Are YOU looking for a great Digital SLR camera?

This is YOUR chance to own the best NIKON Digital SLR cameras at very affordable prices!

Nikon rebates are now available!

Click on each of the models from the list below. Navigate to the “view available kits” link to view possible options.

Be sure to "add to cart" to see the final price after the instant rebate. 

Models with kits include:

Nikon D3x

Nikon D3s

Nikon D90

Nikon D700

Nikon D300s

Nikon D5000

Don't let this chance to earn YOUR favorite Digital SLR!  ORDER NOW from B&H Photo!

P.S.  Again, be sure to "add to cart" to see the final price after the instant rebate.

 ---
Buy the Nikon D3s at B&H Photo
Buy the Nikon D3s at Amazon

If you're still looking for a Christmas gift for your loved ones but you're pressed for time, check out the Free Overnight Shipping on All Nikon Cameras by B&H Photo. Click on the banner below to visit the Canon section of their site:




---
Buy the Nikon D3s at B&H Photo
Buy the Nikon D3s at Amazon

Here's an except of the Technology Reviews of the Nikon D3s by the Taipei Times:



I'm sure a lot are not saving for a Nikon D3s for the holidays!
---
Buy the Nikon D3s at B&H Photo
Buy the Nikon D3s at Amazon

Nikon D3S Review - The Nikon D3S is arguably one of the most exciting DSLRs launched this year with an incredible ISO range. Join us for an exclusive preview ExclusiveePHOTOzine Exclusive!

ePHOTOzine's Will Cheung got the chance to spend the night with the new Nikon D3S

Having the freedom to shoot in the lowest lighting levels without having to resort to a flash or a tripod is something that is difficult to appreciate until you have done it. Now I have tried it, I must admit I am hooked. It is simply awesome.
I managed to borrow from Nikon a D3S fitted with the new AF 70-200mm f/2.8 (a preview of that lens will follow very soon) for an evening.
The D3S is a well-endowed camera with features aplenty but for this preview I concentrated on its high sensitivity capability. Its top true ISO is 12,800 with the option of a staggering ISO equivalent of 102,400 using the H3 setting.
I appreciate that my shots are not the greatest examples of low light photography but I hope you can see past that and appreciate what the camera is capable of, and that is the important thing.

Features and handling


The Nikon D3S is a pro-level camera and built very solidly to withstand hard, daily use. The downside, of course, is that it is a heavy beast.

The D3S is a typical member of the D3 dynasty. It is a large, solidly built DSLR designed for heavy-duty use without missing a beat. While I would not go so far as suggesting you could use it to bang in nails, I will say that the D3S has an incredibly robust feel and I would worry for my newly tiled kitchen floor if I was unlucky enough to drop it there.
Despite its weight, though, it does feel nicely balanced – especially when fitted with the high-spec, fast aperture lenses that most pros will be using.
As befits a DSLR with a £4200 body only price tag, the camera is positively festooned with features. This sample being a Nikon demonstration camera all sorts of strange functions and parameters had been set and it took me ages to work through the menus to set the thing up to the way I wanted.
With not a great of time available, I got the camera set-up and headed out onto the drizzly streets of Poole. Twilight was already on its last legs so I immediately set an ISO of 12,800 and concentrated on exploring the top speeds.
The amazing thing is that I was getting high shutter speeds despite the poor light. A fairly well lit shop front could mean exposure settings of 1/400sec at f/2.8 at ISO 12,800. Obviously going to the equivalent of ISO 25,600, 51,200 and 102,400 gave even higher shutter speeds.
Okay, it is true that for high quality night photography an ISO of 100 or 200 and a tripod is ideal, but being able to handhold in almost no light al all was incredibly liberating and speeded up shooting no end. For reportage and press photographers who often work in less than perfect light such freedom is surely worth its weight in gold.
At such high ISOs (or equivalent) you will not be surprised that digital noise was an issue. But, to be honest, who cares? To even get a decent, sharp picture in such poor light and without flash is a bonus.
The D3S did not miss a beat despite the inclement weather, but you would expect that from a pro camera with environmental seals.
While drying off in the pub, I tried the camera in continuous shooting mode. I got 30 Raw shots before it began to slow up, but got to 43 frames before the camera’s buffer was full and it took about 30 seconds before the green write LED extinguished without taking another shot.

