Advice on the Pro 14 n please

[Andy62252]

I'm looking at purchasing a second hand Pro 14n, to use for Studio and Wedding photography.

I've seen some awesome shots from this camera, but have also heard a lot about supposed problems with it too.

As I'm buying second hand, I was wondering if anyone could give me some advice on what to look for or if there are any pitfalls with this camera. Alternatively, would I just be better off going for a Second D200?

 

[the signatory]

I'm looking at purchasing a second hand Pro 14n, to use for Studio
and Wedding photography.

I've seen some awesome shots from this camera, but have also heard
a lot about supposed problems with it too.

As I'm buying second hand, I was wondering if anyone could give me
some advice on what to look for or if there are any pitfalls with
this camera. Alternatively, would I just be better off going for a
Second D200?

Forgive the unintentional bad manners here, Andy, but my response to you will be to point you to use the search box in the root directory of this forum. There are so many (and recent requests) for info such as yours, that it is both repetitive and tedious for the relatively few remaining devotees in here now to rehash the same old blurb!

However, I do recommend you start with a post made quite recently by one of our more accomplished and experienced users of this model variant, and its successor (the 14nx) Quentin here:
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1026&message=17061897

I am an SLR/n user, and only of some 7 months, and my use of this camera is solely in a studio environment shooting subjects without a pulse at ISO 50 and below! However, if you do decide to buy this camera, then you'll not be short of very good advice in these parts to help you with your rather steep learning curve. ;-)

Finally, although Kodak have promised to continue supporting this camera range until Dec 2008, they are not so forthcoming (publically at any rate) with new versions of firmware to keep this camera abreast of new developments in CF and SD media. So, you will need to check back here to get the latest updates on those, as they are released unofficially on an ad-hoc basis by the small number of remaining technical boffins at Kodak. The latest official release of the firmware is 5.4.1 (on Kodak's website), but in fact there have been several beta releases since, culminating in 5.4.6 beta currently doing the rounds. Give me a nod if you want it in due course. It will enable you to use the newer 2GB SD media cards in the camera.

--
Kind regards,
Nigel

A bad workman always blames his tools. But in the light of all that I have written above, I am definitely blaming my keyboard!

 

[Warren Sarle]

Nigel is correct that there are lots of previous threads on subjects like this. But in order to put off washing the dishes and vacuuming, I will summarize the two most important points

The old 14n has problems with very bright areas like a wedding dress. The IR filter looks like a reddish mirror. Light from a bright subject like a wedding dress will bounce off the IR filter, bounce again off the rear element of the lens, and then hit the sensor again to form a reddish double image called a ghost. This problem was fixed in the 14nx and SLR/n & c.

The 14nx and SLR/n do not have an AA (anti-aliasing) filter. The D200 does have an AA filter. The purpose of an AA filter is to blur the image slightly to prevent Moiré patterns. Since the 14nx and SLR/n lack the AA filter and have more pixels than the D200, they will usually produce considerably sharper images at large print sizes than the D200. But sometimes you can get really awful Moiré patterns on fabric in photos from the 14nx and SLR/n.

If you don't make prints bigger than 13x19 inches, the D200 would be a safer choice. If you want to make prints much larger than that, the 14nx and SLR/n would be worth considering.

 

[DavidMillier]

Hi Andy

Two years ago, if you wanted a high res camera you had the choice of the 14n or very expensive 1Ds - which unless you are very wealthy wasn't really a choice at all!

The price difference and the absence of competing products made the 14n appealing despite its rather obvious flaws. In the current market, the 14n is probably not so appealing, despite the fact you can get them for around a tenth of the original price.

In my view, it might still be a viable purchase for an impecunious enthusiast who was prepared to put up with the problems because of the high resolution and the low price but it would be difficult to justify for someone who needs a reliable business camera.

The improved sensor models SLR/n (SLR/c) or an original 14n that has been upgrade to an nx might be OK though as some of the problems were fixed or very much improved.

Personally, I'd look at a Canon 5D if you want high quality and a refined camera.

Dave

--
Galleries and website: http://www.whisperingcat.co.uk/mainindex.htm

 

[ddk]

I can't recommend a used 14n for weddings I wouldn't even use the SLR/n for that matter. I love the SLR/n under controlled conditions or when I'm not under pressure to produce, shooting in raw only. The rest of the time I prefer the Fuji S3. You should take a look at the Fuji, especially for jpegs straight out of the camera. Fuji's skin tones and colors are incredible and S3's DR is in a class of its own, you'll appreciate this from your first wedding shoot.

I have no experience with the D200 just the D2x and D70S. Both are technically wonderful cameras but I never drooled over the results from either Nikon like I do with the S3 or the SLR/n, especially when everything is right.

ddk

I'm looking at purchasing a second hand Pro 14n, to use for Studio
and Wedding photography.

I've seen some awesome shots from this camera, but have also heard
a lot about supposed problems with it too.

As I'm buying second hand, I was wondering if anyone could give me
some advice on what to look for or if there are any pitfalls with
this camera. Alternatively, would I just be better off going for a
Second D200?

 

[Choi]

I'm looking at purchasing a second hand Pro 14n, to use for Studio
and Wedding photography.

I've seen some awesome shots from this camera, but have also heard
a lot about supposed problems with it too.

As I'm buying second hand, I was wondering if anyone could give me
some advice on what to look for or if there are any pitfalls with
this camera. Alternatively, would I just be better off going for a
Second D200?

Hi Andy,

My advice is to avoid a used 14N. After 2 years struggle with it, I finally let it go and traded up with a used SLR/n. Two major problems with the 14N: firstly, you can hardly have a piece of mind with it, quirks of various kinds will kick in here and there; secondly, you have to spend a lot of time to find matching lenses with it to minimimise ( I cannot use the word "eliminate" ) the color-shifting and red-blob problems and others.

There are much better alternatives currently on market:

If you need good DR, Fuji S3pro delivers it.

If you need FF, Canon 5D is a better alternative.

If you need resolution, D2X is amazing.

If you need the bang of buck, D200 reigns.

I don't want to mention 1ds2 as it is still prohibitively expensive.

Why 14N?

Regards,

Choi

http://www.pbase.com/photochoi

 

[Andy62252]

Thanks gents for all of the replies.

To answer general questions:

Why the 14n? I have been offered one privately at a good price.

Why not Canon? I have about £3k invested in Nikon Glass, and I can't afford to lose the sort of money I would on that and also buy a £1700 body (5d). I'm looking for a backup to the D200 that will be stronger in certain areas than the d200.

Fuji S3? I have thought about this one but not seen any at the right price yet?

Nikon D200? Would fit with what I've already got, but the S3 may be a better bet as a backup to ensure that what one cam does well, the other is good at other things - if you get my meaning. Also, I really wanted full frame, but never mind.

Thanks for the honest replies, you've confirmed what i originally thought, which is that the 14n is too much of a risk to take for me.