Nikon has finally announced D300s. There are not much information prior to the official announcement. I am surprised and quite happy actually (I am Nikon User) that some of the features may be the missing link to take quality video without any issue.
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When Canon first announced a video recording function on a DSLR, many people become very interested because one of the good reason is that a DSLR has a large sensor and there are so many lens that you could use. However, one of the nitpick (at that time) is that it does not have auto-focus function.
Nikon seems to be able to this issue on D300s. However, I am just thinking why they do not want to boost the recording features to 1080p or at least bum up the framerate to 30fps. Nevertheless, with auto-focus and external mic input, I am sure many videos will be made in HD quality with Nikon D300s.
Click Here for the Press Release
Specifications
| Type of Camera | Single-lens reflex digital camera |
| Effective Pixels | 12.3 million |
| Image Sensor | Nikon DX format (23.6 x 15.8 mm) CMOS sensor |
| Image Size (Pixels) | 4,288 x 2,848 [L], 3,216 x 2,136 [M], 2,144 x 1,424 [S]; D-movie: 1280 x 720 / 24fps, 640 x 424 / 24fps, 320 x 216 / 24fps |
| Sensitivity | ISO 200 to 3200 in steps of 1/3, 1/2, or 1 EV, plus LO-0.3, LO-0.5, LO-0.7, LO-1 (ISO 100); HI-0.3, HI-0.5, HI-0.7, HI-1 (ISO 6400) |
| File Format | NEF (12 or 14-bit lossless compressed, compressed, or uncompressed RAW), TIFF (RGB), JPEG (Baseline-compliant); AVI movie (Motion JPEG compression format with monaural sound; Stero sound with external microphone) |
| Storage Media | CompactFlash™ (CF) Card (Type I, compliant with UDMA); SD memory card (SDHC compliant) |
| Shooting Modes | 1) Single frame shooting mode, 2) Continous low shooting mode, 3) Continous high shooting mode, 4) Quiet Shutter Release 5) Self-timer mode, 6) Mirror-up 7) D-Movie |
| White Balance | Auto (TTL white balance with 1,005-pixel RGB sensor); Incandescent, Fluorescent, Direct sunlight, Flash, Cloudy, Shade, Choose colour temp., White balance preset |
| LCD Monitor | 3.0″, 921,000-dot, low-temperature polysilicon TFT LCD, allows up to 170-degree viewing angle, 100% frame coverage, and brightness adjustment |
| Playback Function | 1) Full frame, 2) Thumbnail (4, 9, or 72 images) with playback zoom, 3) Movie playback, 4) Slideshow, 5) Histogram display, 6) Highlights, 7) Auto image rotation, 8)Image comment |
| Delete Function | 1) Card format, 2) Single Image delete, 3) selected Images delete, 4) All Images (Except Protected images) |
| Interface | USB 2.0 (High-speed): PTP Only |
| Picture Angle (in 35mm [135] format equivalent) | Approx. 1.5x lens focal length |
| Viewfinder | Fixed eye-level pentaprism; built-in diopter adjustment (-2.0 to +1.0 m-¹) |
| Focusing Screen | Type B BriteView Clear Matte Mark II screen with AF area brackets (framing grid can be displayed) |
| Viewfinder Frame Coverage/Magnification (with 50mm lens at infinity; -1.0 m-1) | Approx. 100% horizontal and vertical / Approx. 0.94x |
| Autofocus | TTL phase detection, 51 focus points (15 cross-type sensors) by Nikon Multi-CAM 3500DX autofocus module; Detection -1 to +19 EV (ISO 100 at 20°C/68°F) |
| Focus Modes | 1)Autofocus (AF): Single-servo AF (AF-S); Continuous-servo AF (AF-C); Focus tracking automatically activated according to subject status, 2) Manual focus (M) with electronic rangefinder can be selected from 51 focus area |
