D3 price dropped to $4,514

Got my D3 yesterday and wow, what a camera! This is my first pro body. I shoot wedding mainly and have been using

D300 and D50, now I will just give the D50 to wife and ask her to learn photography :-)

 

I tried ISO1600, and I can't barely see much noise! And then tried 3200, totally usable after clean up. I keep

800 as the max when shooting with D300 and now won't be afraid to go 1600 and occasionally, 3200.

 

Here will be my setup -- 70-200VR goes on D300 and 24-70 goes on D3. This way, the long goes longer and wide gets

wider.

 

I ordered it last Friday for $4,699, today Amazon is showing $4,514! Called them and received a refund for the

difference.

 

For those who's debating between D3 and D700, I think it's totally worth the difference of $1,500.

I guess you already know how to clean up the sensor on D3, since on D700 perhaps you would not need to do it that often, thanks to built-in dust remover system.

Frank, you are joking, right?

Elliot, what you mean? I am dead serious.

From what I heard (and saw), the D700 and D3 should be plenty usable at 3200.

 

I don't at all trust the built-in sensor cleaner. I always take mine every few months to have cleaned as I don't trust myself

either. It's worth 50 bucks.

Which Frank are you referring to Elliot - the Frank who suggested that his wife could learn photography, or the Frank who

suggested that Frank may know how to clean his D3 sensor? Frankly, I'm confused.

 

Mr. Penn, I like your idea to weld the longer zoom on the D300 and the shorter zoom on the D3. The obvious void for my

work (and perhaps your wedding work) would be filled with a 85mm f1.4 on the D3. On the other hand, you may never need

to clean the D3 sensor if it's always mated to the 70-200mm.

Down to $4,514.00?

 

Fourteen dollars more and I'm goin' in....

 

OK, maybe not.

Any more people named Frank and Eric want to chime in?

$14 to the tipping point?!!! Now that's funny :-D

Sorry for the confusion, Frank (OP), I was referring to Frank the sensor cleaning comment guy. I missed that you both had the same first name.

 

The D3 is the perfect choice for your wedding photography and anyone who need the numerous 'pro' features that the D3 has and the D700 doesn't.

 

Best of luck with your new camera!

Eliot mind that the D700 has the sensor cleaning and the D3 does not have it. It is just the plain fact.

 

Once more for you:

 

D3 DOES NOT HAVE SENSOR CLEANING, while D700 has it.

 

This has nothing to do if D3 is perfect or not for anything,... D3 apparently has less one important feature, regardless how you slice it.

Frank S. in my opinion, anyone who is considering the D3 and D700 and checks them out carefully and considers the sensor cleaning feature a reason to purchase the D700 over the D3 is someone who does not really need a D3. A wedding/event/pro photographer needs certain features inherent in the D3 that the D700 does not provide. Both are excellent cameras. But I doubt there is a single D3 pro photographer who regrets purchasing the D3 because the D700 is now available. And if a pro is looking to purchase a Nikon full frame camera, I doubt they will purchase the D700 over the D3 if they have a good understanding of the differences between the two.

I've managed to survive shooting digital SLRs now for 4 years without "automatic" sensor cleaning. It is not a feature that makes a camera in my opinion. Making it out like the second coming isn't doing anyone any justice.

I have never even used the auto sensor cleaning feature on the D300 once. That tells you how important this feature is to me. But apparently it is important to some folks.

 

The price for the D3 has been dropping very quickly at Amazon. B&H and Adorama have yet to match this current round of price cut. With the D700 diverting some demand, I would think there will be further downward pressure.

 

The chance is that Nikon will have additional FX-DSLRs to announce by Photokina and most likely some more lenses. If you are not in a hurry, I would wait until mid September before making any moves. After that, it'll be the PMA 2009 so that you have about 5 months of relative stability.

Hold on. Before we get all worked up about the D700 sensor cleaning feature, let's find out how well it works. I'll bet dollars

to donuts that you still need to do a manual cleaning every now and then.

>I guess you already know how to clean up the sensor on D3, since on D700 perhaps you would not need to do it that often, thanks to built-in dust remover system.

 

Frank S. seemed to be so hung up with the sensor cleaning thing ... so much so that the same idea is repeated often these days in the threads by the same person.

The sensor cleaning feature is a convenience factor for common case issues but, like Shun said, I will probably not use it. The good old puffs from the Giotto Rocket does wonders.

 

My history of using the D100, D2H, D2X and D3 has *not* resulted in any incidence where I ever need to use a wet-cleaning kit. I do not see a need for that unless you are frequently changing lenses in an atmosphere filled with lots of particulates.

The sensor cleaning feature on my D300 is set to clean when I turn the camera on and off. I still get as much dust as I did

on my D80. I think a good blower is the real thing. Rene'