Tough, comfortable in hand. Vertical release button, accepts nikon f mount lenses from multiple companies. Long battery life. Quick charger included with camera. Bright image viewer.

Only weakness is iso over 400 is grainy.

Best decision I ever made buying top end digital camera. Heavy duty solid body, controls, doors, attachments. Bright view finder, easy to read data, and picture previews load fast and are sharp. Purchased at cdw over a year ago for 2300.00 which included battery, charger, software, and full year warranty. Camera catches both raw and jpeg files, and has multiple card slots, CF amd sd-mmc. External flash shoe, built in flash maximum exposure 1/4000 sec to bulb.
Quick format of card, only takes a few seconds, with undelete feature. If you can't afford a new pro14n check ebay for used model. you won't regret it. Dennis

Customer Service

Customer service is quick in responding to any questions.

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Pentax 6x7 medium format camera. Quality equal.

14 million non-antialiased pixels. Extremely sharp and smooth images. Yields outstanding colour and tonality - provided you're prepared to process RAW files in Photoshop. Highly customizable via menu with useable built-in ‘looks’ ERI type JPEGs can be tagged – much like RAW files - with processing and EXIF data. Four JPEG file sizes possible and files are saveable in RAW and/or JPEG on either or both of two cards (Compact Flash and/or SD/MM) Built-in flash. Accepts a cable release as well as electronic release. A lot lighter than it looks. Looks the business and comes with a sexy leather handgrip strap and detachable contoured neck strap. These proclaim you as a 'Kodak Professional' - if that kind of thing floats your boat. Good support & service, though how long firmware support carries on is anyone’s guess. Reasonable price for the spec – especially if you snap up discontinued stock.

Noise above 160 – 200 ISO might be a problem but it’s mostly of the film grain type and can be processed out. Long exposures over 1 second need special menu setting to optimize file saves. Noise can build up and results may be unpredictable. Higher in-camera processing settings can affect quality. ‘Off ‘or lowest menu settings are best and then use software to get the result you’re after. My 60mm f2.8 (non-D) micro lens shows some colour drift across the frame. Can be corrected. My 50mm f1.4 (non-D) shows back element reflection on sensor. AF is not the latest all-singing, all-dancing version. Battery life could be better – carry one or two spares.

It’s sad that the folks at Kodak have stopped making digital SLRs. Sad because, especially in its later form as the ProSLR, they were starting to get things right and lest we forget, this is still the only Nikon mount digital SLR with a 35mm full frame sensor. I've had the Pro14n since it was launched in the UK in early 2003 and from day one I've shot RAW files only. At first, the Pro14n's pictures 'out of the box' had me worried. At anything over 80 ISO they were rather noisy, especially in the shadows, and many shots had a strange ‘plastic look’ where details, again, especially in the shadows, appeared to be over-smoothed. A result I realized, of over-aggressive noise reduction. Most of all though, whilst certainly extremely sharp, the results seemed to lack punch. However, after a bit of tinkering in Kodak PhotoDesk and of course, in Photoshop as well, things started to look a lot better. It took time to get there though and I still had a sneaking suspicion that all was not well. Rob Galbraith's dedicated forum soon told me why. The firmware was still 'not quite right' and Kodak was soon to release new (and free) updates. Now, and I can't recall how many free updates later, I have the latest version firmware and, thanks to the Photoshop CS Adobe RAW plug-in, I'm now able to process files faster and better than ever. I no longer use PhotoDesk. I'm still getting some film grain-like noise above 200 ISO but find that this is at least as much a function of the extended tonal range profile that Kodak chooses as it is of the CMOS sensor design and in-camera processing. It mostly affects shadows and tends to show up worse if you underexpose. Fortunately, a bit of black compression in the Photoshop RAW converter often gets rid of most of it and NeatImage from AB Soft mops up the rest (it's very good BTW). The later firmware ‘custom looks’ yield much punchier results and the tonal range is absolutely marvelous. I’m still not sure just how much in-camera processing RAW files actually receive. Maybe it's little or none, which would be great. However, even when shooting RAW, the latest firmware still allows you to switch off sharpening and also minimize noise reduction. This, I’d prefer to turn it off altogether and rely on selective post processing in software to achieve a believably noise-free result. Earlier problems with long exposures have been reasonably well-addressed in firmware, but another ‘characteristic’ – that of colour variation across the frame – I’ve found more problematic. Most of my Nikkor primes are free of this problem but my 60mm macro still shows a noticeable magenta to green drift from left to right - hardly noticeable on nature subjects but very obvious when shooting against a neutral background. None of the manual ‘lens optimization’ settings clears this fault and firmware upgrades have yielded no improvement I can detect. I understand that the ProSLR is not afflicted to the same degree. I’ve solved the problem which, for me, is confined to this one lens, by making a custom colour gradient modifier applied via a Photoshop action. My zooms – Nikkor & Sigma - look fine. The 50mm f1.4 shows a flare patch which I believe is caused by reflections bouncing back and forth beteen the sensor surface and the large rear element on this lens. The f1.8 looks OK. Colour fringing in the corners varies from lens to lens and is often absent. In any case, it’s easily corrected in the Photoshop RAW converter. The camera mechanics, as well as most of the control & exposure electronics, are based on the Nikon 80F (80N in US). It’s entirely serviceable and seems robust, but it’s not in the same league as the Nikon big guns. AF is a bit primitive by the latest standards but I almost always use manual focus (and exposure) so this is not a problem for me. The Kodak-designed magnesium alloy body feels a bit dumpy but since my hands are quite large, even with its permanently-fitted Arca-Swiss compatible L-plate from Really Right Stuff (the only one available for this model - see review) it’s OK by me. Oh yes;I’d like the rechargeable lithium-ion battery to last longer. Provided you’re prepared to work within its limitations and post-process out the image characteristics you’re unhappy with, the Kodak DCS Pro14n is capable of outstanding results. It’s designed for full-frame lenses, so film shooters will know what to expect from their wides. Images are phenomenally sharp and colour and tonality are as good as you want to make them. This is medium format quality from a 35mm SLR. If you’re into action or rapid fire photo-journalism, this is not for you. The Pro14n’s relatively sedate RAW file write speed and modest mechanics make this a camera for those who like to take their time. It’s a fine landscape, nature and portrait SLR and should be slick enough for general social photography as well. Go a little slower, give things a bit of care and attention and the results will astound.