| Exposure Metering System | 1) 3D-Color Matrix Metering II (type G and D lenses); Color Matrix Metering II (other CPU lenses); Color Matrix Metering (non-CPU lenses if user provides lens data); 2) Center-weighted: Weight of 75% given to 8 mm circle in center of frame; Diameter of circle can be changed to 6, 10, or 13 mm, or weighting can be based on average of entire frame (fixed at 8 mm when non-CPU lens is used), 3) Spot: Meters 3.0 mm circle (about 2% of frame) centered on selected focus point (on center focus area when non-CPU lens is used) |
| Exposure Metering Range (at normal temperature [68°F/20°C], ISO 100 equivalent, f/1.4 lens) | 1) 0 to 20 EV (3D-Color Matrix or Center-weighted metering), 2) 2 to 20 EV (Spot metering) |
| Exposure Control | 1) Programmed Auto [P], 2) Shutter-Priority Auto [S], 3) Aperture-Priority Auto [A], 4) Manual [M] |
| Auto Exposure Bracketing | 2 to 9 exposures in increments of 1/3, 1/2, 2/3 or 1 steps to (+-) 1.0 EV |
| Shutter | Electronically controlled vertical-travel focal plane shutter; 30 to 1/8000sec in steps of 1/3, 1/2 or 1 EV plus bulb |
| Sync Contact | X-contact only; Auto FP High-Speed Sync supported |
| Flash Control | 1) TTL: i-TTL balanced fill-flash and standard i-TTL flash for digital SLR using 1,005-pixel RGB sensor are available with built-in flash and SB-900, SB-800, SB-600, or SB-400, 2) Auto aperture: Available with SB-900 or SB-800 and CPU lens, 3) Non-TTL auto: Supported flash units include SB-900, SB-800, SB-28, SB-27, and SB-22S, 4) Distance-priority manual: Available with SB-900 and SB-800 |
| Flash Sync Modes | 1) Front-curtain sync, 2) Red-eye reduction, 3) Red-eye reduction with Slow sync, 4) Slow sync, 5) Rear-curtain sync |
| Sync Terminal | ISO 519 standard terminal, with built-in rubber cap |
| Self-Timer | Electronically controlled timer with duration of 2, 5, 10 or 20 s. |
| Depth of Field Preview Button | Yes |
| Remote Control | Via 10-pin Remote Cord MC-22/30/36 (optional) or Wireless Remote Control WT-4 (optional) |
| GPS | GPS Unit GP-1 or GPS device compliant with NMEA 0183 (Ver. 2.01 and 3.01) interface standard supported with 9-pin D-sub cable (optional) and GPS Cable MC-35 (optional) |
| Supported Languages | Total of 17 languages:Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish |
| Power Requirements | Rechargeable EN-EL3e Li-ion Battery, Multi-Power Battery Pack MB-D10 (optional) with one Rechargeable Li-ion Battery EN-EL4a, EN-EL4 or EN-EL3e or eight R6/AA-size alkaline (LR6), Ni-MH (HR6), lithium (FR6) batteries, or nickel-manganese ZR6 batteries, EH-5a AC Adapter (optional) |
| Battery Life (on a fully charged battery) | Approx 950 shots |
| Tripod Socket | 1/4 in. (ISO1222) |
| Dimensions | Approx. 147 × 114 × 74 mm |
| Weight (without battery, memory card or body cap) | Approx. 840 g |
| Supplied Accessories (may differ by country or area) | Rechargeable Li-ion Battery EN-EL3e, Quick Charger MH-18a, USB Cable UC-E4, Video Cable EG-D2, Strap AN-DC4, LCD monitor cover BM-8, Body cap, Eyepiece Cap DK-5, Rubber Eyecup DK-23, Software Suite CD-ROM, Power Cable, Accessory shoe cover BS-1 |
| Other Features | Retouch menu, Info Display on LCD monitor, Intergrated Dust Reductions System, Live view, D-Movie (with external stereo microphone input; in-camera movie editing),Dual card slots for CF/SD memory cards |