aeiffel

<p>The model on show at Cebit was advertised with "4.8 dynamic range" (?!), and priced around 1500 EUR.<br/>It's really massive and the holders look quite sturdy.</p>

... and Capture NX 1.3 was included, there's a sticker on the box too.

I've been told I was among the group who got the first batch in France. We're supposed to be

a small dozen, but deliveries are planned each week.<br/>

My model SN is 20055xx, so I guess it has 25500 brothers around already. Now on the body

itself : I'm very pleased with it, great handling, great quality of pics till ISO 6400, the back

LCD is huge and can display loads of data. I've yet to test the different AF modes (51 3D and

such) in real situations and check if the 14bit mode really delivers.<br/>

Right now I'm finishing a job with the D2x, I'll start a new work with the D3 on friday and

share my findings with you.

Got mine from my local retailer (Strasbourg, France) today, pleasant surprise.<br/>

I'm not a NPS member anymore and my retailer didn't have to provide Nikon with information regarding

my pro status when he ordered it... so you guys can cross your fingers and stay near the phone.<br/>

Now time to play, offline for a while ;)

You're obviously into landscapes, so I can very well understand your lack of interest in the

D3. But you seem to put aside the action photography (sports, news, etc) needs : speed, FPS,

fast AF. The more the better. And the ability to bring back a usable picture has a significant

impact on some photographers incomes and career.<br/>

And no, ISO 12800 isn't enough to make a sharp capture of a fast moving objetc under

moonlight.

Both are listed in <a href="http://www.adobe.com/fr/downloads/updates/">Adobe

french product updates</a> with Nov 16th as their release date.<br/>

LR adds support for Leopard 10.5, 1Ds Mark III, Nikon D3, Nikon D300 et Olympus

E-3 cameras support is mentioned too.

Which file 'quality' do you prefer : 5Mpx or 12Mpx ?

I've always noticed a 2/3 stop difference between my sekonic and nikon cameras. I dial in a calibration compensation of 0.7 and they all agree again. Not a big deal as long as the shift is consistent.

They could update the 17-35 by adding VR and their new "nano coating", and maybe extend the range a little, let's say 16-40. I'd probably replace mine if they did.

As I said, if the mirror mode doesn't affect the max fps and time needed to empty the buffer then it is the way to go. I can imagine this mode will put some burden on the processor and maybe lead to a measurable penalty.<br/>Then we also have to see if and how the D3 will let us know when one cards gets into trouble while we shoot. In the field I'll copy to 2 Colorspaces and need to know if a card was faulty, and which one.<br/>

Some questions waiting to be answered before we can really set up our new workflow...

I'll probably use the fallback mode for casual stuffs and the mirrored mode for important ones. But I have yet to see how the mirror option will affect the max shooting speed and number of consecutive pics filling the buffer ?

What lens did you use ? Zooms suck dust in, perhaps not that quickly though.

Absolutely not a problem indeed, LR catalogs are platform agnostic.

I pre-ordered mine at a small local retailer for 4590 EUR (19.6% VAT included), about the same street price as the D2X(s) in the last years.

What Guy said, and remember the F6 matrix metering also takes the overall contrast into account. Using a selective filter will affect it and the meter give a different reading.

Only thought is your database must be corrupt... you can try to move your previews to another location on your disc and open your catalog again (skip the verify step then). It did fix the issues I experienced since the upgrade to 1.2, may be worth a try.

Adobe has not released its plugin SDK yet. What DxO offers is a simple management of files like LR does with the "edit with CS" function.<br>

Basically either LR or DxO develops your Raw and then sends it back to the other app as a TIFF. However, if your source file is a TIFF or JPG the behaviour is closer to the plugin concept.

Agreed for AFS/VR versions of the 85 & 105, I'd buy them on sight. A revamped PC nikkor in the 24 range would be great too, 28 is just a bit too long sometimes. And add a 45/50 focal to the PC line up too...<br>

We all have different priorities and I'm with Harvey on a Nikkor face lift, but not just primes please : bring us an AFS/VRII 16-40 f2.8 and 70-200 VRII Santa Nikon, I have a big NAS right now ;)

On the Photo-flo issue<br>

I've had junk forming in a bottle of photo-flo lately, which forced me to switch to traditional dishwashing products (just make sure to avoid the fancy ones with hydrating agents). Fixed my late problem with junk on the negs.<br>

Just my 0.02

mmm, lovely D3...

I use the 85 f1.4 and 105 f2 DC over the 70-200 for serious portraits or very low light situations. The zoom is great for fast stuffs & candids though, but I don't like the 1.4m minimum focus distance, and it sure can look impressive/intimidating for your subject.

With the USM trick the radius setting makes all the difference, you've to find the one that suits your scans and prints sizes. Same goes for the shadow/highlight tool in PS.<br>

If you want to increase the "punch" of your scans you'd better use curves instead of the contrast tool.<br>

Below is an example of a raw scan and a basic edit using only the curve, level and unsharp mask tools.<div></div>

You can see a better version <a href=" or download the <a href="http://ted.streamguys.net/ted_nachtwey_j_2007_480.mov">quicktime mov</a>.

With a condenser head I'd go for 9-9.5mn in Xtol 1:1 @20?C (EI 400). Depending on your metering and the contrast range you could then work out your own times.

Neopan 400 can be pushed fairly well, use some diluted D76 or Xtol (1:2 to 1:3) or Microphen.