Posted by Rob Howard on February 14, 2008 at 10:58 AM
Hi All,
I have heard nothing but praise for this camera, even Andy Rouse in his newsletter has swithched to a D3 for an upcoming trip. With the debacle going on with the Canon MKIII, is the Nikon really all it's made up to be? I doubt I Would ever switch from Canon but hey you never know
Hi it's the best high iso camera you can buy at the moment, I did have both on loan from nikon UK before they were released, for my type of shooting I prefer the D300, the real drawback for me personally was it doesn't have enough resolution the 12 megapixel D300/D2x are great at resolving extremely fine detail which I am particularly fond of.
When I worked out the actual line pairs per mm each camera can resolve the best is d2x d300 at 91 line pairs per mm in both directions across the censor then came the 40d @ 87 lppmm then the d200 @ 82lppmm and finally the 1dsmk3 @78 lppmm the D3 only manages to scrape in at 59lppmm and in DX mode it's just over 27lppmm the 1dmk3 is around the same as the D3.
So it depends on what you want high shutter speed via the high iso capabilities with what I would call average resolution, or something capable of very high resolution but is best only used during daylight hours having said that the d300 seems to do extremely well up to iso2000 keeping extremely fine detail without too much high iso noise.
Phillip.
Phillip.
Posted by Andy Astbury on February 14, 2008 at 11:28 AM
Well Rob, I don't know about the D3, but seeing as you use a 1DMk2 I think you'd be just a bit impressed with the D300.
The D3 is, imho, really a press camera when you cut through all the hype - a replacement for the D2Hs that lets the press guys have their wide angles back.
What will be worth looking at is the expected D3X when they've shoe-horned that 25+Mp FF sony chip into a body
Posted by Tim Munsey on February 14, 2008 at 11:31 AM
I think to switch systems is daft frankly, I'm sure Canon will respond accordingly. I have the D3 and its the most exciting piece of kit I've had for sure, so many boundries have gone, all I need is time and more imagination. Fact is though, its the nut behind the camera that matters most.
Tim
Posted by Paul Gibbs on February 14, 2008 at 12:23 PM
I have shot both Canon and Nikon, i read a review of nikon and canon's once which really seem to fit the cameras.
Canons are made by technicians and have all the features Nikons are made by photographers and have all the handling.
Between a 1D and a D2/3 for all out ergonomics the Nikons are by far the best. With the D3 also having about the best ISO perofrmance atm too its win win for most things...
Saying that i dont plan on swapping from my D2X for the forseeable future.
Posted by Dave Courtenay on February 14, 2008 at 12:23 PM
Agree with you Tim but it does help when the camera gives a consistantly sharp image
Posted by Tim Munsey on February 14, 2008 at 12:36 PM
Posted by Ian Andrews on February 14, 2008 at 12:55 PM
I'm fortunate in having used all of the system manufacturers products extensively over the last three years, but keeping swapping over doesn't help your photography. So, I needed to decide which system I wanted to invest in myself.
The release of the D200 made my mind up for me, and I was considering buying a second body when the D3/300 were announced.
On launch day I recieved a D300 from Nikon for review, followed soon after by a D3.
It took nearly four days for me to get a D300 of my own!
As with Phillip above, for me the D300 is the better buy for the type of shooting I do. (Didn't want to loose the crop!)
However, the high ISO performance of the D3 is in a class of it's own.
There may well be a 24mp D3X on the cards, but as usual Nikon are keeping very quiet for the momment.
You can see my opinions of the D300 Here and the D3 here
Posted by Rob Howard on February 14, 2008 at 2:10 PM
Hi Guys,
Thanks for the replies. It's not just the performance I was thinking about but also the control layout, for instance on my MKII for nearly all functions it's a two handed job(need to press two buttons at the same time) I think this has been carried onto the MKIII, this plus all the focus problems for me is very negative, I was hoping to upgrade my cameras in the summer but now will probably wait and see what Canon have to offer in early 2009 and hopefully by then the dust will have settled, also dont the Nikon have some sort of auto ISO?? (does this eliminate to a certain extent leaving the camera on an incorrect ISO setting, something I do way to often in the heat of the moment!!)
Regards
Rob
Posted by Tim Munsey on February 14, 2008 at 2:29 PM
Hi Rob,
I have auto ISO from 200 to 6400, and with the camera producing such clean images I can just leave it in manual exposure picking a fast shutter speed and adjusting aperture to need and not worry about the ISO.
I thought canon had introduced this feature to a limited extent.
Tim
Posted by Paul Inglis on February 14, 2008 at 2:31 PM
For my two cents worth, I think that it matters not between the two. Both can, have and will produce excellent images (up to the photogragher!).
I chose Nikon simply becasue in the hand it just felt right!
I wouldn't or rather couldn't change now as I've invested so heavily in lens, etc... it would easily cost £30k to switch over - madness.
I firmly believe its who's behind the lens that really counts! Not in the publicity hype in mags, online forums or otherwise!
