Nikon D3 - I'm a believer - Nikon's best to date!
Posted 05-27-2008 at 07:41 PM by Nikonfreak
Three years ago, if you'd have told me that Nikon was going to bring out a camera to topple Canon for sports, PJ, or event work... I'd have probably scrunched up my face and said, "Not likely given their releases lately..."
I am happy to say that I stand corrected.
I shoot quite a bit of concert work and I do other event / wedding work periodically as jobs come up. Most of the folks I shoot for are fine with digital images that exceed 8 megapixels (at given dpi), generally speaking.
So you know I've been shooting with a D300 for quite some time (I probably had my first two in hand a week after the initial release to the general public) and I really do enjoy shooting with the camera. I feel that the D300 has taken us where the D200 couldn't and it's a fine digital camera. No one should feel that they are shooting with a second rate camera with a D300. It's that good.
So then there's the issue of the D3. Initially sold out for quite a while, I couldn't really get my hands on one and I hadn't pre-ordered it. Since the D300 was an upgrade to the D2x (in every way except build quality) and you folks know I consider bodies to be throwaway items after a period of time,... you'd know I was hesitant to put in $5,000 towards a new body.
There are times, however, when the lighting in different areas or arenas, concert halls, or banquet halls, that just plain sucks. These are the places where you curse you're f/2.8 lenses for not being fast enough for the task and you resort to the primes in the bag that take you to f/2.0, f/1.8 and f/1.4 and you push the ISO to limits where you are frustrated to have to run the noise reduction programs and be stuck with images you just are frustrated about because of the DR clip or softness and all those other fun things we associate with high ISO shooting.
Of course, it's either that or even in well lit events as above, where you push to higher ISO's but ride the edge between getting good color and a great shot or a colorful blurry mess.
Then there's the classic press type shooter... "They'll deal with it in post" .. push the ISO to 1600 and blast away with nice and flat, dull and lifeless images being the result. Pass that memory card to the guy outside in the trailer and let them deal with it....
So enter the Nikon D3....
To reiterate...
My personal, self imposed ISO limitations...
D200 - ISO 800
D300 - ISO 1000 to 1250
D3 - I have to say...As of the date of this writing... I'm not sure yet. I've taken lovely images to ISO 2500 and felt I could have gone further. (Guess I let the cat out of the bag early didn't I?)
Nikon's newest top end pro body takes us to places we only dared to dream of with previous bodies. This camera is nothing less than groundbreaking technology. I've captured images to ISO 6400 that look quite clean and usable.
The camera is a 12 Megapixel, 35mm frame size sensor (FX) or also referred to commonly as "full frame" sensor, camera body. Wide angle is now, once again, wide angle. The crop factor of the DX body is no more on this camera. You're 28 and 24mm lenses are now quite usable again.
Build quality on this camera is excellent. This is a pro body and built like a tank. It's big. It's bulky. It's damn good.
Controls and Layout
The controls and layout are a little different than the DX00 series bodies so if you're moving up from a D300, D200 or D100, you will have a learning curve to getting things back into the comfort zone, but nothing that will take you too long.
One thing I'll note is that the in camera meter is on the right in the viewfinder as opposed to directly under the viewfinder so that took a little getting used to looking over there rather than the, what I believe to be, more intuitive placing of the meter underneath the viewfinder when one looks through it.
As long as I'm on the controls, I wish Nikon had placed a second rocker on the bottom side of the vertical grip. I like that better than using a function button to change the selected viewfinder AF point, but that's me. I have pretty large hands and it's still a little bit of a strech for me or feels a little awkward trying to move the selected point vertically and horizontally quickly.
Other than that, I think much of it is pretty spot on. I like being able to set up a "most used" custom menu and although the menu system is a little complicated, you learn to use it fairly quickly. I don't care who's camera it is, Canon or Nikon, the menu system is organized in a weird way. No getting around it.
