Nydelig kamera og optikk i god stand! Selges samlet for kun 7500! Eller 6600 for hus og 2500,- for optikk.
Rundt 150k eksp, kan tåle godt over 1.000.000 med rett bruk! Førstemann til mølla via fiks ferdig!
Kamera er absolutt billigste på Finn! Selges for opptil 27000 kun for hus! Så både en 70-200 og D4 for 7500 er unikt!
Selges som på bildene:
D4 komplett med lader i org eske
Tamron 70-200mm 2.8 VC med filter
https://photographylife.com/reviews/nikon-d4
https://www.lydogbilde.no/test/foto-video/nikon-d4/
It has been close to three years since Nikon announced the D4 and our readers might be wondering why I am only now reviewing the camera, especially given the fact that it has already been replaced by the Nikon D4s. While testing out the D4s, I thought that it would be a good idea to revisit the older D4 – better late than never! Since the camera came out, I have used it on several occasions for both personal and business needs, and a number of our team members have owned or still own the D4. Hence, the information and images that I gathered here represent a collective effort between our team at Photography Life.
Being a top-of-the-line DSLR from Nikon, the D4 is a specialized tool that is primarily targeted at news, sports and wildlife photographers. With a 16 MP sensor that is capable of capturing images all the way to ISO 204,800, up to 11 frames per second continuous shooting speed, a huge buffer for photographing fast action, a solid all-metal construction and a high-end ergonomic design, the Nikon D4 is a serious camera for serious needs.
After owning the Nikon D3s for 4 years, I really struggled with the decision to upgrade to the D4. The thing is, back when the D3s came out, Nikon only had the D700 as the lower-end FX option, which was noticeably worse in image quality. So if one wanted to get the best image quality, the only option was to move up to the D3s. At $5,200, there was a bit more than $2K price difference between the D700 and the D3s.
When the D4 came out, Nikon pushed its price up higher to $6K, which was double the price of then newly-announced D800. And if you remember that time-frame, the D800 generated so much buzz in the industry, that it practically de-popularized the high-end line and put it in the shadows. Personally, I went for the D800 at the time and spent a considerable amount of time working with the camera. It was a great buy at $3K and I did not see much reason to move up to the twice more expensive D4, especially after seeing high resolution sensor advantages and realizing that the D4 did not offer significant image quality improvements over the D3s.
Putting $6K towards a camera that was only marginally better in image quality than my D3s and came with a few unwelcome changes such as the XQD card slot and small, Canon-like joysticks (more on this further down below) was a hard pill to swallow, so I decided to skip a generation and see if a future model would offer better value. And with Lola’s wedding business growth, I found myself shooting wildlife a lot less, shifting more towards lifestyle and landscape photography. The Nikon D800 was superb for those needs and Lola kept on using the D3s for her work and projects. It worked out great, as we had both a high ISO king and a high-resolution king in our arsenal. Eventually, Nikon released the Df, which was Lola’s dream come true, because it had similar image quality and pixel-level performance as the D4, minus the bulk and weight. That’s when we decided to get rid of the D3s…
While our story above reflects our decisions and reasoning why we chose not to get the D4, my wildlife friends were happy to move up to the D4 and they never regretted that decision. The thing is, for sports and wildlife needs, the D4 was still the best Nikon camera to get at the time. With its super fast shooting speed and a huge buffer, the D4 was the right tool for freezing those fast action moments. Had I kept my focus on wildlife photography, I would have probably either upgraded to the D4, or the latest generation D4s. Since the D300s and D700, Nikon kept its high-end line protected by intentionally crippling lower-end cameras with slower fps and smaller buffers.
