Digital Camera: Nikon D3S Review

The D3S has only a few updates over its predecessor, but the changes are where they matter most.

IT SEEMS to be the time for updates on Nikon cameras this year  with the release of the D300s and now the D3S, Nikon has been steadily updating their cameras with HD video and a bunch of tweaks.

With the D3S, Nikon has not only added HD video recording to the D3, but has also improved the noise reduction on it and thanks to that, the camera now has an even more unbelievable top ISO setting of 102,400 (up from the D3’s ISO 25,600).

So what you get is a new DSLR with even better High ISO performance and video recording as well. I’m certainly not complaining.

The real question is whether the new noise reduction techniques result in better quality at the more common ISO ranges? That’s what I’ll find out in this review.

As usual, since this is essentially a professional camera, I’ll assume that you know the basics and skip right down to the important stuff like handling and performance.

Body

The D3S retains the same body and control scheme as the D3 — no surprises there especially if you’re used to the control scheme of Nikon’s professional DSLRs, which is similar but always slightly different from the semi-pro and consumer models.

The one addition is the dedicated Live View button which now joins the plethora of buttons on the back.

SIMILAR, BUT DIFFERENT: The back the
D3S has a dedicated Live View button.

One interesting change is that the D3S now only accepts CompactFlash Type I cards — not surprising, since the days of MicroDrives are now officially over and all CompactFlash cards existing today are the thinner, flash memory-based ones.

Although the image sensor remains at 12.1-megapixels like the D3, the D3S’ image sensor has actually been extensively redesigned and with it comes even better light sensitivity — the calibrated ISO settings top out at ISO 12,800, which means its a whole stop better than the ISO 6,400 maximum in the D3.

In ISO boost mode, the D3S can go all the way to a whopping ISO 102,400 where the D3 only topped out at ISO 25,600!

Of course, in ISO boost mode, there is definitely going to be noise and loss of detail, but when you consider that during the days of film, when ISO settings only reached a maximum of ISO 6400 and produced images that were far noisier than the D3S’ ISO 102,400, you’ll start to appreciate how far I’ve come in technology in just a few short years.

The other new feature added on to the D3S is of course, 720p video recording, which is the current “must-have” feature in almost every new DSLR on the market.

More interestingly, Nikon has added a nifty in-camera RAW image processing feature which allows you to tweak such things as white balance, High ISO noise reduction and even exposure compensation after you take the shot.

Of course, since this is the RAW data, making these changes will not actually affect the RAW file but merely tags the data on and will only be permanently locked in when you convert the file to JPEG or TIFF on the PC.

MIC IN: Aside from the standard video, 
HDMI and power ports, the D3S now 
features a stereo microphone input.

However, this feature is really useful, since it allows you to make these changes on the camera itself when you’re in the field, which saves you some work having to go through and tweak each photo on the PC before conversion after every assignment.

That’s about it for the major changes, really — there are far fewer changes here than say, in the D300S, but the changes are quite significant.

Handling and build quality are practically the same as on the D3, which means that the D3S should be able to take quite a beating and a light shower, thanks to the magnesium alloy body and weather sealing.

Oh yes, like the D300S, the D3S also gains the new Q (for “quiet”) mode which is supposed to be a little quieter by slowing down the mirror and separating that from the shutter sound.

Q mode actually does lessen the decibel level somewhat when taking pictures, but it still can be heard.

Picture quality

When I tested the D3 a while back I was blown away by its High ISO performance — I stated then that I would without hesitation shoot at ISO settings up to 3,200 and be confident that I’d still get very sharp, low-noise images.

Well, I have to say that the D3S has blown that record out of the water. I wouldn’t hesitate to use the D3S all the way to ISO 6,400, where even at this setting, noise was only very slightly higher in the shadows than the practically noise-free settings from ISO 200-3200.

Even at ISO 12,400 the D3S produced perfectly usable results, although there was some noise visible and a slight but noticeable loss of detail due to the noise reduction being applied.

Of course, the D3S doesn’t stop there — this camera has three more ISO settings in boost mode, ending in a whopping ISO 102,400.

Just to give you an idea just how sensitive this is, I actually managed to take a photo at 1/30sec in a darkened room of an object lit only by the light of my netbook’s LCD screen!

In fact, light levels were so low that neither I nor the camera’s autofocus had enough light to be able to focus the lens — I actually had to turn on Live View mode and manually focus based on that.

Of course, at this point, noise levels were pretty high and there was a definite colour shift in the image, but the fact that the camera could even capture such a shot handheld was amazing.

At lower, saner ISO settings like ISO 200 or 400, the D3S really shines — images were top-notch and I couldn’t fault it in any way.

As far as video goes, the D3S produced very good quality 720p videos, and autofocus in Live View mode seems to have improved as well, although it’s still pretty slow.

An interesting point to note is that Nikon has added a flicker reduction setting which allows you to switch the camera’s refresh rate to either 50Hz or 60Hz.

This is to reduce banding that usually occurs when shooting video under fluorescent lighting, a phenomenon that happens because the camera’s video refresh rate is in sync with the fluorescent tube’s flickering.

As usual, if you are interested to view the photos for our ISO noise tests, you can download them at bit.ly/7Va8cA. Remember to download them full size and not just view them on the site.

Conclusion

Overall, the D3S isn’t that much different from its predecessor except in two major areas — High ISO performance and video recording.

However, these two changes are actually pretty significant and makes an already highly-regarded professional DSLR even more useful.

So the usual question arises about whether it’s worth upgrading from a D3 to a D3S — the answer is actually whether your business revolves around shooting photos in low-light situations such as weddings or sporting events.

If you do, then the D3S’ one-stop advantage over the D3 could make all the difference when trying to get the shot.

So what I’m saying is that if this is important to you, then you will be really happy with the D3S if you can afford it.

While Nikon has yet to feature 1080p video recording like its main competitor, the 720p video on the D3S is already good enough for most people, especially since this DSLR’s primary function is as a still camera and not a videocam.

Pros: Incredible high ISO performance; improves upon an already excellent DSLR; loads of features.

Cons: No 1080p video recording.

Professional DSLR 
Manufacturer: Nikon Corp

Sensor: 12.1-megapixels (4,256 x 2,832-pixels) 

Shutter: 30sec – 1/8,000sec, plus B 

ISO range: 200 – 12800 (ISO Boost up to ISO 102,400) 

Exposure modes: P, S, A, M 

Viewfinder: Optical

Battery: EN-EL4a (2,500mAh) 

Storage: Dual CompactFlash Type-I

Interface: USB 2.0, composite video out, HDMI, microphone 

Other features:720p video recording, Live View 

Dimensions (W x H x D): 16.0 x 15.7 x 8.8cm 

Weight: 1,240g






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