Nikon D3s Release Date: Rumored for October 15

There have been various rumors as to the release date of the Nikon D3s, but we have learned that NikonRumors expects there is a “99 percent probability” that the camera will be released on October 15. We still wait for this to be officially confirmed.

The new Nikon D3s will come with a host of great features, these not only include 1080p video and 14fps burst mode, but also 1.6x crop mode as well. This is all we know about the new camera for now, but we can be certain that the camera will blow us away.

There are those who would agree that Nikon produce better cameras than both Sony and Canon, but as Nikon normally carries a hefty price tag, it is no surprise that they will then have better lenses and other features. We just hope that the new D3s can live up to all the hype.

There are noises about a refresh for the Nikon D3 some time in the second half of 2009:  what will a D3 update be called?

Nikon may call the camera the Nikon D3h, since there was a D2X (high resolution) and D2H (high speed), but they have also used the S suffix for smaller upgrades in the pro line (D2X -> D2Xs for example), so a D3s is a real possibility.

Below are a list of rumors regarding the Nikon D3s, newest first and feel free to add your own comments/thoughts.

NR pointed us to an Australian site, Cameratalk.com.au, which claims insider information including:

• The D3 production has been discontinued.
• D3s will be announced early October.
• They claim, or possibly speculate, 1080p and 14 fps frame rate.
• Due to hit stores November 3rd

The wording is interesting (words like “proposed” and “indication”) implying that at least some of this is speculative: Nikon’s video implementation is currently very crude, so to bring out a camera that as they claim would outgun the 5D Mark II – if they had the ability to do that, then surely the recent D300s would have had better video? (either that, or delay the announcement and announce it in parallel with the D3s, in the same way the D300 and D3 were launched together).

The other point that stretches the imagination is the increase in frame rate from 9 fps to 14 fps, which they claim is possible with the addition of another EXPEED processor. What they forget is AF and shutter black-out time are the limiting factors here – going faster than 9 or 10 f.p.s. is certainly possible, but the AF tends to stop working – so for this to be true either the black-out time when taking a shot has to drop dramatically, or the D3s comes with a big AF improvement.

The other flag is they claim the information is from a software developer are a research facility connected with Nikon – typically the developers, while having deadlines, don’t typically have access to the confidential release and product shipment schedules.

Source: Cameratalk on 9/18/2009.

NR points to a digital wedding forum, where a poster claims:

So says an ‘industry-source’ I know (who’s been on the money for all the releases of the last 2 years). It’ll be to the D3 what the D300s is to the D300 (ie. essentially the same but with video and buffer upgrades). RRP is expected to be £4,500.

We are expecting the US price to stay at the $5k mark for MSRP for any D3s – street price for the D3 is currently around $4,300.

Source: NR on 9/18/2009.