[6] The D1X offered higher resolution with a 2,000 x 1,312 - 5.3 effective megapixels sensor (3,008 x 1,960 interpolated image output, and continuous shooting of 3 frames per second for up to 21 consecutive shots.

This in turn was connected to a power supply and image processing and storage unit that is either carried separately or attached to the base of the camera body.

While these cameras offer the convenience of digital imaging to normal photographers, their appeal was limited by huge price-tags and issues with sensor size, resolution, and performance in comparison to film.

Nikon therefore stood to gain a significant market advantage if they could manage to offer a digital camera that had been designed from the ground up.

Price was just one of the hurdles encountered; engineers also had to consider how to design and mass-produce a high-resolution and high-sensitivity sensor that could be powered by batteries and sustain a continuous frame-rate suitable for journalistic use.

This allowed multiple photosites to be grouped together into units that formed the final pixels in the image, contributing to the sensor's high sensitivity and excellent signal-to-noise ratio.