- Posted 7 Feb 2012 by Kyle
- Tags: 5d, camera, canon, d3, d3s, d4, d700, d800, mark ii, mark iii, nikon
- Leave a comment
Its been a long time coming but Nikon has finally officially announced its new line-up of professional level camera bodies, the D800 and D4. The question is if the new bodies are revelations in the imaging world or have they completely missed the mark resulting in Nikon users moving to camp Canon?
Firstly lets have a brief looks at the specs and how they differ from the D3 and the D700 they replace.
D3s vs D4
The D4 is very similar to the D3 it replaces, but as far as I can tell, most of these changes are nothing more than tweaks. Both are full frame bodies with integrated grip and should retail for around the same $6,500 AUD.
| D3s | D4 | |
|---|---|---|
| Sensor | Full frame | Full frame |
| Resolution | 12.1MP | 16.2MP |
| Video | 720p | 1080p |
| Max FPS | 9 | 11 |
| Max ISO | 25,600 | 204,800 |
D700 vs D800
Here is where things get more interesting, whilst the D700 featured a sensor very similar to the D3 but in a smaller body the D800 makes a radical change featuring a substantial 32MP full frame sensor. Along with the increase in pixels comes an increase in retail price, up from the D700 price of $3,000 the D800 is expected to retail for close to $4,000.
| D700 | D800 | |
|---|---|---|
| Sensor | Full frame | Full frame |
| Resolution | 12.1MP | 36.2MP |
| Video | NA | 1080p |
| Max FPS | 5 | 4 |
| Max ISO | 25,600 | 25,600 |
What do I want?
I’m a general purpose shooter, I don’t spend all my time in a studio nor do I sit on the sidelines catching sporting action, I need a camera that is a ‘jack of all trades’. My main body is a D300s which is Nikons ‘pseudo’ flagship cropped frame body, pseudo as the consumer level D7000 has a number of features which in my opinion place it inline or even above the D300s. I am happy with the D300s, it is a pleasure to use and has served me well, as always however there is some additional features I would like. Lets have a look at these features and see if the new releases could be my dream body:
1. Full frame sensor
Both the D800 and D4 offer a full 36x24mm full frame sensor.
2. Greater performance in low light
The D4 is the clear winner here with larger individual pixel size resulting in greater sensitivity with less noise.
3. A method to save and recall settings
This is an almost critical feature for me, the ability to setup the camera just the way I need it for a particular task and save the settings to an easily recalled memory bank. This is a feature Canon has had for a while and has recently been added by Nikon with their D7000. This feature is disappointingly not available on either the D800 or D4.
4. Decent frame rate
I don’t regularly require massively fast frame rates but on the occasions I am shooting some motorsport or other action it can become important. The D4 is impressive at 11fps if not slightly excessive, the 4fps of the D800 is lower than I would ideally like.
5. Dual card slots
This is a feature I love on the D300 where I can insert both a SD and CF card and have it record images simultaneously to both media, I can even save RAW on one a JPG on the other. When you’re getting paid to shoot a job redundancy is gold. The D800 shard the SD/CF arrangement of the D300 whilst the D4 uses a new XQD card along with the traditional CF card.
Which will be my next body?
Neither!
In summary neither of the new Nikon offerings can meet all my requirements. In the process of making cameras to meet the demands of specific types of photographers they have persuaded me, as well as many other photographers I imagine, to look at alternatives. What I was hoping for was basically a full frame Nikon D7000 which could have offered full frame performance, ability to save user settings and a respectable frame rate.
The D800 would be an amazing bit of kit for the shooter who needs massively high detailed images at the expense of frame rate and low light sensitivity. Whilst the D4 is an action shooters dream with great frame rates and amazing high iso performance meaning sharp images with big lenses.
What about me though? I need a high performance, easy to use, multi purpose camera body that can make great images in a studio as well as the race track. I don’t need 36MP resolution, nor do I want to store and process image files that large. I don’t regularly require 10+ fps, and certainly wouldn’t sacrifice other features or expense for it. At events I would like to easily switch from a slow shutter panning shot to a sharp portrait of a car or model. Where does this leave me?
Enter Canon stage left
I never thought I would have said it but jumping camps to Canon is seeming more and more like a viable option. The release of the new 5d Mark III in imminent, rumour has it later this month. Much like the D3-D4 upgrade the Mark III will be a tweaked version of the Mark II, the exact specs are yet to be published, but based on what I know how does it stack up with my requirement list?
1. Full frame sensor
Check
2. Low light performance
Should be an improvement over Mark II but probably not as good as the D4. Still should be more than adequate for my needs and a massive step up from the D300s.
3. Save and recall settings
Check, three banks where every function and setting of the camera can be stored, I don’t imagine this will change significantly on the Mark III.
4. Frame rate
Check, early reports are 7fps on the Mark III.
5. Dual card slots
Probably not, the Mark II doesn’t and I haven’t read any reports of it coming on the Mark III.
So far its performing well against Nikon on my requirement list, there are also a few other items that could help the Canon across the line:
Resolution
Sensor resolution will be 22MP, pretty much right between the D800 and D4′s 36 MP and 16MP. This brings a much greater pixel density and detail than my D300s, hopefully without sacrificing low light, high iso performance.
Price
The Mark III is expected to retail for roughly the same as the Mark II it will replace at around $2,800 for the body only. This could make it $1,000 less than the expected price of the D800 and $3,500 less than the D4.
Changeover?
Changing from Nikon to Canon is certainly not something to be taken lightly. Along with going back on all the years of being a Nikon fan boy taunting Canon shooters there is the investment in lenses and other accessories. There will be a cost to change, although with Nikon lenses and flashes commanding a decent price on the second hand market the changeover cost shouldn’t be too bad. Take into account the amount I wouldn’t be spending on a new Nikon body it should all work out the same.
Will I change? Time will tell, for now I’ll keep enjoying my Nikon (and occasionally the wife’s little Canon) and wait to try them all.
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