Nikon D4S / SHOOTING REPORT vol.1 vol.2

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Almost D5 with the major "minor change"

As a D4 user, at first I couldn't tell how the D4S was different from the D4. According to the release announcement, it has the new sensor and image processing engine as well as minute refinements including improved grip. I was surprised by the sensor upgrade despite the minor change. Although it's slightly (10g) heavier than the D4, I felt it was lighter. And, I felt everything else was almost the same as the D4... until I opened the picture files on the PC. Wow! It's so much better!

• Thick tonality

  I feel the tonality performance is similar to the D600 because of the richness and more room for raising contrast. This is like, in Photoshop, raising gamma in the level control. In the early years, digital cameras had to generate neutral tonality. But now, I think they can generate greater gamma just like the dynamic images on the slide films, thanks to the greater tonal range. I strongly felt this when the D600 was released and this D4S was produced with the stream of the D600. And, this is a flagship model with an expensive lowpass filter. This means image purity per pixel is outstanding. And, the rich tonality makes picture quality even more appealing. I noticed it just by looking at the first shot on the PC monitor.

  

  Improved color tone under tungsten light

  With the D4, I had a difficulty in controlling color tone under tungsten light. It tends to be a little yellow-tinted. I tried to approximate it to the color tone of slide films with software, but I couldn't really fill the gap. But, with the D4S, I can get the film-like color tone just by setting white balance to daylight. This makes me so happy.

  
  

• Minor changes for better holding

  After the location, I was saying "it's lighter" to my crew, but they told me that it's heavier by 10g. Laughing at my random sensation, I came to want to make a side-by-side comparison between the two models. Then, I noticed a slight change of the form of the grip. Maybe you will notice other differences.

  
  

  Better AF. Better high ISO performance.

  I used the 28-300mm for the most of this location. The high ISO performance has been improved by 1 to 2 steps, so I can set ISO auto and just focus on shooting without worry about ISO. Improved high ISO performance also requires better AF to allow the use of darker high zoom lenses and the D4S's AF hunts far less frequently than the D4. When AF hunts often, I'd just focus manually. But, I could count on the D4S's AF. Also, when walking, we want to reduce the amount of equipment because we lose the desire to shoot if we carry heavy equipment. I thank this body because I could use the same lens. After all, I think I can even call this model D5 because of the great improvements. Without a doubt, the D4S will assist your successful shooting.

( 06.03.2014 )