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Well I've had my D3 for a few days now. As yet I've not got out and used it properly as I've been working since I got it but I used it a bit at work on xmas eve and at my sisters on boxing day to take a few random snaps.
First impressions are of course very good, the camera is built very well as you would expect and handles fantastically. I instantly felt at home and had all my favourite settings from my D2x up and running within minutes of turning it on.
Focus is very impressive, even in the most dimmly lit room it will focus quickly and accurately with little or no hunting and my word is it fast when you fire off a burst of shots. It 'seems' so much faster than the 'X' used to at 8fps. Although I tend to be doing more slow subject photography these days but have no doubt that 9fps burst will come in handy in those times I need it! High ISO is everything I expected...fantastic! I'm amazed at how clean it is up to 3200. 6400 is also clean although black areas do get a few little coloured speckles but this can be forgiven coming from the appaling ISO 800 of the old camera.
I also love the way my old lenses look on FF. The 28-70 just has a better feel to the images, I can't explain it but I guess it because the aperture has a different look to it now because the focal lengths have 'changed'. I don't really know how to explain it but I noticed it as soon as I started looking through the viewfinder! I will miss the virtual extra reach of DX though on my 200-400!
Virtual horizon is a nice feature which I think will help hand held landscapers, I have it assigned to the function button on the front of hte camera, just press it and the exposure comp on the right hand side of the viewfinder becomes a level indicator.
This is by far the best camera I have handled, and don't get me wrong I love it and think its a step up and beyond from the D2x, however nothing is perfect and there are a few little niggles I've noticed but this are down to individual preferences so may not apply to others but here are the things that I am not %100 sure on (we all know the pluses, just do a google to read the rave reviews):
Size: I think the D2x was the perfect size/weight camera. I have quite small hands so the extra bulk and weight from the D3 isn't ideal. That said its not OVERLY bigger, just that I found the D2x perfect for me so it would have been nice to see the D3 come in at the same size.
Playback of images: It may be the cards I'm using (extreme 3, soon to be 4's) but when you scroll through images there is now a definite 'loading' of the image. It appears on the screen instantly and as quick as you can scroll though them but if you look closely you will see the preview 'pop' in to focus after a split second. Its not a big deal but something I never noticed before on the 'X'.
Also, when you look through images you now can't get a full screen look at your image unless you hold down the zoom button and do one click of the command dial. This is because the bottom of the screen always shows you some image info in standard view.
Finally, if you select the 'highlights' function in playback, you get that instead of the non highlights version. With the D2x you got both, which I prefered as you could scroll between them.
I also find the viewfinder a little strange in that although the eyepiece is round, the top of it is covered by a bit of metal so your actually not looking through as big an opening as you think. Doesn't have any affect on things but a little curious as to why they have done that!?
Last of all I now have to use View NX as the old version of Nikon View doesn't support the D3 files. Annoying that, seeing as View NX is a load of cobblers!! :razz:
I have resorted to using Adobe Bridge for now but I do miss the simple nature of old Nikon View
Like I said all those little niggles are just things that bother me and others may not care about them but I just thought rather than give the typical 'best...camera....ever....' comments I'd focus a little on some of the things I've found quirky. But even given those quirks I still love the thing to bits!!
Here are a couple of (very random) images taken on xmas eve and xmas day, nothing very exciting I'm afraid but I thought I can't post my thoughts without a few pictures! Of course they are all websize so they look clean but I am getting bored of %100 crops to show off the high ISO, we all know its good so I'm not going to bother backing that up with crops of a christmas turkey lol
Xmas eve at work, so very very dead that night!
f8, 1/100, ISO6400
I ate lots of junk food that night:
f2.8, 1/40, ISO 6400
My nephew on xmas day:
f2.8, 1/25, ISO 5000
mmmmm turkey...
f5, 1/60, ISO 4000
The dogs got fed up with all the excitement!
f2.8, 1/60, ISO 3200
Good example of the focus, this was taken in the conservatory with all the lights off except a small red candle thing on the window sill:
f2.8, 1/40, ISO 6400
EDIT: Turns out this was 1/400 second not 1/40! All the others in the burst I took were 1/40, I think this one took its meter reading from the flames so its massively under exposed. Thought it looked darker and dirtier than all the other shots in the burst I took!