Exposure
Generally, I had no real exposure problems with the D3S in this sneak preview. It did get fooled in some instances, such as when I did some night shots of a passing bus. When its brake lights came on, I got some underexposed shots, but with its normal rear lights the exposures were fine. Shop fronts with very bright spotlights also caused underexposure but that was not totally surprising.
One shop front I photographed was lit only by street lighting and from across the street, there was hardly anything visible and here the Nikon slightly overexposed the scene, as you can see here. I must admit the camera revealed more than I could see with the naked eye at the time.
The following morning, I took the D3S for a walk on the beach. While the sun was mostly obscured by clouds contrast was not too extreme and here the D3S dealt with most things I threw at it.

Nikon D3S test shots Nikon D3S test shots
No problem with this cloudy scene and exposure is spot on. More contrast but the D3S has done a fine job with it.
Nikon D3S test shots Nikon D3S test shots
A slightly contrasty scene that the D3S has just about got right. The D3S copes with no light at all - taken at the equivalent of ISO 102,400.


Focusing
On this brief preview, I certainly have no reasons to doubt the efficiency of the D3S’s AF system and look forward to an in-depth review soon.
I mostly stuck with the 70-200mm f/2.8 lens and only switched to the 24-70mm f/2.8 for some interior images. Focusing with both lenses was swift, response and accurate. This includes the low light scenes I was photographing.

Colour and sharpness
As with focusing, it is not appropriate to go into too much detail right now – especially since most of the shots I took were at high ISOs. Even the portraits of the model were taken at ISO 6400 upwards so not a real reflection of the camera’s colour rendition abilities.
So, more soon. The same applies to such performance parameters as white-balance.

Noise
Now we come to the nitty-gritty of its ISO performance.
I took several series of shots at ISO 6400, 12,800, then H1, H2 and H3, which give the equivalents of ISO 25,600, 51,200 and 102,400. I did this on the low light scenes – it was impossible to do it on normal daylight scenes because you run out of shutter speed and aperture settings.
I also did a set of shots featuring model, Felicia Field, repeating the same shots using a Nikon D700. The D700 has a top ISO of a modest 6400 with the option of shooting at H1 and H2 giving the equivalent of ISO 12,800 and 25,600. The images of Felicia were lit by a single LP MicroPro Litepanel.
You will not be surprised to hear that there is lots of digital noise and detail loss at ISO 102,400. There are plenty of blue dots in the shadows if you magnify into the image but in the highlights noise was well controlled. The thing to bear in mind is that the times when you actually need (truly, truly need) an ISO 102,400 will be few and far between and it is nice to know that should you need it, it can produce decent images.
Move down the speed scale and image quality gets better and better and I would certainly be happy shooting at ISO 6400 and 12,800 knowing that image quality would be first-rate.
Where it is really telling is comparing the D700’s images with the D3S’s. The D700 is recognised as being one of the very best DSLRs when it comes to noise performance at high ISOs. Compared with the D3S, however, it is nothing more than average. The D700’s images look mushy and lacking in detail compared with the D3’S – just have a look for yourself at the pictures of Felicia.
Check out the ISO 25,600 comparison images. In the D700 shot, there is lots of noise especially in the shadows but it is generally not a great image. By comparison, the D3S gives detail-rich, smooth images with hardly any noise at all. Quite remarkable.
It is worth noting that all the shots on the D700 and D3S were all taken without any high ISO noise reduction engaged. It was also worth saying that the D3S’s images here are all Fine, full-size JPEGs. I did shoot simultaneous Raws but there was no way of processing them in the software (except using a D3S which I did not have) at the time of writing this preview.

This is the full-frame image of model Felicia Field. Click on the enlargements below if you want to see the full-size image. Taken with the Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 lens at f/2.8.


