Nikon Df

[Garbz]

Nikon Df

Nikon Df combines classic design with modern technology: Digital Photography Review

Seriously, wtf. There's a reason the "timeless" design died out. They were uncomfortable to hold, ergonomics won out and the timeless designs went away. Yes the Olympus OM-D was a hit, but it's half the size and half the weight of the Nikon Df. The Df is heavier and bigger than the Nikon F series, and even my Nikon FE was uncomfortable to hold without a battery grip.

So what the hell? Who would buy this other than a hipster when it's the same price as a D800 which appears to be technically superior?

 

[gsgary]

It will be a massive hit it looks like a proper camera and without vidio mode is perfect

Sent from my GT-I9100P using Tapatalk 2

 

[pixmedic]

as a wedding second shooter, I would LOVE this camera!
Its smaller and lighter than a traditional DSLR, and gives me all the features I would need.
Its still a DSLR, and it isn't stuck with one fixed lens so i can use all my Nikon glass with it.
For me, 39 AF points is plenty. 1/4000 SS is plenty. 5.5 FPS is plenty. 1 SD card slot is plenty. it has the D4 sensor and the Expeed 3 processor. more than enough power. I dont care about video. at all.

it appears to have easy button placement so shooting in manual isn't a pain. It shoots raw, magnesium allow body....I dont need to go over the whole list obviously, you can just click on the link, but....it looks pretty impressive to me.
Of course, there's the real kicker. At close to $3k for the body, the price tag is pretty impressive as well.
BUT! I can see absolutely NO reason why this camera would not make a fantastic camera for weddings, on location portrait shoots...pretty much anything that requires you to carry around that camera for long periods of time. You get a smaller, lighter body that still provides professional results. win/win!

would I buy this over a D800? I dunno. I would REALLY have to do a side by side comparison of the two. maybe go see them in person.
If the price was a little lower, I would definitely pick this camera over a D610.

 

[goodguy]

as a wedding second shooter, I would LOVE this camera!
Its smaller and lighter than a traditional DSLR, and gives me all the features I would need.
Its still a DSLR, and it isn't stuck with one fixed lens so i can use all my Nikon glass with it.
For me, 39 AF points is plenty. 1/4000 SS is plenty. 5.5 FPS is plenty. 1 SD card slot is plenty. it has the D4 sensor and the Expeed 3 processor. more than enough power. I dont care about video. at all.

it appears to have easy button placement so shooting in manual isn't a pain. It shoots raw, magnesium allow body....I dont need to go over the whole list obviously, you can just click on the link, but....it looks pretty impressive to me.
Of course, there's the real kicker. At close to $3k for the body, the price tag is pretty impressive as well.
BUT! I can see absolutely NO reason why this camera would not make a fantastic camera for weddings, on location portrait shoots...pretty much anything that requires you to carry around that camera for long periods of time. You get a smaller, lighter body that still provides professional results. win/win!

would I buy this over a D800? I dunno. I would REALLY have to do a side by side comparison of the two. maybe go see them in person.
If the price was a little lower, I would definitely pick this camera over a D610.

Correct me if I am wrong but I thought this camera can swap lenses like any DSLR

 

[pixmedic]

as a wedding second shooter, I would LOVE this camera!
Its smaller and lighter than a traditional DSLR, and gives me all the features I would need.
Its still a DSLR, and it isn't stuck with one fixed lens so i can use all my Nikon glass with it.
For me, 39 AF points is plenty. 1/4000 SS is plenty. 5.5 FPS is plenty. 1 SD card slot is plenty. it has the D4 sensor and the Expeed 3 processor. more than enough power. I dont care about video. at all.

it appears to have easy button placement so shooting in manual isn't a pain. It shoots raw, magnesium allow body....I dont need to go over the whole list obviously, you can just click on the link, but....it looks pretty impressive to me.
Of course, there's the real kicker. At close to $3k for the body, the price tag is pretty impressive as well.
BUT! I can see absolutely NO reason why this camera would not make a fantastic camera for weddings, on location portrait shoots...pretty much anything that requires you to carry around that camera for long periods of time. You get a smaller, lighter body that still provides professional results. win/win!

would I buy this over a D800? I dunno. I would REALLY have to do a side by side comparison of the two. maybe go see them in person.
If the price was a little lower, I would definitely pick this camera over a D610.

Correct me if I am wrong but I thought this camera can swap lenses like any DSLR

yes. thats why I said... "Its still a DSLR, and it isn't stuck with one fixed lens so i can use all my Nikon glass with it."

 

[usayit]

Never been a fan of Nikon but I think this thing is awesome! It will be a big hit.

