Seven months later, the Nikon D3s is still a unicorn
By Chris Ziegler 
posted May 26th 2010 6:54PM
posted May 26th 2010 6:54PM
It's not at all unusual for new flagship DSLRs from Nikon and Canon to be backordered to the extreme (in fact, it's the norm), but the D3s' situation is pretty unprecedented -- and there's no letup in sight. We spoke to J&R this past weekend about the tight inventory and we were told that they receive maybe "one or two" D3s bodies every couple of weeks, but not on a regular schedule; they just get them when they get them, and naturally, they're sold out by the time the boxes roll into the store. Folks browsing J&R's website don't even stand a chance.
So, what's the story? Is there a manufacturing problem that Nikon is trying to correct? Is the camera's full-frame sensor being produced at insanely low yields? It'd one thing for demand to outstrip supply, but in this case, they're not even in the same league. It seems like there could be something afoot here, but a company spokesperson has told us this week that there's nothing more to blame than extraordinary demand, seeing how a single factory produces units for the entire world. Fair enough, Nikon -- but considering the rate at which DSLRs obsolesce, it's totally reasonable to think we'll see a D4 before supply catches up.
How do you hide ALT articles from the main page?
@JeremyBenthem
http://www.engadget.com/exclude/alt
Seems to work.
@JeremyBenthem On the same lines, why does Alt get to be displayed yet articles from HD or Mobile can't be featured in the same way?
It gets annoying having to go to HD/Mobile/etc ever since Engadget/AOL (err, Aol.)'s done this stupid mash-up of all the sites into this craptastic new layout.
@JeremyBenthem Well they are easy to find in Germany they cost only about $4,800 give or take exchange rates
@dragonfli
they do, all the time...
Have Circuit City and Ritz payed back the 50 million they owed Nikon? That could be a good reason why... Not having manufacturing $$ and low confidence in retailers.
it's like the Gran Turismo 5 of DSLR's
I own a D3S and got one of the very first ones that came out. I am a NPS member so I was on the priority list to get this first. I know the pro store where I shop has none of these in stock, they have a hard time getting them in. The same thing holds true for some new pro glass, it is very hard to get them into stock. This is more of an issue in the larger glass IE 300 2.8 and up.
In terms of Ritz paying back there money, they do not have to. They filed for bankruptcy protection and received it. Than something funny happened David Ritz bought the company back from bankruptcy. So he bankrupted the company than bought it back and a huge huge savings. How does that make any sense?
Jared Polin
www.JaredPolin.com
FroKnowsPhoto.com
What's that? I couldn't hear this article over the sound of how awesome my T2i is.
*ducks*
@mullingit0ver I'm seriously considering selling the ipad when I get the EVO and using that money to buy a T2i.
@mullingit0ver The T2i isn't even in the same league as the D3s so go away canon boy.
@RyanTV Good point, the D3s still can't shoot h.264 video so they're not really in the same league.
@mullingit0ver Are you really that dumb to think they compare? I hope you are trolling because stupidity like that is painful to see and I don't think it belongs around here.
@deepfriedpirate lol of course not, the T2i has a much better LCD. From what I understand the D3s is just Nikon's entry level camera.
@mullingit0ver
RAAAAAAAAAGEEE.. oh wait... I almost got trolled.
@mullingit0ver Yes, Nikon has entry-level cameras priced at more than $5,000. It's not like they're competing with another company offering entry-levels at $500 or anything.
@dotCARBON You don't buy a $5,000 pro DSLR for it's video functionality. You buy it because it can shoot with almost no noise in the dark. People that have big bank to spend on photography gear are... wait for it.... looking to take amazing pictures. Video is a side show.
@RyanTV Say what? Video? I didnt say anything about video. I'm well aware of why you'd want that; I have crazy photographer dreams about it.
@mullingit0ver Ha, I guess Nikon guys can't take a joke?
@Atkins
Yeah, I don't know why he got downranked. It was pretty obvious he was joking.
http://www.adencamera.com/prod-overview.asp?ProdID=2051
i found one here in toronto
@arsenal27 I bestow Kudos upon you squire, for your most splendid find.
@arsenal27 Vistek has some in stock in Toronto too. Looks like us Canucks are getting all the luck, or... . just aren't willing to drop the $5k on one. Whichever...
http://www.vistek.ca/store/DigitalSLRs/246545/nikon-d3s-body.aspx
The Canon EOS 5D Mark II were also bloody impossible to obtain the first 7 months. Definitely demand is speaking volumes here ;)
Technically the D3s doesn't feature a full frame sensor (36 x 24mm vs 36 x 23,9 mm).
