To ensure rich tonal gradations — a defining factor in photography — Nikon has employed 16-bit image processing. Transmitted via 12 channels, the D3’s analog signal maintains a high signal-to-noise ratio and wide dynamic range following 14-bit A/D conversion in front of the image-processing engine. Although the D3’s image-processing engine handles all processing in 16 bits, as the bit number increases, simulation at the development stage becomes increasingly complicated and requires greater effort. The payoff, however, is that a larger number of bits at later processing stages increases the tonal gradations that fundamentally define photographic quality. Gradations from black to white dramatically enhance image smoothness. And tonal gradations toward white are particularly significant, providing unprecedented photographic expression with abundant detail and the most subtle of tone jumps. Even the color transition just prior to washed-out white, highly conspicuous in lesser cameras, has improved dramatically. And thanks to major advances in hue control, the D3 is able to precisely distinguish and reproduce the differences between colors conventionally considered difficult, such as reds and skin tones, blues and purples, foliage greens and yellows.
Photographers will benefit from a newfound freedom to express the subtle colors they desire — a comprehensive treatment of essential photographic elements that Nikon has achieved without cutting corners. It’s a major accumulation of fundamental advantages, giving Nikon a momentous new level of color reproduction capability.