Place the most relevant controls on the top plate, make them physical/tactile, make all their settings visible at a glance, make their value positions absolute, and do it with a time tested intuitive design. Perfect! Look at that on and off switch! No more pressing buttons and looking at a LED indicator to tell me if the camera is on or off. You can just feel it.

I never thought that the generous (often abused) UI designs that rely mostly on "soft" controls ever worked. We are humans that work well with the physical buttons and dials.

The only camera that got it close was the Epson R-D1... Leica M just behind the Epson. Their ISO settings and other info is still hidden behind a menu/button push.


Good one Nikon.

 

[amolitor]

I was thinking this might be a good backup camera for a pro, it has some pro-ness to it, but it's just got the single SD card slot. I get why they did that, this thing was obviously on a diet to crush it into the smallest package they could manage, but it does seem like pros are gonna be 'uh, where's my CF slot? My backup has to be accessory-compatible with my main'. Ditto the battery situation.

Pricewise it actually looks to me like you might not even be paying much of a premium for the retro look. The guts are a bastard mix of D600 and D4, all off the shelf stuff, but if the body is as rugged as it looks the price point is pretty close to where it would be if the thing was black and rounded.

 

[GDHLEWIS]

It is a thing of beauty there is no doubt about that. As it was said above the old designs were a lot more uncomfortable over long periods of time but wow what a looker, but that price is just madness in my view. if they dropped the price by a grand those things would be back ordered for the next two years more than enough to make up the profit margins for Nikon. Some one else said in another thread that there is nothing new here, just that all Nikon have really done was dig out a few old molds and some extra parts from other cameras and just put it all together. But DAMN what a pretty bugger it is.

 

[goodguy]

as a wedding second shooter, I would LOVE this camera!
Its smaller and lighter than a traditional DSLR, and gives me all the features I would need.
Its still a DSLR, and it isn't stuck with one fixed lens so i can use all my Nikon glass with it.
For me, 39 AF points is plenty. 1/4000 SS is plenty. 5.5 FPS is plenty. 1 SD card slot is plenty. it has the D4 sensor and the Expeed 3 processor. more than enough power. I dont care about video. at all.

it appears to have easy button placement so shooting in manual isn't a pain. It shoots raw, magnesium allow body....I dont need to go over the whole list obviously, you can just click on the link, but....it looks pretty impressive to me.
Of course, there's the real kicker. At close to $3k for the body, the price tag is pretty impressive as well.
BUT! I can see absolutely NO reason why this camera would not make a fantastic camera for weddings, on location portrait shoots...pretty much anything that requires you to carry around that camera for long periods of time. You get a smaller, lighter body that still provides professional results. win/win!

would I buy this over a D800? I dunno. I would REALLY have to do a side by side comparison of the two. maybe go see them in person.
If the price was a little lower, I would definitely pick this camera over a D610.

Correct me if I am wrong but I thought this camera can swap lenses like any DSLR

yes. thats why I said... "Its still a DSLR, and it isn't stuck with one fixed lens so i can use all my Nikon glass with it."

Oh silly me, my brain is numb, worked night shift so I guess I was half sleeping when reading your post

 

[Derrel]

Never been a fan of Nikon but I think this thing is awesome! It will be a big hit.

Place the most relevant controls on the top plate, make them physical/tactile, make all their settings visible at a glance, make their value positions absolute, and do it with a time tested intuitive design. Perfect! Look at that on and off switch! No more pressing buttons and looking at a LED indicator to tell me if the camera is on or off. You can just feel it.

I never thought that the generous (often abused) UI designs that rely mostly on "soft" controls ever worked. We are humans that work well with the physical buttons and dials.

The only camera that got it close was the Epson R-D1... Leica M just behind the Epson. Their ISO settings and other info is still hidden behind a menu/button push.


Good one Nikon.

Some very good points. The interesting thing about the "f" being the "fusion" of old and new is how this thing will work with millions of older lenses. It has BOTH analog speed and analog f/stop control options, and it also has a front or sub-command dial for the f/stop, and a rear or main command dial for setting the shutter speeds when using the 1/3 STEP shutter dial setting. So--it offers BOTH the old control ethos AS WELL AS the new idiom of a rear or "main command dial" for adjusting shutter speeds, and that front-mounted roughly 10mm wheel is the "sub-command" dial as Nikon calls it, for f/stop control. (I assume the two command dials can also have their functions swapped, as is the norm with Nikon.)

I am interested to hear some of the details on exactly what metering and exposure input options are available for setting up the camera to use lenses that have an aperture ring.