Nikon D3S ISO 6400 Nikon D700 ISO 6400
Nikon D3S ISO 6400 Nikon D700 ISO 6400
Nikon D3S ISO 12800 Nikon D700 ISO 12800
Nikon D3S
ISO 12,800 Nikon D700
H1: ISO 12,800
Nikon D3S H1 ISO 25600 Nikon D700 H2 ISO 25600
Nikon D3S
H1: 25,600 Nikon D700
H2: 25,600
Nikon D3S H2 51,200 Nikon D3S H3 102,400
Nikon D3S
H2: 51,200 Nikon D3S
H3: 102,400

Nikon D3S ISO test
Taken to check noise in low light outdoors, shot with the new 70-200mm at f/2.8 handheld. Click on the detail shots below for fullsize files.


Nikon D3S 12,800 Nikon D3S 25,600
Nikon D3S ISO 12,800 Nikon D3S H1 ISO 25,600
Nikon D3S 51,200 Nikon D3S 102,400
Nikon D3S H2 ISO 51,200 Nikon D3S H3 ISO 102,400


Nikon D3S summary
It would not be fair to say whether the Nikon D3S is worth £4200 body only on the basis of spending a single wet evening with it. I will say, however, that it is a thoroughly inspiring piece of kit to use and its high sensitivity means you can carry on shooting in the poorest light and without using a tripod.
That would count for nothing if the results from using the high ISOs were poor and unusable, but they are not. Yes, there is noise and detail loss at the equivalent of ISO 102,400, but you still get an image – and try getting that sort of speed from film!
Of course, the D3S is not a one-trick pony and with its impressive list of features and robust build, it has excellent all-round appeal.
Anyway, we will be fully testing it as soon as we get a sample. Speaking for myself, even after one night, I handed the camera back to those nice Nikon people with considerable reluctance.

Nikon D3S specification

* Resolution: 12.1-megapixels effective, 12.9-megapixels total
* Sensor size: 36x23.9mm (FX format)
* Sensor type: CMOS
* Image size: 4256x2832pixels
* Aspect ratio: 3:2, 5:4, 1:2
* Focus system: TTL Nikon Multi-CAM 3500 FX sensor
* Focus points: 51 focus points (15 cross-type sensors)
* Crop factor: 1x
* Lens mount: Nikon F mount
* File type: JPEG – Large, Medium, Small, Nikon NEF Raw, TIFF, AVI Movie up to 1280x720
* Sensitivity: ISO 200-12,800, expandable to 100-102,400 (H3)
* Focus types: Single-shot, continuous servo AF, predictive AF, manual
* Metering system: TTL open aperture using 1005 pixel RGB sensor
* Metering types: 3D Matrix II, spot (1.5%) and centre-weighted
* Exposure compensation: +/- 5EV in 0.5 or 0.3 EV increments, AEB +/- 3EV
* Shutter speed range: 30secs-1/8000sec, Bulb
* Frames per second: 9fps max (11fps in DX Crop mode)
* Flash: No built-in, hotshoe
* Flash sync speed: 1/250sec
* Image stabilisation: VR system in Nikon lenses
* Integrated cleaning: Yes, Image Dust Off (with optional Capture NX2)
* Live view: Yes, for still and movie shooting
* Viewfinder: Eye-level pentaprism, 100% approx
* Monitor: 3in TFT, LCD, 921,000 dots
* Media type: CompactFlash I and II, 2 slots
* Interface: USB 2.0, HDMI, video out
* Power: One EN-EL4a battery pack
* Size: 160x 157 x 88mm
* Weight: 1240g (body only)

-source with images

***
These are great sample images from the Nikon D3s. Those high ISO shots of the face are very usable!

---
Buy the Nikon D3s at B&H Photo
Buy the Nikon D3s at Amazon

A Nikon gathering in New York recently proved to be a fantastic opportunity to test out the high ISO capabilities of the upcoming Nikon D3S digital SLR, as well as try the new AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II for the first time.

The setting was a dress rehearsal for the Big Apple Circus, held under the big top on the grounds of Damrosch Park in Manhattan. What follows is 40 downloadable full-resolution photos taken with a near-final D3S, as well as some early impressions of the camera. Nikon USA also had on hand the revamped AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II, a welcome update to the AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR that promises both better handling and improved optical quality. Through the course of the evening we shot with both the earlier and new 70-200mm lenses, plus the AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED.