AF SYSTEM
The AF system of the D3 is the same as the D300, though it seems a little slower at times and a little crisper at others. It really depends on what lens is on the camera. You're mileage may vary. Gone from the D200 is Group Dynamic mode. I'm not going to go into each setting for you here, but I will say that AF-C and AF-S, 21 point and 3D tracking seemed to work quite well for me with subjects moving on stage. I've played with them all and certain things work better under different conditions. I found I like 51 point 3d tracking for birds in flight...especially larger birds. I haven't figured out what I like for small, flitty birds.
Suffice it to say that for a bride walking down the aisle, AF-C and 21 point dynamic AF should do the trick for you.
CF Cards
Oh ya... TWO CF cards can get loaded in this baby. You have some options... Load one to the gills and then start with the second card. OR Duplicate the images on both cards.. OR .. NEF files on one card and then jpgs on the second card (simultaneous capture of same images in two formats). I'm using the Extreme III 12 Gig cards and the Ridata 16 GB UDMA 233X cards with no problems that I can speak of.
BATTERY LIFE
Given the size of the EN EL 4a batteries, you know the life is going to be long. It's meant to be. I'm currently getting somewhere around 1300 - 1800 images out of one battery charge with and without excessive chimping. It's been going up as I cycle the batteries so I'm not to the high point yet. I have two batteries right now for it... let's put it this way, I shot 1300 images on Friday night and another 250 for another shoot I did earlier in the week with the D3 and the meter is at 33% right now. This is the first cycle with the second battery.
WHITE BALANCE
If there's a chink in the armor. It's here IMO. I shot a press conference that was being done with some flourescent portable lights and I had a bear of a time getting the skin tones accurate. The lights were very close to the artists' faces. The vid guy said they were 3200 color temp but that's not where I ended up. I ended up in the 2900's and the skin tones were better but not great. I figured I'd mess with it in post and I shot away on RAW, but I was not happy. Auto WB was way way way off. I still say that the older D200 was the king of Auto WB. It was almost impossible to fool and it would nail it most of the time.
THE CROPS
I would be remiss not to mention the crop factor of shooting this camera. If you are planning on going full frame (fx) Nikon at some point, stop thinking about buying the DX lenses. If you can get by with an FX lens, do so.
You can use the DX lenses on the D3, but you are now shooting at 5.1 megapixels. Too small for professional work in many cases. You're better off using a DX format body in that event, but it's nice to have that functionality if you want to shoot some family type stuff or for smaller output items up to 8.5 X 11 etc..
Shooting in 5:4 mode is nice. It eliminates the "shoot for the crop" kind of mentality. Of course, now you're at 10.2 megapixels, which is fine for just about anything you're going to do with this camera, keeping in mind what it's intended uses are. As I stated above, most of my clients are good with at least an 8 megapixel camera body but I've had a few request upsizing of images ... even from the D300.
Another nice feature is that the viewfinder will black out and show you the area you are shooting with in either of the modes above.
THE DX vs FX CROP FACTOR
You know, I was one that said, "Why do I need an FX camera? I really don't for my shooting". That continues to hold true. I really didn't buy the D3 for it's FX sensor size. I bought it for it's low light capabilities. That being said, I do miss the extra "reach" that the DX body gave me. My 300mm f/2.8 VR was perfect for most uses. Now I seriously have to consider a 400 f/2.8 for some press box work because the 300, though still long enough for many things will not be long enough for others.
That being said, wide is wide again. (reminds me of the old Star Trek episode doesn't it?).. But if you're a mid range shooter, the FX issue won't matter to you one bit. For landscape or wide angle shooters...this will be a good camera for you.
I could go on, but this is pretty long and I've stated much of what someone would need or want to know.
This camera produces excellent results and is a stunning camera in low light environments. It's groundbreaking. We have good reason to look forward to future releases from Nikon. They don't seem to be sitting on their hind quarters quite as much as they used to be. We're used to Nikon being the innovator and leader. I think it's moving back in that direction. Of course Canon is no slouch and they make fine cameras and lenses. The heat is on.
