| Nikon D3S 12.1 MP CMOS Digital SLR Camera with 3-Inch LCD and 24fps 720p HD Video Capability (Body Only) | 
| Brand: Nikon
Category: Photography
Buy New: $5,199.95
as of 9/10/2010 05:41 EDT details
New (2) from $5,199.95
Seller: Amazon.com
Rating:  18 reviews
Sales Rank: 420
Media: Electronics
Optical Zoom: 2
Maximum Resolution: 12
Shipping Weight (lbs): 7
Dimensions (in): 11.2 x 8.6 x 6.3
MPN: D3s Body Only
Model: D3s Body Only
UPC: 018208254668
EAN: 0018208254668
Shipping: Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Temporarily out of stock. Order now and we'll deliver when available. We'll e-mail you with an estimated delivery date as soon as we have more information. Your credit card will not be charged until we ship the item.
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| Features:
| • | 12.1-megapixel, FX-format CMOS sensor; 720p HD video capture | | • | Body only; lenses sold separately | | • | Low-noise ISO sensitivity from 200 to 12,800; continuous shooting up to 9fps | | • | Fast, accurate 51-point AF system; Nikon EXPEED image processing | | • | 3-inch super-density 921,000-dot VGA LCD; one-button Live View with two shooting modes | | • | Dual CF card slots with overflow, backup and copy options (CF card not included); up to 4,300 images per battery charge |
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Product Description
The D3S is uniquely qualified to meet the changing needs of photographers whose assignments demand 100% from them and their equipment. Leading with uncompromising FX-format multimedia versatility and engineered for demanding professional use at up to 9 fps, the D3S' rugged magnesium alloy construction, comprehensively sealed against dust and moisture, delivers on its promises of superiority. Exacting moments in time are captured to an expanded buffer, allowing continuous capture of up to 82 JPEG (fine) or 36 14-bit NEF (RAW) images.
Nikon's newly engineered, original 12.1-megapixel CMOS sensor, teamed with exclusive technologies such as EXPEED image processing, Nikon's Scene Recognition System and a fast, accurate 51-area AF system, work together to assure that both still and smooth 24 fps HD video files exhibit incredible edge-to-edge sharpness, rich color depth and broad tonal range, while barrier-breaking performance enables low-noise ISO sensitivity to 12,800.
Expanded ISO sensitivities of 25,600, 51,200 and an astounding 102,400, shatter many long-standing rules of photography. Audio to accompany HD video is preserved with a built-in microphone, while high fidelity stereo sound is recorded through the external Mic input using an optional microphone. More proven technologies include Nikon's renowned 1,005-pixel RGB 3D Color Matrix Metering II, assuring exacting exposure evaluation and white balance detection. Precise image review and menu access comes to life with the D3S' tempered glass-protected and individually factory-calibrated 3-inch, 921,000-dot Live View monitor. A self-diagnostic shutter, tested to beyond 300,000 cycles, and a myriad of inherent benefits stemming from decades of Nikon design experience, round out the D3S' qualifications to meet the needs of professional photographers.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 18
 lost details September 5, 2010
FCE
0 out of 4 found this review helpful
I have own a lot of professional cameras bodies. I do portraits and photojournalism. There are many good things about this camera which have been said. What I don't like about it is that some low contrast details are lost on RAW files. The low noise ability of this camera comes with suppression of high frequency details compared to high resolution cameras in the same category. I am talking about unprocessed RAW images. Another issue is that colors in the red and orange are not exact and have this Matisse/neon coloration. Some people will like this but i like a neutral camera not one that gives artificially colors. My other camera is a Canon MkIII the one that supposedly has AF issue. Well i have zero issues with it and I am much happier with its rendition of colors and details than top of the line Nikon who is supposed to trample it but does not even come close. Except for low light which is much overrated these days. I am in the process of selling it.
 Great camera August 3, 2010
Christopher R. Salter (Youngstown, oh)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I don't think I need to write much about performance and options this camera has. If your already looking at it then you probably have an idea what this camera is capable of doing. This is a professional camera no doubt about that. And even though its 12 mega pixels it is a top performer. The speed and low light capabilities will amaze you, this camera is FAST.
One note about the video feature its only 720p, but if your like me I didn't buy the camera as a video recorder. I bought it as a still camera. The video is just a bonus, and if I was serious about shooting a movie then I would use a real video camera that has a lot more options for shooting video.
One thing to consider picking up for this camera is a better camera strap. The strap it comes with is the standard type of Nikon strap and works fine and is strong enough for the camera, but the comfort isn't there. I have found that the Black Rapid straps to be of very good comfort and it places the camera in a more convenient location.
Very responsive. Great PQ even at very high ISO. July 5, 2010
Sam (USA)
7 out of 8 found this review helpful
I've waited many years for a camera with the features offered in the Nikon D3s.
