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I'm Back In Nikon


clark_roberts

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Hi all,

After awhile shooting with a old Canon EOS1DS camera I just missed using a Nikon so

I found a nice D3, yes I know it's older but I popped an AF50mm F1.8 on it and it still holds up

to me there's something about it's quality it's almost film like. I took a few shoots wide open F 1.8

and it looks good. I know some would say hey why didn't you get a "Z" well I'm already invested

in a Leica and a Fuji, so this D3 fill's the SLR gap that was missing.

 

 

KD3_1057.thumb.JPG.5674f854d338660aa84d49fc93032404.JPG KD3_1051.thumb.JPG.9faa7f74593076ba228e3d09f3697160.JPG KD3_1050.thumb.JPG.065a5aa03952c9bda4911fa695f08f61.JPG

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That would be the low res and quite a strong AA filter......;)

 

15 years is a long time in tech!

Ah, the seduction of pixel collection!

 

I was looking through my old D700 pix the other day, and thought - "You know what; those aren't half bad. I could live with that, because they're easily better than 35mm film ever was."

 

OK, my D800 was a bit sharper, which then sent me chasing better glassware. And so the cycle continues...

 

But a D3? Clumsy great thing for general use IMO. The neater D700, OTOH, is still a useful tool - and hasn't fallen half apart like my D800.

Edited by rodeo_joe|1
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I still like to use my very heavy 12mp D300 from time to time, always a rewarding experience. There is something about that camera that just makes me want to keep on pushing the shutter button. "Keepers" is a numbers game, the more you shoot, the more you are likely get. In the past is was with an 18-200mm zoom, now a 50mm. Maybe today.
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Ah, the seduction of pixel collection!

 

I was looking through my old D700 pix the other day, and thought - "You know what; those aren't half bad. I could live with that, because they're easily better than 35mm film ever was."

 

OK, my D800 was a bit sharper, which then sent me chasing better glassware. And so the cycle continues...

 

But a D3? Clumsy great thing for general use IMO. The neater D700, OTOH, is still a useful tool - and hasn't fallen half apart like my D800.

 

 

Your D800 fell apart I'm sorry to hear about that, I had this dream that I was doing a photo shoot and I pulled a D800 out of my bag and said oh this

is nice. Back to the D3 I just never went for the MP race either I think the highest I had was a Sony A7II at 24 mp's it was nice the body was odd but

as long as it focuses sharp and the colors are good I'm happy.

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The neater D700, OTOH, is still a useful tool

While the D700 was my first FX camera (purchased specifically to be used with the Nikon 16-35/4), I somewhat regret the purchase because of the low MP count and the fact that the dynamic range at base ISO was no better than that of the D300. I later stepped up to the D810 realizing from my experience with the Sony A7/A7II that 24MP isn't a sweet spot for me.

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I think 12MP was a sweet spot. I like the improvements in ISO in my 24MP Nikon Z6ii but I don't really need the extra MPs.

 

I guess binning 24MP Z6ii images down to 12MP will produce even cleaner pics?

 

After a couple of weeks using only my Z6ii, I picked up my D500 yesterday... yikes it's heavy!

 

... and I don't think it's just the weight of the mirror.....;)

 

But hey, the Z9 is heavier than the D3S.. so it's not the shutter either...:p

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Hi all,

After awhile shooting with a old Canon EOS1DS camera I just missed using a Nikon so

I found a nice D3, yes I know it's older but I popped an AF50mm F1.8 on it and it still holds up

to me there's something about it's quality it's almost film like. I took a few shoots wide open F 1.8

and it looks good. I know some would say hey why didn't you get a "Z" well I'm already invested

in a Leica and a Fuji, so this D3 fill's the SLR gap that was missing.

 

 

[ATTACH=full]1440409[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]1440410[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]1440411[/ATTACH]

Got a D3 some time ago and find myself using it more for general photography than my newer Nikons. A superb camera when you don't need extreme crops, and I agree the color rendition is film like. Almost has me thinking of getting a used D5.

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it wasn't particularly sharp

 

"Sharpness" is so overrated.;)

Some of my most USEFUL lenses aren't that sharp - specifically the Nikkor-S 55mm f/1.2. the Canon EF 24-105mm. etc. etc.

 

Of course, it is nice when a lens is both useful AND 'sharp'.

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Your D800 fell apart I'm sorry to hear about that..

It's still usable. The issues are a 'joystick' button that's gone sloppy with no positive tactile click or return-to-centre springiness. Judging from the number of button repair kits available online, it's a fairly common fault.

 

More concerning is that the 10 pin socket has popped into the body and is now loose and totally unusable: Thus no remote release and no GPS dongle can be used - bah! This is also a widely reported fault, and one that Nikon refuses to acknowledge as a design/manufacturing fault. Professional repair cost makes it pretty much BER, or you just live with it.

 

The D810 has no such 10 pin socket fragility, apparently.

 

Welcome back to Nikon, BTW. But with hindsight I really don't recommend you go to a much higher pixel count with Nikon DSLRs. The crappy 'sensor-down-a-pit' AF system just isn't accurately aligned enough in most cases, IME, and nearly always has some residual error. While AF fine-tune is just a software fudge that can only compensate at one focal length of a zoom lens.

 

All of which brings you back to using slooooww LiveView for accurate focus; and then a mirrorless body makes much more sense.

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It's still usable. The issues are a 'joystick' button that's gone sloppy with no positive tactile click or return-to-centre springiness. Judging from the number of button repair kits available online, it's a fairly common fault.

 

More concerning is that the 10 pin socket has popped into the body and is now loose and totally unusable: Thus no remote release and no GPS dongle can be used - bah! This is also a widely reported fault, and one that Nikon refuses to acknowledge as a design/manufacturing fault. Professional repair cost makes it pretty much BER, or you just live with it.

 

The D810 has no such 10 pin socket fragility, apparently.

 

Welcome back to Nikon, BTW. But with hindsight I really don't recommend you go to a much higher pixel count with Nikon DSLRs. The crappy 'sensor-down-a-pit' AF system just isn't accurately aligned enough in most cases, IME, and nearly always has some residual error. While AF fine-tune is just a software fudge that can only compensate at one focal length of a zoom lens.

 

All of which brings you back to using slooooww LiveView for accurate focus; and then a mirrorless body makes much more sense.

 

 

 

Thank you, I missed my Nikon I was looking at the Z series maybe when the used prices go down I would look at one. I worry about going

past 24mp, I had a Sony A7II a few year back and I thought the body was just odd. I notice to the further you go up the mp chain you have

to make sure the lenses can handle it and that's costly.

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