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Nikon D3 DSLR Review
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Review Summary
Reader Score: 7.15 (out of 10)
Review (Summary): "... It's been almost three years since Nikon introduced a completely new digital SLR with a new sensor (the D2X) and there has been much anticipation that Nikon's next move would be a full-frame chip. ...
This predictions have come true with the introduction of the 'FX format' (new moniker created by Nikon) D3 which features a 36 x 23.9 mm 12.1 megapixel CMOS sensor as well as a vast array of new features which absolutely raise it another notch above previous single digit Nikon DSLRs. ...
For a sports camera it's also a surprisingly good studio and landscape camera, and if there's a better DSLR out there for photojournalists and red carpet paps we've yet to meet it. Image quality (especially at higher ISOs) is stunning, the camera a joy to use and the speed and responsiveness breathtaking. ..."
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Other Reviews For This Model
| Review Site |
Review Score |
Date |
Link |
| byThom |
9.00 |
07-22-08 |
Read Full Review
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| Review (Summary): "... Up to the D3, I knew of no digital camera I'd really trust at higher than ISO 1600. The problems are multiple. Many of you reading this may think that it's just about noise buildup that hurts high ISO digital images. No, it's not just that. Dynamic range tends to drop about a stop for each ISO stop increase (think about that for a moment and what that implies). ...
... The D3 is near state-of-the-art at 12mp. Thus, the D3 is a respectable landscape camera. By respectable I mean that you can push landscapes up to the maximum size a desktop inkjet prints and get excellent detail. Given some of the lenses Nikon has put out recently, any softness in the resulting images is not the camera's fault. Diffraction softness sets in near f/16. ...
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| Review Site |
Review Score |
Date |
Link |
| Photo.net |
8.80 |
03-15-08 |
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| Review (Summary): "Designed for action photography, the D3 is highly responsive. Powering it up takes a mere 120 milliseconds and its shutter lag is a short 37ms. The D3 can capture 9 frames per second with a RAW buffer around 17 frames, depending on the exact setting. Similar to the D2X/D2Xs, the D3 has a high-speed crop mode. In that mode, the D3 captures a smaller DX-format frame (16x24mm), at a frame rate that can optionally go up to 11 frames/sec, at the expense of no AF re-adjust between frames during the burst. ...
The D3 is Nikon's first installment to full-35mm-frame FX-sensor DSLRs, and they chose to introduce a sports and news DSLR that has excellent low-light performance. Those were precisely the major weaknesses previously in Nikon's DSLR line up. For those who would like a DSLR optimized for sports, news, and wedding photography, the D3 is probably the top choice. ..." |
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| Review Site |
Review Score |
Date |
Link |
| Ken Rockwell |
8.20 |
02-18-08 |
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| Review (Summary): "The Nikon D3 is the best camera ever made by Nikon. It was announced on August 23rd, 2007. As of the beginning of 2008 it's just starting to trickle into the hands of photographers. ... My Nikon D3 lets me do things I've never been able to do, and makes it fast and easy. ...
... The D3, along with the D300, has a remarkable ability to tame extreme highlights and shadows, automatically. (You have to activate ADR in the menus, it's not a default). Nikon calls this "Active D-Lighting" in the D3's menus, which means nothing. I call it Adaptive Dynamic Range, or ADR. ..." |
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| Review Site |
Review Score |
Date |
Link |
| naturfotograf |
8.00 |
01-11-08 |
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| Review (Summary): "The D3 is not only a 35mm-frame camera, it is so much more and with high-ISO performance unheard and undreamt of as well. With a blazing firing rate up to 9 fps(FX)/11 fps(DX), this is a sports and action shooter's dream camera come true. But what can it achieve for other fields of photography? In this review, I shall try to elaborate these aspects of this new Nikon DSLR. Consider this more akin to a personal travelogue written as I made myself familiar with the D3 rather than a compilation of features. ...
... For me the arrival of the D3 is the final nail in the coffin for "35mm" silver-halide reflex cameras. Of that I'm certain. In terms of pure resolving power, I'll continue to make the most out of my DX camera while I'm awaiting a higher-resolving FX model from Nikon. Film is no longer a viable option in this respect, unless you step up to a large-format view camera. But such a system is not suited for my approach to photography." |
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| Review Site |
Review Score |
Date |
Link |
| Photography Blog |
7.00 |
02-18-08 |
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| Review (Summary): "The Nikon D3 digital SLR is Nikon's first ever full-frame camera, offering a 12.1 megapixel, FX format CMOS sensor. The 9fps continuous mode, even when shooting RAW images, should appeal to all the sports photographers out there, supported by Nikon's next-generation 51-point AF system. ...
... The Nikon D3 has got to be the top choice for anyone wanting high quality, rapid-fire image capture, or extremely low light photography without flash, who is not otherwise wedded to the Canon system. Press - sports and news - photographers are the ones who are going to get the most out of its capabilities, which stretch beyond those needed by the average photo hobbyist, and these professionals are also the ones most likely to be able to stomach that price tag without complaint. ..." |
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| Review Site |
Review Score |
Date |
Link |
| The Online Photographer |
4.00 |
11-21-08 |
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| Review (Summary): "... There are a lot of ways in which the D3 is superior to the A900: it's clearly quieter, and the mirror blackout is much shorter, and the camera as a whole is faster, crisper, more responsive (although the A900 is by no means bad). It's also bigger and heavier, and I don't like the user interface as much. Of course, those are things you get used to. ...
...Of course I am an art photographer, not a pro. If some munificent wizard appeared out of the mists holding out these two cameras one in each hand and asked me to take the one I wanted, I'd pick the A900. ..." |
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| Review Site |
Review Score |
Date |
Link |
| Think Camera |
----- |
02-18-08 |
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| Preview (Summary): "Nikon's official advertising slogan for the Nikon D3 is 'Discover New Territory' - but 'Believe the Hype' would work too. That's because, as the blurb suggests, the Nikon D3 is undoubtedly the best digital SLR Nikon have ever made. How does it compare to the rivals though, and - at more than three grand - do you need really one? Let's take a look...
... Is the Nikon D3 the best digital SLR Nikon have ever made? Oh yes... By a country mile. But is it better than the 1DS Mk III? You'll have to wait until we test one of those. To my eye it easily beats anything else for image quality and noise but there's the thorny question of the D300 - Nikon may have made that a bit too good. ..." |
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