For those familiar with the D3, the D3S needs little introduction. The D3S is a D3 with 720p video, larger image buffer, a number of small but welcome feature refinements and a revamped image sensor designed to improve high ISO image quality in particular. A night at the circus gave an opportunity to see whether low light pictures from the D3S are in fact superior to the D3, which was already a fine high ISO performer.

As you'll see in the downloadable files, the answer is yes. The high ISO image quality improvements in the D3S are real, and they're substantial. Based on what we shot that evening it's safe to expect at least a one stop improvement, maybe more. In other words, overall image quality at ISO 6400 on the D3S is as least as good as ISO 3200 on the D3. And perhaps better, as you'll notice if you look at the photos we shot with both cameras at ISO 1600 and up.

The AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR, which went on sale beginning in 2003, is not one of our favourite lenses. At some focal lengths and at wider apertures, it's noticeably soft on the edges on full-frame Nikons, vignetting is pronounced, the slightest grazing of the focus ring will cause the AF system to switch from autofocus to manual focus when you don't want it to and its image stabilization is the least effective of any pro-level Canon or Nikon lens we currently own.

The AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II is shaping up to be an entirely different product than the lens it replaces. After an hour of shooting with it we had no desire to return to its predecessor.

The addition of a less-sensitive A/M focus override mode seems to remove the possibility of accidentally switching to manual focus at the wrong moment, vignetting is reduced and the VR II image stabilization is markedly more stable.

The shooting environment was such that we couldn't really determine whether it's sharper well out from the centre than the earlier lens, or if it's as sharp or sharper in the centre (where the AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR excels). Overall, though, the new lens makes a heck of a first impression.

The Nikon D3S and AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II teamed up to make for a fun couple of hours of circus photography.

All photos linked to below are full-resolution JPEGs created from 14-bit Lossless Compressed NEFs converted by Nikon ViewNX 1.5.0 for Mac (the only Nikon software currently capable of processing D3S NEFs). All are in the Adobe RGB colour space, and are best viewed in Photoshop or a photo browser that honours embedded colour space profiles.

The first four rows contain a mix of Nikon D3 and D3S photos of the same scene and shot on identical settings, for direct comparison of the high ISO improvements in the newer Nikon relative to the model being replaced. The remainder of the photos are from the D3S exclusively.

metadata.jpg
Metadata: The full-resolution downloadable JPEGs contain an embedded metadata banner displaying key shooting and processing settings
Most photos have been converted from NEF to finished file at the same settings as captured, with two settings exceptions: software exposure compensation (called SEC in the captions beneath the thumbnails below) and Shadow Protection (which is Nikon-speak for shadow lightening).

These controls in ViewNX were adjusted as needed to correct for exposure error, or to open up shadows that were too dense. Only a handful of files required this help, and they are marked as such in the metadata in the upper left corner of each full-resolution picture (an example is at right).

Two of the photos, slugged Ribbons and End, were lightened 1.5 stops and 2.0 stops, respectively. Ribbons in particular is a good one to look at to see how well the D3S handles heavy underexposure, even when it's set to ISO 5000.

Rather than indicate the numeric position of the Shadow Protection slider, which won't have much meaning for you unless you're familiar with ViewNX, we've instead given a subjective impression of how much shadow opening was applied. Low means just a little bit, Medium means a fair bit (and therefore shadow noise, if present, will be noticeably more visible) and High means that shadows have been lightened dramatically (with a commensurate big boost in shadow noise visibility).

The ISO 2500 photo slugged Shadow is an example of High Shadow Protection; the right side of the performer's face (on your left in the photo) was almost completely plugged before this adjustment.

