As the name suggests, the new flagship Nikon D4s is less a novelty than consistent model maintenance: the 16-megapixel sensor in the FX full format has remained. Likewise, the housing, the user guide and the operating structure have not changed much compared to the D4.
Handle housing
The innovations of the Nikon D4s are found in a few, but quite interesting details: The sensor has been fine-tuned and now offers an extended ISO range. Added to this is an improved autofocus system and what Nikon experts have been waiting for: a specially reduced RAW-S format.
SLR viewfinder and LCD monitor
The robust metal housing of the Nikon D4s with built-in battery handle and splash protection is known from the predecessor. There are numerous direct buttons for use in cross-format and portrait format, a large 3.2-inch monitor and a classic pentaprism scanner.
Reportable
Also the weight and the dimensions have hardly changed with the Nikon D4s. Nevertheless, the new is still more secure in the hand despite almost 1.3 kilograms. This is due, on the one hand, to the ergonomically improved handle.
Autofocus and exposure
In addition, the Nikon D4s has partly redesigned domes for thumbs and middle scouts. A more gripping form of the buttons, such as the two joysticks to the right of the display, is designed to improve the outdoor use in wet weather.
The key lighting already existed with the D4, which is activated by the on / off switch in combination with the lighting of the two status monitors. Behind the back, hidden by an unlocking button, the hood is covered by two slots, one for CF cards, another for the relatively new XQD cards.
On the left side of the housing is a connection for the optional WT5 WLAN adapter. New is a faster Gigabit 100/1000 TX Ethernet port, which, together with the new RAW-S format, now allows much brighter image transfers of uncompressed files - but with a reduced resolution.
The Nikon D4s has nothing to do with the viewfinder and the monitor: the 100% prism sensor offers an effective magnification of 0.7x, can show grid lines, but still does not use a replaceable screen.
Three display monitors can be found on the housing: one status display on the front of the housing, another on the backside, and above it a 3.2-inch monitor with 307,000 RGB pixels resolution and high-quality display quality for image and recording control Br>
Fast auto-focus times, high serial speed and excellent picture quality even in low light conditions are the disciplines with which the D4s qualifies as the top-of-the-line camera for sports and reportage photographers.
The heart of the s-edition is an improved 16-megapixel CMOS sensor in the classic full format, which, in combination with the new EXPEED-4 processor, covers a quite gigantic ISO record range of ISO 50 to 409.600 - this is currently by far the most disruptive.
Even when the light is low, free shake-free recording is possible. The sensitivity can be controlled manually or automatically, with the possibility of confinement.
The autofocus system of the Nikon D4s resembles the D4, but was optimized especially in the area of motive detection and tracking. A new shutter and mirror mechanism ensures that the mirror between two exposures stays quiet longer. This means a shorter viewfinder image darkening, a better view of the subject during the series shooting, and the autofocus remains activated even at the maximum continuous image speed.
Video mode
In the laboratory, the Nikon D4s was able to process up to 82 JPEGs or 39 RAWs in full resolution with a throughput of 11 B / s at full resolution. The exposure metering is, as usual, via an RGB sensor with 91,000 pixels and is coupled to the autofocus system.
The phase autofocus continues to operate with 51 measuring fields, 15 of which cross sensors. The outstanding night vision capabilities of the Nikon D4s are also noticeable here: 11 measurement fields have a light sensitivity up to aperture 8.
Picture gallery
In addition to the typical AF-S or AF-CModi, the Nikon D4s has a new function for measuring field group control. This allows five pre-selected autofocus fields to be grouped as rhombi. As long as one of these fields captures the moving motif, it remains in the foreground. In this mode, the sharpness can be precisely adjusted even over long distances in fast-moving subjects. Even small motifs against contrasting backgrounds are better focusable.
In Live View mode, the camera focuses with contrast autofocus. The 0.92 / 0.95 s at 1,000 / 30 lux, however, is still much slower than the autofocus of modern mirrorless system cameras. Nikon did not noticeably increase the phase AF speed either: 0.27 / 0.30 s, it is a bit slower than its predecessor (0.26 / 0.24 s)
After the predecessors D3x still no videos recorded, the D3s maximally HD movies and the D4 finally full-HD films, the s output now mastered "broadcast" full HD movies in different image formats (DX, FX and native And uncompressed HDMI output) with frame rates of up to 60 frames / sec.
Picture gallery
Image quality
Also interesting is
Conclusion
Specifications: Nikon D4s and D4 in comparison
The image settings such as sharpness, contrast, or saturation are also effective when shooting. In addition, ISO settings can be made, the aperture can be controlled by the motor and the exposure time can be fixed.
Nikon D4s' additional options include time-lapse recording. Parallel recording on the memory card and an external HDMI recording device is also possible. Sound recording has also been improved. Sound can be recorded via the internal or external microphone. The optional selection of the frequency response, the microphone sensitivity and manual sound level control as well as the automatic reduction of wind noises. Measuring the white balance does not work.
All in all the recordings convince with good imaging performance, hardly noise and almost no artifacts. The continuous autofocus of the Nikon D4s, however, even in good light conditions, the sharpness relatively unsafe and clearly audible.
With little light or darkness it works rather more by chance principle. Operating concept The right operating concept of the predecessor has hardly changed to the right.
A few modifications still contribute to some better comfort of the Nikon D4s. About the two joysticks to the right of the monitor, which are now more accessible due to their corrugated structure when wet weather conditions are wet. One is in the cross-over, the other in the portrait format is optimal for the right thumb.
Exposure metering can be easily adjusted using the button on the left of the viewfinder. There is a rotary switch for switching from the photo mode to the video mode and the optional live view mode. In the live view, the D4s, like their predecessor, can trigger almost silently on request. To do this, "silent" is activated in the menu under Live-View-Photo. This keeps the mirror up, the slow live-view AF is active, and an electronic one is used instead of the mechanical shutter, as a result of which superficial effects can occur.
There is a separate video button behind the on / off control, which also controls the lighting of the buttons and displays. Below the second setting display on the back, as usual, the assigned function keys for ISO (without ISO car), white balance and quality, as well as one for the recording of voice notes.
Even the D4 convinced by a very good imaging performance, the level of which the Nikon D4s can still increase somewhat. Nikon gets a little more resolution from the revised sensor at the lower sensitivities and can reduce the noise again from ISO 800 onwards. This at the same time improves the fine drawing and leads to impressive results even with ISO 25.600. This is not perfect, but printable.
Basically, Nikon's D4s also tends to have slightly over-drawn contrasts at low sensitivities, and the DL curves rise above 1.5. Up to ISO 1,600, the image quality is very low, and at ISO 6.400, the D4s delivers image quality that reaches APS-C cameras at ISO 800 to 1600 depending on the model.
From ISO 51,200, however, the color and noise behavior increases dramatically. In the case of ISO 409 600, the motif can in principle only be seen schematically by means of roughly depicted structures, since it can be recognized. It was not possible to evaluate the ISO 409.600 test images.
In the case of the Nikon D4 models, it is not about maximum resolution, but about good quality with high ISO values, as well as a maximum meeting stability with moving motifs. Both tasks the Nikon D4s does even better than the Nikon D4 (test). The autofocus remains active even at maximum continuous image speed and follows moving motifs with higher accuracy. At high sensitivities, the D4s now delivers even less noise and get details better.
Download: Table
Nikon D4s
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