Nikon D300S Announced

July 30, 2009: Nikon will replace the D300, the flagship model of its DX-format DSLR line with a new flagship model, the D300S.
Inheriting many of the features of its predecessor, the D300S uses a lightweight magnesium alloy for its exterior cover, chassis and mirror box. Comprehensive sealing prevents ingress of moisture and dust. Tested on fully assembled cameras, the shutter mechanism assembly is rated for 150,000 cycles. The new model adds dual card slots (SD and CF), live view support and an enhanced D-Movie function that supports autofocusing with contrast-detect AF during movie recording plus an external microphone input for stereo sound recording.

Front view of the D300S body without a lens. (Source: Nikon.)

The magnesium-alloy body of the new camera, showing the location of the weatherproof seals. (Source: Nikon.)

The D300S body with the 16-85mm Nikkor lens. (Source: Nikon.)

Rear view of the D300S. (Source: Nikon.)
One more advancement over the D300 is the ‘Q’ setting on the release mode dial, which reduces the sound of the camera’s mirror-down during shooting. This is particularly useful when shooting in restrictive conditions such as wedding and event photography and when photographing wildlife. In-camera Active D-Lighting can restore the details in shadows and highlights in high-contrast lighting situations and users can choose from auto, extra high, high, normal, low or off prior to shooting. The D300S also supports auto bracketing with varying strength levels, for up to five frames.

Top view of the D300S with the 16-85mm lens, showing the control panels. (Source: Nikon.)
In-camera movie editing lets users trim the ends off clips and Picture Control adjustments can be used to modify the tone and colour of HD video clips as they are captured. Another major advancement in the D300S is the ability to shoot as fast as seven frames/second, with the supplied EN-EL3e battery of up to eight frames/second when using the optional MB-D10 Multi-Power Battery Pack and EN-EL4a battery. The D300S also offers a start-up time of approx. 130 milliseconds and a shutter release time lag of only 49 milliseconds.

The dual SD/SDHC and CF card slots. (Source: Nikon.)
The DX-format CMOS image sensor provides 12.3 megapixels of effective resolution and supports a wide ISO sensitivity range of ISO 200 to ISO 3200 – with Lo 1 for ISO 100 equivalent and Hi 1 for ISO 6400 equivalent available through a Custom function. Initial image capture data can be quickly transferred using 14-bit integrated A/D conversion. All successive internal processing is then handled at a full 16 bits using Nikon’s EXPEED image processing system.

The sensor unit for the D300S. (Source: Nikon.)
The D300S comes with Nikon’s Scene Recognition System, which uses precise colour and brightness information from the 1,005-pixel RGB sensor for autofocus, auto exposure, i-TTL flash control and auto white balance adjustments. The D300S’s Multi-CAM 3500DX AF sensor uses 51 AF points densely positioned across the frame to provide accurate autofocusing. . Single-point AF mode allows you to choose a single AF point from among the 51, and in dynamic-area AF mode, you can select from 9, 21 or 51 AF points. A 3D-tracking mode automatically shifts the focus point to match the subject’s movements.

The first page of the shooting menu. (Source: Nikon.)
A large, bright viewfinder offers approx. 100% frame coverage and approx. 0.94x magnification. In playback mode, the added Face Detection System lets users instantly zoom in on a human face displayed on the 920,000-dot LCD monitor. The built-in flash has a GN of 17 (metres/ISO 200) and 16mm lens coverage (wider than the 18mm of the D300). It supports Nikon’s original i-TTL flash control and is compatible with the Nikon Creative Lighting System.
The new camera is expected to go on sale early in September and will be offered as body only for $3299 and also in single- and twin-lens kits. For full details, visit www.nikon.com.au.

