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Fat Pixel Nikons

dave.gt

Well-known member
Really! They do exist! It has been a very long time since I had either a D1/D1x/D2H/D2Hs/D2x... but now I am wondering how images made today, and processed with similar software as I am using now, would compare to the D1 and D2 cameras with larger pixels.

Yes, I am bored!!!:facesmack:

Would anyone like to have some fun helping with a project comparing the old and new D body cameras?:):):)
 

Jack

Sr. Administrator
Staff member
Don't live in the past. ;)
:ROTFL::ROTFL::ROTFL::ROTFL::ROTFL:

Actually, when it comes to DSLR's, I agree wholeheartedly with Doug. That said and in my humble opinion only, the "old" 16MP "fat" pixel Df sensor renders in a very unique, very film-like way that no other DSLR can compete with. So if you're looking for something unique and fun with the added bonus of looking very cool and retro, then get a Df.
 

dave.gt

Well-known member
Don't live in the past? I totally agree!!!

I have tens of thousands of images that I am scanning, organizing and creating family albums from. Boxes of old photos from 100 years ago stacked under my drawing table. And hundreds of CDs that need to be transferred to electronic drives. I am surrounded by the past.:thumbs:

Film, slides, videos, hard drives, flash drives, ssd, you name it! It occurs to me that a day or two playing with the old DSLRs would be fun and might yield some uses where I would not want either the MFD gear or the D850 put at risk. A $300 D2x might do very well for moon shots and Astro work with the grandkids at the beach. Or maybe an earlier D2H. Who knows? I would like to make some comparisons.

The way I see it, teaching the grandkids about photography in general and using old professional gear to allow them complete freedom to shoot what they want is a great way to live in the present and the future!

Unlike some, I have to have a purpose for creating an image. Coming off a year and a half of pro bono work for patients at the Emory Rehabilitation Hospital, I am looking for more than just a hobby. Therapy takes many forms and after more than a decade of 24/7/365 caregiving, I have a pretty good idea how Photography can be a great tool for healing. Those wonderful people we have met who have survived devastating trauma, strokes and diseases taught me so much.

So, you guys are absolutely right about not living in the past depending on your definition, of course.:)

My definition of living now and in the future is not to discard the past, but to use it where possible. ;)
 

rayyan

Well-known member
I agree with Jack.

We all live with the past. Else we would have to have died! Can’t get rid of it!

As to cameras, and for my current needs, I have yet to find DSLR with a better resulting image than the Df. Old lenses, new lenses, low iso, high iso. The sound of the shutter. I love these attributes.
I don’t do gallery prints, I don’t do sports ( with a camera or otherwise ) nor wildlife. Yes, I don’t do weddings...mine or someone else’s.
I can’t carry heavy cameras and lenses. WR or not doesn’t bother me.

I have stopped caring about new camera releases.

I love photography. The Df suits my style ( as does the Fuji XP2 ).
I wish they had a tilt screen, though. Else, just purrrfect, for me.

:ROTFL::ROTFL::ROTFL::ROTFL::ROTFL:

Actually, when it comes to DSLR's, I agree wholeheartedly with Doug. That said and in my humble opinion only, the "old" 16MP "fat" pixel Df sensor renders in a very unique, very film-like way that no other DSLR can compete with. So if you're looking for something unique and fun with the added bonus of looking very cool and retro, then get a Df.
 

JohnBrew

Active member
Interesting. I have found some of my old D700 images have benefitted greatly from being re-worked with new software.
Agreed the Df has very good files. And I really like how you can use the higher ISO’s. But i’ll Be selling mine because I have too many cameras and I prefer my Leica M9-P over the Df.
 

dave.gt

Well-known member
Interesting. I have found some of my old D700 images have benefitted greatly from being re-worked with new software.
Agreed the Df has very good files. And I really like how you can use the higher ISO’s. But i’ll Be selling mine because I have too many cameras and I prefer my Leica M9-P over the Df.
Yeah, it's all good!!!:)

Last night, I had an Astro shoot with the D850 (my only camera other than some old film cameras). The images turned out really nice! Tonight, the (Studio's) H5D will be used for very long exposures. Those two are my chosen systems to use lately.

