Any photographer worth his prime lens would have heard of the Nikon D3s. A full size, full frame, professional-grade body, the D3s is Nikons offering to professionals who don't quite need a very high megapixel output, but demand speed and do a lot of shooting in low, or less-than-ideal light. Pro bodies such as this one are definitely not for the tentative enthusiast. They weigh well over a kilogram, the D3s tips the scales at 1240 grams. Add one of the better Nikkor lens, and the weight of the package will exceed two kilograms. That's a lot of camera to lug around, although photographers would hope the inconvenience is offset by the image quality, functions and usability.

Look and Feel: A seriously professional body

Looking at the D3s face on, one cannot help be impressed at the sheer size of the camera. Those wanting sleek cameras will find the Nikon D3s to be a sumo-grade heavyweight, while pros will appreciate the heavy, solid lines and reassuring heft, and the substantial grip that makes even the D300s seem like a cheap toy. In fact, the sturdy magnesium-alloy frame has been given one of the chunkiest rubber grips your money can buy. As a result, the Nikon D3s is very comfortable to hold. Ones fingers do not have to bend, and at no point does hand-space feel insufficient. As one would expect with such a large grip, all the buttons are well spaced out, sufficiently to render them usable even if you are wearing gloves. Quite a bit of the surface is metal as well, and on the whole, the D3s looks and feels rugged enough to endure years of hard use with the elements - no doubt as Nikon intended.

The integrated vertical grip makes the Nikon D3s look even bigger, but in fact, if you add a battery grip to the Nikon D700, (that doesn't have an integrated vertical grip), it will become marginally higher than the D3s, and slightly heavier. The vertical grip is a must for professionals who need to take portrait-inclined shots without altering the camera position and having to tilt ones hands. Equally important, when paired with costlier and larger FX lenses, the D3s doesn't feel unbalanced. Lighter bodies tend to tip forward because of the disproportionately high weight of the lens. The rubber coating on the vertical grip is not as substantial as the one on the horizontal grip, but it is sufficient. The shutter release button has a nice positive feel, and the shutter makes a reassuring click. In comparison, the Nikon D300s has a very dead feel to it. The Nikon D7000, (read its full review here), and Canon EOS 7D, (click here to read its full review), are closer to the solid sound of the D3s' shutter.

In keeping with norms for such bodies, the Nikon D3s receives weather sealing in the form of dust and moisture resistant gaskets around buttons and controls, and of course the display. There are two status LCDs - the traditional one that is perched atop the camera, and the other one located below the main LCD. Nikon's control system is different from Canon, and will take getting used to by someone who hasn't handled a Nikon dSLR before, but if you're graduating from a Nikon D300s you will feel comfortable - although initially, you will have to adjust to controls having been moved around, as well as a few extra buttons. On the front of the camera, to the left, there are two extra buttons. Both of these can be configured to perform a range of functions including the virtual horizon function, which is useful for levelling a shot.

The ISO, White Balance and image quality settings are now neatly below the second status LCD, and this is quite intuitive to use once you get used to it. However, while changing the ISO settings, you can view the changes in either status LCD - which is needed. These LCDs have illumination, activated by flicking the power on switch further to the right. This illumination looks better than the Nikon D300s' system, where the LEDs are visible and brightness of the display is uneven.

To the front of the camera, just near the lens contains the switch for changing focus modes which are single servo, continuous, and manual focus. On the side of the viewfinder housing is the ring control for switching between metering modes - spot, expanded spot and 3D metering. There is a lock button set in the ring, to prevent accidental movement. The actual menu of the D3s is deep, and multi layered. It's mind boggling how many settings this camera has and we figure it will take some time to configure everything for your use. In fact, even people upgrading from a D300 will have a fair bit of learning to do, as the D3s has numerous options, and really, even pros will take some time to fine-tune everything to their requirements.

Click next to read about the features of the Nikon D3s