Nikon Gear Reviews Only

Nikon D3s – User Review.


Well the newest and most talked about update to the D3 is here. Like every Nikon product the rumours abounded, the hopes of the next best thing were expressed, and the wait for those pre-orders still continues. The limited availability of the D3s to date seems to be the biggest surprise to most, with a great number of people still waiting to get their copy of the latest in Low Light Photography Supremacy. With the 2010 Olympics over, a lot of us Pro shooters have gotten to play with our new D3s’s in that environment. It’s time for some first impressions. Now don’t expect the in-depth scientific analysis that you may find on some those other review sites. I try to keep my reviews to the facts, so that even the novice DSLR photographer can get something from my reviews without needing a thesaurus.

Away we Go…

The D3s is a beast, it’s large, heavy, but despite this it’s very easy to handle, but like all large DSLR cameras, don’t expect it to be perfect.

The D3s, more than most other cameras, is one that requires a careful reading of the rather thick and large instruction manual, even if you are an experienced Nikon user. I recommend you make some time to read it twice before even turning on your new D3s, there’s a lot of information in the newest Nikon Manual to digest.

Nikon D3s Key Features

 Newly redesigned 12.1 megapixel Full-Frame (36 x 24 mm) sensor

 ISO 200 - 12,800 (ISO 100 - 102,400 including extension settings)

 720p / 24 fps HD movie mode

 Eleven frames per second in continuous and DX mode

 Larger buffer for more than 30 RAW frames in one burst

 Multi-CAM3500FX Auto Focus sensor (51-point, 15 cross-type, more vertical coverage), fine-tuned for improved acquisition and tracking

 In-camera RAW processing

 Also supports DX lenses, viewfinder automatically masks (5.1 megapixels with DX lens)

 14-bit A/D conversion, 12 channel readout

 Nikon EXPEED image processor

 Super fast operation (power-up 12 ms, shutter lag 41 ms, black-out 74 ms)

 Kevlar / carbon fibre composite shutter with 300,000 exposure durability

 Auto-focus tracking by color (using information from 1005-pixel AE sensor)

 Auto-focus calibration (fine-tuning) available (fixed body or up to 20 separate lens settings)

 Scene Recognition System (uses AE sensor, AF sensor)

 Dual Compact Flash card slots (overflow, back-up, RAW on 1 / JPEG on 2, Stills on 1 / Movies on 2, copy)

 Compact Flash UDMA support

 3.0" 922,000 pixel LCD monitor

 Live View with either phase detect (mirror up/down) or improved (30% faster) contrast detect Auto Focus

 Virtual horizon indicates if camera is level, available on the LCD during video capture

 HDMI HD video output

 'Active D-Lighting' 'Extra High' setting (adjusts metering as well as applying D-Lighting curve)

 Detailed 'Control Panel' type display on LCD monitor, changes in dark conditions

 Buttons sealed against moisture


Handling

My D3s is about the same size as my D300s with the Grip attached, however the construction of the D3s gives it considerably more weight over the D300s. Now ergonomically the two cameras are very similar, but not quite the same. The controls are mostly in the same place, with the exception of the ISO, WB, and Quality which are on the rear at the bottom of the D3s but grouped on the top of the D300s. One of the nice things about the D3s is that the thick rubber grips and accents really aid in the handling in wet conditions. I find that the D3s is very easy to use and control even when wearing gloves. Access to the Battery door catch and using the large buttons is one of the nice exceptions the D3s offers.

The D3s can be a bit of a beast to carry around for any length of time. It is fairly easy to carry around for a couple of hours with a standard 70-200 VRII shooting, but for any lengthy period of time you’ll definitely want to invest in a high quality Monopod and/or Tripod. I spent a large number of hours shooting the 2010 Olympics, and even with my tripod it was still a very tiring day in the end.

In pretty much all other respects, the D3s is a fantastic camera to use. The camera settings can be changed without taking the camera away from your eye, which is extremely beneficial when you're faced with the unexpected. The D3s’s functionality shines with the positioning of its controls, the ability to shift from single AF or Multiple Servo with a click of the switch with one finger without having to move your eye from the viewfinder is totally invaluable in certain circumstances.

Like the AF selector, the AF Mode can be changed using the thumb of the right hand. It’s the same for ISO sensitivity, the exposure compensation and bracketing. All of these can be adjusted with your eye to the viewfinder. The D3s is by far on of the most complex cameras available, but after shooting with it for sometime now I found that its functionality and ease of access to all of the controls, makes it a pleasure to use.

One of the things Nikon has got right is the menu system on the D3s. Yes, there are some minor annoyances but Nikon has built on the D300s menu and made the D3s and D300s menus very much alike as far as layout and access. Aside from the cameras being DX and FX, the learning curve from the D300s to the D3s is much smaller. The D3s menu system does have more features and does offer some nice features not available in the D300s, but anyone thinking of moving from a D300s to the D3s will be happy with the similarity.