But my archive files yield many excellent images from my earlier days with the D1x, D2H and the D2x. It was fun remembering each frame. So much fun, I have decided to change my Leica Cave. It was set up for a retro M3 look, complete with matching paint and accessories all Leica. Since then, the Leica cameras have gone; the Hasselblad (now sold) took over and now I am carrying a Nikon. So, I will incorporate those camera brands and memorabilia into the decor as well.

The D1 and D2 images on file could use a little TLC with the new software but they look great to me... So great that I have decided to start a collection of all the D bodies from the D1 to the present D5 (one day when they are cheap enough!) and they will look terrific in my bookcase and they will be fun to use.:):):)

Just my fun thing to do. YMMV.

I will start out looking for a nice D1x...:):)
 

Jack

Sr. Administrator
Staff member
What's really interesting to me is that we are now talking about *collecting* "old" digital cameras!

:ROTFL::ROTFL::ROTFL::ROTFL::ROTFL:
 

Jack

Sr. Administrator
Staff member
I wrote a post on our front page a couple years back about using whatever gear you own to express your vision is what makes the "artist." The latest, greatest in MP count, or newest whizbang features do not make images with meaning; the artist creates those with a vision and whatever tools they decide to use.

So I say again, if your preferred tool is a 6 year old, 6MP dslr, or the first 2MP iPhone, or the newest 150MP whizbang dreamwagon, then it's ALL good!

Oh, and I believe it should be fun using whatever your personal "tool of choice" is!
 

bensonga

Well-known member
I still enjoy using the "classic" fat pixel Nikon (and Canon) DSLRs. A few of the photos I took with these cameras are among my favorites. I especially like the Nikon D2x and D700, Canon 5D and 1D Mk II (only 8mp).

That said, I don't use them very often anymore. I still own all of these cameras and have no plans to part with them.

I've often thought of getting a Df, but just haven't done it yet.

In any case, I think we need to see some pics taken with these older DSLRs to once again appreciate that they were capable of producing very nice images in the past (and in the present and future).

Gary

D1x


D2x


D2x


D700 (with a Hasselblad 80mm CFE lens)


D700 (with Zeiss 100 Makro-Planar)
 
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bensonga

Well-known member
Yeah, it's all good!!!:)

Just my fun thing to do. YMMV.

I will start out looking for a nice D1x...:):)
I agree Dave. A very nice condition D1x and D2x can be found for very little money now. I picked up my D1x (with the all important battery charger) for just $99 at my local camera shop about a year ago. I really should keep an eye open for a nice D3 or D3x.

Gary
 

Shashin

Well-known member
I guess my Pentax 645D would be "old," but it it still takes as good images as when I first bought it. And I might be the odd one out in these parts, but I really don't like shopping for camera gear. I like to stick to one thing and master it. I like to understand how my camera is going to translate something and then use that to my advantage. Even in the silver era of photography, I had a limited number of cameras and films I would use. I know folks worry about things like DR and noise, but I just see them as part of the process, neither good nor bad, and work within or outside those limits to make (hopefully) good images. And if you go to the Fun with threads in different parts of the forum, the thing that unifies the images are their quality, not their camera specifications. And that I think is the point: I am more impressed by the results than the box hanging around your neck.

To speak to Jack's point, I don't feel that my cameras are the real limit to my photography.
 

bensonga

Well-known member
I have a 645D also and I will never part with it. Same for much older cameras, digital and film, that I have.

We all take different paths in photography. Some with more or less gear. I will be the last to say that one path is better than another, whether it a path with more or less gear, film or digital, darkroom or digital prints, etc.

To this day, I feel that that best photograph I have ever taken was made 30+ years ago. Shot with a 1950s vintage Graphic 4x5 and a 1940s vintage Zeiss Tessar lens. It was a special image that in many technical respects could have been improved upon with better film, developing, camera, lenses or digital capture methods.

