Nikon D2X advice

[cham_saranasuriya]

Hi,

 

I am doing a tour of Asia (mainly Sri Lanka & China) and

contemplating of buying a D2X from Singapore. The price is USD

~4125. This is significantly cheaper than Australia where I live

(~USD 5700). I would appreciate your input in the following issues:-

 

1) As I have not used a DSLR before would this a be a problem to use

during my tour? Ideally I do not want to try something new in an

important occasion (FYI I am used to F5!!)

 

2) How many raw images will fit in a 4G card? Is it 4000/12 = 333?

 

3) Which card is better Lexar x80 or Sandisk ultra III for D2X?

 

4) As I do not carry a laptop what options do I have to store the

images?

 

5) Can I purchase the Mac warranty?

 

Appreciate your comments & suggestions in advance.

 

Cheers

[cham_saranasuriya]

Hi,

 

What I meant by Sandisk ultra III is actually extreme III.

[vk]

Best is to try out new equipment before any important event/trip and avoid potential disappointment.

 

Having said that, there is also the issue of warranty which you may have to look since Nikon Warranty is valid usually only in the country of purchase is what I know.

 

A 4 gig card should hold approx 180 NEFs since each uncompressed NEF is approx 20 Mb. I use a sandisk Extreme III and have no problems.

 

Shooting with a D2X may require you to adjust to the nuances of the camera's much greater resolving power. I use an F5 too and I do find myself on the learning curve with the D2X. The D2X is a great piece of equipment for sure and I am more than pleased with it.

 

You may like to consider the Epson P-2000 for image storage.

[cham_saranasuriya]

Hi Krishnan,

 

The warranty is only valid in Singapore so if there is a problem I have to send it back to Singapore. Ofcourse I have to pay for the couriers. It is a bit of a problem and might eventually be very costly.

[arturo_de_la_fuente]

Hi. I second the previous comment about trying equipment first. In your circumstances I?d take a film camera as backup.

 

I bought my D2X last week and I?m not having any problem in the changeover from my F100. There is indeed a learning curve but you can get 80% or 90% of the camera as it comes out of the box. Just learn the minimum about handling and viewing pictures to start shooting.

 

1) The handling and photographic part of the D2X is pretty similar to the F5. The hard part for you may be the non-photographic part: resolutions, color spaces, etc. Anyway if you shoot in RAW you do not need any of those as you can learn it afterwards when you are back home reading carefully the manual.

 

2) A non-compressed RAW file is about 20Mb, and a compressed one is 40-50% smaller. You can make figures yourself. If you shoot RAW+JPEG the size increases. If I was you I?d shoot compressed RAW without JPEG, unless you have a storage device (see below).

 

3) I?m doing a little bit of research myself about memory cards, because I will need to buy one. I think Lexar x80 and Sandisk extreme III are rather similar (check in http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/index.asp for rather comprehensive tests). I will probably buy a Sandisk ultra II 2 Gb, which better fits my needs (extreme III is much faster than ultra II and not too more expensive, but I think the difference between them is only apparent if you shoot heavily in continuous mode, which is not my case)

 

4) About image storage, my advice is this: prices fall so quickly that it is no sense to buy more memory or storage devices than you need right away. Before buying plenty of memory cards or a portable hard disk think about your needs after this trip. If you?ll need a portable device my advice is to buy a cheap laptop instead of a viewer like Epson P-2000. The cheapest laptop you can find (even a second-hand and/or old model) will be powerful enough if you only use it to free your memory card(s). But if you get a laptop you?ll likely need a bag to it...

 

5) I think Nikon gives you one year world-wide warranty, but you?d better check it.

[ShunCheung]

It is somewhat risky to buy a brand new SLR with a technology you are not familiar with during a trip and depend on it.

 

Can you at least borrow/rent a DSLR, preferably a D2X itself or a D2H(s), which is very similar, or at least a D70(s) before you trip and get somewhat familiar with digital? Since you are familiar with the F5, it should not be all that hard to figure out the basic functions on the D2X, enough to take good images.

 

And in case you cannot get a D2X in Singapore, do you have a backup strategy for your trip?

[hique]

"Best is to try out new equipment before any important event/trip and avoid potential disappointment"

 

Yeah, for sure. Do not wait to commit those silly mistakes with important pictures. Just train in your city.

[raymond_wong7]

In addition also consider what you will do with the NEF files after tht fact. In terms of a PC or a Mac I hope you have one of the newer ones or you will find yourself spending money on computer upgrades to take advantage of the larger files from the D2X. I have been down that road recently going from a D2H to the D2X.