Julio
www.juliosantanaphotography.com
I am happy to say that I stand corrected.
I shoot quite a bit of concert work and I do other event / wedding work periodically as jobs come up. Most of the folks I shoot for are fine with digital images that exceed 8 megapixels (at given dpi), generally speaking.
So you know I've been shooting with a D300 for quite some time (I probably had my first two in hand a week after the initial release to the general public) and I really do enjoy shooting with the camera. I feel that the D300 has taken us where the D200 couldn't and it's a fine digital camera. No one should feel that they are shooting with a second rate camera with a D300. It's that good.
So then there's the issue of the D3. Initially sold out for quite a while, I couldn't really get my hands on one and I hadn't pre-ordered it. Since the D300 was an upgrade to the D2x (in every way except build quality) and you folks know I consider bodies to be throwaway items after a period of time,... you'd know I was hesitant to put in $5,000 towards a new body.
There are times, however, when the lighting in different areas or arenas, concert halls, or banquet halls, that just plain sucks. These are the places where you curse you're f/2.8 lenses for not being fast enough for the task and you resort to the primes in the bag that take you to f/2.0, f/1.8 and f/1.4 and you push the ISO to limits where you are frustrated to have to run the noise reduction programs and be stuck with images you just are frustrated about because of the DR clip or softness and all those other fun things we associate with high ISO shooting.
Of course, it's either that or even in well lit events as above, where you push to higher ISO's but ride the edge between getting good color and a great shot or a colorful blurry mess.
Then there's the classic press type shooter... "They'll deal with it in post" .. push the ISO to 1600 and blast away with nice and flat, dull and lifeless images being the result. Pass that memory card to the guy outside in the trailer and let them deal with it....
So enter the Nikon D3....
To reiterate...
My personal, self imposed ISO limitations...
D200 - ISO 800
D300 - ISO 1000 to 1250
D3 - I have to say...As of the date of this writing... I'm not sure yet. I've taken lovely images to ISO 2500 and felt I could have gone further. (Guess I let the cat out of the bag early didn't I?)
Nikon's newest top end pro body takes us to places we only dared to dream of with previous bodies. This camera is nothing less than groundbreaking technology. I've captured images to ISO 6400 that look quite clean and usable.
The camera is a 12 Megapixel, 35mm frame size sensor (FX) or also referred to commonly as "full frame" sensor, camera body. Wide angle is now, once again, wide angle. The crop factor of the DX body is no more on this camera. You're 28 and 24mm lenses are now quite usable again.
Build quality on this camera is excellent. This is a pro body and built like a tank. It's big. It's bulky. It's damn good.
Controls and Layout
The controls and layout are a little different than the DX00 series bodies so if you're moving up from a D300, D200 or D100, you will have a learning curve to getting things back into the comfort zone, but nothing that will take you too long.
One thing I'll note is that the in camera meter is on the right in the viewfinder as opposed to directly under the viewfinder so that took a little getting used to looking over there rather than the, what I believe to be, more intuitive placing of the meter underneath the viewfinder when one looks through it.
As long as I'm on the controls, I wish Nikon had placed a second rocker on the bottom side of the vertical grip. I like that better than using a function button to change the selected viewfinder AF point, but that's me. I have pretty large hands and it's still a little bit of a strech for me or feels a little awkward trying to move the selected point vertically and horizontally quickly.
Other than that, I think much of it is pretty spot on. I like being able to set up a "most used" custom menu and although the menu system is a little complicated, you learn to use it fairly quickly. I don't care who's camera it is, Canon or Nikon, the menu system is organized in a weird way. No getting around it.