 

[Aloicious]

without actually using it, I'm still cautiously optimistic about it. it fills a need that I've been waiting for, which is a proper D700 replacement (at least in my eyes)....is it perfect? no...would I have preferred different things about it? you bet....does it deserve all the speculative hate that it has been getting? no...I'm not even up to date on the random internet complaints people are making, I stopped paying attention about the time people started complaining about what the term 'pure' meant and how their personal interpretation of 'pure' would affect their buying choices....but I suppose some people have nothing better to do.

what it looks like to me (and is being marketed as) is a D4 level performance, in a small, lightweight but sturdy, less expensive (in comparison to the D4) body, albeit with a few compromises for cost/size/weight sake. which is basically what I've felt the D700 was (D3 performance in a smaller, lighterweight, less expensive (compared to the D3, all at time of release) body, albeit with a few compromises)...the fact that the Df is a 'classic' type style (or retro, or whatever you want to call it), is simply cosmetic, and not the main purpose of the camera as so many people seem to think.

The price is a bit high, but I don't think it is unwarranted. coming from the 'its a D700 replacement' frame of mind, remember that the D3 was $5k at release, and the D700 was $3k....sounds pretty similar to the D4 and Df to me...also the build quality on the Df looks outstanding, all those dials and things are all machined/engraved metal, they're not painted plastic. its got the magnesium body with proper weathersealing, blah blah blah...all the specs are out there...

I do wish it had swappable focus screens (though they don't have any available now, I've read nothing that says they won't in the future, or that third party brands will be unable to provide any), I wish the card slot wasn't in the battery door, but I understand why it is, I wish it had a better battery, but the fact that they were able to squeeze a rating of 1400 shots per charge out of what it has, is incredible (that's more than the D700, D800, D600, D610, D7000, D7100, etc...), Ergonomics do look a little different, but they don't look BAD, it would probably take a little getting used to, but nothing overly problematic. I do wish it had 1/8000 shutter speed, but I don't really need it, I can count the times I've needed 1/8000 on one hand without using all my fingers. The D600 focusing system is a bit of a downer, but really I don't NEED 51 points, and as far as it's performance on the Df, well that remains to be seen, it could be very good....and of course there is the price, it is pretty expensive, I wish it were lower, but its also the introductory price, Nikon will have discounts, rebates, refurbished models, and other various pricing adjustment opportunities as time goes on...especially with it being released at the end of November with the holidays right around the corner, as well as post holiday sales, etc...

for me it seems like it will be a very good body. Definitely not for everyone, but good none the less. So, while I won't be putting in a pre-order for it, I will be taking a serious look when its out, with the strong possibility of getting one. It looks like it will serve MY business needs fairly well, since I cover many automotive events for part of my business, I need moderate MP with high ISO handling (for workflow and the piss poor lighting at most indoor events). the light weight will be very nice. and quite honestly, I think the classic styling may actually help my business, at least benefit in terms of networking...many automotive events I cover are classics cars, muscle cars, general Americana/nostalgia stuff, walking around with something that looks different and classic will definitely be a potential point to start a networking conversation with people (I used to get asked about my D3s all the time since it was larger than the average camera), and this could help drum up some contacts to eventually build some business with the demographic that I typically see at these shows (although my business is not a typical photography business, I'm not trying to sell prints or shoot weddings or anything like that, its journalistic, I'm looking for advertisers, sponsors, etc).

I think it has great potential, it definitely fills a need in the current lineup, although definitely not for everyone....but I really want to see how things play out once it actually gets released.

 

[sashbar]

I love the ISO dial here, but what is really missing here it is U1 U2 options on that P-S-A-M dial.. Or maybe I am missing it?

 

[cosmonaut]

I think it's going to sale like hot cakes. It is expected delivery for November 28th. That's awful quick. I hope it's not another D600. But for me, it has a mirror, yawn, it has an optical finder, yawn again, 16mpix, I am asleep. To old school for even an old school person like myself.

 

[goodguy]

One point everybody is missing here is since the rumours started on this camera there is a huge interest in it, for good or for bad there is a BUZZZ.
I never saw so many threads opened in such a short time over one camera.
Like it or not it seem to get people talking about Nikon and maybe this is something Nikon really needs, some attention.
If this camera will prove to be a hit I am sure Canon, Sony and Pentax will follow with their own FF retro cameras.
It will wake up the camera market that lately been hit by the cell phone.

 

[fotofinish]

It is a thing of beauty there is no doubt about that. But DAMN what a pretty bugger it is.

Others of course might think its 'classically ugly'. I do and much prefer the look of the more rounded D800 etc. But each to his own and I agree that this thing will sell well, but even better if it were a grand less.