Image Quality

There are some things that were sacrificed with the Nikon D3s when comparing it to the D3x. The D3s does sacrifice resolution for speed and unbeatable sensitivity in low light situations, but the D3x is the flagship for detail and resolution at lower ISO settings. The D3s is designed for versatility and performs extremely well for it design capabilities, it offers impressive detail resolution and importantly it delivers great levels of detail and sharpness at astounding ISO settings, topping out at an ISO of 102,400, which until its release were just simply un-believable.

Now I pretty much only shoot in RAW, but I did shoot a large number of pictures in JPEG for my Review. The JPEG images showed a surprising amount of detail at the higher ISO settings in low light, I noticed very little evidence of any banding and was very impressed with the results. One thing I did notice is that when I did start to reach the higher ISO settings previously unthought of before the D3s release in very low light that the saturation did drop of significantly when shooting JPEGs. I found that shooting JPEG at low and medium ISO settings, the detail is fairly high, but not as high as a carefully processed RAW file and the pixel detail is masked a bit by general softness as it is in all current Nikon DSLR’s JPEG characteristics. So if its sharpness you’re in search of, my recommendation would be to shoot Raw instead of JPEG and make any minor corrections in post processing.

Shooting raw images is a whole different story! The Image quality of the D3s compared to my D300s really shows itself when you reach higher ISO settings, the ISO noise simply starts to degrade images much later, which permits you to shoot at ISO settings from 6400 to 12800 without any concern as to image quality at those higher settings. One thing that I would mention is that you will find the use of RAW Capture is necessary to get the most out of the 12.1 Million pixel sensor in your D3s. You can get good results from converting raw files in-camera, the advantage of the function is chiefly one of convenience, allowing you to correct for white balance mistakes, for example.

Image Sensor

There has been a lot of talk about Nikon sticking with the newly designed 12.1 Megapixel Full Frame (336 x 24mm) sensor. While we would have all liked to see a new 14 or even 18 megapixel sensor, the 12.1 sensor is excellent in the D3s. For a 12.1 million pixel camera, its hard to see how the D3s could deliver better image quality at its optimal output settings, and one of the main selling points of the D3s is its performance at high ISO settings, where it is presently unmatched by any other current DSLR on the market. So while we will eventually see a higher megapixel full frame body from Nikon, the D3s is an excellent choice for sports , landscape and action photographers looking for speed and low light performance.

Speed

For those of you looking for speed, then look no further, at 9 frames per second for FX and 11 for DX, the D3s offers unmatched speed for action photography. While the D3s is more than capable of using DX format lenses, my advice would be to stay with faster pro glass if you’re considering purchasing the new D3s. With an effect image size of 5.1 megapixels in DX format, the D3s is a waste on DX lenses, you’d be better to buy the D300s if you have a lot of DX glass and no FX format glass in my humble opinion. One caveat to the DX lens performance is this, the ability to unlock the 11 fps in DX crop mode may be of some interest to Sports and Action photographers that don’t mind sacrificing resolution for speed and a little bit of extra length at the ends of their telephoto lenses. The transition to FX is very cost restrictive for those that have invested a lot into their DX format gear, but if your ready to make the switch to FX, then make the jump with plans to purchase all new FX glass.

Viewfinder Crop

The D3s shows approximately 100% frame coverage in both the viewfinder, and the LCD screen in Live View mode. Because of the smaller tolerances necessary in creating 100% viewfinders, they are typically only found in high-end DSLR’s.

Screen/Display

The D3s has the same VGA resolution 3 inch screen as its predecessor and every high-end Nikon DSLR from the D90 upwards. The screen has excellent resolution, which means that accurate focus is easy to confirm at high magnification levels in playback mode, and easy to judge when focusing manually in Live View mode. Viewing angle is a quoted 170 degrees, and in use, the screen is bright and has great contrast in all but the brightest ambient lighting conditions. Screen brightness can be manually adjusted in +/- 7 steps, but there is no automatic brightness setting.

Battery

The D3s come with the EN-EL4a Battery, it’s a beast. Nikon has quoted a capacity of 2500mAh at 11.1V and it comes with the MH-22 dual slot quick charger. Nikon has also quoted that the battery is good for up to 4200 images in normal conditions, which I am happy to say is pretty much on the money. Numerous days of shooting over the 2010 Olympics I found the battery life to be excellent. I never came close to draining the battery, and had many days when my image count was off the charts. As with any camera and battery, I would recommend purchasing an extra EN-EL4a battery, as with any piece of technology you never know when you’ll need it, and having your battery fail on you at the most important moment during a shoot can ruin your day.

Performance

The Nikon D3s is built for speed, and although some of its specifications might be similar to its predecessor, its buffer has been doubled compared to the D3. The buffer of the D3s is actually equal to that of a D3 except that it has the optional buffer memory expansion, and is good for more than 40 raw frames in a full-speed burst.

The maximum frame rate of the D3s is 9fps in FX(full frame) mode, but this increases to 11fps in DX(crop) mode, at which point the camera records at a reduced resolution (5.1Mp). Activating some functions (like Active D-Lighting) cuts the size of the buffer in JPEG capture, but however you have the D3s set up, it is a very fast camera. As I would expect, in terms of its responsiveness and operational speed it is a world away from Nikon's entry-level or midrange DSLR’s, but it's worth noting that a UDMA-enabled Compact-Flash card is worth investing into in order to get the best performance if you're a sports or action shooter.

