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While the D5 is a great camera it's ~10 years old. Wonder why they didn't go for the Z9 which is its modern mirrorless equivalent.

• reactordev 6mo ago
  Government budgets man…
• zimpenfish 6mo ago
  > Wonder why they didn't go for the Z9 which is its modern mirrorless equivalent. From [0], "The D5 was chosen for its radiation resistance, extreme ISO range (up to 3,280,000), and proven reliability in space." ( [0] https://www.photoworkout.com/artemis-ii-nikon-d5-moon/ https://www.photoworkout.com/artemis-ii-nikon-d5-moon/
• loloquwowndueo 6mo ago
  Zero point in measuring camera sizes (or other sizes haha) when JWST is floating there.
• jimbosis 6mo ago
  "The Nikon D5 remains the camera of choice for the Artemis II mission and will be assigned primary photographic duties. It is a proven, highly-tested camera that the Artemis II team knows will excel in the high-radiation environment of space. However, as Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman explained ahead of yesterday’s launch, he successfully fought to have a single Nikon Z9 added to Artemis II’s manifest." https://petapixel.com/2026/04/02/a-nikon-z9-made-it-aboard-the-artemis-ii-moon-mission-at-the-last-minute/ https://petapixel.com/2026/04/02/a-nikon-z9-made-it-aboard-t... There are more interesting details in the PetaPixel article, such as: "'That’s the camera that they’ll be using, the crew will be using on Artemis III plus, so we were fighting really hard to get that on the vehicle to test out in a high-radiation environment in deep space,' Wiseman said." H/t to "SiliconEagle73" who linked to that PetaPixel article in the thread linked below. https://old.reddit.com/r/nasa/comments/1sbfevm/new_high_resolution_image_of_the_earth_taken_by/ https://old.reddit.com/r/nasa/comments/1sbfevm/new_high_reso...
• porphyra 6mo ago
  They did bring the Z9: https://petapixel.com/2026/04/02/a-nikon-z9-made-it-aboard-the-artemis-ii-moon-mission-at-the-last-minute/ https://petapixel.com/2026/04/02/a-nikon-z9-made-it-aboard-t... But yeah the grainy photo of the Earth with the D5 at ISO 51200 shows the shortcomings of the ancient DSLR. Still, great shot.
  • hypercube33 6mo ago
    I'd argue the D4s and D5 may be some of the best high ISO cameras I'm aware of maybe surpassed by that one canon video camera that can seemingly see in the dark (sorry I'm mobile) and the D3s. I think the lower numbers produce nicer looking max ISO noise but that's all preference. Sony has the A7s as well but as with some of these the overall resolution isn't extreme.
  • jeffreygoesto 6mo ago
    How does the age of the camera influence physics? The only thing that really helps would be increasing the aperture.
    • pants2 6mo ago
      Lower noise sensors and better image stabilization for longer exposures
    • porphyra 6mo ago
      Newer backside illuminated sensors have better quantum efficiency and are sensitive to a greater fraction of the light hitting the sensor thanks to the lack of electronics physically blocking the photosites. Not to mention advances in read noise and other stuff (less relevant for high end CMOS sensors for short exposures, which are shot noise dominated, but still).
• apitman 6mo ago
  It might be the newest thing on the ship.
• miladyincontrol 6mo ago
  From what I recall reading its more or less, "we have established and validated processes for using the D5." Its less about getting the best possible photo, more about making sure what they do take looks fine and doesnt waste a ton of time.
• ericcumbee 6mo ago
  The D5 has flight heritage to use the industry term.