Nikon D4S vs Nikon D5
Better figure, where one is clearly better
| NikonD4S | NikonD5 | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Released | March 2014 | March 2016 |
| Image and sensor | ||
| Camera type | DSLR | DSLR |
| Sensor format | Full frame | Full frame |
| Sensor type | CMOS | CMOS |
| Sensor dimensions | 36 × 23.9 mm | 35.9 × 23.9 mm |
| Effective resolution | 16.2 MP | 20.8 MP |
| Largest image | 4928 × 3280 | 5568 × 3712 |
| RAW recording | Yes | Yes |
| Standard ISO range | 100–25600 | 100–102400 |
| Sensor detail | Japan states 16.23 million effective and 16.61 million total pixels, rounded to 16.2 million effective globally; sensor-cleaning system. FX, 1.2×, DX and 5:4 areas; maximum cropped sizes 4096 × 2720, 3200 × 2128 and 4096 × 3280 respectively | Japan specifies 20.82 million effective and 21.33 million total pixels, rounded to 20.8 million effective in the US; sensor-cleaning system. FX, 1.2×, DX and 5:4 image areas |
| Image formats | 12-bit or 14-bit NEF RAW with lossless compression, compression or no compression; TIFF RGB, JPEG and RAW plus JPEG. RAW S uses one-quarter of full-size pixels, with 12-bit uncompressed files; some in-camera RAW editing functions unavailable for RAW S | 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 on Nikon's technical sheet. TIFF RGB, JPEG and RAW plus JPEG; Flat Picture Control. The original US announcement incorrectly describes medium/small RAW as uncompressed |
| ISO detail | Expanded equivalents ISO 50–409600; Auto ISO | Expanded equivalents ISO 50–3280000; Auto ISO |
| Image processor | EXPEED 4; Advanced Scene Recognition System | EXPEED 5; Advanced Scene Recognition System |
| Lens and shooting | ||
| Lens mount | Nikon F mount | Nikon F mount |
| Stabilisation | Optical lens stabilisation | Optical lens stabilisation |
| Maximum continuous burst | 11 fps | 12 fps |
| Lens detail | 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 | 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 | Advanced Multi-CAM 3500FX; 51 points including 15 cross-type; 11 points support f/8, with only the centre point cross-type at f/8. Detection to -2 EV; single-point, dynamic 9/21/51, 3D tracking, five-point Group-area and auto-area; AF fine-tuning; separate landscape/portrait sub-selectors | Multi-CAM 20K; 153 points including 99 cross-type, with 55 points and 35 cross-type points user-selectable. Fifteen points support f/8, nine selectable; centre sensitivity -4 EV and other points -3 EV at ISO 100, 20°C. Single-point, dynamic 25/72/153, 3D tracking, Group-area and auto-area; firmware C1.10 adds dynamic nine-point AF, C1.20 adds Group-area HL/VL |
| Shutter | 1/8000 to 30 seconds, Bulb and Time; flash sync 1/250 second | 1/8000 to 30 seconds, Bulb and Time; flash sync 1/250 second; electronic front-curtain option in mirror-up mode; Nikon tested the shutter to 400000 actuations |
| Burst detail | Approximately 11 fps with full AF/AE tracking under Nikon's AF-C, S/M, 1/250-second-or-faster test conditions; low-speed continuous approximately 1–10 fps | Approximately 12 fps with AF/AE tracking; 14 fps locks focus and exposure with the mirror up. Nikon quotes up to 200 full-size 14-bit lossless RAW frames with its specified Lexar 2933× XQD 2.0 card |
| Stabilisation detail | Optical VR depends on the lens; no sensor-shift stabilisation | Optical VR depends on the lens; no sensor-shift stabilisation. Firmware C1.10 adds electronic movie vibration reduction with a crop, excluding 4K and 1920 × 1080 crop modes |
| Flash | No built-in flash; hot shoe and threaded PC sync terminal; optical Nikon CLS with compatible external Speedlights | No built-in flash; hot shoe and threaded PC sync terminal; optical/radio Nikon CLS with compatible external Speedlights and required accessories |
| Exposure controls | P/S/A/M; 91000-pixel RGB metering with 3D Colour Matrix Metering III, centre-weighted and spot modes; ±5 EV compensation; Active D-Lighting | P/S/A/M; 180000-pixel RGB metering with Colour Matrix Metering III, centre-weighted, spot and highlight-weighted modes; ±5 EV compensation; Active D-Lighting |
| Video | ||
| Highest video resolution | 1920 × 1080 at 60 fps | 3840 × 2160 at 30 fps |
| Video detail | H.264 MOV at Full HD 60p/50p/30p/25p/24p, 720p 60p/50p or 640 × 424 at 30p/25p; actual NTSC rates 59.94/29.97/23.976. FX, DX and native 1920 × 1080 crop modes, the latter limited to 30p/25p/24p; maximum clip 29 minutes 59 seconds, with 20/10-minute limits depending on mode and quality. Contrast-detection AF-S/AF-F, Auto ISO in manual exposure, index marking, time-lapse exposure smoothing and simultaneous memory-card/HDMI recording | H.264 MOV 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. Native 1920 × 1080 crop also supports 60p/50p/30p/25p/24p. Firmware C1.10 extends recording to 29 minutes 59 seconds across up to eight 4 GB files; Photography Blog's three-minute 4K criticism concerns original firmware. Contrast-detection AF-S/AF-F; uncompressed HDMI output; in-camera time-lapse movies |
