Nikon D3 review...

JodieO · Feb 10, 2008

WOW WOW WOW WOW!!!!!

I have some test shots on my blog (all straight out of camera, resized for web, and in a few of them, I burned the edges to match since I was shooting very wide angle that actually caused vignetting but when I cropped, I would lose vignetting on one side, so I just wanted it to match - everything else, seriously, straight out of camera, auto white balance, and to be honest, I think I shot all aperture priority (testing limitations of some auto stuff).

Worth every penny. Seriously, shooting at ISO 5,000 is like shooting with the D2X or D200 at ISO 400.

It's total insanity. Absolutely worth every penny... all other in the Nikon line are "beneath" it's quality IMO.... I'm just still shocked. Since having the D2X, I bought the D200 to "hold me over" as I patiently waited for Nikon to release the next truly pro camera... I never dreamed it would be this amazing. Seriously... I'm just in complete shock.

jstuedle · Feb 10, 2008

I totally agree. Simply SUPER! The best of the best.

adolan20 · Feb 10, 2008

Wow the two shots of the studio @ ISO 5,000 look so good. Amazing camera, as soon as I sell my kidneys I can afford one.

Iron Flatline · Feb 10, 2008

No idea about that camera...

...but I have a lot of family in Baltimore, and when they need their kids and dogs photographed, I'll be sending them your way. Some good-looking work on your site!

shivaswrath · Feb 12, 2008

gorgeous blog! love your work.

I doubt it's the D3, it's actually you that makes it all work - very inspirational work!

My d40x ROCKS at iso400, lol. . .

JodieO · Feb 12, 2008

thanks a lot, but I promise you, this camera is something else... like I said, to comfortably shoot and upsize prints to 30x40 at ISO 5,000 is an INCREDIBLE thing!

Antithesis · Feb 12, 2008

Yeah, I'm jealous. The whole "Lens before the body" thing starts to get trumped by the D3, what an amazing camera.

PaulBennett · Mar 18, 2008

I haven't been blown away by photos in a long time but what you have posted is truely superlative.

I would love to see a lens list of what you use on the D3.

QUESTION:
And, as I'm about to pop for the D300, do you think the full size sensor is the reason for your loving (the results with) the D3?

?(perhaps I should wait or stretch)?(yathink)?

shivaswrath · Mar 18, 2008

they say the D300 is 98% of the D3 - me personally, I'm waiting to save up for the D3, since I'm quickly hitting the limits of my D40 in indoor, photojournal like settings and that's where the D3 really outshines the D300 (from what I've heard). . .

RKW3 · Mar 18, 2008

shivaswrath said:
they say the D300 is 98% of the D3 - me personally, I'm waiting to save up for the D3, since I'm quickly hitting the limits of my D40 in indoor, photojournal like settings and that's where the D3 really outshines the D300 (from what I've heard). . .

The people who say that probably have a D300 but have never touched a D3.. I imagine the D3 is a lot more than a 2% increase over the D300. :lol:

JodieO · Mar 19, 2008

RKW3 said:
The people who say that probably have a D300 but have never touched a D3.. I imagine the D3 is a lot more than a 2% increase over the D300.

I have to agree. The D300 isn't anywhere near the D3. It isn't. Trust me there. It's more like 40% of the D3.

To answer the question on lenses, I haven't bought anything new for it yet... I think I was using the Sigma 10-20 (for fun) on those images as well as the Sigma 105 Macro... it handles "cheap" lenses pretty well.

However, I have used the Nikkor 28-70/2.8, Nikkor 70-200/2.8 (this is especially yummy), 50 mm, 85 mm, etc. etc. I have too many to list right now.

The camera is just really really great... hard to say much more about it... lolol!

Also watch who you get reviews from. Some people are comparing a D300 with something previous they have had that is a low end camera.... My experience is with all the higher end Nikon cameras... I went from a D2X and a D200 to go to the D3.... The D200 used to make me sick - felt so cheap compared to my D2X, but needed it to "hold me over" until the D3 was released.

Tasmaster · Mar 19, 2008

Having read some reviews, i'll try to lessen the confusion.

Pretty much everyone agrees that the D300 blows everything with a DX sensor out of the water, it's the best thing that happened to semi- and pro photographers, makes you look beautiful
and guarantees a place in your chosen afterlife. In other words, D300 reviews are somewhat enthusiastic.

They also say that the D300 has 98% of the features of the D3. The keyword here is features, functions, not image quality.

If you read reviews comparing the two, the D3 is way ahead of the D300 (and everything else until the answer from Canon), just as the D300 is way ahead of other DX format SLRs.

Haven't used them, haven't even seen them up close, that's what all the reviews say.

Helen B · Mar 19, 2008

I've had my D3 for a little over three months now, and I'm very impressed with its low light capabilities. I've been using Nikons since the early seventies, but until now I've tended to use my Leicas rather more, especially for documentary. The D3 has changed this, at least for the moment (ie until a full-frame digital Leica M comes out).

The high ISO performance is indeed superb. The usable dynamic range decreases as you turn the ISO up, and I begin to get uncomfortable with the quality at about ISO 2500, and prefer not to go above 3200 except when really necessary. This is a personal thing, of course.

In my opinion, the high ISO performance of the D3 is best suited to reasonable light levels, when it allows high shutter speeds and/or plenty of depth of field. The biggest complaint I have with the D3 in low light is with the difficulty of focusing. Though I've found that Nikon's spec for the minimum light level for AF is on the safe side (ie it can still autofocus at slightly lower levels) it is nowhere near to being as good as a rangefinder camera in that respect.

I've been trying it out for product and close-up photography in cases where the D3's resolution is adequate and tilt/shift is required. The upcoming T/S PC-E lenses will help a lot with that kind of photography. In the absence of those, I have used the tilt/shift PB-4 bellows (which must be used with a short extension tube to clear the D3's bulge below the lens mount) with various Apo-Rodagon-N lenses. The 'tripod' mode live view proved to be extremely useful for this, particularly when tilt was involved.

The only lens I bought to go with the D3 is the 17-35 f/2.8. The other lenses I've tried it with, in addition to the aforementioned Apo-Rodagons, are:

Autofocus: 50/1.4; 85/1.4; 60/2.8 Micro

Manual focus: 16/3.5 fisheye; 28/2; 28/2.8 PC Super-Angulon; 35/1.4; 50/1.2.

Best,
Helen