NIKON D4 + 800mm f/5.6 @ ISO 1400, 1/320, f/5.6 – by Thomas Redd
Nikon D4 Specifications
Sensor: 16.2 MP FX, 7.3µ pixel size
Native ISO Sensitivity: 100-12,800
Boost Low ISO Sensitivity: 50
Boost High ISO Sensitivity: 25,600-204,800
Camera Buffer: Up to 100 12-bit RAW images, 70 14-bit uncompressed RAW and up to 200 JPEG images in continuous 10 FPS mode with XQD card
Processor: EXPEED 3
Dust Reduction: Yes
Shutter: Up to 1/8000 and 30 sec exposure, self-diagnostic shutter monitor
Shutter Durability: 400,000 cycles
Camera Lag: 0.012 seconds
Storage: 1x Compact Flash slot and 1x XQD slot
Viewfinder Coverage: 100%
Speed: 10 FPS, 11 FPS with AE/AF locked
Exposure Meter: 91,000 pixel RGB sensor
Autofocus System: Advanced Multi-CAM 3500FX with 51 focus points and 15 cross-type sensors
AF Detection: Up to f/8 with 11 focus points (5 in the center, 3 on the left and right)
LCD Screen: 3.2 inch diagonal with 921,000 dots
Movie Modes: Full 1080p HD @ 30 fps max
Movie Exposure Control: Full
Movie Recording Limit: 30 minutes @ 30p, 20 minutes @ 24p
Movie Output: MOV, Compressed and Uncompressed
Two Live View Modes: One for photography and one for videography
Camera Editing: Lots of in-camera editing options with HDR capabilities
Wired LAN: Built-in Gigabit RJ-45 LAN port
WiFi: Not built-in, requires WT-5a and older wireless transmitters
GPS: Not built-in, requires GP-1 GPS unit
Battery Type: EN-EL18
Battery Life: 2,600 shots
Weight: 1,180g
MSRP Price: $5,999
Detailed camera specifications can be found at Nikon USA.
Camera Construction and Handling
With a full magnesium alloy and weather sealed construction, the Nikon D4 surely does not disappoint, just like all top-of-the-line Nikon DSLRs. I have seen photographers accidentally drop their high-end D3/D3s/D4 cameras (I once dropped a D3s from 3 feet high), bump them against hard surfaces or get every hole filled up with dust when photographing Burning Man and those cameras continued to work without any problems. Cameras like D4 are designed to be used heavily by professionals, so they can withstand all kinds of physical abuse. That’s why working pros prefer D4-like cameras, as they know they can rely on them in the most challenging conditions.
Ergonomics and handling-wise, the D4 went through significant changes when compared to the D3s. Some of these changes I really liked, but others not so much. The overall shape of the camera was completely changed, making the D4 appear more curvy than the D3/D3s/D3x models. The front of the camera went through the least number of changes. The biggest change in the front was the grip – Nikon redesigned the D4 grip, so it feels better and deeper when hand-holding the camera. Another subtle change was the camera on / off switch / shutter release button, which was angled lower to make shooting more comfortable.
The C/S/M focus lever (bottom left side of the camera) was modified to adapt to a more modern switch like on other Nikon DSLRs.
There were some noticeable modifications to the camera connector panels – the Nikon D4 has everything separated out by groups, while the Nikon D3s had a more consolidated look. Aside from standard ports, the Nikon D4 also came with a built-in Ethernet port (a real plus for shooting tethered in a studio), which the D3s did not have.
The top of the camera went through a few design changes:
First, the left dial was modified – the front of the dial on the D4 comes fully closed and only the rear of the dial is exposed. The dial modes remained the same, but there was a change on the top buttons – the “Lock” button on the D3/D3s/D3x was replaced with a metering mode button. I welcomed this change, because the metering mode switch on the right side was eliminated as well! After using the D4 for a few months, I started to realize how much I hated the old metering mode switch on my D3s camera. Pressing the button and then rotating the metering mode dial was never comfortable, so I was glad that this annoyance was finally taken care of. The right side of the camera was also redesigned. The shutter release button was located at a lower angle for comfort and the camera mode and exposure compensation buttons were moved up a little to make room for the new and small video recording button.
Now let’s talk about the back of the camera, which went through the most number of changes:
There are things I really like about what Nikon did with the D4 back layout/design and things I don’t. Let’s start from what I believe are good changes. Nikon adapted a similar button layout as the D700 to the left of the LCD, which is the ability to zoom in and out by pressing a button. I remember when I first held the D3s in my hands, I could not figure out how to zoom in. I then realized that I had to press the zoom button and then use the dial on the back of the camera to zoom in and out. What a pain it was! The Nikon D4 does not have this problem anymore – you just press the zoom in and zoom out buttons without having to rotate any dials! And you want to zoom in to 100% magnification instantly, you can program the middle button on the multi-selector control just like on many other high-end Nikon DSLRs. The lock/help button was moved up right under the Menu button, which I would rather have on the bottom, because I never use it. In addition, all the new buttons are back-lit, which is great news for those of us that shoot in low-light or at night.
