Nikon Introduces Df Retro DSLR

[mike_halliwell]

<blockquote>

<p>Nikon is, I think, VASTLY overestimating the number of people who will buy this camera that has the wrong sensor, the wrong AF module, and the wrong price.<br>

Fire sale coming in the spring... $1500.00, get 'em while they're hot</p>

 

</blockquote>

<p>I agree, but in the UK, that would mean a 66% drop, which is never going to happen......and, more importantly, for the £ equivalent of $1500 ~ £1000, I could still go and get a brand new D7100 and fast standard lens....and get change.</p>

<p>For me that's a 'No-Brainer'! I hope they do sell lots and put that money into sorting out a DX version of the D4!</p>

[Two23]

<p>Wouter--</p>

<p>What you are missing is this is a fairly large camera. The appeal of the Leica and Fuji is they are SMALL, and they have SMALL lenses. Same for the FM2n etc. I don't think it competes at all with the small Fuji/Oly/Leica/Sony cameras. The camera has cool styling, but that's about it's only appeal. That and "Pure Photography." ;-)</p>

<h1 id="watch-headline-title" >Fahrvergnugen!</h1>

<p><a href="

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Kent in SD</p>

[Peter_in_PA]

<p>Kent,</p>

<p>more like this.</p>

<p>

 

[dan_brown4]

<p>15mm eyepoint! I wear glasses.</p>

<p>Wait, what is the eyepoint on the D800 and D700?</p>

[nick_baker]

<p>I wasn't going to rush out an buy it anyway, but the lack of manual focusing aids is disappointing. If I had this camera I would often want to go lightweight with my MF lenses. </p>

[keirst]

<p>In my opinion, the traditional control layout is something Nikon should have kept all along. It’s not about being “retro” for style, but about efficient ergonomics. I remember the first Nikon I had with a multifunction wheel and big LCD display on the topside, the N8008 (F-801 outside North America). I really hated the way it slowed me down when changing basic settings like shutter speed. I’m sure many people preferred the multifunction dial, but I hated it so much I traded it in for an F4, which is I think is Nikon’s best designed pro film camera, ergonomically perfect for me. I never bought another Nikon until my D800E, and while I love the image quality from the camera, I don’t love its controls which are only slightly better than the N8008. <br /><br />My Leica M9P is much nicer to use than the D800E. Shutter speed dials are great because you don’t even have to have the camera on to set it up for the available light if you are used to gauging conditions and know the sunny 16 guidelines. The Df goes one better than the Leica M DRF cameras with an ISO dial. Hooray for these time-tested controls which make photography faster and more enjoyable for me. It also appears you can ignore these on the Df and set it up to use multifunctional command dials, which is the best of both worlds though it surely ads a bit to the price tag which does seem a bit on the high side, but will inevitably come down in a year or two.<br /><br />If I had a need for a low light camera I would definitely buy a Nikon Df, but I will wait for a higher res version. I don’t think people are at all correct in saying this camera is only aimed at collectors and fondlers of cameras. Not every serious photographer thinks like you. This looks like a serious photography tool to me. It’s not exactly what I would want, but much, much closer to my ideal than any previous DSLR from any company.</p>

[kenneth_smith7]

<p>No thanks. I'm not putting anymore of my cameras on the shelf. </p>

[dan_brown4]

<p>That's too bad. The 15mm eyepoint finder is truly a deal breaker for me. And, I would have purchased one.</p>

<p>:-(</p>

[Dave Luttmann]

If Nikon thinks slapping a silver top on it with a dial makes an "experience," then they really don't understand. Useless

focussing screen for manual lenses. Just a 15mm eyepoint. Just another chunky DSLR.

