The professional photographer's senses are finely attuned to capturing the critical shooting moment. In every aspect, the D3 delivers improved response that gives it the perfect timing required by this demanding level of concentration. One such area is the reduced shutter release time lag of approx. 37 milliseconds (CIPA standard is approx. 41 ms) that approaches physical limitations. Power to the image sensor is usually switched off to conserve energy but when the shutter button is pressed, the mirror immediately starts to flip up and the aperture is activated. The shutter then starts to move, but everything must take place in that briefest interval of time — sending power back to the image sensor and initializing settings such as ISO sensitivity and crop mode. The D3's electrical circuit DC-DC converter enables high-speed start-up and a shutter release time lag of approximately 37 milliseconds. And the D300 realizes a shutter release time lag of only 45 milliseconds (approximately).
To enable you to maintain a comfortable shooting rhythm, autofocus, autoexposure and image processing are all handled at the highest of speeds. The D3 and D300 employ a Scene Recognition System that increases coordination between autofocus and autoexposure to further increase the speed of these two functions through centralized control of processing, which was previously carried out by separate microprocessors. The D3 also uses a high-speed 12-channel output method, in contrast with the 4-channel output of the D2X. This high-speed readout would normally require more energy but by using a new LVDS (Low Voltage Differential Signaling) signal transmission circuit, the camera achieves both high-speed operation and energy conservation. The D300 uses LVDS as well. And on top of all this, the roles for the hardware, DSP and software have been optimized to achieve comprehensively higher-speed image processing and effectively realize trouble-free photography.
