Railfan Technology > Nikon D3 hands on report

http://luminous-landscape.com/reviews/cameras/d3.shtml

Here is a hands on report of the new pro level body with the full frame sensor from Nikon.

Some pros who made the switch to Canon over the last two years will have to wonder if they might have dumped Nikon in favor or Canon too soon. Then if you cannot sell your Nikon digital images for two years account the market belongs to Canon it seems moot since who can afford a two year long sabatical while the camera supplier catches up. Still, the hands on report seems to indicate Nikon is back in the game for now.

fbe Wrote:
the hands on report seems to indicate Nikon
> is back in the game for now.

Its good for us and Canon, But Nikon is still 9MP short of canons. I still think Nikon has some work to do, and now that there getting close,
Canon going to kick R&D up a notch. That's good for us. The sports shots had so much post processing you cant tell what he got.

It took Nikon over five years longer than Canon to introduce a full frame sensor, so I'm not sure I understand any accolades for Nikon.

Nikon had maintained that the full frame was not really necessary for the image quality most photographers needed. Most reviewers of the D2x seemed to agree but the market moved the other way. The current D3 @ 12 mpix will be joined by another full frame camera with 24 mpix early next year. So if you are sitting on nearly a dozen Nikon compatible lenses and feel the need to take your railfan photography to a new level, the new Nikons will cost you $3000 - $7000(?) but save you the expense of replacing all that glass.

QU25C Wrote:
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> The sports shots had so much post
> processing you cant tell what he got.

I thought the gist of the article was that the .jpegs were not overly processed which was a time saver compared to the usual RAW conversions Mr Russell commonly used. I am sure it would have been nice to have some side by side comparisons of static subjects taken with the D3 in jpeg and RAW as well as some from the Canon 1Dxx in jpeg and RAW but then the guy was on assignment and so had to finish the assigned tasks before getting to other ideas he might have had.

fbe Wrote:
> I thought the gist of the article was that the
> .jpegs were not overly processed which was a time
> saver compared to the usual RAW conversions

I'm sure they looked good, but the shots looked worked on, Not much to go by , just nice shots.
My self, i like Nikon. but liked Canons, EOS mount was better than Nikon's F for me .
I Shot Olympus cameras before that, so the camera with the best auto focus at the time was Canon.

Held not one but two different D3's in my hands last Sat.

The camera is quite impressive! The viewfinder was huge and bright, the display on the back a joy to view!!! Almost like watching a mini HDTV. Shot some test exposures at iso 6400 and no discernable noise on the display. The camera is large, and a bit heavy. Oh, and one of the new 14-24 lenses was attached! Wow.

I asked the question, do I keep the D2x and save my money, keep D2x and use as backup, or sell, and invest yet again newer technology. Additionally, I added that I am a best a semi pro and income from photography hasnt covered gear expeditures over the last 5 years. His response, absolutely, its worth it to sell the D2x at a loss and reinvest in the new technology. He further commented once you use the D3 the D2x will just sit and gather dust, the difference is that great.

Looking forward to how the user community in general greets this camera in a month.

Skyview,

Wow, you got to touch one. I am wondering if Nikon is tired of the market erosion to Canon and is now going to compete full bore with what Canon has to offer. It will be interesting to watch the hardware and the features evolve over the next decade between these two companies. Of course Sony has the financials to break into the top 3 if they decide to do it and more experience in designing and manufacturing chips than anyone else. I note Zeiss and Cosina are making professional quality manual focus lenses for the Nikon bodies so they must have some confidence in what Nikon will be offering in the future.

It will take a lot of courage to sell the D2x at a discount, it still takes great photos, right?

Yes was a welcome surprise at a light painting seminar I attended!

Yes the D2x takes great images, with my one disappointment being the noise at higher iso and in dark scenes. Shot a wedding a few weeks ago and need to shoot at iso 800 or higher inside. The images were great but noisy, which is fixable by using noiseware in photoshop but time consuming. I also shoot extensively for fire dept, and about half the time its at night, so again, high iso and low noise would be great.

I wonder how much of the improved low light performance is due to the shift from a CCD sensor to a CMOS sensor or the result of better noise algorithms in the software. I guess if it is largely software driven they would have an upgrade to the D2x frimware or NX software out by now to make the D2x shine for current customers. Since that does not seem to be the case then the new D3 hardware must be the necessary upgrade route.

Good luck with the new camera, show us some low light trains when you get the chance. Preferrably not trains on fire at night.

fbe Wrote:
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> I wonder how much of the improved low light
> performance is due to the shift from a CCD sensor
> to a CMOS sensor or the result of better noise
> algorithms in the software. I guess if it is
> largely software driven they would have an upgrade
> to the D2x frimware or NX software out by now to
> make the D2x shine for current customers. Since
> that does not seem to be the case then the new D3
> hardware must be the necessary upgrade route.

I vaguely (emphasis on vaguely) recall a conversation with a Nikon Rep this past Spring in which he stated, Nikon had purchased NIK Incorporated last year. I believe they had no previous affiliation with Nikon, despite appearances to the contrary.

That being said, I'm sure the hardware changes have had a positive effect, as well as in camera processing. As a user of NIK software for noise reduction, I was always pleased with the results of their products. I would imagine that they have applied much of what they learned about noise reduction from NIK's sofware engineers into the firmware for the D3 and D300.

Nikon is bringing some really nice camera's to the party recently. And while I've always been a loyal Nikon shooter. I've talked to several Canon users that are giving serious looks at these new creations.

While I expect Canon will up the ante, Nikon is slowly but surely eating up gap that many think separates them, as Canon's leaps in performance seem to be shorter than those of Nikon.

fbe Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I wonder how much of the improved low light
> performance is due to the shift from a CCD sensor
> to a CMOS sensor or the result of better noise
> algorithms in the software. I guess if it is
> largely software driven they would have an upgrade
> to the D2x frimware or NX software out by now to
> make the D2x shine for current customers. Since
> that does not seem to be the case then the new D3
> hardware must be the necessary upgrade route.
>
> Good luck with the new camera, show us some low
> light trains when you get the chance. Preferrably
> not trains on fire at night.

The D2x uses a CMOS sensor. I'm guessing the noise (and it is noisy) at high ISO's and/or in the dark is somewhat related to craming so many photosites on the little sensor. Maybe with the D300 there is a software fix as it sounds like they are using the D2x's sensor with it. Real life use with production units may tell the real story.

I'm not planning on unloading my D2x at this time.

I'm not planning on either a new D3 nor a used D2x since something like the D200, D300 nad Fuji S5 bodies seem most suitable for me. Yet the larger pixels of a full frame sensor do interest me so I will probably follow the progress of the D3 models. Perhaps by the time the D4 comes out I might have enough saved to purchase one of those or a used D3. Until then I will keep plugging along with the S3 and D40x, the output from those still make a very nice 13x19 print.