[Wouter Willemse]

<p>Kent,</p>

<blockquote>

<p>Wouter--What you are missing is this is a fairly large camera.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Good point. As I said in my first post, I find it a bit fat (compared to the F3 I bought to become a hipster-with-too-small-a-budget-for-a-leica), which makes me doubt I'll like the size of the handgrip. It is larger than it should have been, I agree.<br>

On the other hand, maybe it isn't meant as a direct competitor to those Olympus/Fuji/Leica retro-cameras, but instead Nikon's own take on it. An alternative approach.</p>

<p>As long as Nikon clearly markets it as a niche product, a product addressing specific needs and wants (rather than mass-appeal), it might work. Let the market decide. All I've tried to say: let's not be too dismissive about the product, its buyers and its potential uses before we actually hear back from those who use it, or read the message that none have been sold.</p>

[Member69643]

<p>If you want the camera and can afford it, buy it.</p>

<p>If you want the camera but can't afford it:</p>

 

<ol>

<li>Get a second job</li>

<li>Sell everything you need to to get it</li>

<li>Borrow money from your cousin "Sharkey" at 25%</li>

<li>Use what you have but tell everyone you used this camera</li>

<li>Sell blood. Sell plasma. Sell bone marrow. </li>

<li>Tell Nikon you're a "well known internet persona" who must have one to review</li>

<li>Ask your boss for a raise. Have a second job lined up</li>

<li>Open up a wedding photography business</li>

<li>Corner the eBay market in used Nikon EM bodies. Make profit</li>

<li>Sulk until your mom buys you one</li>

</ol>

<p>If you don't want one and can afford it... wow. A sensible person.</p>

<p>:)</p>

[rick_m.]

<p>Well it is very cool looking. So my first impression was to look hopefully at the technical specs and see why I should buy this beautiful retro piece. Oh if it only had voice memo and a better autofocus module..... Then, unimpressed, I thought Nikon was sort of crazy to put this out there. After an entire hour of thinking about this I have concluded that Nikon has done something very smart.<br>

This is not a camera for pixel peepers. They wouldn't buy 16MP if it could shoot in the dark. Soon the low-light claims will come flooding in and we will have to put up with that again but in the end the techo-geeks will not settle for it. Just like they still look skeptically at the D4.</p>

<p>This is not a camera for professionals and it never was. It is gelded in most of the important places.</p>

<p>This is a camera for people who have not pulled the digital trigger yet for sure. Their learning curve will be very short. They can use the Nikkor lenses they have convinced themselves are better because they are old and Japanese. <br>

One exception to the "pros" comment that I made comes to mind. This camera just might be a great studio camera. With the WIFI and ability to use older lenses it could just work. On a tripod those controls might be nice. </p>

<p>This camera does not compete with any of the other Nikons. There is absolutely no good reason to buy it. That is why Nikon is smart to build it. Plenty of folks will buy it. It will soon have a cult following. Though I have a D4 and am so in love with my D7100 I might. I would buy it for the very reason Nikon built it. Just for fun. And I can't think of a better reason to buy a new camera.<br>

</p>

<p> </p>

[Didier Lamy]

<p>I would not be surprised to see Nikon making special editions of this Df, like Leica with the M6 "millenium" (wait for the 4th), MP à la carte (ostrich skin), Carbon fiber (instead of titanium),and above all the M9 Monochrom (I will buy it). </p>

[eric_arnold]

<p>The Df is a niche product. that's what nikon needs, to connect with its legacy, if it's going to survive the onslaught of mirrorless and camera phones. it would have been nice if it had focus peaking for MF, but if the camera is a hit, maybe well get a Df2 down the line. it's not going to save the company overnight, but makes sense if you think about a five year plan.</p>

[ilkka_nissila]

I believe the purpose of this camera is not to gather 'retro' points or to target collectors, but to offer an excellent manual

focusing experience (precise focusing is currently only offered though LV; this offers a high quality optical alternative to it),

broad compatibility with F mount lenses and a modern sensor with mixed traditional / contemporary controls. Initial

reports suggest the manual focusing with the Df is indeed excellent but I am suspicious of the eyepoint even though that number has

been a somewhat unreliable indicator of how easy a camera is to use with glasses on in the past.

 

If the viewfinder turns out to really be what I hope it is, this could be a very important camera for manual focus lens users.

And there are many of us who prefer manual focus for many types of work. Live view manual focusing is about as

pleasant as eating tar in those Nikon DSLRs that I've used it with.

