Nikon has announced the D810A, a variant of its 36-megapixel D810 DSLR that's designed to shoot the stars. It has a special optical filter that quadruples the transmission of Hydrogen Alpha light, allowing the camera to capture images of red celestial objects like the Horsehead Nebula. Cameras like this have been around before, like Canon's 60Da from 2012, but the D810A is the first full-frame DSLR to be designed exclusively for astrophotography.

Make no mistake — this is a niche product. As Canon did with the 60Da, Nikon warns against using the D810A for general photography, as subjects rooted to our planet may be rendered with an excessively red cast. If you are interested in taking photos of space, however, this could well be the best option yet. Nikon has tweaked the D810's features to make it easier to take photos with exposures as long as 900 seconds, as well as altering the viewfinder display with additions like a virtual horizon level.

The D810A is coming in late May for $3,799.95, a $500 markup on the regular D810.