NIKON D4 + 85.0 mm f/1.4 @ ISO 200, 1/1600, f/2.8
NIKON D4 + 85.0 mm f/1.4 @ ISO 200, 1/1250, f/2.8
The new LCD on the back of the camera has the same 921,000 dot resolution as the one on the D3s, but is now a little bigger in size (by 0.2 inches diagonal). The button placement under the LCD also went through some changes. While the ISO / QUAL / WB buttons are still in their respective places, the audio record button has been moved to sit together in the same group. The Live View button was moved a little to the left now and has a lever for selecting between photo and video live view modes.
The vertical grip is now a lot more comfortable, because the AF-ON button has been moved deeper into the camera body. This is great news, because the old AF-ON placement was never good to start with – I kept on accidentally pressing it while shooting horizontally and had to constantly turn it off when I was not using it.
NIKON D4 + 24.0-85.0 mm f/3.5-4.5 @ ISO 200, 1/800, f/8.0
Finally, let’s talk about the rest of the buttons to the right side of the body and LCD. The D4 introduced two new joysticks, which Nikon calls “sub-selector”, just like Canon has had on their high-end cameras (the joystick is borrowed from the MB-D10 grip) – one to use in horizontal position and one to use in vertical position. The top joystick replaced the customizable AE-L/AF-L button that was there on the D3s, but you can still program the joystick to act as the AE-L/AF-L button (Custom Settings Menu->Controls->Assign sub‐selector center). I don’t know about others, but I hate joysticks. They are too darn small and uncomfortable to use. Nikon probably added the joysticks for the Canon converts that wanted to have the same feel on Nikon cameras. The worst part about these joysticks, is that they are not built well for regular use! They are known to fall off and get lost, which is quite poor craftsmanship for a $6K camera if you ask me…
Handling of the D4 is superb, with the exception of its heavy weight and bulk for those that hand-hold the camera a lot. Although the D4 is a little lighter than the D3s, it still weighs close to 1.2 kg. Compare that to the new Nikon D750, which at 750 grams is almost 40% lighter – and those figures are without the large EN-EL18 battery that weighs way more than the twice smaller EN-EL15. While I loved the image quality of my previous Nikon D3s, neither Lola nor I were happy with its weight when shooting those all day weddings, especially when coupling the camera with something like the 70-200mm f/2.8G VR II and a speedlight. My neck and my back would get sore by the end of the day with all that weight. Yes, I am comparing two different cameras with and without battery grips, but that’s the part that you have to figure out for yourself – if using a standard profile DSLR with a battery grip does not bother you, you will love the D4. I personally quit using battery grips a while ago, because I prefer the smaller and lighter cameras for my style of shooting.
At the same time, the weight and bulk of professional camera bodies balance very well with long super telephoto lenses. This goes for both hand-held and tripod shooting. When mounting the D4 on a gimbal head, it balances easier than something like the D750 and you do not have to move the tripod leg to its tip just to get the balance right. Hand-holding something like the 200-400mm f/4G with the D4 is also easier on your hands, because the setup is not very front-heavy. Although Nikon has been redesigning their super telephoto line with lightweight fluorite elements (making them comfortable to use with lighter camera bodies), the older super telephoto lenses were all front-heavy.
Just like all other top-of-the-line Nikon DSLRs, the Nikon D4 does not have a built-in camera flash. While this is done primarily for better weather-sealing, it is a definite disadvantage if you have been using a built-in flash in emergency situations or perhaps as a master to trigger an off-camera speedlight. It does not come with an AF assist lamp either, so you will have to use the IR beam of your speedlight when focusing in extremely dark environments, as explained in this article.
NIKON D4 + 85.0 mm f/1.8 @ ISO 110, 1/125, f/3.2
XQD Memory Slot
One big change that Nikon introduced on the D4 was the XQD memory card slot. Although XQD is much better memory compared to CF due to its ability to push insane read and write speeds and it is also easier to use (no more bent pins), in my opinion, Nikon made a mistake by incorporating one XQD slot in the D4. Why? Three reasons. First, Nikon was the only vendor to try out the XQD format in a digital camera, which made the D4 the only camera in the industry to use a different memory card format other than CF or SD. It felt like it was an experiment, rather than anything else. Because of this, the availability of XQD memory cards and their readers was very limited at launch. Nikon ended up supplying people with XQD memory cards and readers with the D4, which I am sure only caused Nikon more headaches. Second, having two different slots significantly weakens the overall workflow process. One has to find proper ways to store these XQD cards, use them and access them, together with CF cards. Nikon should have either picked two CF card slots or two XQD card slots to make the process consistent. Why should one have to carry separate memory card readers for CF and XQD? Lastly, it has been almost three years since the XQD experiment started and the D4 and the D4s are still the only digital cameras in the world that use this format. As far as I know, aside from Sony and Lexar, there are no other manufacturers that offer XQD memory cards and readers. Nikon should have either abandoned XQD after the D4, or made both slots XQD on the D4s.
