Nikon unveils 24.5MP D3x digital SLR

[stsinner]

That's a good point.

 

[notelliot]

since the D3 and the D3x are in somewhat different demographics, I wonder if the price of the D3 will stay at what it is.
I'm hoping that the D3 will slide a little, but I'm not overly optimistic on that one.

 

[pm63]

Its interesting to hear all the people saying that more MP is a waste in a photo - and yet I know several wildlife photographers who use the additional MP - since it allows them to crop the image down more to get a closer end effect.
For those opposed to cropping I can see how its not a gain, but to those willing to crop and image surly more MP is a good thing since you can crop more whilst still retaining the ability to make larger prints?

Agreed... it's not fair for amateurs like the ones on this forum (me included) to be saying "it's a waste of MP" when all we print is A3 max

There is a market for this camera... landscapers will be overjoyed they have FINALLY been given something from Nikon that will allow them to print as big and in such quality as their Canon counterparts... If they haven't all jumped ship to Canon by now, that is.

If I had the money and were in the market for a pro camera from Nikon, I'd go for it because it's better suited to what I like to shoot.

The thing I'm most surprised about is that there are no surprises. It's a D3 with an 'X' painted on, twice the resolution, smaller ISOs and slower frame rates. You'd think there'd be something a bit more groundbreaking?

 

[tsaraleksi]

I've heard some chatter about it being 16bit, which in theory may give it a more dynamic range and file flexibility. Time will tell what it means in practice.

I think what this means is that Nikon has now firmly established product lines that are similar to Canon's pro models. With their previous (D2 etc) lines, Nikon's sports body was not suitable for other work-- the D2h was 4mp, compared to the 8.2 mp 1D mark II. It was fast but with files that small, it was not suitable for large printing, which gave Canon a huge edge. The new arrangement is a nice match to Canon's line.

 

[epp_b]

Its interesting to hear all the people saying that more MP is a waste in a photo - and yet I know several wildlife photographers who use the additional MP - since it allows them to crop the image down more to get a closer end effect.

I'll reiterate something I said in a different thread: if you have to crop, why didn't you just make your composition right in the first place?

 

[tsaraleksi]

I'll reiterate something I said in a different thread: if you have to crop, why didn't you just make your composition right in the first place?

For wildlife/bird photographers, sometimes you just can't get any closer.

 

[Overread]

I'll reiterate something I said in a different thread: if you have to crop, why didn't you just make your composition right in the first place?

for studio work I agree - but many times a photographer is dealing with a situation where they cannot move the camera closer nor change to a longer focal length lens. Journalists, sports and wildlife photographers often end up in situations where they cannot move closer to a scene nor change lenses mid shoot.
And that ignors the limits of cost, transport and weight of said lenses - sometimes its just not practical to be carrying the 500, 600, 800 and 1000mm lenses with you at all times.

 

[Village Idiot]

Anything over 10Mp is a waste, unless you're making posters out of your pictures. And just try to email one of those pictures..LOL What will that be, about 20 Megabytes per picture.. Silly. It's like the 5 blade razor.. Why don't they just put 25 or so blades on them?

I've printed 30"x45" prints for clients before off of what started out as an 8mp RAW file. I regularly print 16"x24" prints. What more MP means is that I can be more lenient with the original files when printing.

Printing a 30x45 means that the file has to be perfect. If not, you see pixelation and you see where the colors change and have artifacts from one color to the next. Even with 16x24, it gives me an easier time and less poking and prodding I have to do to get a photo in shape to be printed.

Plus it lets you crop. I did a print of a bike I shot at the local road course. Panning with objects going 80 some mph can be difficult. The bike was completely centered in the frame and I wanted a letterbox format for a print. With larger MP it lets you crop more without worrying about losing too much of the file size to be able to print.

Also, with a 21mp RAW file, you can shoot at 6400 ISO and down size the file to get a very high quality, high ISO file that looks like something that was shot at 800 ISO on a 30D or D90.

And another major point you're forgetting. The 5D MKII and the D3x are full frame sensor cameras. The 5D MKII has pixel density equivalent to an 8mp 1.6x crop APS-C sensor. The D3x is probably close to 10mp.

That's why a camera like the Hasselblad HD-50(?) can have a 50mp image sensor. It's because it's so large. Sensor size has a lot to do with mega pixels, so saying anything more than 10mp is a waste is just a generalization that seems to be spread around a lot.

 

[JerryPH]

since the D3 and the D3x are in somewhat different demographics, I wonder if the price of the D3 will stay at what it is.
I'm hoping that the D3 will slide a little, but I'm not overly optimistic on that one.

The D3 has fallen $750 since it's release and the D700 has fallen $550 in the 2 months since it's relase. Those are substabtial drops already... but you know prices ALWAYS come down. If you wait long enough, you will get a new D700 for under $1800... 6 months after the D800 comes out.

The D3x is a totally different animal and will not affect D3 pricing at all.

 

[Village Idiot]

I'll reiterate something I said in a different thread: if you have to crop, why didn't you just make your composition right in the first place?

Define "right".

Some times the world around you doesn't agree with what your idea of the perfect composition of a scene is.

Walls aren't always straight, race cars don't always slow down so you can get them perfectly in the frame, your ideas of a perfect composition can end up being something different from what was entirely shot.

 

[Garbz]

Walls aren't always straight, race cars don't always slow down so you can get them perfectly in the frame, your ideas of a perfect composition can end up being something different from what was entirely shot.

Who're we kidding. What megapixel cherrishing pixel peeper will take a photo with I'll crop this down in mind. We all know the rich tourists will buy the D3x and take photos at nascar races using the same 300mm lens they did previously and be just as screwed when the car isn't in the frame :lmao:

 

[Overread]

someone is not very happy:

http://www.bythom.com/nikond3xcomments.htm

I don't follow Nikon enough to really pass judgment on the review - its a little overnegative for my tastes, yet it does raise a lot of good questions that should be answered and also does help put things into perspective

 

[sabbath999]

Oh awesome! That will be a 2009 buy for me - that way my D3 can be a backup. It seriously helps offset my tax burden to spend a good 8 grand (actually, more than that, but that will be one of the items...) and I can finally sell the D2x and the D200...!

I understand how resolution gives you headroom on big prints... is this a really big part of your business?

The D3 as a backup (and available with your 70-200 f/2.8 for high ISO times) is definitely going to rock, isn't it?

 

[jstuedle]

A site with example files to drool over.
http://imaging.nikon.com/products/imaging/lineup/d3/d3x-sp/?cid=IGD81BGZIG1

 

[passerby]

I remember an article I read in a mag about astro photography when the digital was just appeared in the market. It took them agonizing 10 hours of exposure with 800 ISO film just to have an image of a distant galaxy. They dismissed the digitals as non serious cotender.

Well no more now. With 5x ISO capability that kind of job can be achieved in 20 minutes. And that one telescope can be used for many shooting in a single night. Imagine, viewing a galaxy in a single frame. Every addition of pixel will always be appreciated by these night workers. I don't know if they have switched to digital completely right now, but if they have than this is something for them.

Also we can't forget the billboard maker as well.