The Nikon E series, co-developed with

Fujifilm , trading as Fujifilm, or simply Fuji, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, operating in the realms of photography, optics, office and medical electronics, biotechnology, and chemicals. The offerings from the ...

,Fujix DS-565 (aka Nikon E3S)
/ref> are

autofocus An autofocus (or AF) optical system uses a sensor, a control system and a motor to focus on an automatically or manually selected point or area. An electronic rangefinder has a display instead of the motor; the adjustment of the optical system ...

1.3

megapixel In digital imaging, a pixel (abbreviated px), pel, or picture element is the smallest addressable element in a raster image, or the smallest point in an all points addressable display device. In most digital display devices, pixels are the sm ...

professional grade quasi- full frame ( 35mm)

Nikon F-mount The Nikon F-mount is a type of interchangeable lens mount developed by Nikon for its 35mm format single-lens reflex cameras. The F-mount was first introduced on the Nikon F camera in 1959, and features a three-lug bayonet mount with a 44mm thro ...

digital single lens reflex cameras (

DSLR A digital single-lens reflex camera (digital SLR or DSLR) is a digital camera that combines the optics and the mechanisms of a single-lens reflex camera with a digital imaging sensor. The reflex design scheme is the primary difference between a ...

) manufactured by

Nikon (, ; ), also known just as Nikon, is a Japanese multinational corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, specializing in optics and imaging products. The companies held by Nikon form the Nikon Group. Nikon's products include cameras, camera ...

since 1995. The E series included the ''Nikon E2/E2S'', ''Nikon E2N/E2NS'' and the ''Nikon E3/E3S''. The S-variants are identical except they had triple the frame rate and a larger buffer. Its unique optical system bundles the light of the full-frame lenses to the small 2/3 inch CCD sensor. That gives approximately 4 stops more light at the small sensor, therefore delivering an exceptional (for that time) minimum sensitivity of 800 and maximum 3200

ISO ISO is the most common abbreviation for the International Organization for Standardization. ISO or Iso may also refer to: Business and finance * Iso (supermarket), a chain of Danish supermarkets incorporated into the SuperBest chain in 2007 * Iso ...

, which remains usable for press and news use.

Technology

The Nikon E2/E2S and E2N/E2NS use a

Nikon F4 The Nikon F4 is a 35 mm autofocus (AF) single lens reflex (SLR) film camera, introduced in 1988 as the next generation in Nikon's line of F series professional cameras. With industrial design by Giorgetto Giugiaro, the F4 was the first pro ...

subsystem, the E3/E3S uses a Nikon F100 subsystem.

Optical system

The E series uses a unique additional optical system that enables the small sensor to capture the field of view of a 35mm film, with a

crop factor In digital photography, the crop factor, format factor, or focal length multiplier of an image sensor format is the ratio of the dimensions of a camera's imaging area compared to a reference format; most often, this term is applied to digital ca ...

of 1. This comes not at the expense of the

F-stop In optics, the f-number of an optical system such as a camera lens is the ratio of the system's focal length to the diameter of the entrance pupil ("clear aperture").Smith, Warren ''Modern Optical Engineering'', 4th Ed., 2007 McGraw-Hill ...

of the lenses, because the light is bundled to the inch CCD sensor with approximately 16 times smaller area. The result is approximately ''4 stops (2⁴ = 16) more light'' at the small sensor compared to a full-frame sensor. Therefore, the camera has a minimum full-frame sensitivity of

800 which is equivalent to ISO 50 at inch. As a result, the noise of the camera at ISO 800 full-frame is equivalent to ISO 50 of the inch CCD sensor. Nikon could not reduce sensitivity below 800 ISO full-frame, because the little sensor will be overexposed below 50 ISO. The exceptional high sensitivity up to 3200 ISO (equivalent 200 ISO, inch) can be seen as an advantage for indoor or

available light In photography and cinematography, available light (also called ambient light or practical light) refers to any ''available'' source of light that is not explicitly supplied by the photographer for the purpose of taking pictures. The term usu ...

photography and is important for professional press and sports use, the customer target area. Although the camera is small for a 90s DSLR, the additional optical system makes the camera deeper compared to today's DSLRs. Standard

lenses can be used.

Storage and replay

A PCMCIA compatible memory card is used. Images are digitally stored as uncompressed TIFF or compressed JPEG. It can be accessed via a SCSI connector. TV replay (NTSC or PAL) is possible.

Variants

History

Nikon gained knowledge on digital cameras ( still video cameras, with analog storage) by constructing the

Nikon Still Video Camera (, ; ), also known just as Nikon, is a Japanese multinational corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, specializing in optics and imaging products. The companies held by Nikon form the Nikon Group. Nikon's products include cameras, camera ...

(SVC) Model 1, a prototype which was first presented at

photokina 1986 Photokina (rendered in the promoters' branding as "photokina") is a trade fair held in Europe for the photographic and imaging industries. It is the world's largest such trade fair. The first Photokina was held in Cologne, Germany, in 1950, an ...

. The follower

Nikon QV-1000C (, ; ), also known just as Nikon, is a Japanese multinational corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, specializing in optics and Photography, imaging products. The companies held by Nikon form the Nikon Group. Nikon's products include cam ...

Still Video Camera was produced since 1988 mainly for professional press use. Both cameras used QV mount lenses, a variant of F-mount lenses. Via an adapter (QM-100) other Nikkor lenses can be fitted. The

Nikon NASA F4 The Nikon NASA F4 Electronic Still Camera was one of the first and rarest fully digital cameras with development started in 1987. While Nikon delivered a modified Nikon F4 body, most of the electronics for the digital camera and housings were d ...

was one of the first cameras with digital storage. Eastman Kodak used Nikon SLR's to design the Kodak DCS 100 and followers.

Nikon E2/E2S

This first variant was manufactured since 1995 and were also available as

Fujix DS-505 and DS-515.

Nikon E2N/E2NS

Announced 1996. Also available as

Fujix DS-505A and DS-515A.

Nikon E3/E3S

The ''Nikon E3'' and ''Nikon E3S'', co-developed with

and marketed also as the ''Fujix DS-560'' and ''Fujix DS-565'', are

1.3

professional grade quasi- full frame ( 35mm)

digital single lens reflex camera A digital single-lens reflex camera (digital SLR or DSLR) is a digital camera that combines the optics and the mechanisms of a single-lens reflex camera with a digital imaging sensor. The reflex design scheme is the primary difference between a ...

s (

) announced by the

Nikon Corporation (, ; ), also known just as Nikon, is a Japanese multinational corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, specializing in optics and imaging products. The companies held by Nikon form the Nikon Group. Nikon's products include cameras, cam ...

on 15 June 1998Professional digital cameras Nikon E3 / E3s Digital Camera Refinement Redefined
Nikon and released in December 1999. The E3S is identical to the E3 except triple frame rate and larger buffer. They are followers of the ''Nikon E2N/E2NS''. File:Nikon E2N CP+ 2011.jpg File:Nikon E3s IMG 2459.jpg File:Nikon E3s IMG 2462.jpg

References

{{Fujifilm DSLR cameras

E series E series may refer to: * BMC E-series engine, a series of automobile engines * Electronic E series of preferred numbers, a series of preferred values for electronic components such as resistors, capacitors, inductors, zener diodes * Entwicklung seri ...