High ISO NR was set to Low in both the D3 and D3S. ViewNX honoured this in-camera setting during the conversion step, which means all D3 photos at ISO 2000 and up had High ISO NR filtering applied, while all D3S photos at ISO 4000 and up got the same treatment. It's not possible, in ViewNX, to override this, so that both cameras' files could get the same treatment at ISO 2000 through 3200. This would seem to give the D3 an advantage in this ISO range in this comparison, but the reality is the D3S still produces the better-looking file. Nikon appears to have upped the High ISO NR crossover point to ISO 4000 for the D3S with good reason.

Most files received no other explicit noise reduction. Those that did were run through PictureCode Software's Noise Ninja. The thumbnail captions and metadata note when Noise Ninja was applied.

A modified version of the Neutral Picture Style was used for all conversions. Sharpening was set to 0, Hue was set to +1 and all other parameters were on their defaults. The Color Booster control in ViewNX was used to introduce a little more punch into some frames, but the saturation bump was negligible in all cases.

The excellent Smart Sharpen filter in Photoshop CS4 was applied to almost all files.

Some photos could use a bit more contrast. This is the result of a contrast-killing fog machine being fired up liberally during the event, and not something strange happening in the D3S.

***
These are great images of the Nikon D3s on high ISO. This is definitely a great camera for low light shooting! -source

---
Buy the Nikon D3s at B&H Photo
Buy the Nikon D3s at Amazon

The Imaging Resource has posted sample images of the Nikon D3s.

You can find the hi resolution sample images including those shot at ISO 102400 and sample videos here: http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/D3S/D3SA7.HTM

---
Buy the Nikon D3s at B&H Photo
Buy the Nikon D3s at Amazon

Here's another post about the Nikon D3s sample images of the circus, but this time, by PC Magazine.
***


Nikon gave a handful of journalists a sneak peek at the Nikon D3S digital-SLR camera; it was announced last week and is expected to be released in late November with a $5,199.95 (body only) list price.

I was invited to join Nikon to shoot with a production-model D3S at the Big Apple Circus, which opens to the public tomorrow evening. I've spent time with other professional Nikon SLR cameras over the years, including the D3 and every other Nikon D-SLR, and the D3S's interface felt incredibly familiar and just as intuitive as that of the D3.

This latest Nikon offers new marquee features, however, such as 720p HD video capture and an incredible top ISO setting of 102,400 (see sample image above, captured at ISO 102,400 with a 1/30-second exposure, including a 100-percent pixel view), which enables photographers to capture (somewhat) usable images in near-total darkness. More sample images are included in our post on Gearlog.

---
Buy the Nikon D3s at B&H Photo
Buy the Nikon D3s at Amazon

The D3s's impact on photography won't be nearly as dramatic as the D3—the camera that started the low-light arms race—but we got to shoot with it, and really, you've never seen nicer low-light images in your life.

I had around two hours to shoot with a pre-production model of the tank-like D3s at New York's Big Apple Circus, hence all of the scary clowns and very flexible folks. Since low-light performance is what you're probably most interested in, I've broken down the sample shots into galleries by ISO speed. Overall, shots at ISO 6400 are the cleanest I've ever seen at that ISO rating—just think about that for a second—and ISO 12,800 photos are unquestionably usable for even large web photos (like 1000x1000 pixels). Of course, the pictures at ISO 102,400 have ridiculous grain and you'd never use them for anything but novelty, but consider that we really are talking light sensitivity on the order of night vision. It's a remarkable achievement for achievement's sake.

All of the photos here are from JPEGs straight out of a pre-production D3s, with no retouches. They were resized, but I've included shots of 100 percent zoom close-ups above the galleries.

These two series are shot at the exact same shutter speed, adjusting only the ISO, so you can get a sense of how much extra light the cranked ISO absorbs.
What Exactly Night Vision Means

I've also cut together some of the 720p video I shot. The video mode's a little confusing to use at first, since the "shutter speed" is how adjust exposure in video mode, but the results are nice, even if they're not in 1080p. The clip was always shot at an ISO rating of at least 3200 (I was fiddling with the ISO throughout), and the second half makes use of a boom mic for stereo.

- click here to see sample images from the Nikon D3s

***
These are great Nikon D3s samples images from gizmodo. The high ISO shots are quite usable.

---
Buy the Nikon D3s at B&H Photo
Buy the Nikon D3s at Amazon

What's more fun than going to the circus? Photographing the circus with the brand new Nikon D3S.

