D4 impressions

[chrisk]

No, i havent bought one. i have rented a Mkiii and a D4 for the weekend. i have 2 shoots to do, a 40th on saturday night and a portrait session on sunday.

a shot of quite possibly my next camera taken with what quite possibly may be my next camera.
D4
50mm
f2
1/15s
iso25600
SOOC...i mean FARRRRRRKKKKKKKK !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

this was basically DARK. AF locked bang on no problems.

[url="http://www.flickr.com/photos/10435080@N00/8079420273/"][/url]
[url="http://www.flickr.com/photos/10435080@N00/8079420273/"]D4 iso25600 SOOC[/url] by [url="http://www.flickr.com/people/10435080@N00/"].Chris.K[/url], on Flickr

[aim54x]

Nice...I think that has both of us would love a D4 since there is no D700 equivalent.... ie a lightweight D4

[chrisk]

I will tell you this which took me by surprise, the AF in good to medium light of the mkiii is faster than the d4. It's only when you shoot in near dark that the d4 is in a league of its own.

[DanielA]

I will tell you this which took me by surprise, the AF in good to medium light of the mkiii is faster than the d4.

Could this have been a function of the lenses used?

Today I played with a D4 but with the Nikkor 24-85 and that wasn't very impressive. Later tried the 24-70 on the D800 and that was nice.

Daniel, also wishing for the D4 sensor in a smaller body...

[chrisk]

I will tell you this which took me by surprise, the AF in good to medium light of the mkiii is faster than the d4.

Could this have been a function of the lenses used?

Today I played with a D4 but with the Nikkor 24-85 and that wasn't very impressive. Later tried the 24-70 on the D800 and that was nice.

Daniel, also wishing for the D4 sensor in a smaller body...

no i dont think so daniel. i was using the 24L and 50L which arent exactly speed machines. and on the nikon i pretty much used everything in my sig. i would argue that the 16-35 focusses faster than the 24L to be honest. it feels like its zipper anyway. focussing on a near and far object for example and switching from near to quickly far. the mkiii annihalated the d4. ultra impressed with the new canon AF system. i know the d700 back to front and i can tell you that the AF improvement, if any, is miniscule. except in low light where the d4 is without peer. am feeling pretty underwhelemed with both cameras to be perfectly honest. i have never been a big fan of "numbers" like dxo mark but i can tell you right off the bat, there is a very big difference between the DR of the canon and the nikon sensors. its immediately apparent and its left me feeling pretty disappointed cos i was kinda sold on the mkiii before i hired it. on paper, it just looked perfect for me. goes to show...nothing like real world testing before you buy.

in a sense im really glad i did this, although it cost me $400, cos if i had bought the mkiii i would probably have regretted it.

why nikon doesnt incorporate the dial on their bodies is beyond me. that dial on the back of the canon is BRILLIANT. so much quicker and easier than a multi selector.

[aim54x]

It is good to hear that the 5D's AF issues have finally been resolved in the current iteration. They are fast in most conditions, but I would definitely agree that in low light the Nikon 51-point (even the older version) is much more sure-footed. The D800/D4's low light AF is amazing, I never could figure out why Canon dropped the f/8 compatibility....

why nikon doesnt incorporate the dial on their bodies is beyond me. that dial on the back of the canon is BRILLIANT. so much quicker and easier than a multi selector.

You can actually use the command dials (both front and rear) to navigate menus....I find the dials on the Nikon better placed, and have not really felt I was missing anything. If anything the thumb tack on the back of the Canon is annoying, but the rear dial helps to make up for it.

[inmotion]

I Guys my first big test with the D$ comes in 3 weeks when shooting in Melbourne Indoors--Alwaya a good test of AF as you need to achieve at least 1/400th
to capture the action my closest here was to proovethe Sigi f2.8 isnt in the same league foe low light AF--now sold

[ozimax]

I would imagine the Canon gives more bang for buck than the Nikon?

[Wink]

I'm a little surprised you're comparing the 5D3 and a D4.
Wouldn't the D4 be better compared to a 1DX?

[chrisk]

The reason for the comparison was the total system price difference. Ie: if I stuck with a d4 then all my nikon gear stays. If I moved to canon then there was a late chunk of cost rebuilding my system. So it was purely around what was or wasn't affordable at the time cos I didn't think the d800 was a good option or me.

[Wink]

Ah ok. That makes sense.