Posted by Dave Courtenay on February 14, 2008 at 2:34 PM
Rob
The 2 handed controls of the MK2 have now gone and the MK3 are all 1 handed-great to use,ergonomically its a great camera and when the focusing gets its right boy do the files look good-better than any other camera i have used and i am sure that when ever Canon get their act together and sort the AF out so that its consistant it will give any current camera a good run for its money
Dave
Posted by Rob Howard on February 14, 2008 at 3:56 PM
Cheers Dave, just what I wanted to hear. As Paul says a change for me would be madness to with all my kit.
Rob
Posted by Joanne Mead on February 16, 2008 at 1:59 PM
I've certainly got too much Canon gear to ever consider switching from Canon to Nikon. However, when the professionals start ditching their Canon gear in favour of the competition, it suggests that Canon really do need to get their act together. They've just been selling to much kit recently that's been subject to recalls. The 24-105 f/4, the 70-300 that needed fixing, the 1D MkIII AF issues, some of their consumer kit has also had issues. I've heard of 400D SLRs with issues. It's not good and it will cost them No. 1 spot.
Maybe the race to deliver new models has just been too great for QC and the kit has been launched before it was truly ready. I don't know. I will be sticking to what I've got, that's for sure.
Discussion
13 repliesI have heard nothing but praise for this camera, even Andy Rouse in his newsletter has swithched to a D3 for an upcoming trip. With the debacle going on with the Canon MKIII, is the Nikon really all it's made up to be? I doubt I Would ever switch from Canon but hey you never know
Regards
Rob
When I worked out the actual line pairs per mm each camera can resolve the best is d2x d300 at 91 line pairs per mm in both directions across the censor then came the 40d @ 87 lppmm then the d200 @ 82lppmm and finally the 1dsmk3 @78 lppmm the D3 only manages to scrape in at 59lppmm and in DX mode it's just over 27lppmm the 1dmk3 is around the same as the D3.
So it depends on what you want high shutter speed via the high iso capabilities with what I would call average resolution, or something capable of very high resolution but is best only used during daylight hours having said that the d300 seems to do extremely well up to iso2000 keeping extremely fine detail without too much high iso noise.
Phillip.
Phillip.
The D3 is, imho, really a press camera when you cut through all the hype - a replacement for the D2Hs that lets the press guys have their wide angles back.
What will be worth looking at is the expected D3X when they've shoe-horned that 25+Mp FF sony chip into a body
Tim
Canons are made by technicians and have all the features Nikons are made by photographers and have all the handling.
Between a 1D and a D2/3 for all out ergonomics the Nikons are by far the best. With the D3 also having about the best ISO perofrmance atm too its win win for most things...
Saying that i dont plan on swapping from my D2X for the forseeable future.
A great site for comparing camera's is
http://www.imaging-resource.com/IMCOMP/COMPS01.HTM
You can see at ISO 800 the D3 gives greater detail than the D300 and D2Xs.
Tim
The release of the D200 made my mind up for me, and I was considering buying a second body when the D3/300 were announced.
On launch day I recieved a D300 from Nikon for review, followed soon after by a D3.
It took nearly four days for me to get a D300 of my own!
As with Phillip above, for me the D300 is the better buy for the type of shooting I do. (Didn't want to loose the crop!)
However, the high ISO performance of the D3 is in a class of it's own.
There may well be a 24mp D3X on the cards, but as usual Nikon are keeping very quiet for the momment.
You can see my opinions of the D300 Here and the D3 here
Thanks for the replies. It's not just the performance I was thinking about but also the control layout, for instance on my MKII for nearly all functions it's a two handed job(need to press two buttons at the same time) I think this has been carried onto the MKIII, this plus all the focus problems for me is very negative, I was hoping to upgrade my cameras in the summer but now will probably wait and see what Canon have to offer in early 2009 and hopefully by then the dust will have settled, also dont the Nikon have some sort of auto ISO?? (does this eliminate to a certain extent leaving the camera on an incorrect ISO setting, something I do way to often in the heat of the moment!!)
Regards
Rob
I have auto ISO from 200 to 6400, and with the camera producing such clean images I can just leave it in manual exposure picking a fast shutter speed and adjusting aperture to need and not worry about the ISO.
I thought canon had introduced this feature to a limited extent.
Tim
I chose Nikon simply becasue in the hand it just felt right!
I wouldn't or rather couldn't change now as I've invested so heavily in lens, etc... it would easily cost £30k to switch over - madness.
I firmly believe its who's behind the lens that really counts!
The 2 handed controls of the MK2 have now gone and the MK3 are all 1 handed-great to use,ergonomically its a great camera and when the focusing gets its right boy do the files look good-better than any other camera i have used and i am sure that when ever Canon get their act together and sort the AF out so that its consistant it will give any current camera a good run for its money
Dave
Rob
Maybe the race to deliver new models has just been too great for QC and the kit has been launched before it was truly ready. I don't know. I will be sticking to what I've got, that's for sure.
Jo