SPECIFICATIONS:
Image sensor: 23.6 x 15.8 mm CMOS sensor with 13.1 million photosites (12.3 megpixels effective)
A/D processing: 12- and 14-bit
Lens mount: Nikon F mount (with AF coupling and AF contacts)
Focal length crop factor: 1.5x
Still image formats: JPEG-Baseline compliant with fine (approx. 1:4), normal (approx. 1:8) or basic (approx. 1:16) compression (Size priority); Optimal quality compression available; NEF (RAW): 12 or 14 bit, lossless compressed, compressed, or uncompressed, TIFF (RGB)
Image Sizes: 4,288 x 2,848 [L], 3,216 x 2,136 [M], 2,144 x 1,424 [S]
Image Stabilisation: Lens-based only
Dust removal: Image Sensor Cleaning, Image Dust Off reference data (requires optional Capture NX 2 software)
Shutter speed range: 1/8000 to 30 seconds in steps of 1/3, 1/2 or 1 EV; Bulb, X-synch at 1/250 sec.
Exposure Compensation: -5 to +5 EV in increments of 1/3, 1/2 or 1 EV
Exposure bracketing: 2-9 frames in increments of 1/3, 1/2 or 1 EV
Self-timer: 2, 5, 10 and 20 seconds delay
Focus system: Nikon Multi-CAM 3500DX autofocus sensor module with TTL phase detection, fine-tuning, 51 focus points (including 15 cross-type sensors) plus AF-assist illuminator (range approx. 0.5 to 3 m)
Focus modes: Single-servo AF (S); continuous-servo AF (C); predictive focus tracking automatically activated according to subject status; Manual focus
Exposure metering: TTL exposure metering using 1005-pixel RGB sensor; Matrix: 3D colour matrix metering II (type G and D lenses); colour matrix metering II (other CPU lenses); Centre-weighted ( 75% in central 8-mm circle); Spot (3mm circle centred on selected focus point)
Shooting modes: Programmed auto with flexible program (P); Shutter-priority auto (S); Aperture-priority auto (A); Manual (M)
Picture Style/Control settings: Standard, Neutral, Vivid, Monochrome; storage for up to nine custom Picture Controls
Colour space options: sRGB, Adobe RGB
ISO range: ISO 200 to 3200 in steps of 1/3, 1/2 or 1 EV; can also be set to approx. 0.3, 0.5, 0.7 or 1 EV (ISO 100 equivalent) below ISO 200 or to approx. 0.3, 0.5, 0.7 or 1 EV (ISO 6400 equivalent) above ISO 3200
White balance: Auto (TTL white-balance with main image sensor and 1,005-pixel RGB sensor), Incandescent, Fluorescent (7 options), Direct Sunlight, Flash, Cloudy, Shade, preset manual (able to store up to 5 values) and color temperature setting (2,500K to 10,000K); fine-tuning available for all options
Flash: Manual pop-up with button release; Guide number of 17 (m/ISO 100); Front curtain sync, slow sync, rear-curtain sync, red-eye reduction, red-eye reduction with slow sync modes
Flash exposure adjustment: -3 to +1 EV in increments of 1/3, 1/2 or 1 EV; bracketing of 2-9 frames
Sequence shooting: Up to 8 frames/second (CH); 7 fps (CL)
Storage Media: Dual slots for Type I CompactFlash (UDMA compliant) and SD/SDHC memory cards
Viewfinder: Eye-level pentaprism with 100% coverage (horizontal and vertical); approx. 0.94x magnification (50mm f/1.4 lens at infinity; -1.0 m^-1); 19.5 mm eyepoint; diopter adjustment -2 to +1 dpt
LCD monitor: 3-inch, 920,000-dot (VGA) low-temperature polysilicon TFT LCD with 170 ° viewing angle, approx. 100% frame coverage, and brightness adjustment
Live View modes: Yes; Tripod, Hand-held mode; Contrast-detect AF anywhere in frame in Tripod mode
Video Capture: Yes; AVI/Motion-JPEG; 1,280 x 720, 640 x 424, 320 x 216, all at 24 fps; Contrast-detect AF on a desired point within a frame is possible in Tripod mode; Max. clip length: 5 min (1,280 x 720 pixels), 20 min (640 x 424, 320 x 216 pixels)
Data LCD: Yes
Playback functions: Full-frame and thumbnail (4, 9 or 72 images) playback with playback zoom, movie playback, slide show, histogram display, highlights, auto image rotation, and image comment (up to 36 characters)
Interface terminals: Hi-Speed USB, A/V Out: PAL/NTSC; HDMI Mini connector (Type C); Stereo mini-pin jack (3.5-mm diameter)
Power supply: EN-EL3e rechargeable lithium-ion battery
Dimensions (wxhxd): Approx. 147 x 114 x 74 mm (body only)
Weight: Approx. 840 grams (body only)

RRP: $3299 (body only)
Distributor: Nikon Australia; Ph: 1300 366 499; www.nikon.com.au