Nikon invited a group of journalists to a shoot a dress rehearsal of The Big Apple Circus in NYC a couple of days before PhotoPlus Expo opened. We were outfitted with Nikon D3s cameras and an assortment of lenses. I shot with the new 70-200mm VRII f/2.8, the 24-70mm f/2.8, and an 8GB SanDisk Extreme III CompactFlash card.

While the D3s is identical to the D3 in many ways, there are a few differences, the most important are: a new sensor, 720p video recording and a mind-boggling high ISO of 102,400 (High 3). While photographers will probably view this as "emergency" ISO (hey, it's noisy, mostly in shadows...no surprise there), the results were better than I expected.

Drop the ISO down to 12,800 and I was even more impressed but was really blown away by the photos shot between 6400 and 8000. They're stunning, even shooting under difficult conditions with multicolored lights, smoke machines and performers with bright costumes and heavy make-up.

Lighting varied throughout the show but the D3s was more than up to the task, although I got better exposures when I switched from matrix metering to center-weighted (metering and re-composing when the subject was off-center).

Video quality was impressive as well, although I could only view it on a 17-inch Macbook Pro (pardon the shaky video sample...handholding the D3s and a 70-200mm lens when shooting video isn't easy).

Needless to say, I'm anxious to receive a review sample so I can really put the D3s through its paces. But that will have to wait for another time. Meanwhile, check out these first shots. We'll have an in-depth review as soon as we can.

- click here for images and videos

***
These are stunning low light images from the Nikon D3s! You won't miss any more important shots just because it's dark.

---
Buy the Nikon D3s at B&H Photo
Buy the Nikon D3s at Amazon

On Wednesday, Nikon took the wraps off a follow-up to the pro-level D3 D.S.L.R. with a new model that features advanced ISO and noise-handling capabilities for better low-light photography, as well as a high-definition movie mode.

The new D3s, a 12.1-megapixel FX format camera with a body-only price of $5,200 (that figure will stop most of you here), builds on the platform of the D3. With a redesigned full-frame CMOS sensor and expanded ISO settings up to 12,800 (and a whopping 102,400 ISO using “expanded sensitivity” settings), it should excel in low-light photography. The D3, by comparison, had a maximum ISO of 6400 and an expanded sensitivity that topped out at 25,600.

I met with Nikon several weeks ago and its executives had no photos taken with the D3s at its highest ISO settings to share. But I asked Lindsay Silverman, Nikon’s senior technical manager, if images snapped at an ISO of 102,400 would be jarringly noisy. “Photos at this ISO certainly will have more noise, but it’s better than not getting the shot at all,” he said. Which is a good point.

What’s more, Nikon says tweaks to its Expeed processor and CMOS sensor have improved the camera’s signal-to-noise ratio at higher ISOs. This is achieved, in part, because the D3s’s new CMOS sensor has individual pixels that are larger than those of the D3; larger pixels provide enhanced sensitivity to light and deliver better highlights and shadows, Mr. Silverman said.

And to keep that sensor spiffy, Nikon has added an automatic sensor cleaning capability.

As for movie clips, the D3s has a movie mode that captures video in 720p resolution (1280 by 720 pixels) at 24 frames per second in full manual mode, meaning you can set the aperture and also underexpose or overexpose scenes if you like, Mr. Silverman said. You can also extract a single frame from a video clip and save it as a 9-megapixel JPEG file. What’s more, the D3s has an input for an optional stereo microphone, allowing you to record video in stereo if you use an external mic.

Many of the other D3s specs are the same as the D3: Both have a 51-area autofocus for accurate focusing and a three-inch, 920,000-dot LCD. While they both capture images at speeds of up to 9 frames per second, Nikon says the D3s has an improved buffer that enables continuous bursts that are approximately twice as fast as its predecessor.

Interested? You’ve got about a month to save up. The D3s will be available in late November.

***
The capability to shoot high ISO on the Nikon D3s will surely let you shoot in dark areas. I've experienced it a lot where I missed shots simply because it's too dark.

