NASA Orders Nikon D3S DSLRs and Lenses for International Space Station
NASA Space Pictures
Nikon D3S going to shoot NASA space pictures
Melville, NY—Nikon Corp.’s president, Michio Kariya, announced that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has placed an order for 11 D3S digital SLRs and seven AF-S Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8G ED lenses to be used for photographic documentation.
The D3S DSLRs and the ultra-wide-angle lenses ordered by NASA will be carried on the Space Shuttle and used to photograph activities at the International Space Station (ISS). No special modifications will be made to these products; they will be the same products available to consumers. This equipment will be used along with the Nikon D2XS DSLRs, Nikkor lenses and Nikon Speedlights already in use at the ISS.
To date, NASA has captured more than 700,000 images using Nikon equipment in space. Space, however, is not the only extreme environment in which Nikon equipment is used. Nikon also provides official observation equipment used in exploring the Arctic.
The D3S was released in November 2009 as the flagship model for Nikon FX-format digital SLRs. This camera is equipped with a new CMOS sensor (36.0 × 23.9 mm) developed by Nikon and supports standard ISO sensitivity settings of 200 to 12,800. Sensitivity can also be set as high as Hi 3 (ISO 102,400 equivalent) or as low as Lo 1 (ISO 100 equivalent). Image-degrading noise has been minimized to enable shooting at high sensitivities under extremely dim lighting. In addition, the D3S has a D-movie function, enabling HD video capture, and includes high-sensitivity movie mode and movie editing functions.