My problem with cameras has been the limitation of only shutter speed and aperture to choose from. It was like living in a 2 dimensional world. Many of my photographs were blurred because I didn't have enough available light. Cranking up the ISO on digital cameras produced horrific electronic noise. In the film world, I could push Tri-X to 800 ASA or beyond when I needed speed and, quite frankly I happen to like the grainy quality of real film -- not Photoshop faux grain.
I can now shoot pictures with the D3s that were previously impossible to obtain. I can safely crank the ISO up to 6400 and beyond. With the auto-ISO, I now live in a 3 dimensional world -- I have 3 variables to achieve blur-free photographs.
[Side note: My only complaint with the auto-ISO feature is that it doesn't take the lens focal length into consideration. It would be a significant improvement if the camera could set the minimum shutter speed based upon the focal length. On the 70-200mm zoom lens I can shoot at slower speeds at 70mm then at 200mm. Also, I have to manually change the minimum shutter speed each time I change lenses. However, this criticism is not isolated to the D3s but all the Nikon models with this feature.]
While my ideal camera would have had many more pixels like the D3x so that I could crop without losing significant quality, as well as high ISO quality, these features are not yet available. I chose the D3s because of the higher ISO. I don't shoot in studios.
Why the D3s, as opposed to the D700 (I have that camera too)?
The 90% viewfinder on the D700 drives me nuts. I have to guess how much of the image is actually going to be captured. If the cropped viewfinder doesn't bother you, then the D700 may be a considerably less expensive alternative. In addition, without the battery pack attached, the D700 weighs less. The D700 produces great images at high ISO, the D3s is a stop or two better. And the D700 without the battery pack is less conspicuous as well.
I've added a number of images to the picture gallery. I've included test photos at high to very high ISO speeds -- photographs that previously would have been impossible to shoot.
Rather than add another list of all the reasons why I think the D3s is a fantastic camera that have been endlessly described in so many other reviews, I would like to comment on just some of the moronic negative criticisms that I've read in supposedly professional reviews.
1) Common complaint: The virtual horizon is a gimmick since good tripods have built in levels.
Yes, I have one of those tripods and each time I reposition the legs on uneven surfaces or move the ball head, I have to eyeball the level which is a hassle. I use the virtual horizon within the viewfinder, not the live view mode, and I find the feature very helpful. Don't like the virtual horizon, don't use it.
2) Common complaint: The super high ISO is a gimmick.
Let's think about that for a moment. You see something in low light that you might never see again (e.g. a rare or thought to be extinct animal or a UFO), would you rather have a grainy picture or nothing at all? Don't like the high ISO, don't use it.
3) Common complaint: The movie mode is a gimmick or the quality isn't on par with a dedicated camcorder.
I read a review that tore the movie quality feature to shreds and suggested buying a dedicated camcorder instead. I did a a quick check of professional camcorders and the prices seem to range from about $1,500 to over $30,000. So now I have to buy and shlepp two cameras around? I suspect most people don't buy the D3s for the movie feature. They buy it for the FX, high ISO and build quality. I've tried the movie feature, and while I'm disappointed that it doesn't auto-focus or use the VR in my lens, I'm not going to throw the camera away.
This move quality complaint is like stating that since the trunk of your car can't carry everything you want to transport, you should exchange your car for a moving van. Nothing does everything perfectly. You "professional reviewers" are idiots. The movie feature is simplistic but it's there if I want it.
Don't want or like the movie feature, ignore it.
4) Common complaint: The camera is heavy and/or conspicuous.
The reviewers expect high quality images, long battery life and a durable body and they think that they're going to get those features into the size of a point-and-shoot? Camera too heavy for you? Buy a lesser camera. Camera too conspicuous? First get rid of that ridiculously uncomfortable and blazing yellow neck strap and get a good plain black strap. Second, use electrical tape and cover the 'Nikon' on the viewfinder. I'm not a free walking billboard for Nikon. Camera too heavy? Wait a few years until battery technology improves then buy that camera.
5) Common complaint: The camera is expensive.
So is a Lexus [or insert your favorite high-end vehicle here]. If the camera/car/other-entity was over-priced then no one would buy them and they'd stop making them. Camera too expensive for you? Buy a lesser camera.
6) Common complaint: Canon has some better features.
Yup, that's true. If you make your living with photography, then buy both cameras and use the tool that's most appropriate for the job.
I'll stop my rant here. I think I made my point. Many reviewers are total idiots and write to fill space.
It amazes me how many people don't understand the concept of the Quiet shutter mode. People think that by itself the shutter becomes magically quieter. No it doesn't. What the Quiet mode does is allow you to take a picture and continue to hold DOWN the shutter button and take a picture with extremely little noise. When it's more convenient, you let go of the shutter button. Then the mirror bounces back making a loud sound. This allows you take surreptitiously take a photograph since most people aren't going to recognize the first sound of the mirror going up but the click-CLUNK! sound is very noticeable.
