Nikon D3X

[James Parker]

Has anyone had a chance to try the new D3X? If so- What do you think? Jim

[allanrube]

I am interested too, especially how would the crop mode compare to a D300 image - and how would the noise be - at say - 1000 - compared to the D300.

[Art Peslak]

I have had the D3x for a few months. The files it puts out are stunning in both detail and dynamic range. I have not used the crop mode so I can't compare it to the D300. The noise level on a properly exposed shot is comparable to the D3 up to ISO 1600. Above ISO1600, the D3 is the choice.

One downside is if you are shooting in 14 bit mode the frame rate in continuous mode drops to about 2 frames per second from 5 in 12 bit mode. The files open as Tiffs in PS at about 140mb so you need to have a relatively cutting edge computer to process the files in any reasonable amount of time and they will quickly eat up storage space on your hard drive.

[James Parker]

I have had the D3x for a few months. The files it puts out are stunning in both detail and dynamic range. I have not used the crop mode so I can't compare it to the D300. The noise level on a properly exposed shot is comparable to the D3 up to ISO 1600. Above ISO1600, the D3 is the choice.

One downside is if you are shooting in 14 bit mode the frame rate in continuous mode drops to about 2 frames per second from 5 in 12 bit mode. The files open as Tiffs in PS at about 140mb so you need to have a relatively cutting edge computer to process the files in any reasonable amount of time and they will quickly eat up storage space on your hard drive.

Art, Doesn't the 24.5 Megapixels make for a much nicer(Finer pixelated) photo?
What would the advantages be over the D3? Thanks for your reply Jim

[Art Peslak]

Jim,
The D3x is capable of superb detail rendering. I am not into real technical type of testing but I'll give you my somewhat subjective impressions from my shooting. If you shoot at low ISO's, the D3X clearly has the advantage over the D3 in rendering fine detail. As you get above 1600 ISO, the D3x starts to get significantly noisier than the D3 and loses its advantage in rendering fine detail. The advantages pros and cons relate to what you shoot. Shooting landscapes in available light at low ISO's, the D3x is better. When shooting birds, especially small birds, you can crop the D3x files in post processing and still have a file that can be readily enlarged with good detail.

I hope this helps.

[James Parker]

Jim,
The D3x is capable of superb detail rendering. I am not into real technical type of testing but I'll give you my somewhat subjective impressions from my shooting. If you shoot at low ISO's, the D3X clearly has the advantage over the D3 in rendering fine detail. As you get above 1600 ISO, the D3x starts to get significantly noisier than the D3 and loses its advantage in rendering fine detail. The advantages pros and cons relate to what you shoot. Shooting landscapes in available light at low ISO's, the D3x is better. When shooting birds, especially small birds, you can crop the D3x files in post processing and still have a file that can be readily enlarged with good detail.

I hope this helps.

ART, Thanks for taking your time to reply. The info is a great help. Jim