Nikon D3S vs Nikon D6

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D3S compared with D6

	NikonD3S	NikonD6
Overview
Released
Released	November 2009	June 2020
Image and sensor
Camera type
Camera type	DSLR	DSLR
Sensor format
Sensor format	Full frame	Full frame
Sensor type
Sensor type	CMOS	CMOS
Sensor dimensions
Sensor dimensions	36 × 23.9 mm	35.9 × 23.9 mm
Effective resolution
Effective resolution	12.1 MP	20.8 MP
Largest image
Largest image	4256 × 2832	5568 × 3712
RAW recording
RAW recording	Yes	Yes
Standard ISO range
Standard ISO range	200–12800	100–102400
Sensor detail
Sensor detail	12.87 million total pixels; FX, 1.2×, DX and 5:4 image areas. Maximum 1.2× image 3552 × 2368, DX image 2784 × 1848 and 5:4 image 3552 × 2832; sensor-cleaning system	Japan specifies 20.82 million effective and 21.33 million total pixels, rounded to 20.8 million effective globally; sensor-cleaning system. FX, 1.2×, DX, 5:4, 1:1 and 16:9 image areas
Image formats
Image formats	12-bit or 14-bit NEF RAW, uncompressed, compressed or losslessly compressed; JPEG, TIFF RGB and RAW plus JPEG	Large NEF RAW at 12 or 14 bits with lossless compression, compression or no compression; medium and small RAW fixed to 12-bit lossless compression. JPEG and RAW plus JPEG; separate JPEG plus JPEG recording with different size/quality settings; Flat and Creative Picture Controls
ISO detail
ISO detail	Expanded equivalents ISO 100–102400; Auto ISO; high-sensitivity movie mode extends to equivalent ISO 102400	Expanded equivalents ISO 50–3280000; Auto ISO
Image processor
Image processor	EXPEED image-processing system; Scene Recognition System	EXPEED 6; Advanced Scene Recognition System
Lens and shooting
Lens mount
Lens mount	Nikon F mount	Nikon F mount
Stabilisation
Stabilisation	Optical lens stabilisation	Optical lens stabilisation
Maximum continuous burst
Maximum continuous burst	9 fps	14 fps
Lens detail
Lens detail	AF coupling supports compatible screw-drive lenses; DX lenses supported with automatic crop. Supported non-CPU AI lenses permit aperture-priority and manual exposure, with colour matrix metering when lens data is entered; IX and F3AF lenses unsupported	Compatible G/E/D AF NIKKOR lenses, subject to PC lens restrictions; body autofocus motor for compatible screw-drive lenses. Non-CPU AI lenses support aperture-priority/manual; non-AI, IX and F3AF lenses unsupported; DX lenses use the DX image area
Autofocus
Autofocus	Multi-CAM 3500FX phase detection; 51 points including 15 cross-type; single-point, auto-area and dynamic 9/21/51-point modes with 3D tracking; AF fine-tuning	Multi-CAM 37K; 105 selectable cross-type points, including 15 f/8-compatible points. Centre sensitivity -4.5 EV and other points -4 EV at ISO 100, 20°C. Single-point, dynamic 9/25/49/105, 3D tracking, Group-area and auto-area; 17 custom Group-area patterns; eye-priority focusing in auto-area and 3D tracking. Live view uses contrast detection with AF-S/AF-F
Shutter
Shutter	1/8000 to 30 seconds and Bulb; flash sync 1/250 second; shutter tested to 300000 cycles; Quiet release mode	1/8000 to 30 seconds, Bulb and Time; manual exposures extend to 900 seconds; flash sync 1/250 second; electronic front-curtain and electronic shutter options
Burst detail
Burst detail	Approximately 9 fps at full FX resolution and in 1.2× or 5:4 crops; up to 11 fps in lower-resolution DX. At 10/11 fps focus locks to the first frame, and exposure also locks in poor light; VR and Auto ISO can reduce the rate. Both 12-bit and 14-bit RAW supported	Approximately 14 fps mechanical with full AF/AE tracking under Nikon's AF-C, S/M, 1/250-second-or-faster test conditions. Silent full-resolution live-view shooting up to 10.5 fps; separate reduced-resolution live-view modes approximately 30 fps at 8 megapixels or 60 fps at 2 megapixels
Stabilisation detail
Stabilisation detail	Optical VR depends on the attached lens; no sensor-shift stabilisation	Optical VR depends on the lens; no sensor-shift stabilisation; electronic movie vibration reduction available
Flash
Flash	No built-in flash; hot shoe and PC sync terminal; compatible external Speedlights provide i-TTL and Creative Lighting System functions	No built-in flash; hot shoe and threaded PC sync terminal; optical/radio Nikon CLS with compatible external Speedlights and required accessories
Exposure controls
Exposure controls	P/S/A/M; 1005-pixel RGB 3D Colour Matrix Metering II; ±5 EV compensation; Active D-Lighting	P/S/A/M; 180000-pixel RGB viewfinder metering with Colour Matrix Metering III, centre-weighted, spot and highlight-weighted modes; ±5 EV stills or ±3 EV video compensation; Active D-Lighting
Video
Highest video resolution
Highest video resolution	1280 × 720 at 24 fps	3840 × 2160 at 30 fps
Video detail
