Connections

The D3's connections are in two places, either at the front top (remote and flash PC sync) or the left side of the body (from the rear). The remote (which also allows for serial GPS) and flash PC sync terminals are now protected by a rubber cover which is itself attached to the strap eyelet. On the side are the largest group of connectors, from top to bottom; Video out (composite), HDMI (digital video out HD/SD), DC-IN and USB 2.0. The biggest story here must be HDMI output, from the camera menu you can select five different output options; Auto, 480p, 576p, 720p or 1080i. For an example and video clip of HDMI output see this page of our D300 article.

Camera Base / Tripod Mount

The bottom of the D3 is almost identical to the D2X except that the D3 no longer has a connector for the WT-1/2 wireless transmitters which are now superceded by the WT-4. The base of the camera has a soft rubber foot made from similar material as the grip. The metal tripod mount is located in line with the center of the lens and the focal plane.

Flash Hot-shoe

The D3 has a standard (ISO 518) accessory shoe which is compatible with third party flash systems for flash sync and more advanced i-TTL with the SB-800, SB-600 or SB-400. Non-TTL Auto available with the 80DX, 28DX, 28, 27, and 22s. Note that the 'flash ready' icon on the viewfinder status LCD will only light when using one of the Nikon SB series Speedlights listed above. (Note that there would normally be a cover over the accessory shoe).

Lens Mount / Sensor

Below on the left you can see the D3's lens mount with the mirror down, on the right with mirror up and shutter open (exposing the sensor). Lenses are inserted twisted clockwise and lock in place with an anticlockwise turn. This is a standard Nikon F lens mount and can use almost the complete range of Nikkor F lenses (although some features are only available with newer type G or type D lenses). The D3 supports the aperture ring found on older AI lenses. Despite being full-frame it also supports 1.5x crop DX format lenses automatically and masks the viewfinder view accordingly (see earlier in this article).

Shutter Release Sound

In some of our digital SLR reviews we now provide a sound recording of a continuous burst of shots. Below you can see waveforms of a recording made of the D3 shooting continuously JPEG Large/Fine in both DX and FX. The storage card used was a 4GB Sandisk Ducati Edition Compact Flash.

Nikon D3 (FX mode) continuous 14 seconds (130 frames JPEG L/F); MP3 352 KB

Nikon D3 (DX mode) continuous 11 seconds (130 frames JPEG L/F); MP3 276 KB

Supplied In the Box

Box contents may vary by region:

  • Nikon D3 digital SLR body & body cap
  • BS-2 accessory shoe cover
  • EN-EL4a Lithium-ion battery
  • MH-22 Quick Charger & power cable
  • UC-E4 USB cable & cable clip
  • EG-D2 A/V cable
  • AN-D3 shoulder strap
  • Software CD-ROM
  • Warranty, user manuals, quick guide, software install guide, reg. card