The GetDPI Photography Forum

Great to see you here. Join our insightful photographic forum today and start tapping into a huge wealth of photographic knowledge. Completing our simple registration process will allow you to gain access to exclusive content, add your own topics and posts, share your work and connect with other members through your own private inbox! And don’t forget to say hi!

Anyone with the D4?

pophoto

New member
Seriously, the D800 has completely overshadowed the D4. This may not be surprising since most people here seem to shoot landscapes or enjoy the high IQ the D800 is providing.

However, I'd like to know if owners of the D4 could show their hands tell me their experience on the camera. More specifically the AF ability and it's ability to focus in low light.

A camera having great high ISO images, low noise ratios is often termed as having "great low light performance" is confusing at best. This is demonstrated by Canon cameras very well (My main DSLR and lens collection), while although noise performance was improved, the ability to use in low light conditions isn't!
There is no AF assist lamp in their new cameras.

Thanks in advance,
Po
 
Last edited:

Bryan Stephens

Workshop Member
While I don't own a D4 (yet...) I had the opportunity to shoot one that a friend of mine has. I currently have a D3s and the camera looks and feels very similar but I did have to get used to a couple of different menus items.

As far as picture quality, the images are sharper than the D3s mainly due to the extra 4MP, and I am not sure if it has to do with the internal processors on the D4, but at higher ISO, there seemed to be even less noise than on the D3s which is pretty amazing considering that camera has very low noise up until ISO 1600.

I am seriously giving thought to upgrading my D3s to a D4, that is, after my D800 finally arrives.

PS. I did not get the opportunity to test the low light capabilities of the D4 as I mainly use my D3s for action / sports photography.
 

pophoto

New member
Thanks for sharing Bryan.

I used to have a D700 and used it in somewhat low lighting and AF-C mode. Both performed excellently. I have no doubt that the D3s performed even better. My concern with the D4, now with processing for video and higher MP (16), I wonder if in fact the low light AF will perform as well as the D3s.

Yes, that sounds like an amazing feat that the D4 can improve on the already excellent D3s. I know many people are still keeping their D3s because of how well it always performed!

My considerations after my Canon 5D Mark III are that, the AF performs really well in normal lighting conditions (may not be Nikon standards), and for about 95% of what I shoot, I need nothing else. Most definitely not higher MPs, speaking for myself here.
 

Steve Fines

Member
Hi,

I've got a d4 and d800.

The AF is the same. I've had the d4 in almost dark rooms where it focused on static objects easily and moving objects much better than I thought possible.

I didn't have a d3s, but most of the web comparisons show the d4's high iso performance to be a little better, but not marked so. If is nice to be able to shoot events at 6400 without much concern for noise. Again I didn't have a D3s to compare AF, but all of the web reviews show this to be slightly improved.

For me the really big feature is the d4's buffer depth. I can hold dow the shutter and rattle off 16mp nefs at 11fps for over 70 shots before it even hints at slowing down. And when done it is ready to do it again in a few seconds.
 

Jorgen Udvang

Subscriber Member
.... and that is what DSLRs are all about these days. Most of what the bulk of DSLRs are doing, including the D800, can or will be copied by mirrorless cameras soon. The D4, the D3/D3s before it and the corresponding Canon models offer a reliability and an effortless way of handling events, sports and more or less any other kind of photography that will take longer to reproduce in a lesser, all-electronic body. But that day will come too, so let's enjoy these hyper-dinosaurs while Canon and Nikon still make them.

In a way, apart from the weight and size, they are the ideal p&s cameras. You frame and push the shutter release, the camera takes care of everything else. More or less.
 

pophoto

New member
Hi,

I've got a d4 and d800.

The AF is the same. I've had the d4 in almost dark rooms where it focused on static objects easily and moving objects much better than I thought possible.

I didn't have a d3s, but most of the web comparisons show the d4's high iso performance to be a little better, but not marked so. If is nice to be able to shoot events at 6400 without much concern for noise. Again I didn't have a D3s to compare AF, but all of the web reviews show this to be slightly improved.