Table of Contents
Overview and Specifications
Sensor, AF Performance, Metering and Dynamic Range
ISO Performance and Comparisons
Summary
More Image Samples
Reader Comments
https://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/d4.htm
Skrevet av legenden:
Nikon D4 with 50mm f/1.4. enlarge.
NEW: Nikon D4s. January 2014; makes this old D4 obsolete, so get the Canon 1DX instead; it's a much better camera and the D4S isn't shipping yet.
The D600, D800 and D4 are the same camera inside! 22 October 2012
Nikon D4 versus the world High ISO Comparison
December 2012 Deal: Nikon D4 with Lexar 32GB Pro 1000x CF Card, spare Nikon EN-EL18 Battery, Nikon AN-DC7 Wide Neck Strap, Nikon MC-30 Remote Cord and Mack 3 Year Extended Warranty: $5,996.95, plus 5% rewards.
Introduction top
Intro Specs Performance Compared Recommendations More
The Nikon D4 is Nikon's fastest, tightest professional camera ever made for sports and action photography. It leaves consumer cameras like the D800 and Canon 5D Mark III completely in the dust.
Yes, the Nikon D4 excels at computer hobbyists' technical tests for high ISO noise and resolution as you'd expect, but far more important is how the D4 allows the professional photographer to get in, get the shot and get out long before anyone else knows what happened.
The D4 blazes away at 10 frames per second, with every frame in-focus and perfectly exposed as your subject moves around. The D4's speed is much more than just its 10 frames-per-second specification; it's all the other things like its metering and auto white balance and face-recognition autofocus and focal-length tracking auto-ISO systems that all work twice as hard and fast as other cameras to keep those ten frames per second all looking great. I worry about getting there and pointing the camera in the right direction, and as I preset my D4, it takes care of the rest. (copy my personal NCSETUP9.BIN file to a card, pop it into your D4, then MENU > SETUP > Save/Load Settings > Load Settings > OK and your D4 will match mine — and erase your settings.)
It's not just ten frames; the D4 can keep this up longer than you can, running for up to twenty continuous seconds, making 200 full-resolution images in a burst. The D4 cheerfully rips away at 10 FPS, and hiccups not once writing all this to your card, even if the bursts run a hundred shots. Run just a few seconds at 10 FPS, and you'll be recording dozens and dozens of frames at a time, while the D4 never misses a beat.
I've never had any reason to run more than 9 seconds at a burst, and my D4 calmly just writes 90 frames to my card in the background while I keep on shooting the next burst.
The D4 just shoots and shoots and shoots. It's unstoppable. It grabs ultra-high ISOs automatically as needed if it gets darker without anyone having to stop and set anything (I set my ISO at AUTO ISO, focal-length based auto-control of slowest shutter speed set one click faster than usual for sports).
The D4 feels great; its sculpted body fits a man's hands far better than the plasticy D800, whose grip is just too tiny for comfort.
The D4's viewfinder is years ahead of consumer cameras like the D800 and Canon 5D Mark III; the D4 uses magic auto-dimming LEDs to show the AF areas without covering anything, while the D800 and Canon 5D Mark III use black LCD AF area indicators that cover the subject.
The D4 of course has a built-in vertical grip with two total shutter releases (each with its own separately programmable function button), two sets of command dials, two AF-ON buttons, and two new Canon-inspired thumb controllers.
Even if you don't need the insane frame rate or clairvoyant autofocus system that sets itself, the D4 has more external controls to give portrait, nature and landscape shooters faster access so we can adjust our cameras more quickly.
Forget the D800 if you're a working professional; the 16MP of the D4 is more than enough for anything. I usually set my D4 down to its medium (9MP, 3,696 x 2,456 pixel) resolution anyway to speed up my post processing.
Nikon D4
Nikon D4 and 50mm f/1.4 G. enlarge.
