Nikon Df First Impressions Review
November 2013 | By Barney Britton Preview based on a pre-production Nikon Df

After being leaked almost as thoroughly as the NSA’s surveillance programs (right?), the Nikon Df is now officially here. In case you’ve been living under a rock for the past few days, the Df is a 16MP, full-frame DSLR with the sensor and processing guts of the company’s flagship D4, and an AF system borrowed from the D610, all packaged up inside a body inspired by a much earlier generation of film cameras. In fact, from the front the Df looks like an oversized Nikon FM (and not dissimilar to Canon’s F1N).

For those of us raised on film SLRs the effect is rather intriguing. We understand that the Df has been at least four years in the making, and the glee of its creators is almost palpable in the many specific design cues obviously taken from earlier SLRs including the FM/2 and the long-lived professional-targeted Nikon F3.

Nikon Df key features

16 megapixel full-frame CMOS sensor (same as D4)

ISO 100-25,600 (expandable to ISO 50 – 204,800 equiv)

Maximum 5.5 fps continuous shooting

39-point AF system with 9 cross-type AF points (same as D610)

3.2-inch, 921k-dot LCD screen

Physical shutter speed, ISO and exposure compensation dials

Compatible with virtually all Nikon F-mount lenses (including pre-Ai standard)

Single SD card slot

EN-EL14a battery (quoted endurance of ~1400 exposures)

According to Nikon, the ‘F’ in Df stands for ‘fusion’ – specifically, fusion of the old and the new. We know all about the old: the ‘retro’ styling – after all, the Df was widely leaked before its announcement and Nikon has been teasing it to death since the Photo Plus Expo show last month. Which leaves us with the ‘D’.

The ‘D’ is of course for ‘Digital’. The Nikon Df boasts a full-frame sensor, 39-point AF system and a maximum shooting rate of 5.5 fps. The LCD on the rear of the camera is a 3.2″, 921k-dot display and, despite its ‘fully manual’ pretensions, the Df boasts front and rear control dials alongside the dedicated physical dials on the top-plate. It’s a thoroughly modern DSLR in fact, but with one major difference.

via Nikon Df First Impressions Review: Digital Photography Review.