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Nikon Adds D-Movie Mode To D3S Pro SLR

Melville, N.Y. – Nikon
introduced today the next phase in its popular D3 line of full-frame digital
SLRs for the professional market – the D3S.

The camera is
billed as Nikon’s first 24-by-36 FX Format camera with D Movie Mode, and has
been enhanced to handle standard ISO speeds ranges from 200 to 12,800.

Nikon also
adds emergency ISO modes to stretch the performance at: High 1 (25,600), High 2
(51,200) and High 3 (102,400) ISO ranges, for both still images and video, said
Lindsay Silverman, Nikon senior technical manager,

The new Movie
Mode also includes mono sound (internal mic), stereo sound (external mic) and
autofocus, with up to 720p HD motion JPEG movies.

The D3S, which
is expected to have an estimated retail price of just over $5,000 when it ships
in November. The camera also offers built-in expanded buffer capacity over the
D3 and adds built-in image sensor cleaning.

Nikon is
targeting a core customer group of “photojournalists and sports photographers,
nature photographers, generalist photographers, wedding photographers and for
the first time, we believe filmmakers are going to want the camera as well,”
said Silverman.

The image
sensor offers 12.1-megapixel resolution, but Nikon uses extra large pixels
measuring 8.45 microns to produce a higher signal-to-noise ratio for extremely
low image noise levels.

The camera’s
standard ISO range is from 200 to 12,800, allowing lenses with moderate
apertures to extend shooting into low light ranges beyond anything they have
been able to do before, Silverman said.

Other features
include: aperture priority in manual model control, depth of field control to
f/16, retouch menu items to edit video items in camera, and a film-in-motion
JPEG function, which offers 24 individual JPEG frames per segment shooting in
video that enables extracting a single frame from a movie sequence at 1,280-by-720
resolution.

The camera continues the same autofocus system used in the D3, including
51-point-focus points and15 cross-type sensors.

It also continues the built-in scene recognition system of the earlier D3
models.

Improvements were made to auto-exposure, auto white balance and flash
exposure, Silverman said.

The camera uses the same body platform as the D3, although the size might
be slightly larger to accommodate the built-in sensor cleaning.

The Live View button from the D3 model was moved and given its own
dedicated spot on the back of the camera for easier access, Silverman said.

The camera also adds a new 1:2 crop mode and a quite shutter release.

For memory, the camera offers dual flash memory card slots and includes the
option of designating which card photographers would like to use for video
recordings and which to use for stills.

Startup is clocked a 0.12 seconds, and shutter lag is 0.04 seconds.

The camera also features a 3-inch LCD monitor.

In other introductions, Nikon introduced the first Micro Nikkor lens made
specifically for DX family cameras.

The AFS DX Micro Nikkor 85mm
f/3.5G EDVR. The VR2 lens has up to four stops of VR correction, ED
glass and a compact design.

Nikon said the lens will be priced between $500 and $600 at retail when it
ships in November.

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