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The Nikon D4S: Smarter, better, sharper, faster

SINGAPORE — The Nikon D4S is the update to the company’s flagship D4, which was launched last year. At close to S$9,000 for the body alone, it is definitely not for the casual enthusiast, unless he has extraordinarily deep pockets.

SINGAPORE — The Nikon D4S is the update to the company’s flagship D4, which was launched last year. At close to S$9,000 for the body alone, it is definitely not for the casual enthusiast, unless he has extraordinarily deep pockets.

The camera comes with superlative specifications: A 16 MP full-frame CMOS sensor, an upgraded Expeed 4 processing engine, an expanded ISO range up to 409,600 (from 204,800 in the D4) and 11 frames per second of continuous shooting with full autofocus.

With such capabilities, the D4S is clearly targeted at the serious sports and action photographer. It takes incredible photos in low light, capturing details in the night sky that my eyes could not see. There was noticeable noise at full resolution for ISO over 8,000, but that is to be expected.

I found the autofocus of the D4S quick and responsive even in sketchy lighting, although I did not get to test it in the extreme conditions that sports photographers shoot in. The D4S has the same 51-point autofocus as the D4, but comes with a new Group Area AF system that lets the system track subjects more accurately.

The video recording capabilities of the camera have been improved, but it can only continuously record 10 minutes of 1080/60p video and 20 minutes of video at other frame rates, which means that its usefulness as a video camera is still limited. Other tweaks include the maximum number of interval shots being bumped up to 9,999 (from 999) — good news for time-lapse video enthusiasts.

The body design is largely unchanged from the D4, with the controls for focus toggling, aperture and other on-the-fly functions all within easy reach once you get used to the configuration. The battery life is excellent — I never needed to charge it over the two days that I tested the camera. Nikon claims that a single charge on the new battery will last 3,020 shots (up from 2,500 with the D4).

In the end, the D4S remains one of the top choices for professional sports photography. The changes are subtle enough that current owners of the D4 may not want to throw in the money for an upgrade, but it is still a solid choice for a camera anyway.

The Nikon D4S is available at S$8,799 for the body alone at authorised Nikon dealers.

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