Nikon
D3S
 vs
Nikon
D3X

Updated (January, 2012): Compare the Nikon D4 vs Nikon D3X

Nikon D3S

100
Winner

Nikon D3S
"The camera has locked immediately to my target, and as you can see, it has stuck with him even when a second player enters the frame."
dpreview.com | talking about the D3S's auto-focus
"Buttons and other controls are positioned to be used easily."
dpreview.com | talking about the D3S's button-layout

Reasons to buy the Nikon D3S

Low light performance
 Low noise at high ISO
3,253 ISO
Light sensitivity
 High ISO
12,800 ISO
Continuous shooting
 Rapid fire
9 fps
External mic jack
 External mic jack
Record higher quality audio with a microphone
Battery life
 Great battery life
4400 shots
Light sensitivity (boost)
 High ISO (boost)
102,400 ISO
Nikon D3X

89
Runner-up

Nikon D3X

Reasons to buy the Nikon D3X

Overall image quality
 Great image quality
88.0
Color depth
 Great color depth
24.7 bits
Dynamic range
 Wide dynamic range
13.7 EV
True resolution
 High true resolution
24.4 MP
Battery life
 Great battery life
4400 shots

differences

Advantages of the Nikon D3S
Low light performance Much lower noise at high ISO 3,253 ISO vs 1,992 ISO
Help
 The D3S has a slight edge (0.7 f-stops) in low noise, high ISO performance
External mic jack Has an external mic jack Yes vs No
Help
 Record high quality audio with an external microphone
Continuous shooting Shoots significantly faster 9 fps vs 5 fps
Help
 80% faster continuous shooting
Light sensitivity Better maximum light sensitivity 12,800 ISO vs 1,600 ISO
Help
 The D3S's maximum light sensitivity is 3 f-stops better
Light sensitivity (boost) Has boost ISO 102,400 ISO vs None
Help
 Allows taking photos in darker situations, often at the cost of additional noise in the image
Sensor cleaning Has a self cleaning sensor Yes vs No
Help
 Removes dust from the sensor automatically, avoiding spots in photos
Lowest price Significantly cheaper $5,196.95 vs $7,999.95
Help
 The best price we've seen is $2,803 cheaper (around 40% less)
Nikon D3S Learn more about
the Nikon D3S

Advantages of the Nikon D3X
Overall image quality Better image quality 88.0 vs 82.0
Help
 Around 10% better image quality
True resolution Much higher true resolution 24.4 MP vs 12.1 MP
Help
 Capture more than 2x more detail in your photos
Dynamic range More dynamic range 13.7 EV vs 12 EV
Help
 1.7 f-stops more dynamic range
Color depth Better color depth 24.7 bits vs 23.5 bits
Help
 Distinguishes 1.2 more bits of color
Shutter lag Less shutter lag 161 ms vs 197 ms
Help
 Around 20% less delay when taking photos
Nikon D3X Learn more about
the Nikon D3X
vs

recommendations

Relative to the best recent pro DSLRs, and ignoring price

Nikon D3S Nikon D3S
100 vs 89
Explain scores
Nikon D3X Nikon D3X
Green arrow Snapsort recommends the Nikon D3S.

performance Which camera has better performance? Cast your vote!

NikonD3S
 Nikon D3S vs Nikon D3X
NikonD3X
Uses Travel score Travel
On holiday or vacation
48
20
Vote Vote
Sports score Sports
Fast action, sometimes indoors
64
8
Vote Vote
Features Color accuracy Color accuracy
White balance in varied lighting
15
55
Vote Vote
Autofocus peformance Still image focusing
Speed and accuracy
16
52
Vote Vote
Autofocus performance Video focusing
Speed and accuracy
55
8
Vote Vote
Manual controls Manual settings
How quickly and easily you can change settings
45
26
Vote Vote
Build quality Build quality
Is it sturdy, well made, plastic or metal
41
23
Vote Vote
Green arrow Join in the discussion below!