New
Most of the rear buttons are now backlit when you flick the power switch. The left row of MENU -> INFO buttons and bottom rear ISO QUAL WB Mic buttons light, as well as the top left three BKT etc. buttons and the index for the advance mode dial, but the AF-ON and top right buttons don't light. The advance mode dial is invisible in the dark; lighting the index mark doesn't help.
The D4 weighs about 3 ounces less than the D3, which is great news. It's a very nice surprise having this big, tough professional camera that doesn't weigh as much as my old D3. I hate carrying my old D3!
I'm a photographer, not a wedding videographer, but the wedding and video guys are loving the new video abilities of the D4.
I always use AUTO ISO, and now the D4 is smart enough to be able to vary its slowest auto-ISO shutter speed with focal length. It's easy to add up to a ±2 stop shift to the set-by-focal-length AUTO ISO lowest speed. I LOVE this!
Nikon D4 card slots
CF and XQD card slots.
The D4 has only one CF card slot, and replaces the second CF slot instead with an XQD slot. I consider this a waste, but since I use my second slot only for backup and my D4 came with a free unannounced Sony 16GB card and reader, I'll call it a draw. (other friends also got free cards and I think they were just for the first batch of D4s, but since they were a freebie, no, I can't guarantee that you'll get anything unannounced for free with your D4.)
Cards still go in backwards: face the card's top label away from the LCD when inserting.
The Nikon D4 offers slightly higher frame rates, slightly higher resolution, an updated AF system that works better with teleconverters, Kelvin white balance settings in 10K increments, a virtual horizon that finally works properly with both roll and pitch, and much higher ISOs than the D3 and D3s, as well as video.
Nikon D4
Nikon D4 with 50mm f/1.4. enlarge.
Nikon D4
Nikon D4 with 50mm f/1.4. enlarge.
Specifications top
Intro Specs Performance Compared Recommendations More
Sensor
GO
Adorama pays top dollar for your used gear.
Amazon
[Go]
Ritz Camera
16 MP FX (24 x 36mm) CMOS.
4,928 x 3,280 pixels (16 MP) native LARGE.
3,696 x 2,456 (9 MP) MEDIUM.
2,464 x 1,640 (4 MP) SMALL.
Also crops of 1.2x (20 x 30mm), 1.5x DX (16 x 24mm) and 5:4 professional (24 x 30mm) from the above.
Ultrasonic cleaner.
ISO
ISO 100 - 12,800 in in full, half or third stops.
ISO 50 to ISO 204,800 available in stupid modes.
White Balance
Auto (2 types), incandescent, fluorescent (7 types), direct sunlight, flash, cloudy, shade, preset manual (up to 4 different settings can be saved and recalled), 2,500 K to 10,000 K in 10K intervals; all with fine-tuning!
Frame Rates
10 FPS with full metering and autofocus for each frame.
(11 FPS with locked focus and exposure).
AF
CAM3500FX sensor.
51 AF points (15 are cross-type sensors).
Works with auto- and manual-focus lenses f/5.6 and faster.
11 of these sensors will work with lenses as slow as f/8.
AF range is rated down to LV-2 with any lens. (SLR AF systems have never used the full speed of lenses; they look through anulii equivalent to about f/8 regardless of lens speed.)
Finder
100% coverage.
0.7x magnification (50mm at infinity).
18mm eyepoint.
-3 to +1 diopters.
Live-View LCD.
Meter
Nikon invented the Matrix Meter, the color meter and the 3D meter, which is what really matters.
For the first time, Nikon is wasting their time by upping the resolution of the meter sensor for marketing purposes to 91,000 RGB pixels.
It also measures flash at this resolution.
Nikon D4
Nikon D4. enlarge.
Shutter
Kevlar/carbon fiber-composite, rated 400,000 shots.
1/8,000 - 30 seconds in full, half or third stops.
Bulb.
X 250 flash sync.
"Silent" mode.
Flash
1/250 flash sync.
i-TTL flash control using the 91,000 pixel RGB sensor with the SB-910, SB-900, SB-800, SB-700, SB-600 and SB-400.
Won't meter flash with other flash guns.
Lens Compatibility
Built-in motor and AI coupling feeler, so all AF lenses work, as well as classic AI, AI-s and AI-P manual-focus lenses all work as well as they do on all of Nikon's better DSLRs.
