Authentic Nikon SLR design: the most portable of the FX-format D-SLRs
On the outside, the Df has all the attributes of tradition and authenticity. For some, the camera body's smaller size and sharper angles may evoke the era of earlier Nikon film SLRs especially when paired with the newly designed AF-S NIKKOR 50mm f/1.8G (Special Edition) and its matching aesthetic. However, others will see this unique hybrid as a new creature in its own right. Hold it in your hands and relish the tactile satisfaction of a well-balanced D-SLR camera that is the smallest and lightest in the Nikon FX format. Now picture yourself concentrating more on shooting in a wider variety of places, for more hours, with less of the strain associated with large, heavy cameras. This is what the Df can do for you.
The quartet of true potential: NIKKOR, the FX-format CMOS image sensor, the EXPEED 3 image-processing engine, and Picture Control
Taken at ISO 3200, 1/400 second, f/8, handheld
© Takeshi Fukazawa
The Df's advantages are not merely skin-deep. When it comes to image quality, the Df incorporates a sophisticated FX-format image sensor with a large pixel pitch of 7.3 μm that is designed for optimum light-collecting efficiency and low noise, and the powerful EXPEED 3 image-processing engine, achieving exquisitely rich, high quality images. Paired with sharp and innovative NIKKOR lenses, the Df delivers images using 16.2 effective megapixels that are both stunningly versatile and easier to work with all around. By applying the Picture Control technology during image processing, the tones are smooth, the colors are rich and accurate, and each image has the depth you expect from the FX format. And, the Df's performance-proven image sensor and engine also work together to minimize noise throughout the wide ISO range. The Df offers a TIFF recording option for uncompressed files as well as RAW and JPEG. With sumptuous quality and a new level of FX-format portability, the Df opens up entirely new photographic opportunities.
The power to change your photography: flagship-quality images and ISO range in a more portable size
Exceptional versatility is where the Df's imaging potential excels. Regardless of the scene's volume of light, the Df is ready and will not let you down. In situations where light is scarce and a tripod is not available, the camera's superb high ISO performance allows you to use faster shutter speeds for handheld shooting and still produce clean, sharp, richly detailed and pleasingly saturated images with little noise. Moreover, when shooting with low ISOs under abundant or even harsh lighting with strong contrasts, the Df still delivers subtle tones, crisp edges and fine details in both highlight and shadow areas without narrowing the dynamic range. The camera's portability and capable management of diverse lighting situations can liberate photographers and spark their imagination, both within the camera's standard ISO range of 100 to 12800, or when further expanded to the equivalent of ISO 50 and ISO 204800.
ISO 100
ISO 800
ISO 3200
ISO 12800
Photographic flexibility: Picture Control System, Active D-Lighting and HDR
Your images will now appear as you imagined them with Nikon's original Picture Control System. The Df has six built-in options: Standard, Neutral, Vivid, Monochrome, Portrait, and Landscape. Select one to match your intention or the scene's conditions and render a unique yet natural photographic look. Each option further allows you to adjust parameters such as sharpening, contrast, and brightness. It is also possible to save the parameters of adjusted files as Custom Picture Controls so that you can return to the exact photographic style you desire whenever you like. When taking pictures of high-contrast subject matter, Active D-Lighting helps preserve details in both highlights and shadows while maintaining the image's natural photographic appearance. Exclusive to digital photography, HDR (High Dynamic Range) combines two images taken at different exposures within up to 3 EV differentials with one shutter release, to produce a single image that covers a wider dynamic range.
Note: Tripod use is recommended for HDR shooting.
Picture Control
Standard
Gives you standard, balanced images with no inconsistencies in the strength of the subject's sharpening, contrast, brightness, saturation and coloration. Before you know it, you'll be taking shots with vibrant colors that linger in the viewer's memory.
Neutral
Delivers images that are closest to the original scene. To reproduce the subject's unique colors and gradations with maximum authenticity, avoid extreme enhancements.
Vivid
For distinct, colorful, fresh-looking images with just the right emphasis on your subject's contrast and sharpening.
Monochrome
Gives you monochromatic shading, such as black-and-white or sepia.
Portrait
Imparts a more natural look to skin. Skin tones project a real sense of depth as if shot with professional-quality film with a clear, authentic finish.
Landscape
Rich gradations with an eye-catching appeal enhance the vibrancy and liveliness of landscapes, nature and even city street scenes.
Picture Control menu display
Picture Control parameters display
High
Extra high 2
HDR (High Dynamic Range)
Exposure differential: 3 EV
Exposure differential: 2 EV
Exposure differential: 1 EV
NIKKOR lenses: reliable image integrity and edge-to-edge sharpness
Every NIKKOR lens delivers superb optical performance, but the optical characteristics of each lens type can vary. The Df is designed to closely communicate with whatever NIKKOR lens is attached in order to maintain integrity and compensate for any possible imaging disparities. The camera's built-in lateral chromatic aberration reduction reduces image distortion and color fringes at the edges of the frame for images that are sharp from edge to edge. Instead of simply eliminating the colors of chromatic aberration, Nikon's method compensates for the differences in the resolving index for each color, giving you true image integrity. Moreover, because lateral chromatic aberrations are corrected regardless of lens type – whether telephoto, wide-angle, fisheye, non-CPU or other types of NIKKOR lenses – this feature contributes substantially to the sharper images that you demand. The Df also comes equipped with auto distortion control to compensate for barrel distortions caused by wide-angle lenses and pincushion distortions caused by telephoto lenses when G- or D-type lenses are used*1. Vignette control reduces the drop in brightness at the edges caused by some lenses*2.
- *1PC, fisheye, and certain other lenses excluded.
- *2DX and PC lenses excluded.
Vignette control: Off
Vignette control: High
Information and pictures are from Nikon Website!