---
Buy the Nikon D3s at B&H Photo
Buy the Nikon D3s at Amazon

Studio Impressions blog has just posted great Nikon D3s sample images. Images were mostly shot in high ISO and they are really impressive!

The Nikon D3s sample video looks great too!

Check them out here.

---
Buy the Nikon D3s at B&H Photo
Buy the Nikon D3s at Amazon

Nikon have just announced full details for the updated version of their existing D3 model. The DS ‘S’ adds all new features such as a FX CMOS sensor and a new Dust Reduction System.

As reported from Pocket-Lint, customers who pick up the improved version will notice that the new Hi3 ISO setting will now give you an ISO of 102,400.

Also included in the new version is an in-camera NEF RAW editing system, which will let you tweak all sorts of image settings such as balance and exposure, using easy-to-use menu navigation.

If you’re interested in picking up the Nikon D3S, it will be available in December for £4199.99. We’ll let you know when we have a solid release date.

***
December is a few more weeks to go. The Nikon D3s is going to be a nice Christmas present!

---
Buy the Nikon D3s at B&H Photo
Buy the Nikon D3s at Amazon

Nikon has announced the D3s, the successor to last year's D3, and it comes wading in to the market bragging some pretty impressive specs.

With a redesigned 12.1 megapixel sensor, the pro-level D3s has an impressive ISO range of 200 - 12,800, but with three boost levels to take it up to a whopping ISO 102,400 should you so desire.

There's 720p HD video capture at 24 frames per second, and autofocus that has been fine tuned to support both video capture and Live View as well.

Nice finishing touches include three different crop modes, a quiet shutter release mode for when you need to keep the noise down, RAW processing options in the retouch menu and four manual control levels alongside the new Auto setting.

The D3s will be hitting shelves in the UK in late November, with a price tag of around £4,200. Ouch.

Before you start counting out your pennies, check out what we thought to its predecessor the D3, and let us know if you'll be coughing up the cash below.

***
The Nikon D3s is quite an expensive camera. However, do consider that this is a full frame camera with low light capabilities.
---
Buy the Nikon D3s at Amazon

You can find the special site of the Nikon D3s here.

I'm sure you're going to drool. ;)

---
Buy the Nikon D3s at Amazon

On Tuesday, Nikon introduced the first D-SLR that can capture high-definition video using a "full frame" image sensor.

However, the new Nikon D3S camera is limited to 720p24 only; many of the new D-SLR's competitors offer more resolution and frame-rate capture options, None of them, though, employ a sensor as large as the D3S. When it comes to image quality, the general rule is: the bigger the sensor, the better the image quality.

The new 12.1-megapixel D3S will replace the 12.1-megapixel Nikon D3 and be priced at an estimated $5,199.95 (body only). This makes it the second most expensive D-SLR in Nikon's product line, placing it right underneath the $7,999 D3X (body only) which also uses a full frame sensor but captures a whopping 24.5 megapixels. The D3X does not offer video capture.

Earlier this month, Nikon's largest competitor Canon announced a video-centric D-SLR, the Canon 7D, which is capable of recording more high-definition resolutions and frame rates (1080p30/25/24 and 720p/60/50). The Canon 7D is much less expensive, and it lists for $1,699 (body only). But it also uses a much smaller APS-C image sensor (22.3 mm by 14.9 mm), too. The Nikon D3S full frame sensor is 36 mm by 23.9 mm.

The Nikon D3S is expected to be available in late November. For more information on the Nikon D3S, see the grid below or visit NikonUSA.com. -source

***
I'm confused. Is the Nikon D3s really the first full-frame dslr to offer video? What about the Canon 5D mark II?

---
Buy the Nikon D3s at Amazon

Budget for a smaller turkey this Thanksgiving; you'll need to save your pennies if you want to upgrade to Nikon's latest pro dSLR when it ships at the end of November. With a few substantial changes that should appeal to nighttime shooters or the video-inclined pro, packed into the old D3 body, the slightly more expensive D3S seems like it'll be a decent successor.

