Nikon D4 Owner Thread

Mine had to go back to Nikon due to inconsistent focusing issues and soft images. It's like a different camera now.

It beats the D3s in every department.

Kevin, give me a DM if you're hoping to sell. I'm in the market for another D4.
 
Well the 400mm has just arrived and my God, it's an absolute beast. Off to Martin Mere tomorrow to try out the D4 for the first time!
 
Can we make this a D4/D4s Owners Thread?

Interested to hear who's got the D4s - seen one or two in other threads but somewhere focussed to owners of these cameras.

Looking to update my D3 in the next month or so.
 
Loving my D4, the auto-bracket feature of up to 3 stop increments is especially good if you like HDR and I'm sure Nikon could sort that in a firmware update for the D800 (bought a Camranger so I could have that option, yes, I know there are other ways, manual etc etc). I thought the camera may be a bit on the heavy side but it's surprisingly well-balanced. The high speed shooting sounds like a machine gun going off though lol. Two QXD slots would have been a better option i think, although it's handy keeping a CF card in their for overflow etc. Very happy with mine.
JohnyT
 
Mine had to go back to Nikon due to inconsistent focusing issues and soft images. It's like a different camera now.

It beats the D3s in every department.

Kevin, give me a DM if you're hoping to sell. I'm in the market for another D4.
Battery life? LOL
 
My D4S has just arrived. Batteries on charge and now to find something to shoot as everything is quiet here in the Middle East over the summer.

View attachment 13370
 
Taking delivery of a D4 next month. Anyone got any recommendations for 3rd party batteries. Or should I stick with genuine ?
Any point in buying the fast XQD cards, or will the slower ones cope alright with camera write speeds ?
 
Also..I've been shooting D3 with 70-200 VR1. Seriously is it worth upgrading to a VR2, I'm only concerned with the speed of focus..?
 
Taking delivery of a D4 next month. Anyone got any recommendations for 3rd party batteries. Or should I stick with genuine ?
Any point in buying the fast XQD cards, or will the slower ones cope alright with camera write speeds ?

I've never had a problem with the speed of the standard cards, I can't imagine needing faster.
I bought 1 Hahnel battery from premier-ink, at the time about 1/2 the price of the genuine Nikon ones and it's brilliant.

Also..I've been shooting D3 with 70-200 VR1. Seriously is it worth upgrading to a VR2, I'm only concerned with the speed of focus..?

I've only had the VR2 and as far as I understand the only difference is vignette, speed of focus won't be any less on the VR1.
 
I've never had a problem with the speed of the standard cards, I can't imagine needing faster.
I bought 1 Hahnel battery from premier-ink, at the time about 1/2 the price of the genuine Nikon ones and it's brilliant.



I've only had the VR2 and as far as I understand the only difference is vignette, speed of focus won't be any less on the VR1.

Thanks @gramps Very helpful.
 
WoOt !! Just unboxed my new D4, not the s model Could it be the last new D4. Found it at Grays of Westminster.
Why do batteries take so long to charge ?
 
Just became the happy owner of a very, very slightly used D4. I have also got a copy of David Busch's D4/D4s guide.
Thinking it is going to take me a while to fully understand this camera. In operation it's the 'same but different' to the D3 I had, I'm not sure that the similarities with the D3 don't make it harder to get used to. ( I know that sounds like gobblygook)
IQ at high ISO is just what I was looking for.
 
Just became the happy owner of a very, very slightly used D4. I have also got a copy of David Busch's D4/D4s guide.
Thinking it is going to take me a while to fully understand this camera. In operation it's the 'same but different' to the D3 I had, I'm not sure that the similarities with the D3 don't make it harder to get used to. ( I know that sounds like gobblygook)
IQ at high ISO is just what I was looking for.

Notice much different with the extra 4mp than the D3 has?
 
It makes a difference, but not huge... If I hadn't drowned the D3s I would still be using that. But 16MP and better high ISO puts it noticeably above a D3/D700 IMO.
 
It makes a difference, but not huge... If I hadn't drowned the D3s I would still be using that. But 16MP and better high ISO puts it noticeably above a D3/D700 IMO.

After taking out the D4 at the weekend I would have to agree. I absolutely loved my D3 but the D4 is a marked improvement all round. I was surprised by how much difference an extra 4MP makes when cropping too. However I am still struggling a bit with the different AF modes. I thought 3D would be best for BIF but it didn't work for me, I think because it was over water and the water was very choppy. I did get very good results with the 9 point AFC.

If anyone would like to give some advice/opinion on the different AF settings I would be very interested.

I still need more practice and learning but impressed so far.
 
After taking out the D4 at the weekend I would have to agree. I absolutely loved my D3 but the D4 is a marked improvement all round. I was surprised by how much difference an extra 4MP makes when cropping too. However I am still struggling a bit with the different AF modes. I thought 3D would be best for BIF but it didn't work for me, I think because it was over water and the water was very choppy. I did get very good results with the 9 point AFC.

If anyone would like to give some advice/opinion on the different AF settings I would be very interested.

I still need more practice and learning but impressed so far.

Personally I never use 3D, it bounces around everything but what I want it to.
If I am struggling with BIF I will use 51-point AF but otherwise I try 9-point.
Personally I don't stand a chance of getting BIF focus with single point, I'm just not quick enough anymore!
 
Personally I never use 3D, it bounces around everything but what I want it to.
If I am struggling with BIF I will use 51-point AF but otherwise I try 9-point.
Personally I don't stand a chance of getting BIF focus with single point, I'm just not quick enough anymore!

Thanks Gramps, I think that's encouraging (?), at least your experience mirrors mine
 
Single-point for most BIF is extremely challenging, at my time of life it's no good thinking that my reaction skills are going to improve ... yours may with practice but TBH I would rather have 50% success at 95% right than 1% success at 100% right :)
 
I use single or 9 point AF-C, rear button focus.

The one I am still trying to nail is the best setting for BIF for A3 - Focus Tracking with lock on - what is your preferred setting for that
 
The easier the subject, fewer AF points is better. It' also "faster" and more accurate (cross type sensors). For BIF single pt is about hopeless; but "group" can work pretty well. For clear backgrounds auto pt selection can work very well for smaller/faster subjects. I tend to use AF-C group, 9pt, or 21pt (easier>harder subjects).
 
I use single or 9 point AF-C, rear button focus.

The one I am still trying to nail is the best setting for BIF for A3 - Focus Tracking with lock on - what is your preferred setting for that
That one doesn't matter much... it only affects the way the AF behaves if a new subject crosses the AF point closer to you than the subject is. That said, I don't like turning it off because it also seems to affect how long it waits if you momentarily loose the subject. And even if you don't loose the subject it will often "refocus" slightly ruining the shot...even with a fairly stationary subject.

I tend to set it fairly short. If set too long you have to restart focus (release/press) if the initial AF lock is wrong (happens a lot with faster subjects).
 
Last edited:
I tend to set it fairly short. If set too long you have to restart focus (release/press) if the initial AF lock is wrong (happens a lot with faster subjects).

I have found that myself, I will have to give a couple of settings a go to see how they perform.
 
I shot a gig at the O2 arena at the weekend. Many shots at ISO50k+ and IQ is unbelievable at such high ISO.

Fifty thousand plus!! Boy that's some dark arena.
Great that you get usable shots though. I've only been up to 6400 with mine (outstanding)
 
Back
Top