Video detail	Motion-JPEG AVI at 1280 × 720, 640 × 424 or 320 × 216, all 24 fps; maximum five minutes at 720p or 20 minutes at lower resolutions. Handheld live view uses phase-detection AF with mirror interruption; Tripod live view uses contrast-detection AF, including initiated movie autofocus	H.264 MOV/MP4 at 4K 30p/25p/24p, Full HD 60p/50p/30p/25p/24p and 720p 60p/50p; actual NTSC rates 59.94/29.97/23.976. Nikon identifies 4K as 1.5× crop and native 1920 × 1080 crop as 3.0×; the latter supports 60p/50p/30p/25p/24p. Maximum recording 29 minutes 59 seconds; 4K up to 144 Mbps; timecode and in-camera time-lapse movies. Cards over 32 GB formatted in-camera allow files over 4 GB without splitting
Audio
Audio	Built-in mono microphone and stereo microphone input; voice memo recording and playback for still photographs	Built-in stereo microphone; 3.5 mm stereo microphone input and headphone output; adjustable sensitivity and attenuator; linear PCM for MOV or AAC for MP4; photograph voice memos
Screen and viewfinder
Viewfinder
Viewfinder	Optical	Optical
Screen size
Screen size	3″	3.2″
Screen dots
Screen dots	921,000	2,359,000
Touchscreen
Touchscreen	–	Yes
Tilting screen
Tilting screen	No	–
Display detail
Display detail	Fixed TFT with 170° viewing angle and tempered-glass cover; dots count subpixels. Original US announcement and brochure specify approximately 921000 dots; Japan rounds to approximately 920000. Separate top and rear status panels	Fixed touch TFT with 170° viewing angle, approximately 100% coverage, 11-level manual brightness and colour adjustment; touch priority image transfer with Ethernet or optional WT-6 connection. Global specifies 2359000 dots, Japan rounds to 2360000; dots count subpixels
Viewfinder detail
Viewfinder detail	Pentaprism; approximately 100% FX coverage, 97% in 1.2× and DX, and 100% vertical/97% horizontal in 5:4; 0.7× magnification with 50mm at infinity; 18 mm eyepoint; replaceable focusing screen and eyepiece shutter	Pentaprism; approximately 100% FX coverage; 0.72× magnification with 50mm f/1.4 at infinity; 17 mm eyepoint; grid overlay
Connections and design
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi	No	Yes
Bluetooth
Bluetooth	–	Yes
Battery life (maker's claim)
Battery life (maker's claim)	4200 photographs	3580 photographs
Body weight
Body weight	1240 g (better)	1270 g
Release detail
Release detail	Nikon's original US announcement specifies late November 2009 availability; Japan records 27 November. Main retains the month	Nikon Japan records sale on 5 June 2020 after postponements from March to May and then June; the original US announcement's April plan is not an actual retail date. Nikon's Japanese announcement explicitly identifies D5 as the previous model
Recording media
Recording media	Two CompactFlash Type I slots, including UDMA; overflow, backup, separate RAW/JPEG recording and card-to-card copying. Type II and Microdrive unsupported	Two slots each accepting CFexpress Type B or XQD; overflow, backup, separate RAW/JPEG, separate JPEG/JPEG and card copying
Ports
Ports	USB 2.0 Hi-Speed, analogue NTSC/PAL output, mini-HDMI Type C, 3.5 mm microphone input, ten-pin accessory terminal and PC flash sync; optional GP-1 or MC-35 connects external GPS equipment	USB Type-C with SuperSpeed USB, mini-HDMI Type C, 3.5 mm microphone/headphone sockets, RJ-45 Ethernet with 10/100/1000BASE-T support, ten-pin accessory terminal, PC sync and WT-6 expansion connector; Kensington security lock compatibility
Wireless connections
Wireless connections	Optional WT-4 transmitter supplies network transfer; Wi-Fi is not built into the body	Integrated 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2 and SnapBridge; 5 GHz availability depends on region and station mode. Integrated GPS/GLONASS/QZSS positioning, unavailable in some regions; optional WT-6 transmitter for network transfer
Battery life detail
Battery life detail	EN-EL4a; approximately 4200 shots under CIPA conditions with AF-S NIKKOR 24–70mm f/2.8G ED and no live view. Separate Nikon continuous test claims approximately 4700 with AF-S VR 70–200mm f/2.8 ED; EN-EL4 also supported	EN-EL18c; approximately 3580 CIPA single-frame photographs, 8670 continuous photographs under Nikon's separate test and 105 minutes of CIPA movie battery life. EN-EL18b/18a/18 also supported, with lower endurance using original EN-EL18
Charging
Charging	External MH-22 charger; optional EH-6 AC adapter	External MH-26a charger; optional EH-6c adapter with EP-6 power connector
Dimensions
Dimensions	Approximately 159.5 × 157 × 87.5 mm	Approximately 160 × 163 × 92 mm
Weight detail
Weight detail	Approximately 1240 g excluding battery, card, body cap and accessory-shoe cover	Approximately 1270 g body only; 1450 g with battery and two CFexpress cards, excluding body cap and shoe cover
Materials
Materials	Magnesium-alloy construction with dust and moisture seals; integrated vertical grip; not a waterproof rating	Magnesium-alloy body; dust/drip-resistant construction; illuminated controls
In the box
In the box	–	EN-EL18c battery, MH-26a charger, UC-E24 USB cable, AN-DC22 strap, DK-27 eyepiece adapter, DK-17F eyepiece, BF-1B body cap, BS-3 shoe cover, BL-6 battery cover and HDMI/USB cable clip