I usually do not repost content from other sites, but I am too excited about this one not to share it. Nikonrumors reported that Nikon is going to release a retro-style full frame camera in the next two weeks (6th of November might be the day). The camera is supposed to look similiar to the Nikon F3 (see title picture, thank you Arne List from Wikipedia for this image). There are two things in particular I am excited about: First – full frame; Second – it’s supposed to have the D4 sensor ! Oh boy, that would be something. When I got the D800 I wrote a post after a few months of ownership in which I summarized my opinion on this camera. In the conclusion of that article I stated that a D800 body with the sensor of the D4 would be perfect for me since I do not need 36 Megapixels. Ok, it’s not the D800 body now, but a smaller full frame camera is also something very interesting (plus, I love retro design cameras).
Here is a breakdown of the main specs (taken from nikonrumors.com):
- F-Mount (which means that you can use all your other Nikon DSLR lenses)
- will ship with a special edition 50mm f1./8 Nikkor lens
- pentaprism viewfinder (which means that it is a DSLR)
- retro design like the Nikon F3 (black/silver and black design available)
- 16.2 MP full frame sensor of the D4
- Native ISO 100-12.800 (ISO 50 and 108.200 boosted)
- 3,2″LCD screen
- 143,5x110x66,5mm (D800: 146x123x81,5mm)
- 765 g (D800: 1.000 g)
- SD card slot
- Attention: no video mode !
At the moment no information on:
- the term “hybrid”. The camera is rumored to be a hybrid model, but the pentaprism suggests it is a “regular” DSLR.
- the camera name
- autofocus system
- liveview mode (but I don’t think they will miss out on that feature)
- CLS compatibility
- pricing (my personal guess: around 2.000 €
The absence of video is interesting. Technologically there is no reason why one should not put a video mode into a DSLR these days (actually Nikon sports excellent video DSLRs – the D4 and the D800). And perhaps that is also the reason for video absence. If you had a camera with the D4 sensor and also excellent video quality this could impact the D4 sales. This way there is a clear distinction between the two cameras. I think the camera might be more targetted at the street shooter. I hope Nikon will not sacrifice CLS compatibility, but I don’t think they will. CLS is a key feature and unique selling point of Nikon, so they would narrow down the target audience even more after dropping video.
Let’s see what unfolds. From what I learned until now that camera makes my gear acquisition sense tingle. Perhaps the retro camera might be a replacement for my D300s (I fancied getting a second full frame DSLR for a while…).
