Nikon Debuts New Flagship DSLR, the D4, on Eve of CES
January 06, 2012 by Peter Pachal on MashableNikon got a jump on the imminent Consumer Electronics Show (CES) last night by unveiling its new flagship pro camera, the D4.
Make no mistake, the D4 is the top-of-the-line DSLR for Nikon, with high-end bells and whistles like fast image capture up to 10 shots per second with full auto focus (11 if it’s locked), a 16.2-megapixel large-size CMOS image sensor for guaranteed crispness, and an ISO that can be expanded all the way to 204,800 rating — presumably for taking photos from inside a black hole.
Those specs put the D4 pretty much right up with the EOS-1D X, Canon’s comparable flagship camera. The 1D X captures images at 12 shots per second, has an 18.1MP sensor and the same ultra-high expandable ISO.
Besides the D4 unveiling, many sites are reporting an alleged leak of another camera, a photo of which was posted briefly on Nikon’s German site beside the just-unveiled D4. It’s suspected to be the D800, the successor to the D700. Might the manufacturer unveil the so-called mystery camera at CES? We should know for sure by Monday.
As for the D4, Nikon says it has the most sophisticated focusing system of any camera it’s ever produced. The Advanced Multi-Cam 3500 AF system targets 51 individual points of focus in a shot and is said to be fully customizable. Fifteen different sensors analyze the contrast in a scene, ensuring you capture as much detail as possible in shady spots.
Pros will like the 91,000-pixel RGB 3D Color Matrix metering system, which works with an on-board database to produce faithful color and balanced exposure throughout a shot. The sensor can detect up to 16 separate human faces (no dogs, sorry) in the frame, exposing each one properly, even if they’re backlit.
The D4 can also shoot video, capturing at 1080p quality with either 24 or 30 frames per second (fps) or at 720p at 60 fps. Users will have full manual control of exposure while shooting, and playback direct from the camera is easy via the HDMI output. For audio, the camera has “30 steps” of possible audio adjustments for precise audio capture, too.
If you want to dig deeper into the Nikon’s feature list and specs, check out the official page on Nikon’s site, and browse the gallery below.
Are you a pro photographer? What do you think of Nikon’s latest flagship? Sound off in the comments.
The D4 is Nikon's new flagship pro DSLR camera.
