Used Nikon D4s

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farwest

farwest

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Wondering about buying a used Nikon D4s vs buying a newer Nikon such as the Nikon Z6 II or Nikon D850. How does the D4s stack up against the autofocus on the newer Nikon's?
 
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Three completely different animals.
A low-rez D4s, a high-rez D850 and a mirrorless medium-rez Z6II.
What do you like to shoot? Which lenses do you (plan to) use, can you fill the frame? Or can’t you? Will it be your sole camera or do you use other cameras together with one of these?

Nonetheless..
The D4s is older but since it was once the flagship FX pro offering it still holds its ground, (it is also Nikon’s first offering with group-AF, which is a very powerfull addition to AF for acquisition and tracking)

Nonetheless it’s a 51 point AF system so it hasn’t the same coverage like the more modern D850 or the new Z6II.
(Coverage is not the same like performance)
I’d rank these three cameras for fast acquisition and tracking capability.
D850
D4s
Z6II (with current FW that is, things might change!)
 
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Yes you are right about totally different camera's. Well the thing is I cover lots of different shooting. I shoot high school sports in dark gym's but that is getting better as some have changed to LED lighting. High School football fields are notorious for cycle lighting and dark. I started out shooting a Nikon D90 then went to the D4 which was a game changer. The D4 is getting high on clicks so I bought a D500 which doesn't handle low light near as well as the D4. I picked up a D850 which I love for landscape and also sports as I feel it does a better job of acquiring focus with the group focus then the D4. It would be easier if I was just doing one thing. One thing I have been frustrated with the D4 and sometimes the D850 is when the focus is not dead on. I have fine tune all my lenses but it is crazy when focus is a little to the front or back. I have a friend that wasn't invested in the Nikon system near as deep as I am and sold it all and picked up a Sony A9 II and a couple of lenses and loves it after spending 20,000 $ (Yikes). So I thought I'd find out what is working for others out here. Thanks for your thoughts it is appreciated.
 
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Have you thought about a D5? i was in the same situation as you!
I mainly shoot wildlife and a lot of it is in lowlight (small BIF in woodland settings) i was using a D500 and always struggled with it in lowlight so started to look around for a 2nd body looked at theD4, D4s, 850 and Z6 but eventually purchased a low shutter count D5 and coupled with my 500pf im blown away with the images and how brilliant they are in really low light!
Im waiting for the long term reviews to come in on the Z6ii and will probably px my D500 for one, and then i believe with the 2 cameras they will fulfil all my photography needs!
Good luck with your decisions! (always an exciting time looking for new gear)
 
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With Nikon's sensors, as we all know the D5 and D6 lead the pack for lowlight performance; the noise suppression in this 20mp sensor is closely trailed by that in the Z6 / D780, then D4/D4s > D850 >D500. (You can compare sensor variables on Bill Claff's site). The colours are more subject but all Nikon's deliver excellence quality. Rendering of the D4 sensor is superb, and this is the main reason I bought a Used Df for wildlife in challenging lowlight etc, and in fact the D850 cannot match it at 6400 IMHO.

The more advanced menus and AF systems in the single digit D* are the biggest differences, although D850 and D500 are not far behind the D5. The few sports photographers who've been fortunate. Obviously the higher fps can be as critical to grab the moment for action ie 14/12/11 vs >10. The ILC market is circling back to the film days, . The AFand other features pulled apart the cameras that otherwise all did the same job shooting Velvia or Kodachrome. The sensor is fixed in one's camera, but IQ differences between the 24/45 mp categories have levelled off. On Menus/Haptics, I rank them: D6 >>> D5 > D850/D500 >>>>>>> D4s >>>>>>>>>>>> D780/Zeds trail far in the rear (lack of custom options handicap these cameras for action-shooting)

Among many values of the articles on PL, they often compare Nikon's seemingly similar cameras: https://photographylife.com/nikon-d5-vs-d4s

If you can afford it, I agree a Used D5 makes sound sense for sports shooting in lowlight. Grays, London, list couple @ ~ £3120
 
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luckmurph said:
Have you thought about a D5? i was in the same situation as you!
I mainly shoot wildlife and a lot of it is in lowlight (small BIF in woodland settings) i was using a D500 and always struggled with it in lowlight so started to look around for a 2nd body looked at theD4, D4s, 850 and Z6 but eventually purchased a low shutter count D5 and coupled with my 500pf im blown away with the images and how brilliant they are in really low light!
Im waiting for the long term reviews to come in on the Z6ii and will probably px my D500 for one, and then i believe with the 2 cameras they will fulfil all my photography needs!
Good luck with your decisions! (always an exciting time looking for new gear)
Click to expand...
Just did the exact same...LOVE the combo!
 
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luckmurph said:
Have you thought about a D5? i was in the same situation as you!
I mainly shoot wildlife and a lot of it is in lowlight (small BIF in woodland settings) i was using a D500 and always struggled with it in lowlight so started to look around for a 2nd body looked at theD4, D4s, 850 and Z6 but eventually purchased a low shutter count D5 and coupled with my 500pf im blown away with the images and how brilliant they are in really low light!
Im waiting for the long term reviews to come in on the Z6ii and will probably px my D500 for one, and then i believe with the 2 cameras they will fulfil all my photography needs!
Good luck with your decisions! (always an exciting time looking for new gear)
Click to expand...
Ditto on what Luckmurph said. I have the D850 and had a D4s. I kept the D850 and use it now mostly for landscape, portraits and as my backup for wildlife. I traded in the D4s for a very low shutter count demo D5 that I've coupled with the 500PF (and sometimes the 1.4 TC) and I have to say the D5 beats the D4s hands down. More pixels and excellent in low light. I don't think you can beat the critical sharpness and bokeh that combination provides. The cameras you mention are all very different. If your interest is wildlife I'd go for the D5. Reports I've read, to include Steve's, suggest the AF in the mirrorless is not yet up to speed. The D5 in my experience handles low light very well and certainly better than the 850. Additionally, on the D4s you cannot assign single point auto focus and dynamic autofocus on the Fn and PV buttons like you can on the D5 and D850, which gives you tremendous flexibility in selecting the autofocus mode best suited to a particular shot. That for me was a big consideration in dumping the D4s because I wanted both cameras to be set up the same. Nothing like hitting the wrong button at the right time and missing a winner.
 
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