Nikon D4S hits ISO 409600, 11fps

(Credit: Nikon)

While it hasn't been a secret for months -- it debuted under glass at CES 2014 and underwent field testing recently at the Olympics ( view some sample images) -- Nikon has finally gone public with the specs for its new flagship dSLR, the D4S. According to the company, the D4S was a 'minor update that turned into more': a new sensor and upgrade to its Expeed 4 processor for better image quality and speed, plus tweaks to the autofocus settings, video and workflow features, and controls.

Most of the updates I'd classify as subtle but nontrivial. Although the sensor remains the same resolution, Nikon's reworked it in many mysterious ways; combined with the new processing, the camera's now rated up to ISO 409600, one stop beyond its predecessor. The D4S now has an auto ISO setting to allow for automatically preserving consistent exposures when shooting video or time lapse; you can now shoot up to 9,999 frames in the latter as well. There's also a new 12-bit uncompressed small raw file size. And the battery life jumps if you switch to the new, higher-capacity EL-EN18a battery, though it remains compatible with the D4's EL-EN18. The Ethernet connection gets a speed boost, too, jumping to 1000BaseT.

(Credit: Nikon)

Action photographers get a bump to 11fps burst shooting with full autofocus and autoexposure. To address some of the backfocus complaints of the D4, Nikon has added a new Group Area AF mode, a moveable 5-point clump of AF points that operates as a single focus area, and which the company claims improves focus when shooting subjects against a busy background. AF lock-on (tracking) is now more sensitive, to theoretically better lock focus when something passes between camera and subject. Plus there's a new mirror mechanism with reduced slap and mirror blackout time, and the viewfinder supports the ability to maintain the same relative AF point when switching between horizontal and vertical orientations.

For portrait photographers, you can use face-detection based metering in the optical viewfinder, and the standard Picture Control and white balance have been tweaked to deliver better skin tones.

Nikon's boosted the video operation, adding a 1080/60p codec and the ability to record simultaneously to an external recorder via HDMI and to an internal card. It also adds two audio frequency range recording options (which can be changed while recording), Wide Range and Voice Range.

Not the big advance I'm guessing some folks were hoping for, but pro cameras tend to follow an every-other-generation major upgrade cycle. And ISO 409600? Well, that will definitely make for some interesting pixel peeping.