similarities

Compared to recent DSLRs

Common Strengths Common Weaknesses
Low light performance Very low noise at high ISO Help
D3S:3,253 ISO
D3X:1,992 ISO
Overall image quality Extremely good image quality Help
D3S:82.0
D3X:88.0
Battery life Very long battery life Help
4400 shots
Sensor size Very large sensors Help
D3S:Full frame 36.0x23.9mm
D3X:Full frame 35.9x24.0mm
Color depth Good color depth Help
D3S:23.5 bits
D3X:24.7 bits
Viewfinder size Above average viewfinder size Help
0.70x
Focus points Lots of focus points Help
51
Weather sealed Weather sealed Help
Shoot in extreme weather
Screen resolution High resolution screens Help
D3S:921k dots
D3X:920k dots
Startup delay Minimal startup delay Help
300 ms startup delay
Cross type focus points Many cross-type focus points Help
15
Viewfinder Both have pentaprism viewfinders Help
Pentaprism
Viewfinder coverage Above average viewfinder coverage Help
100%
Storage slots Multiple storage slots Help
2
Fastest shutter speed Fast max shutter speeds Help
1/8000 of a second
Built-in flash No built-in flash Help
Professional
Weight Heavy Help
D3S:1,240 g
D3X:1,260 g
Lowest price Very expensive Help
D3S:$5,196.95
D3X:$7,999.95
Thickness Quite thick Help
3.5"
Size Large Help
Large 160x157x88 mm
HDR Neither has in-camera HDR Help
You could do HDR manually
Screen flips out No flip-out screens Help
Less flexible
Autofocus No video autofocus Help
Manual focus only
Image stabilization No image stabilization Help
Risk of blur
Panorama Neither camera stitches together panoramas Help
You could stitch photos in post
3D Neither camera can take 3D photos Help
No 3d support

Compared to recent pro DSLRs

Common Strengths Common Weaknesses

Snapsort is not aware of any interesting strengths shared by these two products.

Snapsort is not aware of any interesting weaknesses shared by these two products.

dxomark

DXOMark

competitors

Shared Competitors

Advantages

Disadvantages
Nikon D4

Nikon D4

Pro DSLR

$6,000 body only
Movie format Records higher quality movies
Screen size Has a significantly larger screen
Battery life Has a much shorter battery life
Compare the D4 vs the D3S
Compare the D4 vs the D3X
Nikon D700

Nikon D700

Pro DSLR

$2,750 body only
Size Is significantly smaller
Lowest price Is slightly less expensive
Storage slots Has fewer storage slots
Viewfinder coverage Much less viewfinder coverage
Compare the D700 vs the D3S
Compare the D700 vs the D3X
Nikon D800

Nikon D800

Pro DSLR
Movie format Records higher quality movies
Screen size Has a significantly larger screen
Battery life Has a much shorter battery life
Compare the D800 vs the D3S
Compare the D800 vs the D3X
Nikon D7000

Nikon D7000

Entry-level DSLR

$1,097 body only

$1,227 with 55-200mm lens
Movie format Records higher quality movies
Movie continuous focus Can focus continuously while recording movies
Sensor size Has a much smaller sensor
Shutter lag Has slightly more shutter lag
Compare the D7000 vs the D3S
Compare the D7000 vs the D3X
Canon EOS 5D Mark II

Canon EOS 5D Mark II

Pro DSLR

$2,400 body only

$2,799 - $2,839 with 24-105mm lens
Movie format Records higher quality movies
Size Is much smaller
Storage slots Has fewer storage slots
Viewfinder coverage Slightly less viewfinder coverage
Compare the EOS 5D Mark II vs the D3S
Compare the EOS 5D Mark II vs the D3X
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV

Canon EOS-1D Mark IV

Pro DSLR

$5,000 - $5,930 body only
Movie format Records higher quality movies
Shutter lag Has slightly less shutter lag
Sensor size Has a significantly smaller sensor
Battery life Has a much shorter battery life
Compare the EOS-1D Mark IV vs the D3S
Compare the EOS-1D Mark IV vs the D3X
Nikon D3

Nikon D3

Pro DSLR

$6,682 body only
Shutter lag Has slightly less shutter lag
Lowest price Is slightly more expensive
Movie format Doesn't record movies
Compare the D3 vs the D3S
Compare the D3 vs the D3X

Nikon D3S Competitors

Advantages

Disadvantages

No significant competitors found that are specific to the Nikon D3S.

Nikon D3X Competitors

Advantages

Disadvantages

No significant competitors found that are specific to the Nikon D3X.

appearance

Nikon D3S Nikon D3X
Nikon D3S Nikon D3X
Nikon D3S Nikon D3X

Find similar cameras

Here are some links to help you find other cameras with similar features to both of these:

discussion Which do you think is better?

Speech is free, but discussion at Snapsort is moderated! Please discuss your opinion of these cameras here, and discuss feedback for Snapsort at our support community.

Showing 3 comments

Sophomore (4:47 PM, December 29, 2011)
Um, do they both record video?
 
Avatar for Snapsort Snapsort (2:36 PM, March 16, 2011)
Looks like we missed a zero, we'll fix that up, thx
 
Avatar for tso_choche tso_choche (1:01 PM, March 16, 2011)
battery life for D3s is 4200 shots not 440! both models using the same EN-EL4a battery