D4X question

Hello all,

I have been kicking around getting a D800 or a D4. I am leaning toward the D4 because I do a lot of wildlife photography and I hate running out of buffer space in my current D7000. But I was wondering. The rumored specs on the D4x state a FPS of 6. Now, I suspect that in crop mode it will be able to take more. Possibly ten like the D4 because the mp are around the same, right? Now, would the resolution of a photo from a cropped D4x 36 mp sensor of around 15.4 mp be similar in resolution to the 16 mp in the D4? Does that make sense?

I guess what I am wondering is that of the D4x does come out at 36mp and a FPS in crop mode near the D4, is there any reason to get a D4 over a D4x?

​Thanks!

I don't think that the D4X if it happens will be a 36mp camera. There is absolutely no reason for it to be. If you are doing nature most of the time the D800 is still going to be the best bet.
I think that the next D4 won't have a huge change to it. I think it will go to either 2 cf or 2 XQD cards instead of one of each. Maybe a higher ISO sensor (not sure why).
You can get 2 D800's for the price of a D4. The D4 right now is $6000. The D4X will be even higher. What do you need the D4 for? Do you shoot a lot of action stuff? A lot of very low light where a super high ISO is needed? If so, look at a used D3s before a D4.
Don't get me wrong, I would love to have a D4, but I shoot a ton of racing and low light racing so speed and ISO I need to have. That's why I purchased a D3 for starters.

The one reason I see to get a D4 over a D4x is the simple fact that the D4x does not exist. How can you ask yourself to choose between something that exists and something that does not... Following your logic, you might as well wait until the camera is on the market before you make any move.

Thanks for being concerned about my finances, but that is not an issue. I have also considered a D3s, but think I would prefer the D4.

I do know the D4x is not available and may never be available, but that is not my question. My question is will a 36MP FX sensor in DX mode be similar in quality to an FX in full frame at 16MP? I know they are similar MP, but I am curious if the full frame has an advantage over a DX at the same MP.

CoeyCoey said:

Thanks for being concerned about my finances, but that is not an issue. I have also considered a D3s, but think I would prefer the D4.

I do know the D4x is not available and may never be available, but that is not my question. My question is will a 36MP FX sensor in DX mode be similar in quality to an FX in full frame at 16MP? I know they are similar MP, but I am curious if the full frame has an advantage over a DX at the same MP.

Click to expand...

Of course there will be a difference. With more MP packed into the same real estate, diffraction becomes more of a problem. Meaning you cannot use as small an aperture on a much higher MP camera. The high MP will also make more demands on lenses, this has already been reported with the D800 and D800E.

Also, for sensors of the same generation, more MP means poorer ISO/noise performance. Of course one can say when downsampled, the noise looks less significant. But on a DX sensor, how much resolution can you squeeze in and maintain low noise?

The other problem with high MP sensors are the large files they produce. This will make demands on so many things. The buffer needs to be bigger, write speed to cards, faster, image processor chip needs to be faster etc. It makes demands on the entire data flow of a camera. This is also the main reason why these high MP cameras have lower FPS, not because it is a designed handicap, but if you start improving every part to speed things up, the costs will stack up and probably cost a great deal more.

So will Nikon release a D4X? maybe. And if they do, I believe it will be a high MP camera. And I will think it will be built with a strong video capability.

If money is not an issue get a D4 & 600mm. Now you have everything.

CoeyCoey said:

My question is will a 36MP FX sensor in DX mode be similar in quality to an FX in full frame at 16MP? I know they are similar MP, but I am curious if the full frame has an advantage over a DX at the same MP.

Click to expand...

The answer here is an emphatic "No", with the all other things being equal proviso. A 16MP FX sensor will have a lower pixel density and larger pixels, which will allow more light in, allowing for better interpretation of that light both in camera and in post. Again, all other things being equal.

I have the D800 and shoot wildlife in DX mode frequently, to save on cropping, but also to save on file size. I spent 22 months with a D7000 prior to that, so what I have coming from the two is comparable in terms of file sizes and MP resolution. What I will say is that all other things are not equal. The D800 sensor is a clear step above the D7000 in terms of what the sensor reads with the same pixel density. It's a great sensor, to be sure. So to answer your question specifically, yes the D800 in DX mode does have an advantage over a DX camera at the same MP, but only because it starts with a better sensor.

I've posted them elsewhere, but here are some DX cropped shots taken with my D800 over the last week with a Sigma 150-500mm handheld on my back deck. I've got no beef with the IQ, and a D4 of any kind wouldn't give me more pixels per critter, so whether I shot it in DX or FX mode I'd still be cropping to the same areas. First image is ISO 400, the other two are 800. I know when I went over 800 on my D7000 I would start dealing with noise. Not so here. Would love to be able to play with a D3 or D4 to see the differences.