AF-P lenses also work great with the latest firmware, I think verison 1.11 as of 2023.
File Formats
JPG.
NEF 12 or 14 bit, uncompressed, or lossy or lossless compressed.
NEF + JPG.
TIFF.
Video: H.264/MPEG4 stored in .MOV files.
Storage and Data
One CF slot (UDMA 7), and one XQD slot. (NOT two CF slots).
XQD cards are bogus — Lexar doesn't make them, and I don't know about SanDisk. Therefore, the XQD slot is largely useless. I'll only use Lexar and SanDisk cards. Got a XQD reader? I didn't think so.
USB.
HDMI (mini-C).
RJ-45 Ethernet.
Wireless
WT-4 or WT-5A/B/C/D.
Video
All of these variations have two different file size (quality) options:
1,920 × 1,080 (full or cropped) at 29.97p, 25p and 23.976p.
1,280 × 720 at 59.94p, 50p, 29.97p and 25p.
640 × 424 at 29.97p and 25p.
H.264/MPEG4 stored in .MOV files.
24–36,000x time-lapse mode.
Audio
Mono internal mic.
3.5mm jack for external stereo mic, with power.
Auto and manual level control.
Linear PCM recording.
3.5mm stereo output jack.
LCD
3.2" (8cm) LCD.
921,000 dots.
Auto brightness control.
Live View.
Power
EN-EL18 battery.
MH-26 charger.
Optional EH-6b AC adapter and EP-6 connector.
CR1616 lithium coin cell for the clock, rated 2 years. This is new for Nikon; Nikon used to use a more expensive internal, permanent rechargeable battery that never needed to be changed.
Size
6.3 × 6.2 × 3.6 inches.
160 × 156.5 × 90.5 millimeters.
Weight
47.165 oz. (1,337.2 g), actual measured with battery and card and lugs, but no strap or lens.
Nikon specifies 47.3 ounces (1,340 g or 2 pounds, 15.3 oz.) with battery and XQD memory card.
Nikon specifies 41.6 ounces (1,180 g or 2 pounds, 9.6 oz.), stripped naked.
Serial Number
Laser-engraved on plate on bottom.
USA Version
Delineated with a yellow Nikon USA sticker inside battery chamber.
Environmental
0 ~ 40ºC (32 ~ 104ºF), operating.
85% RH or less, non condensing.
Included
D4 body
Rechargeable Li-ion Battery EN-EL18
Battery Charger MH-26
USB Cable UC-E15
Camera Strap AN-DC7
Body Cap BF-1B
Accessory Shoe Cover BS-2
Eyepiece DK-17
Battery Chamber Cover BL-6
USB Cable Clip
ViewNX 2 CD-ROM
Price, USA
June 2023
About $800 used at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.
About $1,300 used at Amazon.
June 2021
About $1,300 used at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.
About $4,500 used at Amazon.
December 2012
$6,000 new at Adorama and at Amazon.
They were impossible to get from stock, so if you needed one immedialtyl, you'd have to pay a scalper more than the new price over eBay. You had to order yours and be patient as I did.
January 2012 (introduction)
$6,000 at Adorama and at Amazon.
Nikon D4 box
Box, Nikon D4.
Announced
06 January 2012.
Promised for
Promised for late February 2012.
Available
The first D4s shipped in March 2012.
As of May 2012, they are still on deep backorder.
You have to order yours and be patient.
Rendered Obsolete
07 January 2014, with the announcement of the upcoming Nikon D4S.
Performance top
Intro Specs Performance Compared Recommendations More
Overall Resolution Audio Notes High ISOs
Autofocus Finder Metering Ergonomics
Rear LCD Power Data
Overall
The Nikon D4 is for full-time professional news, sports and action photographers. You guys know who you are. The D4 belts out the shots like nothing else if you're a pro, but if you don't know what you're doing, all you'll get are ten off-color, fuzzy and mal-exposed shots per second just like any other camera. If the light looks crappy, the D4 can't do anything more about it than any other camera.
It's easy to let the 10 FPS hum of the D4 lull you into a false sense of confidence; just like a 750 horsepower car, you still have to drive it carefully to avoid crashing. The D4 is invincible, but it's only as good as the man driving it.
In the hands of the pro for whom it's designed, it will crank out more great photos faster than anything. It won't make you a pro if you're not already.
