# The Nikon D4 in 2026 ~ Photos & Thoughts

*November 22, 2025 — Kasper Bergholt*

In June 2023, I got a cheap[*Nikon D3*](<https://bergholt.net/nikon>)to document a series of relatively rare vacuum tubes (starting with the 6CS7 family) for the Swiss*Radiomuseum*and Wikipedia.

The project reignited my interest in visual art, leading to a number of photo series—perhaps a few too many (see an overview here).

In December, I treated myself to an early Christmas present: a Nikon D4.

Below are my first three shots with the Nikon D4, which I bought used on MPB with a shutter count of just under 190,000.

One is from Enghaveparken in Vesterbro, Copenhagen, Denmark, which was shrouded in fog on an early evening.

The last photo, so far, is of a Russian 5U3C rectifier tube produced by Svetlana in 1976 for use in a preamplifier project, and the same tube mounted in the preamplifier.

---

## Enghaveparken at Night

![](<https://bergholt.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/original-black-white-1024x682.jpg>)

*Night shot from Enghaveparken, Copenhagen – current header image[*on my about page*](<https://bergholt.net/about>).*

## Black | ICE | 1982

![Interpretation of William 'Gibsonian' Black ICE / bitcoin poetry illustration.](<https://bergholt.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/chrome1-683x1024.jpg>)

*Reverse ekphrasis on William ‘Gibsonian’ Black ICE 1982. Source:[System Poetry: Gibson, Wordsworth, Shakespeare (3 x Williams)](<https://bergholt.net/poetry>). ICE stands for Intrusion Countermeasures Electronics, in addition to the metaphorical glacial connotations. ICE was First used in William Gibson’s short story ‘Burning Chrome’.*

## Flora Excursoria Hafniensis 18338

[![First edition from 1838 of 'Flora Excursoria Hafniensis' by Danish botanit Salomon Thomas Nicolai Drejer.](<https://bergholt.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/flora-excursoria-hafniensis-1838-nikon-d4-1024x553.jpg>)](<https://bergholt.net/flax>)

*[*1838 edition of ‘Flora Excursoria Hafniensis’*](<https://bergholt.net/flora>)Danish botanist Salomon Thomas Nicolai Drejer. Placed on vintage French hemp cloth made from flax fibre.*

## Kondo Audio Note KSL-M7 Clone

![Back-lit 5U3C rectifier tube in the centre of the photo, two General Electric 12AT6 driver tubes to the right, and the preamplifiers transformer to the left.](<https://bergholt.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/svetlana-5u3c-rectifier-tube-aliexpress-kondo-audio-note-clone-3-1024x717.jpg>)

*Back-lit 5U3C rectifier tube in the center of the photo, two General Electric 12AT7 driver tubes to the right, and the transformers of a[*Sunbuck KSL-M7 amplifier*](<https://bergholt.net/clone>)to the left.*

## From the Nikon D4 to a range of compact cameras

Around May 2025 I got more interested in CCD-based compact cameras, inspired by the great results I got with the[*Pentax K10D*](<https://bergholt.net/10d>). So I sold the Nikon D4, but kept the Nikon D3.

This led to experiments with the following compact cameras during the summer: Pentax Optio P70, Casio Exilim EZ-1000, Olympus SP-350 and, the latest, a Nikon Coolpix P50.

## Nikon Coolpix P50 Photos & Specifications

I’m not sure I’ll make separate pages for photos taken iwth the Pentax Optio P70, Pentax H90, Casio Exilim EZ-1000, Olympus SP-350 and, the latest, a Nikon Coolpix P50 compact cameras, presumably not.

But here’s one taken with the Nikon Coolpix P50 – the subject is another vintage camera, the Nikon D1X.

## Archive Fever Reverse Ekphrasis

![](<https://bergholt.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/archive-fever-montage-620x1024.jpg>)

*Nikon Coolpix P50 photo tiltled ‘Jacques Derrida – Archive Fever’ – the motif is a section of a vintage-vintage Nikon D1X DSLR. Also see:[*Jacques Derrida’s exegesis of the line ‘The Time is Out of Joint’*](<https://bergholt.net/time>)from Shakespeare’s Hamlet.*

## Nikon Coolpix P50 Specs

**Resolution:**8.1 megapixels (effective)
**Sensor type:**1/2.5-inch CCD
**Lens:**3.6× optical zoom, equivalent to 28–102 mm (35 mm format)
**Aperture range:**f/2.8 – f/5.6
**ISO range:**ISO 64 – 2000 (Auto and manual settings)
**Image stabilization:**Electronic Vibration Reduction (VR)
**Viewfinder:**Optical viewfinder
**Display:**2.4-inch LCD with approx. 115,000 pixels
**Focus:**Contrast-detect AF with center and multi-area modes
**Exposure modes:**Program AE, Aperture Priority AE, Manual exposure compensation
**Shutter speed range:**4 – 1/1500 s
**White balance:**Auto and 5 manual presets
**File format:**JPEG (Exif 2.2 compliant)
**Video:**640 × 480 px at 30 fps (with mono sound)
**Storage:**SD/SDHC card (and internal memory)
**Power source:**2 × AA batteries (alkaline, lithium, or NiMH)
**Dimensions:**94.5 × 66 × 44 mm
**Weight:**Approx. 160 g (without batteries or memory card)

## The Nikon D4 versus The Nikon Coolpix P50

The Nikon D4 weighs around 1,300 grams, and my go-to lens for it, the Zeiss 50mm f/2 Macro, adds roughly 500 grams.

That makes the Coolpix P50 about twelve times lighter, a great always-in-the-pocket camera that delivers excellent images in well-lit conditions.

I also appreciate the color tonality of its sensor, and 8 megapixels are more than sufficient for many of my projects.