Nikon D3x Digital SLR Comments

I went to a photography degree show a few months back, and the pictures drawing the largest crowd and praise were shot using an "inferior" four thirds Olympus E-420, and the worst, a series of badly shot, cliqued still lifes was shot using.. You guessed it, a D3X..

Had a good chuckle to myself when I left in the way only camera nerds can..

Having been fortunate to either own or use most high end DSLR's one question I get asked most often is "is it really worth the money?" The answer is most certainly YES! When I upgraded from a 30D to a 1D MKIIn a few years ago I couldn't believe the difference in image quality, bearing in mind they are the same resolution. I thought things may have changed over recent times until I tried a friends new 50D. The 50D was so incredibly noisy at 200 ISO ultimate IQ was not really any better than my old 30D. My advice is: if you are going to spend a chunk of money on a mid-range SLR, buy a two or three year old pro body instead. Something like a D2X, 1D MKII or a 5D. You won't regret it and it will be worth more at resale time.

...and don't forget to budget for good lenses too

Love the "defocused temporal perception" reference

It's very true about the class structure with cameras. When I'm walking around Central London, there a loads of SLR users. You can see people drooling over cameras like sports cars.

"I swear I heard a small, strangled yelp from the 40D owner as his previous status was reversed in an instant, because he knew, and he knew that I knew, that in the world of DSLR cameras the D3x is Top Dog, the alpha male of the social order, and I couldn't have injured his pride any more painfully if I'd peed in his camera bag."

Okay...This review is getting weird...

Nice body but way too expensive. The D3 is much cheaper and just as good, unless you have to print billboard-size blowouts of your pictures. I'm a Canon user myself, and I got both a 5D MKII (FF + quality) and a 1D MKIII (1.3x + 10FPS) for less than the price of the D3X; lenses for these beasts cost a lot of money.

Unless you are a professional who knows exactly why you need such a beast, save your money and buy a D700 and a quality lens or two. The results will look exactly the same but you won't look like such a tw*t with it hanging round your neck.

@Digital Fury
of course as well as billboard size enlargements, you could also crop your photos more aggressively whilst remaining within an acceptable output resolution. If sensor technology develops far enough, all we would need would be one very high resolution wideangle prime lens - the zooming could all be done by cropping.
Not that I can afford a D3x...

@ Martin Daler - To an extent yes, but in reality it would be both highly impractical and time consuming, especially for professionals. You also seem to be forgetting the effect focal length has on visual perspective; do a YouTube search for "dolly zoom" to see this same effect used in film, although it applies to still photography as well and is a useful compositional tool, especially where portraits are concerned.

@Martin Daler
I do that with a Sigma 50mm f/1.4 EX DG, when I need a very fast lense setup (on my 1D MKIII) or I have to carry as little hardware as possible, but ultimately using an optical zoom is still better in my book - even with +20mpx - because of focus issues. Even if you have the pixels, the digitally zoomed images will never be as sharp as the optically zoomed ones (using a quality zoom), and besides 10mpx from a high quality sensor still packs a lot more detail than crappy compacts that most people are using. That being said, I understand that not everybody wants to carry (or buy) zooms, but at its current (gouging) price level the D3X is a rip off, as it is only a D3 with its FPS speed cut in 1/2 and fitted with a 24mpx sensor.

^^^can I pee in there camera bags?

@ smc8788 The only thing that influences perspective is where you stand. Then you select a focal length to fill the frame from that standpoint (as demonstrated so beautifully in dollyzoom shots). Get close up with a telephoto lens and you will still get the big nosed, google eyed perspective on a portrait you get standing that close with a wideangle - you just won't get much more than the nose in the frame. Stand back from a scene with a wide angle lens and you will still get the same depth compression perspective you associate with a long telephoto - you just will have to enlarge the same far-distance area of the final shot as would be farmed by a telephoto to see the effect. And that is my point - once sensor technology and lens design reach a certain point it will become much more acceptable to rely on cropping and enlarging rather than having to lug aroung enough lenses to crop and enlarge the original scene.
Like Digital Fury says, lenses haven't got there yet, high resolution sensors still test the limits of lenses. But don't forget, it only wants to be a fixed focal, so fewer design compromises, and it could do the job of a bag full of expensive glass, so they could throw some money at it too.
Just imagine the benefits however, travel light with one pancake lens only, and let the sensor do the zooming. No dust problems, no changing lenses, no chiropractice bills, one set of filters. Put the 'S' back into SLR!

@ Cliff Smith
Excellent review and great writing! I'm not even in the market for this kind of camera, let alone the Nikon D3x, but now I want one! Ooooh!

Love the comment about the pecking order. For a Sony A300 user I know I'm just "cheap" not "poor". If people want to be pimped by a particular brand they are more than welcome to be. It is more about skill than it is about expensive equipment. It is always amusing to see people trying to look good taking items of little artistic merit to complement their own talents.

@ Cliff Smith
''Although there's always the Hasselblad H3DII-50, but nobody talks to those guys.''
What do you mean by that??

nice toy

Brilliant introduction - I suspect that a number of us have been there at some time!

Nice but I'm still more than satisfied with my D700, and will nt pay the additional amount to upgrade to this for so many pounds more! 8 )

Can I afford a D3x? No, I can't but I made sure I could and bought one anyway after reseaching it in some detail. Full frame with gobsmacking resolution all within a easy to handle 35mm camera. If you want the bees knees of a 35mm pro camera go for the D3x, but just make sure you have the lenses to suit.

...does it have an Auto mode?