The Nikon D3 camera - my full review part 2


A few more recent comments about the D3

My mini-review


Basketball


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I had to shoot basketball recently and I have been happy with the results I got from the D3. First of all, something evident, the high ISO and the auto-ISO capabilities are amazing. I shot in auto-ISO (max 6400), manual mode 1/400-1/500 sec oscillating between f2.8 and f5.6 (2.8 is too limiting wrt DOF on the D3, you need some DOF to see the players correctly, f4 being a good compromise). Second comment: I still find the AF a bit counter-intuitive but I found a way to handle it... I used continuous mode, CH (9fps), 9, 21, and 51 3D points and I ended up with 21 points (I still would like to see them in the viewfinder). I put the delay on long to keep my subject in focus and this helped. I also used the AF-ON button a lot to reactivate the AF on any other subject while moving (you need to be fast, it was a difficult exercise, basketball players move pretty fast). This gave me a reliable system to do what I wanted to do, because the full 3D system is working but is still a bit unpredictable. Last but not least, I shot everything with the 70-200VR, most of the shots in DX mode... I was in fact using my D3H :D just a few random examples, no PP other than resizing the jpegs, no time to process the RAW files until now. a slideshow with a selection is available here:
The slideshow




a special effect, somebody shot with flash at the exact moment I took a picture

strange way to hold a video camera (this was the local TV)


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Ultrawide - the Nikkor 14-24 2.8


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This lens is just amazing... supersharp even fully open, a new legend. The D3 allows in combination with that lens to get the extreme wide angle perspective back: a real 14mm full frame is just amazing !

See also my more detailed review here.

A few example shots:





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The new firmware upgrade


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Nikon listened to their users and released a new firmware for the D3.

They first published an upgraded firmware with a bug in it (corrupted pictures under relatively special circumstances, 9 fps, RAW 14 bits, fast UDMA cards...). They removed that firmware from their site and published a revised version a few weeks later. Even if there was a glitch, this has been handled very professionally by Nikon. The new upgrade is highly recommended, it addresses a few interesting points:

- vignette control (to be selected manually)
- focus point illumination is now programmable
- auto ISO sensitivity control improved (selectable ISO and shutter speed)

Details:

The firmware can be downloaded on Nikon's website

Windows Version
Mac Version

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The potential improvements.


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As already said, the Nikon D3 is just the best camera there is (as of today, beginning of 2008), but it is not necessarily the perfect tool for everybody.
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Conclusions

Highly recommended !!!

The D3 is just the best allround camera there is at the moment.

Pros

Cons


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