make getting a couple of these a no-brainer. If you're not full time and the price of a new camera matters, then no, you'll do just fine with a used D3. See Is It Worth It if you're undecided.
I don't expect the even higher resolution Nikon D4x until late 2013.
See Is It Worth It for more. If you're rich or a full-time sports pro, of course you need two new new Nikon D4s. If you're like everyone else, no, the D4 won't take pictures any different than a D7000, which has the same resolution.
If you find the time and effort I expend researching and sharing all this helpful, this free website's biggest source of support is when you use these links when you get anything, regardless of the country in which you live. You can order the D4 now at Adorama and at Ritz. See How To Get It to get yours first. Thank you! Ken.
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