Rob Galbraith has posted his Nikon D4 impressions.
Direct quote below.
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The D4's AF system provides a balanced level of autofocus performance: it's good for most things, great for some things, and not horrible at anything. Some of the key traits of the D4 AF system are:
Exceptional static subject focus. The D4 consistently gets the focus distance exactly right when the subject isn't moving.
Very good, and often excellent, tracking of moving athletes in overcast conditions or under artificial light.
Fast acquisition of proper focus in sports like volleyball. The D3S feels pokey by comparison.
Good, but rarely excellent, tracking of moving athletes in full sunlight. The D4, like the D3S before it, misses a few more frames than it ought to when the light is beautiful."
Funny that... a few years ago, when he wrote his Canon 1D MKIII impressions, the same AF behavior was totally unacceptable.
Nikon must pay very well indeed
If what he wrote is true, my 1Dx will have the D4 for breakfast any day of the week and twice when is sunny!!!
But wait.. It gets better...
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All of the above assumes the use of lenses like the AF-S 24-70mm f/2.8G, AF-S 70-200mm f/2.8G VR II, AF-S 400mm f/2.8G VR II and AF-S 200-400mm f/4G VR. What these all have in common is a maximum aperture of f/2.8 or slower. I've struggled to achieve the same level of autofocus performance with Nikon's f/1.4 lenses, including the AF-S 24mm f/1.4G, AF-S 50mm f/1.4G and AF-S 85mm f/1.4G. Even when the working aperture is f/2.8 and therefore shallower depth of field is not a factor.
As of this writing, I've not sorted out why f/1.4 lenses seem to bring about poorer AF system performance with the D4, or if there is a magic combination of AF settings that might alleviate the problem. With this camera, like the D3S before it, I've sidestepped the matter entirely by focusing in Live View instead. This has been a manageable workaround, at least for static subjects, but it's not much of a long term solution."
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I've sidestepped the matter entirely by focusing in Live View instead"
Really?.. no trip to Japan?, no trying several bodies with several lenses?. No hammering the matter until the camera gets a recall?...Oh dear....I guess Nikon is not as willing to listen to their costumers as Canon is... Welcome to the dark side indeed