@Andr I'm at a bit of a struggle here. For what reason would people downrank the above post?
First I've heard of this, so I checked the Japanese store I usually buy stuff from. There's one used D3s for 498,000 yen, and for the new ones you have to put yourself on a waiting list due to limited availability.
So it's not like this is just a US issue.
Welcome to the world of Nikon - they have yet to even hint at a successor to the D700, D300s, or D3s
@Crazy Goat so what they haven't talked about a successor? Canon doesn't either. pro cameras like the Dxxx series get replaced very two years so we aren't due for a D400 for about a year or so. Dx cameras get replaced every three years so we aren't due for a new one of those for another two years!
So only virgins can get close to it? Didn't realize tech was so picky these days.
You actually read the comments section...
http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/26/seven-months-later-the-nikon-d3s-is-still-a-unicorn/comments/28224465/
While Amazon shows none in stock, I've ordered one from them, and received an email that same day stating that they actually did have something in stock.
A month later, the unit died and I returned it for a refund. I then purchased another from amazon under the same conditions... stated out of stock, yet got an email that it was in fact IN stock.
My guess is for an item as pricey as this, and an item that could any day be obsolete by a newer model, Amazon and those other companies just don't keep a large amount of cameras for sale.
funny... i went unicorn hunting yesterday
I got my D3s after a 2 month wait. I been ver please with it.
The down side is canon has a better secret sause for video.
Here are some of my sample photos.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dontbecreepy/sets/72157624008040334/
@dontbecreepy Agreed. Canon has stellar video capabilities, but they have fallen behind in sensor quality and need to step up to the plate. Nikon has been quietly making sensors that are out of this world.
http://www.cameracanada.com/eNet-cart/product.asp?pid=17035&cat=
Found one in 10 seconds.
Top notch reporting.
@Matt08642
Top notch reading comprehension. First sentence said "find a US model".
@userid Yes, Cameracanada ships to the United States. If one really wanted a D3s, they would look at more than a few sites, don't you think?
@Matt08642: It doesn't matter if it ships to the US. The point is, you don't get a warranty when you buy from Canada. That's pretty important with a $5000 piece of gear.
Amazon has it for sale right now (5/26/10) for $5,199
The Nikon D3 and D3s have perhaps the best sensors out of all DSLRs. The sheer quality of their high ISO images are enough to put them in a class of their own. I own a Canon 7D and love it, but I am always drooling over the ISO6400 and higher images from the D3. Although Canon does have a good thing going for it: the most advanced focusing system on the market (in the 7D) and 1080p video.
I preordered one last fall and had it in hand before Christmas. I put myself on 3 or 4 wait lists and then canceled the others once someone came through. I don't think I waited more than a month or so, it wasn't that long.
If you can afford this camera, not having a manufactures warranty is not an issue (unless you buy a Nikoon). If it does break down, most of the time it happens out of warranty.
This is a bigger problem for Nikon right now than just the D3s. Quite a few of their pro lenses are in limited supply as well. It seems that they underestimated demand, or perhaps overestimated the economic downturn, and are having a hard time catching up.
By the way, this was meant to be a reply to the article in general. Not sure how it got attached to your post, daytripper.
The Canon EOS 7D is in most aspects a better camera and thousands less.
@Asongo
Actually, the 7D is only better in two aspects, resolution in good light and video.
@Asongo
You sir are delusional! The 7D doesn't even compare. It has a cropped sensor, and inferior build quality in addition to many other things such as a shutter that is rated to last twice as long (300,000 vs 150,000). Don't be misled by the megapixel count, the D3s is one of the most amazing PRO cameras on the market, with unparalleled high ISO performance. Try taking clean pictures at ISO 25,600 with your CONSUMER level 7D.
Try doing a little research on the topic before you post very uniformed comments.
@Asongo
That was a pretty stupid thing to say.
No DSLR, not one, comes close to the low-light performance of the D3s at this point. If you're a theatre, sports, or press shooter, it's a pretty easy choice.
@dmgabe
Yeah I should have specified for the PRICE taking everything into account sorry. D3 hard to beat in low level light performance.
@Asongo Ummm, NO.
http://dxomark.com/index.php/eng/Image-Quality-Database/Compare-cameras/%28appareil1%29/305|0/%28appareil2%29/341|0/%28onglet%29/0/%28brand%29/Canon/%28brand2%29/Nikon