Preview based on a production Nikon D3, Firmare V1.0 (and V1.10)
The professional Nikon D 'single digit' series of digital SLR's started life back in June 1999 with the groundbreaking D1. Groundbreaking because it was the digital SLR that broke Kodak's stranglehold on the digital SLR market and fundamentally brought prices down to a level which most professionals could afford (around the US$5,500 mark). Since then we have seen a steady progression in the evolution of this line of cameras. Whilst the core values of a high quality full-size body with integrated grip have remained constant, the line split into two halves (indicated by the X and H suffixes), one targeted at high resolution photography the other high speed sports type photography (lower resolution but faster continuous shooting). It's been almost three years since Nikon introduced a completely new digital SLR with a new sensor (the D2X) and there had been much anticipation that Nikon's next move would be a full-frame chip.
And so it was, with the introduction last August of the new 'FX format' D3, featuring a 36 x 23.9 mm 12.1 megapixel CMOS sensor as well as a vast array of new features which absolutely raise it another notch above previous single digit Nikon DSLRs. Important headline improvements include high sensitivity support by default, up to ISO 6400 with 25600 available as a boost option, 14-bit A/D conversion, a new standard image processor, a new shutter, new auto focus sensor, focus tracking by color, nine frames per second continuous, dual compact flash support, DX lens support (albeit at lower resolution) with automatic cropping and a 3.0" 922,000 pixel LCD monitor (which it has to be said is lovely).
Some will undoubtedly question Nikon for 'only' delivering twelve megapixels on their first full frame digital SLR, all we can presume by looking at past model line history is that this camera is designed for speed (both in sensitivity, auto-focus and continuous shooting). Our first comment on seeing the D3 in the late summer of last year was 'where's the 'H' suffix?', something echoed many times in the months following announcement by commentators and photographers. Although Nikon remains tight-lipped about its future plans it seems fair to assume that Photokina will bring an EOS 1DS Mark III competitor (with higher resolution but without the high speed shooting).
Note: The day this review was finished Nikon announced a firmware upgrade for the D3, which added a couple of new features (including vignette correction and control over the brightness of the AF points) and a few bug fixes. Today Nikon pulled the upgrade as in certain circumstances (shooting at maximum speed in 14-bit RAW mode) it can 'in rare circumstances' cause corruption of some images. We updated the firmware on our test D3 yesterday and have not been able to recreate the issue, though many of our forum members have. 99% of this review was done with the original (v1.00) firmware.
| Model | Announced |
Effective pixels |
Auto focus |
Continuous highest (JPEG) | LCD monitor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D1 | Jun 1999 | 2.6 mp | 5 point | 4.5 fps, 21 frames | 2.0", 120K pixels |
| D1X | Feb 2001 | 5.3 mp | 5 point | 3.0 fps, 9 frames | 2.0", 130K pixels |
| D1H | Feb 2001 | 2.7 mp | 5 point | 5.0 fps, 40 frames | 2.0", 130K pixels |
| D2H | Jul 2003 | 4.1 mp | 11 point | 8.0 fps, 40 frames | 2.5", 211K pixels |
| D2X | Sep 2004 | 12.2 mp | 11 point | 5.0 fps, 22 frames *1 | 2.5" 235K pixels |
| D2Hs | Feb 2005 | 4.1 mp | 11 point | 8.0 fps, 50 frames | 2.5" 235K pixels |
| D2Xs | Jun 2006 | 12.2 mp | 11 point | 5.0 fps, 22 frames *1 | 2.5" 230K pixels |
| D3 | Aug 2007 | 12.1 mp (FF) | 51 point | 9.0 fps, 130 frames *2 | 3.0" 922K pixels + Live View |
*1 Also 8 fps in cropped mode (6.7 MP)
*2 Up to 11 fps with DX format (5.1 MP)
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| FX format sensor (Nikon design) | Sensor mounted on its module |
|---|---|
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| Main board with EXPEED processor | EXPEED processor |
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| 51-point Multi-CAM 3500FX AF sensor unit | Viewfinder pentaprism |
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| 1005-pixel metering sensor | Shutter |
If you're new to digital photography you may wish to read some of our Digital Photography Glossary before diving into this article (it may help you understand some of the terms used).
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Dpreview use calibrated monitors at the PC normal gamma 2.2, this means that on our monitors we can make out the difference between all of the grayscale blocks below. We recommend to make the most of this review you should be able to see the difference (at least) between X,Y and Z and ideally also A, B and C.
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Nikon D3 12.1MP FX Digital SLR Camera (Body Only) | $9,999.00 |
Nikon D3 12.1MP FX Digital SLR Camera (Body Only) | $9,999.00 |
Nikon D4 16.2 MP CMOS FX Digital SLR with Full 1080p HD Video (Body Only) | $5,996.95 |
Nikon D800 36.3 MP CMOS FX-Format Digital SLR Camera (Body Only) | $2,796.95 |
Nikon D3100 14.2MP Digital SLR Camera with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AF-S DX VR Nikkor Zoom Lens | $446.95 |
Nikon D3S 12.1 MP CMOS Digital SLR Camera with 3.0-Inch LCD and 24fps 720p HD Video Capability (Body Only) | $6,799.99 |
Nikon D3200 24.2 MP CMOS Digital SLR with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AF-S DX VR NIKKOR Zoom Lens (Black) | $546.95 |
Nikon D600 24.3 MP CMOS FX-Format Digital SLR Camera (Body Only) | $1,849.99 |
Nikon D7100 24.1 MP DX-Format CMOS Digital SLR (Body Only) | $1,146.95 |
Nikon D2X DSLR 12.4 MP Camera | $318.00 |
Nikon D2Xs Digital SLR Camera | $999.00 |
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