Storage/Connections

The D3s features two Compact Flash slots, just like the D3 and D3X. However the D3s drops its compatibility with the older (and slightly thicker) Type II cards, this means that Microdrives cannot be fitted into the D3s. The second slot can be set up to either – 1. overflow (once card 1 is full images go on to card 2), 2 .backup (everything written to card 1 is also written to card 2) or 3. RAW to card 1 and JPEG to card 2. Video footage can also be sent straight to this card to keep images and movie files separate.

Underneath the memory card door latch, behind five tiny perforations, a inbuilt speaker serves to play back audio recorded either on the soundtrack to a movie file, or as voice note of an image.

The D3s's connections are almost the same as the D3, with the exception of a new, smaller micro-HDMI socket, and the addition of a 'mic' socket for an external stereo microphone, which nestles next to the A/V out socket, on the right hand side (looking at the front of the camera). There are two ports here - the smaller one houses a standard mini USB socket, which is used for connecting the camera to a computer, either for image download, or when shooting remotely via Nikon's optional Camera Control Pro 2 software.



Nikon D3s advantages

 Dual media with definable behaviour.

 Very wide ISO span, up to ISO 102,400 (equivalent)

 51-point AF system with 3D-tracking

Nikon D3s disadvantages

 720p movie footage not as impressive as 1080p from Canon's best DSLRs.

 Fairly low resolution of 12 million pixels compared to the competition



Conclusion - Pros

 Unmatched image quality at high ISO settings. Incredibly efficient sensor.

 Excellent AF and metering performance

 Compatible with virtually all Nikon AF lenses, and most MF lenses (up to 9 AI spec or later manual focus lenses can be programmed for use with the D3s)

 Highly customizable user interface including versatile shooting banks

 9 frames per second continuous shooting makes the D3s the fastest full-frame DSLR around

 Configurable dual card slots means more space, backup storage, or dedicated video bank

 Highly sophisticated 3D AF tracking, incorporating dedicated 1005-pixel CCD sensor

 Excellent build quality with magnesium alloy body and environmental sealing

 Very good ergonomics, well shaped and comfortable hand grip

 Well-placed and configurable buttons

 New 'Info' button and screen takes some of the pressure off the menu system when setting key shooting parameters

 Large and bright viewfinder with 100% coverage

 (Relatively) quick contrast detect AF in live view - improved over the D3

 Good quality 720p video output with excellent high-ISO capabilities

 Stereo microphone socket for video recording

 Multi-mode virtual horizon

 Useful Active D-Lighting feature protects highlights as well as boosting shadows

 Reliable flash exposures

 Self-cleaning sensor very effective (huge improvement over the D3/D3X)

 Excellent battery life when shooting stills, not at all bad even with Live View/Video activated

 Sophisticated interval timer feature

 Very malleable raw files, plenty of latitude in 14-bit raw mode for extreme exposure adjustments

 Quiet mode isn’t silent, but it is a welcome improvement over the normal settings

Conclusion - Con

 White balance isn't great in artificial lighting (but few cameras shine in this respect)

 AF array is smaller (as a proportion of viewfinder area) than D300S, which makes swapping between cameras awkward in some shooting situations

 Vertical AF-ON button is poorly placed - very easy to press by accident

 720p, 24fps video is good, but resolution isn't as high as some competitors DSLR’s

 Motion JPEG video capture only. It would have been nice to have the choice of MPEG

 Highly Disappointing bundled software package considering the cost of the camera

 12MP sensor which was considered a fairly low resolution in 2007 on the D3



Judged on its own merits, the Nikon D3s is an absolutely outstanding camera. It offers exceptionally good image quality across an extremely wide range of ISO settings, and its key systems (AF, white balance and metering) are at least on a par with the best available in other cameras from rival manufacturers. Add its full weatherproofing, excellent battery life and rugged construction into the mix, and you have a truly 'go anywhere' camera. Video might not necessarily be a 'deal breaker' function for the majority of DSLR users at the moment, but however you feel about it, it's nice to have, and works (reasonably) well.

So one of my few problems with the D3s isn’t what it can do, which by all accounts and my experience using it, are simply exemplary - but what it can’t do. Since its been a few years since the D3 and its 12.1 megapixels came out, it is more than a bit of a surprise that Nikon didn’t go with a higher resolution sensor. With the competitors increasing their sensor sizes to 14 & 18 Megapixels even before the D3s was out, it’s hard to understand why Nikon chose to stick with the 12.1 sensor. While it can’t be denied that the D3s’s extra high ISO is fantastic, it would have been nice to increase the resolution as well. Nikon’s view is that in this section of the marketplace, better image quality at high ISO settings is worth a penalty in resolution.

Although it's great that the D3s gives cleaner images at even higher settings, I suspect that most people don't need to shoot much higher than ISO 3200 most of the time, let alone ISO 102,400.

I may be mistaken, and it will definitely be interesting to see what’s in the plans with Nikon in the next couple of years. So if you are in need of speed and versatility and can live with a little bit less resolution, then the D3s will serve you very well, as it has me so far.