[aaron l]

You may not like carrying around a digi and film at the same time. If you go for broke & get your D2X, it's likely you won't be doing your film again unless you get a job that requests it. DO NOT buy it and take it on a major trip the next day. Dust/lint will kill you alone. Do you really need NEF files for this trip? The file size will eat you alive.

 

Don't forget - importing items will likely cause you to pay import duties. That can be a lot of money!

[patricks]

Cham,

 

if your plan is to bring back good images from this trip your above mentioned strategy is not a good one. A DSLR, a D2X in particular, is a very complex piece of machinery and you need to do some extensive testing right out of the box to ensure that it works 100% (I don't see how you can do that without bringing a laptop with a calibrated screen), also buying it from a trusted dealer that will swap it out for you if there are any problems. Not to metion, your ability to get is serviced for a reasonable cost/turn-around time for years to come.

 

Furthermore, the D2X is a very sensitive machine from what I've read. There are so many options/tweaks that you could do so you would benefit greatly from having thoroughly tested it for days/weeks before bringing it on a major journey.

 

For Lexar vs. Sandisk, go to www.robgalbraith.com and look up D2X in the CD performance database.

 

Mac warranty is kind of a scam. It states that they will try to fix it for the extended period, but if they cannot, you're out of lack. Not worth the money IMO.

 

If this is a really important journey where you hope to bring back real keepers the advice is obvious - work with what you got/know. If this trip is for other purposes, it may be a good opportunity to pick up D2X at a better price than Australia, IF you are willing to carry all the risks. Personally, I've been in the software/hardware business for close to a decade and I know to buy my gear from authorized in-country dealers that I trust. When the dollar was stronger it did make sense to shop around, and perhaps you want to ping Joseph Yao in Hong Kong to check his prices on a D2X so you could have it delivered well in advance of your trip.

 

Happy trails and snaps!

[RaymondC]

Cham,

 

I say email some stores in SG to determine the intl warranty. Or email SG Nikon. I know that in some countries with digi products they may be intl like in HK.

 

If its not Maxwell Australia will fix it for a fee thou. Courier to SG Nikon and back would prob be around $150AU, my D70 was about $150NZ given the ligheterweight to JP where I bought from.

[RaymondC]

To avoid import tax under repair best to see Aust's Dept of Customs or similar .. that was how I avoided import tax on something I owned prior to sending it out.

[craig_bridge]

Would you buy a brand new type of film, one you had never used before, and put it in your F5 for the trip? The thing about DSLR's is that in addition to a new camera body you are getting a new type of film at the same time (and a very unforgiving one in terms of over exposure lattitude and noisy shadows)! Additionally, it is a new film size so all your lens choices change.

[lex_jenkins]

When I first got my D2H it was almost never out of my hands. I shot about 500 photos a day. At that rate it took two or three weeks to become completely comfortable with every option on the camera.

 

I've had the camera and SB-800 for about three months now. I'm still trying to get the hang of the flash. Fortunately it works so well in full TTL mode I don't have to worry about the other options.

 

I have two Sandisk Extreme III 1 GB CF cards. I haven't yet been able to outrun then, even at full resolution in NEF/JPEG-Fine mode, at the maximum framerate. Part of that is due to the camera's buffer, but it's a damned good card for a camera that's capable of taking advantage of the speed. It also makes for faster transfers from camera or media reader to the computer.

[mark newcombe www.mcnphoto]

I spoke to Maxwell's yesterday and they told me that they will have the D2X in stock in a couple of weeks.

 

Didn't help me though as I need it for this weekend (two broken cameras last weekend) so now i'm doing the ring around as I'm about 25th on the list at my local shop.

 

Asked if I could get mine looked at urgently and was told "they are flat out and couldn't possible have it back by the weekend" I explained the urgency and basically got told bad luck. BTW it sounds like a faulty dial is the problem.

 

I came home added up my nikon gear retail prices which came to around $30,000 and which i could sell for maybe $12,000 (after two bodies get repaired) and I'm thinking seriously about it for the first time.

 

This is what the rep said. "there will be no more waiting lists in two weeks" They currently have nil stock of the following (D2X, D2H's, D2H, D100 or D70's) you can get most of these at the shops and given Maxwell don't sell retail. I guess we are stuck with supply issues driving prices up. I thought to myself it'd be a great business if I didn't have any stock to worry about.

 

Told the guy I could get one from the USA and asked what the official word is on warranty such as MAC, his response was "no digital slr is covered by MAC or any other aftermarket warranty, Maxwell will fix it but they will charge you to do it".

 

I'd grab one where you can and take the punt.

 

Keep an eye out on the classifieds there maybe some cheap gear going soon.

[RaymondC]

If you got a international warranty card even with digital products then Maxwell would need to agree to that. Some countries do supply them, dunno why or how thou.

