Preview

Kodak DCS Pro SLR/n: a first look

Lori Grunin CNET

Published: 04 Mar 2004

With its 14-megapixel CMOS sensor, this successor to the Pro 14n retains the title for the highest resolution in the professional digital SLR market (not counting digital medium-format backs, of course). The Kodak DCS Pro SLR/n's newly designed 35mm-size sensor and improved low-light performance promise to make it as capable in the field as the 14n is in the studio.

With the overhaul of its sensor, the Kodak DCS Pro SLR/n now incorporates several enhancements, including new on-chip filters and some novel technology for reducing noise in long-exposure shots. Kodak has also changed the layout of the pixels on the sensor to achieve a higher level of light sensitivity with the same photodiode area as on the previous version. This should address one of our main complaints with the 14n, namely noisy high-ISO images.

We'll have to wait and see how the camera fares vis-à-vis our other complaint: long start-up and calibration delays. Kodak claims it has cut both times, but the DCS Pro SLR/n's internal thermostat still automatically recalibrates with every five-degree shift in temperature -- which must impose some performance overhead.

Thanks to Nikon's absence in the high-resolution professional market, the Kodak DCS Pro SLR/n won't have any Nikon-mount-compatible competition when it ships; the only real alternative might be the as-yet-unpriced Fujifilm FinePix S3 Pro, which may not be 'pro' enough for some. For those shopping at the £3,000 mark and willing to start a new lens collection, the Canon EOS 1D Mark II, a model with lower (8.2 megapixel) resolution but a great lineage, will be a formidable opponent.