So far, my only real negative criticism of the camera is the memory card doors. For a camera that is supposed to be so rugged (some described it as military-grade quality), those two (2) doors seem awfully flimsy to me. People have criticized the D700 for the door design but the D3s has two doors, and they're just a fragile as all of the other Nikon doors. I Googled the phrase "Nikon broken doors" and found a ton of hits. I don't open the door when there's a possibility that someone might bump into me and I close the door as quickly as possible.
Joy:
The ultra-high ISO with low noise (depending upon how high you set the ISO) can be very handy for utility photographs. Yesterday I had to crawl under the deck to document some defects in the construction. A flash was out of the question (not enough room) and I wasn't about to drag artificial lighting down there. I needed some quick & dirty shots so I could send them to the builder. I jacked up the ISO to 12K and over and uploaded directly to an email. Do you need a $5K camera for this? No, but hey, I already own the camera and I was able to take these quick shots that were utterly impossible before this camera.
Sorrow:
The viewfinder grid display option has been removed. It's available on my D300 and on the D3x but not on the D3s. The virtual horizon is good for outdoors but there are times when I want to align an item (e.g. a picture on a wall that's on a angle) and not have to use a photo editing program to make the corrections. Why, oh why, has this option been removed? At least I can use the D300 for those types of situations when I want the grid and don't need the D3s features.
It's annoyingly conspicuous. (Yes, I know I'm contradicting myself here from a remark I made about the size, but it's getting annoying). I try to take a picture and people will stop and ask me if I'm a professional photographer. If I had a little camera no one would notice or bother me. If you're the type of person where equipment defines you, then you'll be happy with this type of attention. Me? I want to blend into the background. I've put electrical tape over the 'Nikon' on the viewfinder and on the 'D3s' but there's no going around the fact that it's huge. I think I got less attention when I used a 4x5 camera.
In summary:
This is a fantastic, highly responsive camera which yields tremendous PQ images even at incredibly high ISO speeds. Will the D4, D5, D6 be better? Of course. But there's a point of diminishing returns. My vehicle gets over 42MPG on the open road. I'm not going to buy a new car because it gets incrementally better gas mileage.
Best camera I've ever owned by far - and I've owned several June 17, 2010
Colorado Joe (Denver, CO USA)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
I've had my D3s for about 7 months now. Prior to that I had a D2Xs for 3 years and a D1X for 2 years. The improvements between the D2Xs and the D3s are staggering. Most obvious is the jump from the DX to FX sensor, which I absolutely love because I've finally got a big, bright viewfinder and my old Nikon glass works just as it did with my old Nikon film cameras. Nikon also got their white balance settings right... gone are the green cast of the D1X and the yellow cast of the D2Xs when set for sunlight or shade. The D3s's colors are correct right out of the box 95% of the time. And the image quality is simply stunning, although you really should invest in high-caliber glass to get the most out of this camera. I traded my AF-S DX 18-200 f/3.5-5.6 VR zoom lens for two much bigger and heavier lenses: the AF-S 24-70 f2.8G ED and the AF-S NIKKOR 70-200 f/2.8G ED VRII, and there's simply no comparison in terms of color balance, sharpness and low-light performance.
Speaking of low-light performance, it's well known that this camera's sensor has remarkably low noise at extremely high ISO settings. I can take almost any shot, at any light level, without a flash. The results in near-darkness are astonishing; it's like having a night-vision camera. Nevertheless, I've also shot with flash and the results are much better out of the box than they were with my previous two Nikon digital SLR's.
I don't use the video features so I can't comment on them.
The learning curve when switching to this camera from the D2Xs was nil; I was immediately productive because the controls and their locations changed only slightly, and the changes that were made were for the better.
When I bought my previous two Nikon digitals I was always hoping for a full-frame sensor and knew that if one ever came along I'd be ditching my camera. With the D3s that feeling has gone away and I can imagine sticking with this camera for much longer than 2 or 3 years. Very highly recommended.
 Great stills, video needs improvement May 25, 2010
Kyle Woodworth (Houston, TX)
6 out of 8 found this review helpful
There is a lot to love about this camera. The low light performance is amazing. The pictures you can get with it are incredible. But you've heard all of this before.
The one warning I give you has been my experience with something called "rolling shutter". It's the way this camera records video (as do most CMOS sensor video cameras) and it makes quick pans look like jello. Even though this effect is highly improved from models like the Nikon D90, it is still annoying, and you will have to buy expensive software if you would like to fix it. Rolling shutter also makes it very difficult to stabilize your footage in editing.
So it comes as no surprise that I would hands-down recommend this camera to all still photographers, and caution any independent filmmakers out there. For my purposes, this camera was worth every penny.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 18
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