Nikon today launched its long-anticipated D3X as its new flagship digital SLR. As slipped by the company ahead of time, the new pro camera roughly doubles the sensor density to 24.5 megapixels and produces a native 6048x4032 picture -- enough to rival a medium-format camera in a handheld format, the company claims. The camera also adds 16-bit color processing for further image accuracy improvements over the 14-bit D3.

The increased resolution slows down the continuous shooting frame rate from nine to five frames per second and also impedes light sensitivity due to the density of the sensor, reducing the typical operating range from ISO 100 to 3,200; the maximum range extends as low as ISO 50 and as high as ISO 6,400. Nikon all the same claims a particularly fast DSLR with shooting readiness coming just 0.12 seconds after a cold start and the shutter releasing in 0.04 seconds. Dual UDMA-supporting CompactFlash slots let the D3X maintain a large capacity without sacrificing speed.

The 51 focusing points, hardware controls, metering and three-inch 920,000-pixel preview LCD translate intact from the original D3, as do other performance traits.

Nikon plans to sell the D3X for (close your eyes now) $7,995 in body-only form.