All that doesn’t really matter...it is still one of my favorite images. That said...I still enjoy collecting and using the gear too (including fat pixel Nikon DSLRs), regardless of whether I ever produce another photograph to equal the shot I took 30+ years ago.

A final thought, I have to justify my appreciation for and purchases of camera gear (old or new) here on GetDPI, then perhaps it is time for me to leave.

Gary
 
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dave.gt

Well-known member
I have a 645D also and I will never part with it. Same for much older cameras, digital and film, that I have.

We all take different paths in photography. Some with more or less gear. I will be the last to say that one path is better than another, whether it a path with more or less gear, film or digital, darkroom or digital prints, etc.

To this day, I feel that that best photograph I have ever taken was made 30+ years ago. Shot with a 1950s vintage Graphic 4x5 and a 1940s vintage Zeiss Tessar lens. It was a special image that in many technical respects could have been improved upon with better film, developing, camera, lenses or digital capture methods.

All that doesn’t really matter...it is still one of my favorite images. That said...I still enjoy collecting and using the gear too (including fat pixel Nikon DSLRs), regardless of whether I ever produce another photograph to equal the shot I took 30+ years ago.

A final thought, I have to justify my appreciation for and purchases of camera gear (old or new) here on GetDPI, then perhaps it is time for me to leave.

Gary
Hi, Gary,

It is always good to see and read your posts! Thank you for posting the images above. Each time I dive into my archived prints boxes, I get the feeling that those moments captured so long on film or obsolete digital cameras are special.

For me, IQ (image quality) is only one consideration for my enjoyment of photos. There is indeed a story behind each image and there is also a certain quality of older images. Kodachrome certainly had a certain character as did images from a D2H or a Polaroid.

It is all good! Interestingly, as I think back on all the images I have ever made, bleeding edge sharpness is not even a consideration, only the story and the emotions connected with the image resonate with me.

And, of course, there is the amazing work by photographers like those of National Geographic. Since I was a child, I marveled at those amazing images. I still can't remember if they were film, digital, Kodachrome or color film, fat pixel or chubby pixel images...

They were so good. I think it is cool that I can use the equipment today that produced all of those images we remember.

Ah, well, time to get back to work for me... I have some old Ektachrome to send off for processing, and a whole freezer full of it and yet, I am ordering a few more rolls of the new E100. I don't think those images will be obsolete after I am gone, just ignored and forgotten. Such is the lack of appreciation of our own kids for more permanence and less disposability.:)

PS: I am very interested in re-acquiring a very nice D2Hs or D2x. Maybe I still have something of value left for a trade...
 

bensonga

Well-known member
I will be the first to admit that I am a gear head and finally had to admit to myself (plus my wife and friends) that I also enjoy collecting cameras and lenses, both old and new. I don't think that precludes me from being a somewhat decent photographer (not good, just passable). It didn't take me long to realize that buying newer and/or "better" cameras and lenses very rarely ensured I could take "better" pictures.

I sometimes wish I was the kind of person who was perfectly content owning only one or even just a few cameras and lenses. Life would be much simpler and my retirement savings account balances would certainly be greater. The same can be said for my love of a variety of motorcycles (I once had 12, I'm now down to 6...garage space is the limitation) and to a lesser extent cars. Oh well. I have enjoyed them all. That is good enough for me.

Gary
 

Shashin

Well-known member
I will be the first to admit that I am a gear head and finally had to admit to myself (plus my wife and friends) ...
Gary, I suspect your wife and friends knew well before you came to that realization... :toocool:

But this conversation comes to a interesting point, all those "outdated" cameras are actually really good. Their value has not really held which means there are really good bargains out there. It is a buyer's market.

Dave, you could be onto something...
 

bensonga

Well-known member

Nikon D700 + Mamiya Sekor 80mm F1.9N at F1.9
I was hoping Son would see this thread and chime in...he knows the benefits of "fat pixel" cameras and digital backs better than most of us. :thumbs:

Gary
 
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