AF SYSTEM
The AF system of the D3 is the same as the D300, though it seems a little slower at times and a little crisper at others. It really depends on what lens is on the camera. You're mileage may vary. Gone from the D200 is Group Dynamic mode. I'm not going to go into each setting for you here, but I will say that AF-C and AF-S, 21 point and 3D tracking seemed to work quite well for me with subjects moving on stage. I've played with them all and certain things work better under different conditions. I found I like 51 point 3d tracking for birds in flight...especially larger birds. I haven't figured out what I like for small, flitty birds.
Suffice it to say that for a bride walking down the aisle, AF-C and 21 point dynamic AF should do the trick for you.
CF Cards
Oh ya... TWO CF cards can get loaded in this baby. You have some options... Load one to the gills and then start with the second card. OR Duplicate the images on both cards.. OR .. NEF files on one card and then jpgs on the second card (simultaneous capture of same images in two formats). I'm using the Extreme III 12 Gig cards and the Ridata 16 GB UDMA 233X cards with no problems that I can speak of.
BATTERY LIFE
Given the size of the EN EL 4a batteries, you know the life is going to be long. It's meant to be. I'm currently getting somewhere around 1300 - 1800 images out of one battery charge with and without excessive chimping. It's been going up as I cycle the batteries so I'm not to the high point yet. I have two batteries right now for it... let's put it this way, I shot 1300 images on Friday night and another 250 for another shoot I did earlier in the week with the D3 and the meter is at 33% right now. This is the first cycle with the second battery.
WHITE BALANCE
If there's a chink in the armor. It's here IMO. I shot a press conference that was being done with some flourescent portable lights and I had a bear of a time getting the skin tones accurate. The lights were very close to the artists' faces. The vid guy said they were 3200 color temp but that's not where I ended up. I ended up in the 2900's and the skin tones were better but not great. I figured I'd mess with it in post and I shot away on RAW, but I was not happy. Auto WB was way way way off. I still say that the older D200 was the king of Auto WB. It was almost impossible to fool and it would nail it most of the time.
THE CROPS
I would be remiss not to mention the crop factor of shooting this camera. If you are planning on going full frame (fx) Nikon at some point, stop thinking about buying the DX lenses. If you can get by with an FX lens, do so.
You can use the DX lenses on the D3, but you are now shooting at 5.1 megapixels. Too small for professional work in many cases. You're better off using a DX format body in that event, but it's nice to have that functionality if you want to shoot some family type stuff or for smaller output items up to 8.5 X 11 etc..
Shooting in 5:4 mode is nice. It eliminates the "shoot for the crop" kind of mentality. Of course, now you're at 10.2 megapixels, which is fine for just about anything you're going to do with this camera, keeping in mind what it's intended uses are. As I stated above, most of my clients are good with at least an 8 megapixel camera body but I've had a few request upsizing of images ... even from the D300.
Another nice feature is that the viewfinder will black out and show you the area you are shooting with in either of the modes above.
THE DX vs FX CROP FACTOR
You know, I was one that said, "Why do I need an FX camera? I really don't for my shooting". That continues to hold true. I really didn't buy the D3 for it's FX sensor size. I bought it for it's low light capabilities. That being said, I do miss the extra "reach" that the DX body gave me. My 300mm f/2.8 VR was perfect for most uses. Now I seriously have to consider a 400 f/2.8 for some press box work because the 300, though still long enough for many things will not be long enough for others.
That being said, wide is wide again. (reminds me of the old Star Trek episode doesn't it?).. But if you're a mid range shooter, the FX issue won't matter to you one bit. For landscape or wide angle shooters...this will be a good camera for you.
I could go on, but this is pretty long and I've stated much of what someone would need or want to know.
This camera produces excellent results and is a stunning camera in low light environments. It's groundbreaking. We have good reason to look forward to future releases from Nikon. They don't seem to be sitting on their hind quarters quite as much as they used to be. We're used to Nikon being the innovator and leader. I think it's moving back in that direction. Of course Canon is no slouch and they make fine cameras and lenses. The heat is on.
Julio
www.juliosantanaphotography.com
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