| Audio | Built-in mono microphone; 3.5 mm stereo microphone input and headphone output; adjustable sensitivity; linear PCM; photograph voice memos | Built-in stereo microphone; 3.5 mm stereo microphone input and headphone output; adjustable sensitivity; linear PCM; photograph voice memos |
| Screen and viewfinder | ||
| Viewfinder | Optical | Optical |
| Screen size | 3.2″ | 3.2″ |
| Screen dots | 921,000 | 2,359,000 |
| Touchscreen | – | Yes |
| Display detail | Fixed TFT with 170° viewing angle, approximately 100% coverage, automatic brightness and custom colour adjustment. Global announcement gives approximately 921000 dots, while Japan rounds approximately 920000; dots count subpixels | Fixed touch TFT with 170° viewing angle and approximately 100% coverage; playback gestures and touch text entry. US specifies 2359000 dots, Japan rounds to 2360000; dots count subpixels |
| Viewfinder detail | Pentaprism; approximately 100% FX, 97% 1.2×/DX, and 100% vertical/97% horizontal for 5:4; 0.7× magnification with 50mm f/1.4 at infinity; 18 mm eyepoint; grid overlay; revised mirror mechanism reduces blackout | Pentaprism; approximately 100% FX, 97% 1.2×/DX, and 100% vertical/97% horizontal for 5:4; 0.72× magnification with 50mm f/1.4 at infinity; 17 mm eyepoint; grid overlay |
| Connections and design | ||
| Battery life (maker's claim) | 3020 photographs | 3780 photographs |
| Body weight | 1180 g (better) | 1235 g |
| Release detail | Nikon Japan records sale on 6 March 2014. Nikon's global announcement explicitly describes D4S as the next-generation flagship successor to D4 | Nikon Japan records sale on 26 March 2016; the US announcement scheduled March availability. Nikon's Japanese announcement explicitly identifies D4S as the previous model |
| Recording media | One XQD slot and one CompactFlash Type I UDMA slot; overflow, backup, separate RAW/JPEG and card copying. Type II CompactFlash and Microdrive unsupported | Two XQD slots or two CompactFlash Type I UDMA7 slots, selected by body version; overflow, backup, separate RAW/JPEG and card copying. Firmware C1.40 adds CFexpress Type B support to XQD bodies |
| Ports | Hi-Speed 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-5 expansion connector | USB 3.0 Micro-B, 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/WT-5 expansion connector |
| Wireless connections | No integrated Wi-Fi or GPS; optional WT-5/WT-4 provides wireless network transfer and browser-based remote operation. Optional GP-1/GP-1A or MC-35 connects GPS equipment; WR-R10 requires WR-A10 adapter | No integrated Wi-Fi or GPS; optional WT-6/WT-5 provides wireless network transfer. Optional GP-1A connects through the ten-pin terminal |
| Battery life detail | EN-EL18a rechargeable battery; approximately 3020 CIPA photographs | Approximately 3780 CIPA photographs; original US specifications use EN-EL18a, while the later Japanese technical sheet specifies EN-EL18b at the same shot count |
| Charging | External MH-26a charger; optional EH-6b adapter with EP-6 power connector | External MH-26a charger; Japanese technical sheet lists optional EH-6c adapter with EP-6 power connector |
| Dimensions | Approximately 160 × 156.5 × 90.5 mm | Approximately 160 × 158.5 × 92 mm |
| Weight detail | Approximately 1180 g body only; 1350 g with battery and XQD card, excluding body cap and accessory-shoe cover | XQD version approximately 1235 g body only or 1405 g with battery and two XQD cards; CompactFlash version 1240 g body only or 1415 g with battery and two CF cards. Main weight represents the XQD body |
| Materials | – | Weather-sealed construction; illuminated controls |
| In the box | EN-EL18a battery, MH-26a charger, UC-E15 USB cable, AN-DC11 strap, BF-1B body cap, BS-2 shoe cover, DK-17 eyepiece, BL-6 battery cover, USB/HDMI clips, UF-2 stereo cable cover and ViewNX 2 CD-ROM | – |
More comparisons
- Nikon D5 vs Nikon Z 8
- Nikon D4S vs Nikon Z 9
- Nikon D5 vs Nikon Z 9
- Nikon D5 vs Nikon D6
- Nikon D4S vs Nikon D6
- Nikon D5 vs Nikon D780
- Nikon D4S vs Nikon D780
- Nikon D3500 vs Nikon D5
- Nikon D3500 vs Nikon D4S
- Nikon D5 vs Nikon D850
- Nikon D4S vs Nikon D850
- Nikon D5 vs Nikon D7500
- Nikon D4S vs Nikon D7500
- Nikon D5 vs Nikon D5600
- Nikon D4S vs Nikon D5600
- Nikon D3400 vs Nikon D5