 

Maxwell is correct but that is assuming the majority of countries do not provide intl warranties for dSLRs however a few do give them.

[RaymondC]

I mean hey, ship back to SG if it does not have a intl warranty to service is about $150AU (return). Big deal .. if you lose out the cam in SG + freight cost for warranty is prob still lower than AU. If no probs in 1yr you win out.

 

The only issue is time thou. You have a film body to be used in case right?

 

Then again in NZ and AU the film cost are crazy, a roll of Velvia or Provia et al .. is about $15-20US here equivalent in NZ. The USA prices of Kodak Ekta Pro films are bit more expensive at about $8US, here in NZ is kinda the same as $15-20US EQ so maybe a bit cushioned effect with that. AU should be better than NZ but I heard its still crazy, many stuff as crazy as in NZ.

 

I have only got my D70 remote here in NZ lol.. Even my film and batt charger and rechargeie batts are from abroad, namely US or HK.

[ky2]

Seriously, Cham.. how much does an F100 weigh? take it with you, and buy a D2x. If things dont work out, revert to film. IMHO the D2x is a brilliant camera. If you can drop the cash on it, go for it.

[cham_saranasuriya]

Thanks all for the information.

 

I am also a bit hesitant to use a new camera for the first time on a trip. The only digital camera that I have used is Canon Ixus 500. When I bought my IBM laptop, rather than getting at a bargain price from HK I got it from Melb mainly for aftersales service. DSLR is essentially a small computer. May be it is logical to buy from a local dealer when the prices are a bit more stabilised.

 

Mark Newcombe - Ted's camera, Melb had 2 D2Xs yesterday when I rang them.

 

Shun - I can hire a D70, D1X or D2H to check it out. It is not cheap to hire though.

 

The advantage of buying from Melb is that I get a few weeks to familiarise with this new toy. But then it is significantly expensive. Also need to add for the extra battery, CF cards, storage device (I do noy want to carry a laptop). As I do not earn a cent from photography I find it difficult to justify the purchase for the price in Melb. May be the safest and the economical option is to use film for this trip.

[ShunCheung]

Cham, D70 is very affordable and popular. Is it possible at all for you to borrow one for a day or even just a few hours? Just get a bit familiar with it will help you. Renting DSLRs is expensive even here in California. You can buy a Canon 20D for like $1400 or so but they charge you $100 per day to rent it.

 

In my case, it took me over a year to gradually transition to digital. To date, I still have onwed just one digital camera. You probably should count on still shooting at least some film on this trip, but there will be film and processing costs.

 

Of course there is no simple and risk-free answer, or you wouldn't have posted this question to begin with. :-)

[sl attanapola]

The price of the D70 may have dropped in anticipation of the D70s.Also the D50 is coming out too.Have you considered buying one of these?

 

Initial previews seem to indicate that the D50 will be a better "snapshot" machine than the D70 although the D70 will be ultimately more capable.

 

The D70 also has metering similiar to the Nikon F5 and it should not be too hard to get to grips with!The D2X however maybe another kettle of fish!

[h_l2]

#1 - I find that the D2X is produces images which are significantly different compared to the D1 & D100 which I've used previously. Each camera seems to have it's own character. So if you are indeed using it for the first time then I would recommend only shooting RAW so that you don't need to worry about tweaking the custom settings which will affect the JPEGs.

 

#2 - I get about 100 uncompressed RAW images on a 2G card - so count about double that.

 

#3 - Rob Galbraith's tests show the Extreme III significantly faster than the Lexar 80x. The Lexar was selling at <SGD300 while the Extreme III was >SGD350 for 2G cards. Prices may have changed though as I last checked about a month ago.

 

#4 - I prefer to carry a laptop but have had no need to review that choice since the advent of the CoolWalker and Epson P-2000.

[imatate]

Hi.

I just returned from Ethiopia and brought a brand new D2X (2) days before

leaving and took it.. I usually bring film and a film camera just in case but no

more. D2X on raw is better than film scanned on a drum. No more hassling

the film and xray machines. Awesome camera. Don't waste time with the jpqs.

Even the highest quality doesn't come close to the raw. Besides being 8 bit

sucks. I got throw off a horse separated my shoulder in a very remote region

near Beta Gadet and had to put my 60 lb. camera backpack on another horse.

The rain came down so hard it washed off the protective trash bag. The

camera got wet. But after a day of drying out it worked fine. You need to figure

the basic settings out and stick with them. I am an old school manual focus

puller guy and that saved me alot of grief since the options in AF are

mindblowing. Bring several cards at least 2 gig each you will use them up

very fast. The highlight feature is awesome once you figure it out. I finally

started using it near the end of my trip and the exposures were dead on after

that. Good luck.