No reports here on the D3x

[Jorgen Udvang]

Nikon has probably done the right thing here. Those who really need the D3x, and are heavily invested in Nikon glass, have probably bought it already, fully aware of the fact that it will drop in price eventually. That way, Nikon has been able to earn some extra cash to pay for the development of the camera. Whatever they can sell for a reduced price later, and after the D700x has been launched, is just the icing on the cake.

Whenever very high resolution is needed in a really solidly built camera body, there are only two alternatives, and they are both expensive. For some, standing in the middle of nowhere, after a lengthy journey, with a soaked, non-functional camera body, isn't an attractive option.

 

[Guy Mancuso]

Guy Check Digllyod s site for his reports on the D3X paired with Zeiss and Leica glass. He takes a "price independent" view and makes no value judgement on "is the difference worth it". He is pretty sold on the D3x and has the testing to back up his viewpoint...worth a read.

The price will come down....it started at $7999 ..now its pretty easy to find one for $7499. At around $7000 it starts to look interesting .....but eventually Nikon will drop the sensor into a D700x and then you have a smaller form,weather resistant body at half the price (still $3500-4000).

Roger

Thanks Roger that is what started my wondering as I read Lloyds review early this morning. Good guy and good friends of GetDPI. Actually Him, Jack and Bob have been helping me with my laptop with the SSD drives . Got a pretty fast 15 inch rocket going here. Probably should give everyone a full report on it.

 

[Terry]

Funny, I like new gear as much as anyone around and I am not lusting after a D700x. The D700 is fine. I love having the super high ISO where I don't even need to think about how much light there is and 12mp seems to do just fine for me.

Now if Nikon would take the D700 sensor, put it in a smaller camera ( a la micro 4/3) with no mirror, smaller lenses (m mount sized) and so on.....one can dream

 

[deepdiver]

I own Nikon D3X
But I dunno what to report in here....
this camera basically identical to Nikon D3, I can only tell the different at MP only.
To be honest, when I'm using this camera, I fell like using my old D3

 

[bobrudolph]

Hello,
Here are some images from the GetDPI 2009 Moab Workshop taken with the D-3X. I've not posted before, hopefully they will look OK.
Bob

 

[Guy Mancuso]

These look nice Bob glad to see you post also.

 

[Y Sol]

Here are some shots made with the D3x.
I used to work with the Canon 1DsMk3, but moved back to Nikon
some month ago. The Image quality is better and they have a 24mm
shift lens that really works. Hope you like the samples.

Ydo

 

[robmac]

Nice Ydo.

 

[Jorgen Udvang]

Those are very nice, Ydo.

I assume photo number 2 is taken with the 24mm PC-E. Would it be possible to see a crop from one of the corners?

 

[Guy Mancuso]

They are very nice. I had the 24 PC lens very briefly and it is very nice

 

[glenerrolrd]

I realize that not much faith is put in the DxO analyzer tests(and they may not work for MF comparisons) ..but I find them very informative. If you look carefully at the D3X,D3 and the 1Ds3......you can see how tone and color change with increasing ISO.

Which I found interesting is that the D3X advantages are all in the lowest ISO s. Even at ISO 200 the D3 starts to match the D3x and at 400 its best in class. So at ISO 100 the D3X is champ and has greater dynamic range ,color saturation etc....but at 400 the D3 is best.

Of course having twice the MP has advantages beyond what DxO is measuring .

I would have guessed that the D3X would better the competition at least thru ISO 800.

it looks like Nikon isn t really offering "better" but rather an alternative with different strengths and weaknesses.

 

[Guy Mancuso]

I forget but can you shoot smaller files on this unit in Raw.

 

[JimCollum]

I was able to use a D3x for a couple weeks. Controls and such were identical... holding it was like holding my D3 (obvious.. since they use the same body)... However.. the similarity disappeared when shooting. There is a noticeable difference in 'feel' when firing even a single shot.. the re-cocking of the shutter (and thus the feel of the camera being 'ready' for the next shot) is a *lot* faster on the D3. You can hear this difference in the 'pitch' of the sound of the shutter. The camera feels more like a MFDB in responsiveness than a DSLR (even the Canon 1dsmk3, which i've also used).

I used the D3x in the 14bit mode, where the frame rate is < 2fps (again.. closer to MFDB speed than DSLR)

 

[Guy Mancuso]

So in 14 bit it is 2fps. Sounds a lot like MF

 

[routlaw]

I was able to use a D3x for a couple weeks. Controls and such were identical... holding it was like holding my D3 (obvious.. since they use the same body)... However.. the similarity disappeared when shooting. There is a noticeable difference in 'feel' when firing even a single shot.. the re-cocking of the shutter (and thus the feel of the camera being 'ready' for the next shot) is a *lot* faster on the D3. You can hear this difference in the 'pitch' of the sound of the shutter.

So Jim, did you find the small pixel size (5.9 microns I think) of the D3x to be problematic for DOF issues? Theoretically it should start softening up due to diffraction around F8-F9 or a max of F11. Would you concur?

Thanks

Rob

 

[JimCollum]

So Jim, did you find the small pixel size (5.9 microns I think) of the D3x to be problematic for DOF issues? Theoretically it should start softening up due to diffraction around F8-F9 or a max of F11. Would you concur?

Thanks

Rob

yea.. that would be my experience. I still like the look of the MF files, and the quality of the pixels captured. Usability though..the D3x wins

 

[Tim Ernst]

Hey Guy, I've been using my x happily since early December. I didn't pay any attention to all of the negative hype from the whiners who did not own one - I just bought the camera and took pictures - my P-45+ has been sitting on the shelf gathering dust ever since...By the way, while I have been using this system a lot with really long glass for wildlife, files from the Zeiss lenses look really good, and I've always been a Zeiss fanboy as you know...

 

[Rethmeier]

Hello boys,
we all know that I sold my Hy6/75LV kit,and got myself a D3x.
I couldn't be happier.
The Nikon has much better shadow control compared to the Sinar.
Coming from MFDB the price of the D3x was cheap.
People forget that the Canon 1ds3 is priced similar to the D3x.
I've used the 1ds3,5D2 and I prefer the Nikon.
Best,
Willem.

 

[ddk]

I own Nikon D3X
But I dunno what to report in here....
this camera basically identical to Nikon D3, I can only tell the different at MP only.
To be honest, when I'm using this camera, I fell like using my old D3

Does this mean that you prefer the A900?

 

[Jack]

The Nikon has much better shadow control compared to the Sinar.

Wow, that's interesting... I find I have *significantly* more total DR out of my MF back than any DSLR file I've played with, including the 1Ds3, D3x and A900, given each is properly exposed to begin with.