Nikon D3s + D4 - Still worth it?

Alistair Wells

Alistair Wells

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Hi all,

Some advice if I may.

I'm looking to purchase a new camera body that will become my main camera (my current D700 will become my second body).

I mostly shoot Motorsport and Aviation.

I'd like to spend around £800 - and for that money you can pick up a good condition D3s with c.25k actuations. Is this worth it in 2020? Or would investing a tad more on say a D4 (for around £1,100) with slightly higher actuations be a better idea? On that thought, what's the limit on actuations? The d3 and d4 are said to last for c400k clicks?

I'm lead to believe that the difference between the D3 and D3s was quite large (better low light performance + vid capability). But, is there a big difference between the d3s and the d4? (apart from the 4 more megapixels)? If so, is the difference worth £300 more?

Saying that, open to suggestions on any other Nikon bodies that I've managed to ignore!

Keen to see what you think, sorry for all the questions in the one post!!

Thanks,
Al
 
D3s & D4 are still good at the right price, the D4 is not a great upgrade from the D3s though (the D4s was).
Do you need FX? If not the D500 is available sub-£1k used and a bit over for new and would be superb for motorsport and aviation IMO.
 
The D3s is awesome , I briefly had one last year but then had heart failure which meant I couldn’t carry it . So returned it. But last year I paid sub £400 for it
 
I still like and use my D3 , it' s a Pro spec body , If you want a more modern body buy a D5 sticker for the street cred :cool:
 
D3s rocks - it was my favourite camera I think I've ever had. Superb.

However.... part availability for the D3 and the D3s is getting pretty scarce nowadays and therefore I would suggest going for a D4 simply for greater repair options.

If you can't stretch to the D4, definitely go for the D3s - I've owned and shot both side by side and the difference is noticeable.
 
In my experience with the D3s the low light performance is excellent and better than the D700 but in terms of dynamic range and auto focus performance a D810 or even a D750 is going to give you better performance for the same or less money.
 
D4 is fantastic. I managed to find a low mileage second hand one for a project that required good low light performance but that project didn’t come off in the end. My intention was to sell it once the project ended but I ended up keeping the camera as it’s a joy to use. Yes it’s big and heavy but less so than a gripped D700/800/810, and the AF just nails it every time in my experience although I don’t use it for moving stuff, just low light.

It’s not my go to camera for the most part, but for low light or crap weather I bring it out. So it’s an expensive backup but a very useful one.

I believe the D4S is better in some areas but I couldn’t justify spending significantly more for only marginal gains that wouldn’t have made any difference to me.
 
I bought a D4 a few years ago to replace my D700 and in the end it didn't replace my D700. I ended up returning and swapping the D4 for a D4S which I found had more responsive AF and slightly better low light performance.

The D700 was the best Nikon I ever bought and the only reason I sold it was due its weight with the grip and 70-200mm lens attached.

I also bought a D750 a few years back, but in no way does it come even close to the speed, reliability or AF performance of the D700 and I was left underwhelmed with D750's much taunted AF. On paper the D750 has the superior AF sensitivity at EV-3 (while D700's is EV-1), but in real life shooting when using AF-C mode with single point AF (with no tracking assists) the D700 will gain you far more keepers as it's just better at maintaining focus. The D750's AF isn't bad, I just found it's just not as responsive or as reliable at nailing AF as a D700. I could shoot away confidently with the D700 in 3-4fps knowing I'd be getting around 90% hit rate, but using the same settings on a D750 it'd be more like 50/60% hit rate. The only thing D750 has over the D700 is less weight, a better rear LCD, improved dynamic range and more pixels.

Personally I'd go for a D3s over a D4 if you can find a good D3s example. Ok, I'm slightly biased as I especially love the colour profiles/tones produced from that 12mp FX sensor, but you won't gain very much from the 16mp FX sensor in the D4 except for perhaps slightly better dynamic range. Parts can be an issue nowadays with D3/D3s series, but if you can find a good well looked after example you won't be needing any new bits.
 
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Either the D3s or D4 will work in any conditions and are built to last. I was very very lucky to get a high mileage D4s for less than your budget and it’s in fantastic condition. That said it’s a back up to my D850 AND most importantly my D500 which I think you should seriously consider over both the D3s and D4.
 
From my perspective D4 would be a reasonable move. It has just enough resolution for a larger print and a very modest crop but personally I think there are better tools available both for resolution and speed, maybe not under £1k... D3S at 12MP or anything at 12MP is a serious struggle to live with unless your output is all web or up to A3 prints... I imagine you must crop considerably in your filed. Here is a thought - D800. It will transform your options if you can live without that crazy FPS.
 
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