Resolution performance top
16 MP is enough for anything, no news here. Here's a camera-original file at 16 MP, JPG LARGE BASIC:
1997 Mercedes SL500 at LJPO
1997 Mercedes SL500. Nikon D4, 50mm f/1.8 AF-D, f/8 at 1/250 at ISO 100. Original © file 2,717,293 bytes.
Only the headlights and The Star are in focus, and so are all the bugs on the bumper. At 16 MP, there's more than enough resolution to keep you spotting for a long time.
SL500 headlight
Crop from above image at 100%, shot as a LARGE BASIC JPG, not raw.
On most computer screens, this is a crop from a 50 x 33" (1.5 x 1 meter) print.
1997 Mercedes SL500 at LJPO
NCPS' SSR. Nikon D4, 50mm f/1.8 AF-D, f/8 at 1/250 at ISO 100. Original © file 3,100,725 bytes.
Again, more than enough resolution to keep you spotting bugs and dirt for a long time.
Audio Notes performance top
Who's in that picture? What does the editor need to know about the guy in red? What's each girl's phone number? What's the name of the Maître d'hôtel who let you in? Baby's first cry out of the womb? (OK, baby sound from my D3 in 2008.)
With the D4, just press the MIC button (next to WB on the back), and speak. You can do this with the camera to your eye, quietly and unnoticed.
The D4 records a WAV file with the same prefix as the photo to which it's attached. For the photo above, D4R_0660.JPG, here's the D4R_0660.WAV audio clip.
High ISOs performance top
The D4 works great in low light and at high ISOs. See my High-ISO Sample Images.
Autofocus sees in anything, and the superior finder always lets you see what you're doing without hiding the subject behind AF sensor junk as do the D800 and Canon 5D Mark III. In Auto ISO, the D4 will grab up to whatever highest ISO you've allowed it to use all by itself, and even at ISO 102,400, looks swell:
Nikon D4 at ISO 12,800
Nikon D4 at ISO 25,600
Nikon D4 at ISO 51,200
Nikon D4 at ISO 102,400
Nikon D4 at ISO 204,800
ISO 204,800 is pushing it, but by tweaking a levels adjustment layer in Photoshop, can be made a little better:
Nikon D4 at ISO 204,800
Nikon D4 at ISO 204,800, levels adjusted in Photoshop.
See High-ISO Sample Images for high-magnification crops from these images. These were shot at f/5.6, so only the monkey is in focus.
Autofocus performance top
Nikon ditched most of the external autofocus mode controls in favor of putting video controls there, but the great news is that the D4's autofocus system is so clairvoyant that you rarely need the controls anyway.
I set AFC and AUTO for anything that moves, and my D4 magically ignores distractions, finds the subject's eyes, and always nails perfect focus. It doesn't get any better than this.
As introduced on the D7000, there is now but one AF button, which has to be held while spinning two knobs and looking at an LCD to set what we used to be able to set with two dedicated levers — and no need to look at anything.
I dislike having to take my eyes off my subject to change this. Worse is that we can't delete the options we don't use from the selections (as we can on the Canon 5D Mk III), making it longer to sort through them while we're trying to shoot, but as I said, the D4's AF system is so magically brilliant in just doing what we want it to do all by itself that I'm not really complaining.
For manual focus, there are three " > 0 < " indicators for a precise null.
Finder performance top
The D4's viewfinder is wonderful.
I've already covered its far superior AF area indicators.
The compensation bar graph is also superior. It runs vertically, outside the image on the right, as it should be. This is far better than the dopey little things along the bottom of amateur cameras' finders. The bar appears only when compensation is active, and it indicates in third stops (the D800's finder graph no longer can show third stops!)
The laser-cut matte field ("ground glass") is optimized for lenses of f/2.2 and slower. Lenses faster than f/2.2 won't appear any brighter, and you won't completely see the effects of depth-of-field for apertures larger than f/2.2.
Metering performance top
I find that just like my D800 and D800E, I usually get the best results at -1/3 stop compensation.
No meter is perfect; you have to know how to use it.
The Meter Mode (pattern) switch is gone, which is good, because I've never used these. I've only used Matrix metering since it came out in 1984 on the Nikon FA.
Ergonomics performance top
Just like the D3, the D4 feels great in-hand. It fits just right, far better than the dinky, shrunken plasticy grip of the D800.