For me the really big feature is the d4's buffer depth. I can hold dow the shutter and rattle off 16mp nefs at 11fps for over 70 shots before it even hints at slowing down. And when done it is ready to do it again in a few seconds.
Thank you Steve. Would you say the D4 hunts for moving objects in low light or fairly quick lock?
 

pophoto

New member
.... and that is what DSLRs are all about these days. Most of what the bulk of DSLRs are doing, including the D800, can or will be copied by mirrorless cameras soon. The D4, the D3/D3s before it and the corresponding Canon models offer a reliability and an effortless way of handling events, sports and more or less any other kind of photography that will take longer to reproduce in a lesser, all-electronic body. But that day will come too, so let's enjoy these hyper-dinosaurs while Canon and Nikon still make them.

In a way, apart from the weight and size, they are the ideal p&s cameras. You frame and push the shutter release, the camera takes care of everything else. More or less.
Yes if ONLY a P&S could perform like these dinosaurs :)
I'm still waiting for a start-up company coming from off-field and score with a camera we all love to want!
 

aboudd

New member
I would guess, that since everyone does not have the need for the 37 megapix of the 800s that some of the appeal is the price, half that of the D4. Having owned the D3, D3x and D3s over the past years I prefer their robust build and the high ISO capabilities to that of the higher megapixel D800/E. I also like the larger body with the vertical release controls, only available as a battery grip addition for the D700/800. I've made sharp 36" prints with the 12 megapix D3s so I am sure the D4 will do even better. All of the speculation for me ended today when my D4 arrived after a two month wait.
 

fultonpics

New member
I've used the D4 for awhile--several local assignments and one on the Syrian boarder. The camera works great, produces images that are suitable for any publication, focuses every bit as good as my D3 and produces very rich colors. I like the build of the camera and trust it in tougher conditions--rain, sand, etc---within reason.

I don't like the new battery--it runs out of juice quicker so I carry a replacement with me. further it wasn't nice that Nikon introduced a new charger--my second camera is a D3 and thus need two BIG chargers to do extended jobs. The new card is fast BUT if you have a mac, the USB is only 2.0--which sucks. So waiting for apple to update the USB port to 3.0 to take advantage of fast download.

to your focus question--i did a job this weekend and had to 'thread the needle' on some shots to focus on subjects inside of enclosures--the camera worked really well.

in short, love it and will update the D3 when makes sense to get rid of the battery charger issue. no interest in a d800
 

pophoto

New member
aboudd: Let us know how you get on with the D4 :)

fultonpics: Thanks for sharing.Yes, the newer MACs have thunderbolt, seems like Belkin just announced a powerful hub which will include USB3.0, won't be cheap either!

Would please elaborate about the 'thread the needle' part.
 

fultonpics

New member
shooting with single point through various layers of possible focal points. the camera can lock on a very small area regardless of other subject matter around it. it does it extremely fast. i also was shooting through water spray around subjects that were moving quickly and again the camera locked real fast. i can tell you the canon camera's aren't near as good---especially the 5D Mark series cameras. i used a 5d mark 2 recently for a low light job and ended up using manual focus. nikon has this area really nailed down well, especially the d3s and d4.

anyway, other than the battery issues and a card that probably will never become standard--i love the D4 for what i do.
 

rclewis

New member
I shoot the D4 and D3s for sports, and the main difference to me is that the D4 is about 2 frames per second faster in actual use. Above iso 6400, I think that the D4 has more noise than the D3s. Below 3200 they are the same. In difficult low light, the color rendition of the cameras is not the same using auto white balance. The autofocus in the D4 is clearly different from the D3s, but the same as the D800, which I also have. I have had several times that the D4 focussed away from the center when the center was chosen.
 

pophoto

New member
Thanks for share rclewis.
Which WB is more accurate, the D3s or D4?

Do you guys feel overall the experience with the D4 is positive, and focusing on the D4 is it better than the D3s or about the same?
 
I get D3 and D3s currently. I brought the D3 (2nd hand) because I would get a spare professional camera if anything wrong to my D3s during my job. In fact, I used the D3s for more than 2 years, but I didn't find any defect from D3s with high ISO, high speed per second, high focusing speed, and so on. If D4 only improve a little bit the video resolution, ISO and pixel, it's no worth to get it if you own D3s currently. If you only have D3, you may consider it since the ISO performance is improved comparing to D4.
 

rclewis

New member
My experience with the D4 is positive. As I said, both the autofocus and white balance are different, but not really better or worse. Until I obtained a second D4, I was shooting with a D4 and a D3s and at night games the color was different. Now that I have two D4's, I do not see a problem with the color.
 
Top