Nikon D3s

As one of the ‘big two’ digital camera manufacturers, Nikon kept a lot of photography enthusiasts on their toes during the lead up to the D3s release. A high-end camera designed to bridge the professional and consumer markets, the D3s is an innovative, highly impressive, and very powerful digital SLR camera.

Nikon decided not to make the leap to 15+ megapixels for their high-end D-series cameras, differentiating themselves from rival Canon and leaving their SLR cameras at the already impressive 12.1 megapixel sensor size. While the lower resolution might limit appeal to print photography buffs and poster-sized photography fans, quality differences are unnoticeable for most users.

ISO levels are boosted to almost four times their previous range, making the D3s a very powerful camera for low-light photography. Nikon’s claims that the camera can “shoot in the dark” appear to be justified – despite terrible image quality and almost unbearable grain, the D3s can effectively turn a pitch black room into a visible image, even when configured to a quick shutter speed.

It’s difficult to fault the D3s’s controls. Switching from creative to the various manual modes is a simple process, and further adjusting shutter speed, aperture size, and ISO level can be done with just one action. Despite its rather large size and solid construction, the D3s is an effective on-the-go camera, largely because of its simple control scheme.

Of course, serious photographers have access to a range of options, each accessible quickly and easily. Continuous photography modes result in generally high quality images, although the “sports” mode requires a slight reduction in the D3s’s sensor size and image resolution. Almost all standard images are of incredible quality – when paired with a top-level lens the D3s is a professional photographer’s dream.

However, professional videographers might be best looking elsewhere. The D3s does boast an HD video mode, although it feels more like a tacked-on addition than it does a standard feature. Movie footage is recorded at up to 24 frames per second in 720p HD, and while smooth by still camera standards, the D3s is certainly no match for a full video rig.

In fact, it’s even less of a competitor when compared to Canon’s dSLR video offerings. The 7D and 5D MkII both offer high quality video recording, each with a greater degree of control than the D3s. For archive-style video recording and simple home movies, the D3s is more than enough, although serious filmmakers are best off with a high-end Canon.

Despite the poor video mode, the D3s is a very capable camera. Test shoots have shown a clear increase in quality over lower-cost Nikon models, and even when compared to its tough Canon competition the D3s shows superb image quality. At £3,500 the D3s is far from cheap – it’s definitely priced as a high-end professional camera – but given the amount of value on offer it could be difficult for serious photographers to say no.

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