Nikon D3

[Joe]

Well, it's been out for weeks and weeks (ok, just a few)....
So, anyone here robbed a bank and bought one?
Is it really as phenomenal as all the reviews say it is? A particularly good review in PhotoPRO mag. wedding photographer with a 12-24 lens sang it's praises.
What's the FX sensor performance like?
I wasn't the biggest fan of the full frame 5D (but I know of wedding photographers that were), so would be interested to know....if only to drooooolll !!

It's all pie in the sky of course....before I probably get one, I'll give it 7 or 8 years and maybe they'll be selling for £40 like D1's are on ebay?!



Nikon answers/thoughts/experiences in the sea of Canon please?

[sassan]

I am definitely with you on watchful wait but not that long.
BTW the Cheap D1s on ebay usually are not functional or you must be lucky to find one in working condition at that price. I have had several Kodak Nikon hybrids at those or cheaper prices but D1 is still a better camera (Unfortunately) that very new models.

I have seen real sample images of D3 at ISO 6400 yes 6400 and can't believe my eyes. Here is the LINK . Of course be patient to download as it is a 6.3MB image. Also make sure to look at image at its full size that is amazing in terms of resolution and IQ at that ISO.

Well I envy anyone who gets it as hot as it appears right now (Has Foxy not got it yet?) but for those who can afford it, its one wonderful picturing machine like nothing before made by Nikon.

As for me, I am counting toward February 08 when New Canon 5D with 16MP full frame sensor and all new blow and whistle is going to be release...

[Canis Vulpes]

Originally Posted by sassan

Well I envy anyone who gets it as hot as it appears right now (Has Foxy not got it yet?) but for those who can afford it, its one wonderful picturing machine like nothing before made by Nikon.

Well, Foxy is NOT going to get a D3. Foxy's main pursuit is aviation photography in particular airshows. This requires fast and accurate focus performance and a sensor that allows a crop to achieve good equivalent focal lengths. Nikon's latest is a full frame sensor has the pixel pitch of a D2Hs so it should resolve like a 4Mpx APS-C sensor (370mm2) but over a larger area (864mm2) totalling 12Mpx.

No doubt it will be the best wedding photographers camera and should take a good share of the full frame market dominated by Canon in recent years.

Foxy feels a little let down by Nikon as there is no professional grade APS-C camera in current production, unless Nikon are still manufacturing D2Xs which I doubt. The positive side is my D2X, rated for 150,000 shutter actuations has only done about 22,000 so I have some years left.

D300 does not offer the build quality or feel of a the D2X so I am left with a D2X which I believe will be a classic before not very long. D2X does still work whereas some believe their D2X will magically cease once the D3 becomes in more popular use. Its not about pixels either greater number of pixels has its drawbacks.

One issue I hated when D2X was new, attention - all other photographers drooling over my latest gear when I wanted to be alone and photograph the show for an afternoon. Attention I get lo longer and I can concentrate on my photography. Oh, the best bit was the 'focus issue' in the early days that I did not notice in the crystal clear shots I was getting. Others would come to me and exclaim my camera was rubbish because it would not focus - LOL D2X yielded a keep rate much higher than my previous Fuji S2-pro

My D2X will be enjoying its fourth season next year and I have to think how many D100, 200 now 300's would the photographer who keeps with the latest have purchased and what would it have cost - more than the original price of a D2X three years ago.

Two examples of my stuff ->

D2Hs
http://www.airliners.net/open.file/1297678/L/

D2X
http://www.airliners.net/open.file/1248836/L/

Any good from an obsolete set of cameras?

[Joe]

Good points Foxy.
The D3 in cropped DX mode doesn't have an greater density of pixels. (like Canon's 5D vs 30D eh!!) It's also quite a heavy unit.
Something I've really noticed since buying Nikon digi bodies is the wow factor of lenses I used for the 35mm format...The 180mm f2.5 is now a practical proposition where before I would lug around the bulky heavy 300mm f2.8. On the negative side, the wide angle was lost, hence my recent purchase of a 15-30 sigma...which I can also use on 35mm format
I guess as you posted before, it does depend massively on the type of shots you take.
I am a little suprised at Nikons release of the FX sized sensor (do I remember a post way back where I said we'd probably not see a Sony full frame camera...or I'd eat my hat?!...good job I don't have hats!), particularly now that DX lenses have developed so well in the wide angle catagory (where before a possible pro's solution might have been a 17-35 then a horrendously expensive 14mm in the kit bag).
Still, the D3 is an impressive beast....

I wonder if Nikon will launch a DX format camera with a higher density of pixels...or, do we have to wait to see what a D3x (or D4) will bring?

answers on a postcard

[Canis Vulpes]

Originally Posted by Joe

I wonder if Nikon will launch a DX format camera with a higher density of pixels...or, do we have to wait to see what a D3x (or D4) will bring?

answers on a postcard

I am expecting a D3x in around 18 months. 12Mpx I think is a little high and shows flaws in panning technique and lenses therefore I believe the ultimate specification for an aviation photographer would be 8Mpx DX (APS-C) format with a high frame rate (8 fps or above). Essentially a body that is a hybrid of both D2X and D2Hs.

As stated before I really enjoy the quality of pictures the D2X presents and believe that it would be very difficult to better. D3 does not aim to better but to satisfy a market that Nikon had no presence before.

[Joe]

Foxy,
You are so right about the pixel count...I'm sure you would be amazed at the requests I get at work..."It HAS to be greater than 10 mpixel, or I wont buy it"...The manufacturers duly oblige. More so in the consumer market models is the mp race perhaps a bit of a red herring...maybe more a marketing ploy than any real net gain.

Anyone else with thoughts / experiences etc of the D3?