I prefer the feel of the D3 in vertical mode, but not enough to worry about it. New in the D4 is a second Function button next to the vertical shutter. It can be programmed separately, so it's like getting another free function button.
Here's the real reason I prefer the D4 to the D800E: the D4 lets me program its otherwise useless Video Rec button by the shutter button to my choice of ISO, Image Area (crop/digital zoom), SHOOT bank, or Shutter/Aperture Lock (CUSTOM SETTING f16). By setting it to SHOOT bank, I can optimize my resolution and color parameters quickly as I snap people or things. On other Nikons except for the D7000, I have to spend at least five clicks to do this. Sadly, the only way to see what you're setting is to stop shooting and look at the top LCD (or wake-up the INFO screen), but it's still much better than the D800E. The bums at Nikon excluded this from the D800's menu system so pros can't cheap-out with the D800.
The worst thing about the D4 is that Nikon put a video record button where the exposure mode button belongs, and moved the exposure mode button out of the way, further to the left of the shutter button. It matches the D800 and D800E, but matches no other Nikon. I never use the video button, and now the mode control is a stretch.
The MIC (note recording) button has been moved so it's now a stretch to reach while shooting. With the D3, it's easy to speak notes as you're shooting quietly, but even with my big hands, a long stretch with the D4.
The Advance Mode dial is the same crummy old one that's been around since the Nikon F5 of 1996, not the better one of the D800 and D800E. Even the D7000 has a more legible advance mode dial.
The Quiet mode isn't any quieter than the regular mode. The Canon 5D Mark III is far quieter and faster in its quiet mode. In its Quiet mode, the D4 merely disconnects the cycle after the shot's taken, and waits with the mirror up and a black finder until you remove your finger from the shutter to let the mirror back down and recharge the shutter. The 5D Mark III or LEICA M9 is far better at being quiet, and so is the D7000's quiet mode.
This said, the D4 is quieter than the D3.
I use my function buttons to select the cropping (Select Image Area), but these are ignored while the shutter is half-pressed.
The two black-and-white control LCDs are backlit with cyan (blue-green) electroluminescent (EL) panels which are far more visible than the crummy green LED side-lighting of the D800 and D800E.
Rear LCD Monitor performance top
First in any Nikon DSLR, the rear LCD isn't very color accurate. It's a hair too yellow-green, exactly like the D800.
Auto LCD brightness control is new, but it works poorly. In Auto, it's too dim indoors.
The rear LCD coverglass is uncoated, making nose marks less obvious.
Power performance top
As expected, the D4 runs for thousands of shots on a charge.
This is over ten times the life of the Nikon D1's battery.
Data performance top
LARGE JPG BASIC files average about 3 MB, as I shoot them set to OPTIMIZE QUALITY.
MEDIUM JPG BASIC files average about 1.5 MB, as I shoot them set to OPTIMIZE QUALITY.
AUTO ISO reads to ISO 12,800 in Phase One Media Pro.
There is still no "_" character selectable for custom prefacing file names. You can set the first three characters as you wish.
Compared top
Intro Specs Performance Compared Recommendations More
The D4 is slightly faster and somewhat lighter than the D3, but the D4 removed most of the external AF controls and instead added video features.
There is no comparison to the amateur D800, D800E and Canon 5D Mark III, which will only become apparent as you draw the D4 and shoot it for yourself in the field. Paper specifications don't show you how the D4 has such a superior finder and AF system, how it feels so much lighter than the D3 and D3s it replaces, how everything just flies at professional speed, how much more legible are the backlit buttons and EL LCD backlights, and the ability to take audio notes about what you're shooting in the first place.
See my 2012 DSLR Comparison Table.
Recommendations top
Intro Specs Performance Compared Recommendations More
If you're a full-time pro, all the the little things about the D4 add up to make getting a couple of D4s a no-brainer. I whine about the loss of most of the external AF controls (buttons and spinning dials do not replace dedicated levers), but the new AF system already knows what I want it to do, so no big deal.
If you're not a full time pro, or the price of a new camera matters, then no, you'll do just fine with a used D3. The D4 won't take pictures any different than a D7000, which has the same resolution; the D4 just does it faster. See Is It Worth It for more.
I don't expect the higher resolution Nikon D4x until late 2013.
More Information top
Intro Specs Performance Compared Recommendations More
Nikon's D4 Users Manual
Nikon's D4 fluff page.
Nikon's D4 Brochure.
Nikon's D4 Press Release.
