Nikon D4S vs Nikon D6
Better figure, where one is clearly better
| NikonD4S | NikonD6 | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Released | March 2014 | June 2020 |
| 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 globally; sensor-cleaning system. FX, 1.2×, DX, 5:4, 1:1 and 16:9 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. JPEG and RAW plus JPEG; separate JPEG plus JPEG recording with different size/quality settings; Flat and Creative Picture Controls |
| 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 6; 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 | 14 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 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 | 1/8000 to 30 seconds, Bulb and Time; flash sync 1/250 second | 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 | 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 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 | Optical VR depends on the lens; no sensor-shift stabilisation | Optical VR depends on the lens; no sensor-shift stabilisation; electronic movie vibration reduction available |
| 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 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 | 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/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 | 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 and attenuator; linear PCM for MOV or AAC for MP4; 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, 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 | 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 coverage; 0.72× magnification with 50mm f/1.4 at infinity; 17 mm eyepoint; grid overlay |
| Connections and design | ||
| Wi-Fi | – | Yes |
| Bluetooth | – | Yes |
| Battery life (maker's claim) | 3020 photographs | 3580 photographs |
| Body weight | 1180 g (better) | 1270 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 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 | 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 slots each accepting CFexpress Type B or XQD; overflow, backup, separate RAW/JPEG, separate JPEG/JPEG and card copying |
| 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 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 | 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 | 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 | EN-EL18a rechargeable battery; approximately 3020 CIPA photographs | 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 | External MH-26a charger; optional EH-6b adapter with EP-6 power connector | External MH-26a charger; optional EH-6c adapter with EP-6 power connector |
| Dimensions | Approximately 160 × 156.5 × 90.5 mm | Approximately 160 × 163 × 92 mm |
| Weight detail | Approximately 1180 g body only; 1350 g with battery and XQD card, excluding 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 | – | Magnesium-alloy body; dust/drip-resistant 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 | 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 |
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