Nikon D4 DSLR May Launch on January 6

Nikon’s highly anticipated full-frame D4 digital SLR camera may land on January 6 as the company has already started sending out invitations to the press for a product unveiling event that is scheduled to happen this Friday in Hong Kong.

The exact product that will be launched during this event was not revealed, but Nikon Rumors believes that this will be the full-frame D4 DSLR together with a new AF-S 85mm f/1.8 prime lens.

With the launch of the D4 and that of the upcoming D800, Nikon wants to once and for all separate its pro DSLR cameras into two distinct segments, the former coming with a low MP count, high fps, and high ISO while the D800 will shift towards high MP count, low fps, and lower ISO.

As some leaked specs published in the first half of December 2011 show, this means that the D4 will come with a 16.2MP full-frame sensor and a native ISO range spanning 100-12,800 with the ability of being expanded to 50- 204,800.

The camera will be able to capture up to 11 frames per second in burst mode at full resolution and will use an improved AF system featuring 51 points, just as in the current D3s.

Furthermore, the D4 will also receive a new face detection/recognition function that will be working in the viewfinder (Nikon has several patents regarding hybrid viewfinders) and will gain the option of using XQD memory card in addition to the usual CompactFlash.

The video recording capabilities of the Nikon D4 will also be improved, but sadly we don’t know what new features will the pro DSLR receive in this area.

The rest of the D4’s specifications list includes integrated Ethernet, the ability to assign two front buttons for controlling aperture during video recording, 9 cross-type AF sensors operational up to f/8, improved AF detection range (goes down to EV-2.0), support for Nikon’s WT-5 wireless transmitter and the ability to send out uncompressed video through the HDMI port.

According to Nikon Rumors, the January 6 unveiling event will be for the press only and the new Nikon products are expected to start shipping roughly 30 days after this announcement.

Posted in: News, Preview