Needles to so I'm very excited about taking some 'real' photos as soon as I get the chance rather than these pretty pointless ones
First impressions are of course very good, the camera is built very well as you would expect and handles fantastically. I instantly felt at home and had all my favourite settings from my D2x up and running within minutes of turning it on.
Focus is very impressive, even in the most dimmly lit room it will focus quickly and accurately with little or no hunting and my word is it fast when you fire off a burst of shots. It 'seems' so much faster than the 'X' used to at 8fps. Although I tend to be doing more slow subject photography these days but have no doubt that 9fps burst will come in handy in those times I need it! High ISO is everything I expected...fantastic! I'm amazed at how clean it is up to 3200. 6400 is also clean although black areas do get a few little coloured speckles but this can be forgiven coming from the appaling ISO 800 of the old camera.
I also love the way my old lenses look on FF. The 28-70 just has a better feel to the images, I can't explain it but I guess it because the aperture has a different look to it now because the focal lengths have 'changed'. I don't really know how to explain it but I noticed it as soon as I started looking through the viewfinder! I will miss the virtual extra reach of DX though on my 200-400!
Virtual horizon is a nice feature which I think will help hand held landscapers, I have it assigned to the function button on the front of hte camera, just press it and the exposure comp on the right hand side of the viewfinder becomes a level indicator.
This is by far the best camera I have handled, and don't get me wrong I love it and think its a step up and beyond from the D2x, however nothing is perfect and there are a few little niggles I've noticed but this are down to individual preferences so may not apply to others but here are the things that I am not %100 sure on (we all know the pluses, just do a google to read the rave reviews):
Size: I think the D2x was the perfect size/weight camera. I have quite small hands so the extra bulk and weight from the D3 isn't ideal. That said its not OVERLY bigger, just that I found the D2x perfect for me so it would have been nice to see the D3 come in at the same size.
Playback of images: It may be the cards I'm using (extreme 3, soon to be 4's) but when you scroll through images there is now a definite 'loading' of the image. It appears on the screen instantly and as quick as you can scroll though them but if you look closely you will see the preview 'pop' in to focus after a split second. Its not a big deal but something I never noticed before on the 'X'.
Also, when you look through images you now can't get a full screen look at your image unless you hold down the zoom button and do one click of the command dial. This is because the bottom of the screen always shows you some image info in standard view.
Finally, if you select the 'highlights' function in playback, you get that instead of the non highlights version. With the D2x you got both, which I prefered as you could scroll between them.
I also find the viewfinder a little strange in that although the eyepiece is round, the top of it is covered by a bit of metal so your actually not looking through as big an opening as you think. Doesn't have any affect on things but a little curious as to why they have done that!?
Last of all I now have to use View NX as the old version of Nikon View doesn't support the D3 files. Annoying that, seeing as View NX is a load of cobblers!! :razz:
I have resorted to using Adobe Bridge for now but I do miss the simple nature of old Nikon View
Like I said all those little niggles are just things that bother me and others may not care about them but I just thought rather than give the typical 'best...camera....ever....' comments I'd focus a little on some of the things I've found quirky. But even given those quirks I still love the thing to bits!!
Here are a couple of (very random) images taken on xmas eve and xmas day, nothing very exciting I'm afraid but I thought I can't post my thoughts without a few pictures! Of course they are all websize so they look clean but I am getting bored of %100 crops to show off the high ISO, we all know its good so I'm not going to bother backing that up with crops of a christmas turkey lol
Xmas eve at work, so very very dead that night!
f8, 1/100, ISO6400
I ate lots of junk food that night:
f2.8, 1/40, ISO 6400
My nephew on xmas day:
f2.8, 1/25, ISO 5000
mmmmm turkey...
f5, 1/60, ISO 4000
The dogs got fed up with all the excitement!
f2.8, 1/60, ISO 3200
Good example of the focus, this was taken in the conservatory with all the lights off except a small red candle thing on the window sill:
f2.8, 1/40, ISO 6400
EDIT: Turns out this was 1/400 second not 1/40! All the others in the burst I took were 1/40, I think this one took its meter reading from the flames so its massively under exposed. Thought it looked darker and dirtier than all the other shots in the burst I took!
Needles to so I'm very excited about taking some 'real' photos as soon as I get the chance rather than these pretty pointless ones