[bob_bill]

<p>No battery pack/vertical grip is a deal breaker for me if that is the case. </p>

[Dieter Schaefer]

<blockquote>

<p>Wait, what is the eyepoint on the D800 and D700?</p>

</blockquote>

<p>D700/D3/D3S/D3X/D4: 18mm<br /> D800: 17mm<br /> D600: 21mm<br /> F3HP: 25mm<br /> F4: 22mm<br /> D300: 19.5mm<br /> Df: 15mm - the shortest of all Nikon DSLRs AFAIK</p>

<p>Like with any new Nikon camera announcement, I ask myself what Nikon will do to screw things up. And here it is: a camera that is specifically advertised to be used with ALL Nikon manual focus lenses, even non-Ai (even though the procedure is hideous) - and then one cannot put a focusing screen in that is optimized for manual focusing? And they were designing this for <strong>FOUR</strong> years - yet that discrepancy didn't occur to anybody?<br /> Then there is the price - the body isn't even constructed like the D800 or D700; it's the same construction as the D7000/D7100/D600/D610.</p>

<p>@Wouter: the "fatness" of the Df may make that small grip work better than the one on the F3 does (which only marginally improved handling for me over the non-gripped FM/FM2 bodies).</p>

<p>This retro reminds me of cars with stick shift: back in the days when automatic just came into being (in Germany anyways), it was easy to do better with the manual control. Technical progress now gives us an automatic that you can't even dream of beating with a stick (shift). I had to adjust to the Nikon's "new" two command dial ways with the D70 - but once I did, I can't see any advantage in the "old" way anymore. And that top LCD display is the best control center ever - everything is there in one place - what can possibly be more convenient?</p>

[virginia_john_mybusiness]

<p>I think they ought to sell dozens of these.</p>

[chip_chipowski]

<p>I have no problem with criticism.....but maaaaybe some of the haters can set up a separate thread to announce they will not be buying this camera? </p>

<p>I love the camera if I could afford it. I think it is probably directed toward the hobby crowd, especially those with a collection of old mf Nikkors. I understand the critics that say it is not state-of-the-art, but I don't think that disqualifies it for its intended purpose. </p>

[liljuddakalilknyttphotogra]

<p>I do think this brings me back to the old days with my old film camera Nikons. But no, I will not be buying. Cute though :)</p>

[jamie_robertson2]

<p>I think Nikon should have taken this approach with their V system cameras rather than making an expensive retro DSLR that only a select few will want. If their mirrorless cameras looked like this, they would sell cartloads.</p>

[bryce_l.]

<p>And for roughly another $100.00 here in Canada could purchase a new D800 right out of the box.<br>

Nice idea but will it sell in sufficient numbers to justify the research to develop such a device?<br>

Kent Staubus is correct. <br>

"I'm almost a "hipster." I regularly use the older Leica IIIc.<br /> I'm not quite cool enough to get an M2 yet. ;-)<br /> Oh yeah--I do shoot with a Rolleiflex too."<br>

and maybe that's all anybody really needs as opposed to want.</p>

<p> </p>

[leslie_cheung]

<p>Would the AF mechanism worth the complaining, as people would put MF lenses on it anyway? But the focusing screen (is it switchable? and eyepoint) could be better though...Remember it is for the retro, could afford it buyers...</p>

[peter_simpson1]

<p>Or, for about $175, you could buy a used F3 and have *genuine* retro...without the digital, of course, but why would anyone want that?<br>

:-)</p>

[jose_angel]

<p>I know I`m not the target for this camera.</p>

<p>But I like it, it`s a nice camera, the AF for sure is capable in most situations, the sensor should be the best one for available light, it is smaller and lighter that others, old lenses can be attached, but...</p>

<p>The main thing that makes me to move back is the lack of video... I don`t want to buy or to have two or three digital cameras (I cannot afford them, anyway). I already have too many cameras... and I find that these days, good video capability is a must, like on the D800. My iPhone will do the rest.</p>