Though it retains the same 12.1-megapixel resolution and 8.45-micron pixels of its predecessor, the D3S uses a new sensor. Combined with updated image-processing firmware, Nikon manages to eke out sensitivity of up to ISO 102,400 (Hi 3), for a whopping 10-stop sensitivity range. How much of that will be usable? Well, the D3's looked pretty good as high as ISO 12,800--formerly Hi 1 and the new top of the standard range--and given the tweaks it should at least gain another usable couple of stops, which is worthwhile in itself. I saw some prints from Hi 3 shots taken with a preproduction model, and they looked pretty serviceable for emergency shooting in the dark.

The other major enhancement is support for Nikon's 24fps, 720p video implementation, which allows for shooting with sensitivities up to ISO 6400, shutter and aperture adjustments in preview mode and selectable sound levels. Like most models it has a built in mono mic, though it has a minijack for stereo audio. Plus Nikon supplies some postprocessing for trimming video and extracting frames.

One of the biggest complaints about dSLR-based video is the rolling shutter artifacts, which tend to be more pronounced at the 24fps frame rate Nikon uses over Canon's 30fps. Nikon claims it's tweaked the video processing to reduce the artifacts by half.

There are a few subtle differences in the D3S as well. Nikon increased the buffer memory to significantly boost burst depth, added sensor vibration to its dust reduction system, inserted a DX crop mode, and incorporated the same Quiet shutter release mode that debuted in the D300s. There are also more custom settings banks (to accommodate movie settings, if memory serves) which now support saved shutter speed and aperture values--a small thing, but nevertheless one of my pet peeves with the Nikon models.

Rumors abound for the D3S's main competitor, the next Canon pro model, speculatively named 1D Mark 4 (Mark IV?), but I put more credence in the Q1 2010 prognostications than the ones for next week. It's quite possibly Canon's turn to leapfrog Nikon in the neverending game. But for now, the D3S looks like it stacks up pretty well compared to what's currently available. Of course, there's also that huge price differential to consider.

In theory, it looks like there's something here to float everyone's boat: if you're not into video, there's still the low-light shooting. Or if you're so inclined, start looking for deals on used D3s. (That's D3 plural, not D3S. Oh, fun Googling for this one.) I'm certainly looking forward to trying it out.

- source and table of comparisons

***
For non-video users, the low-light shooting capability of the Nikon D3s is great to have!

£4,200 professional DSLR to launch in December

Two years after the launch of Nikon’s first full-frame digital SLR comes the new Nikon D3s, a high-end, professional-level digital SLR camera.

The new Nikon D3s features a redesigned image sensor, but keeps the same 12.1Mp resolution that the D3 had.

Low-light photography

The ISO sensitivity on the D3s can be set between 200 and 12,800, but can be expanded to 100 to 102,400 – making the camera suited to shooting in low-light conditions.

RAW images can be edited in the camera, allowing users to manipulate the colour saturation, vignetting, exposure composition and sharpness of the image. The file can then be converted, in camera, to a Jpeg.
HD video

The D3s can capture still images at a rate of nine frames-per-second. It features a HD video mode (1280x720p) and a microphone input, allowing users to attach external microphones.

Still Jpegs can be taken from the movie files, which are captured in AVI format, with a 2GB cap. This means that at maximum resolution, a video file is restricted to five minutes.

There are two dedicated, one-touch video buttons, and several features – including the battery chamber – have been redesigned so users needn’t remove their gloves when shooting in cold conditions.
Silent shutter mode

The D3s features a silent shutter mode – a feature that we have seen on the recent Nikon D5000 and D300s. This allows users to take pictures quietly, which is ideal when shooting wildlife.

Richard Parris, Which? digital camera expert, said: 'Such high-end cameras help shape the consumer camera market in some ways, and give us an idea of the features that we may be seeing on other DSLRs in the future. While it is unlikely that we shall test the D3s in our labs, we shall keep you posted with new developments in the full-frame DSLR market as they develop.'

The full-frame Nikon D3s will launch this December when it will retail for around £4,200. -source

***
ISO 102,400!! That's a very high ISO which is great for low light shooting! I'm looking forward to seeing sample images.