Customer Service

Software and firmware support has been good so far - though how long his will continue is anyones's guess. Repair/service not yet required.

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Nikon D70 and D100 - DX2 briefly.

High resolution, full-frame and compatible with most (but not all) existing and older Nikkor lenses, good exposure latitude, works well with ACR (Adobe Camera Ready) when using RAW. Also functions perfectly with all Nikon accessories, flashes, adapters, etc. Has a "noiseless" ASA 6 long-exposure mode that can be very handy. The 14n was useless for IR, but the 14nx update works fine for this. My other digitals get little use since purchasing the 14n. A definite strength is Kodak's willingness to update the camera to address weaknesses found in service.

Relatively poor low-light performance, generally limited to ASA 400 and lower to avoid objectionable noise. Fairly slow in use (even with buffer update), but allowance needs to be made for the large image file created. 2Gb Compact Flash cards or 4 Gb drives are a must-have for this one, since shooting RAW is highly recommended.

Before buying the 14n I had read many reviews, almost all critcal of its noise and poor low-light capability--I couldn't believe that it could be all THAT bad. Sure enough, it was...but $1800 later and an update to the 14nx (with buffer upgrade) solved most of the problems, including the infamous color shift across the frame. It's a super resolver and allows a lot of cropping and post-processing--it also has loads of exposure latitude. I wanted a camera that would really deliver on WA performance, and the 14nx does, since I can use all my Nikkor collection full-frame. Build quality seems good, but it's not a camera to take out in a rainstorm (no hermetic seals). It makes an excellent studio camera because of its pleasing color rendition, high resolution and effective menu system. It would probably not be my first choice for outdoor use, or for weddings because of its speed limitations.

Customer Service

Update to 14nx performed, together with a cosmetic fix covered under warranty. Am now generally pleased with the performance of this camera.

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Kodak DCS 460, Nikon D100, Sony F828

Post-production software is simply the best. Full frame sensor with high resolution and compitable with Nikkor lenses - what else do you need?

Ghosting on very bright direct light/reflections. Noise can be a problem with poorly lit shots.

User friendly, easy to learn and use camera with excellent results. Getting better with every firmware upgrade.

Customer Service

So far so good.

Superb resolution to any size, and easy to use Photo Desk

Low light / noise / high iso. Bad noise lack of shadow detail.

A superb tool for pro work in controlled lighting, similar but different strengths and weaknesses to Canon 1Ds

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Canon 1Ds, Kodak 760