Nikon D3 Review

[Derekb]

Well I bit the bullet too. I got the D3 for it's ISO capability, the other features I thought were just cream on the top. But it's surpassed all my expectations... and by a BIG margin.

I shot a cycle event last Sunday in the pouring rain for the latter half and would not have got some of the shots in the darkness on any other camera. Yes I used flash, until it short circuited in the rain!!

Also shot a local event on Tuesday evening, again rain but the sky was black. I dialled in ISO 1600 just to get a high enough shutter speed... I know it's lit up with flash but just look at the detail in this shot:

Hmmm I'll post it in the gallery and see if it looks as it should...

http://www.worldphotographyforum.com...00&ppuser=2776

[andy153]

I agree Derek - the D300 is almost as good with high ISO but the D3 has the edge - This is a D300 - ISO 3200 shot -http://www.worldphotographyforum.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=29680&cat=500&ppuser=2724
- D3 still to be tested by me in this area but all reports suggest it will be better and your cycling shot holds the promise. By the way Derek - you've kept very quiet about the new camera.
Stephen I think the D3 AF secret is that the sensor now has some "intelligence, subject recognition" built in. I think this is what may make it appear more responsive.

[Derekb]

[quote=andy153;28981]By the way Derek - you've kept very quiet about the new camera.[quote]

For a reason Andy, I wanted to have a chance to compare it against the D300 and see if I had made a big mistake - i.e. is the D300 more than good enough for what I need?

I love the D300 and it's performance is outstanding, but it is no match for the D3 in a few key areas.

I have done direct comparisons against shots at ISO 1600 on both (as I had to shoot the D300 at that ISO at another cycle race a couple of weeks ago) and the D300 is very good/acceptable until you start doing crops of the original image. This is where the D3 scores, I've done very large crops and still had really top quality prints at A4 and this is just not possible with the D300. I've used ISO 6400 on the D3 and sold A3 prints.

Andy is right about the AF, not only is it blisteringly fast, but very, very accurate. I can't wait to go back and do another Kite shoot and directly compare it to the D300 shots I took, but it is very noticeably quicker to 'snap' on.

The colours/contrast/overall images out of the camera are just superb. This is the first camera where I just crop and upload the majority of my images as no other corrections are necessary. OK I'll play with them before printing, but for web viewing they are the best I've ever seen straight from a camera.

So is it worth it? does it justify the huge price tag over the D300?

Well I'm happy - even if I'm living off cerials for the next year...

As with Andy, I'll post more when I've had a chance to take some landscapes/other types of shots. I'm looking forward to swapping stories with you on the Anderton meet?

[miketoll]

Just curiosity but as the D300 is already cropped I wonder how much of an advantage the D3 has? If you were say taking a picture of a bird with a 400mm lens on both and then cropped the D3 image to the same size of print at what size would you see any real difference? A4?, A3? Would it be just noise or dynamic range or detail or what?

[swansong]

Found and ineresting comparison between the Nikon D3 and Canon 1Dmk3

Nikon D3 vs Canon 1Dmk3


Nikon D3
300mm f/2.8 lens at f/2.8, C-Focus, Center Point Only
latest firmware v1.11

Nikon D3 Overall Average:
48% Out of Focus



Canon 1D MK3
300mm f/2.8 lens at f/2.8, AI Servo, Center Point Only
latest firmware v1.2.3, sub-mirror fix performed

Canon 1D MKIII Overall Average:
31% Out of Focus


The photographer concludes with:
Does this mean that overall I like Canon 1D MKIII better than Nikon D3?
No. It simply means that Canon still outperforms Nikon in this autofocus category. The Canon 1D MKIII is a great camera. However, my time with the D3 has led me to seriously question whether I would stick with Canon in the future. I really like the Nikon D3. Some advantages of the Nikon D3 over the Canon 1D MKIII for my type of photography are the increased iso range, the increased resolution of the lcd screen, and the ease of setting custom white balance.

[miketoll]

Yes I saw this comparison as well, my thoughts are that people who change systems because of a perceived advantage one way or another are silly because the manufacturers will keep leapfrogging each other first one way then the other. Nikon advantage now, next year who knows? If you put a pile of A3+ prints on the table I don't think any one could tell you which camera took what from the top cameras of most makes. Canon, Nikon, Sony, I bet you could not tell and name with certainty. What it does do is force each manufacturer to keep pushing the performance envelope which is good for us lot! The downside is the necessary investment in research will force many manufacturers out of business.

[andy153]

Hi again - been lugging the "beast" round some more so time to report back again. So far I have been using three lenses only - the 12-24 Sigma; the 35-70 f2.8 and the 70-200 f2.8 VR Nikkors - this coming weekend will see a run out with the 105 micro Nikkor. I have put the 18-200 DX Nikkor - my favourite lens on a D300 or D2X etc but I refrained from "pulling the trigger" - not because I doubted the lens could perform ( I've had it a while and it's very good) but because of what happened in the viewfinder. It shrank to half size with a greyed out section round the bright section.
Now I wear specs and I use magnifying viewfinder lenses on some of the DX bodies - but seeing what was left in the D3 viewfinder was both a shock and very difficult to use - so I'm afraid that the use of DX lenses on the D3 is out for me. My last dozen or so posts LINK HERE :

http://www.worldphotographyforum.com...00&ppuser=2724

are all D3 shots - mainly snaps to find out how it works - and it is a steep learning curve - The shots on the lake are with the 70-200 and I've used Ken Rockwells suggestions for wrap around, follow focus and he is spot on with the speed and accuracy LINK HERE :

http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/d3/af-settings.htm

These settings work - just as he describes. Now back to shooting - more to follow.

[Joe]

If you put a pile of A3+ prints on the table I don't think any one could tell you which camera took what from the top cameras of most makes. Canon, Nikon, Sony, I bet you could not tell and name with certainty.

Believe it or not, our camera shop had a book full of A3 prints comparing camera results....yes, there was a difference (mainly due to lenses used though)...very subtle, and it gave our photo lab technician a headache too!