michaelwjones

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I made a huge leap in my photography commitment and a huge dent in my photography budget last month when I purchased the newest Nikon professional SLR the D3.  I have some reasons (or maybe some rationalizations) for making the jump and I don’t regret it. 

 

This camera is quite amazing in its ability to capture usable images from the most challenging lighting conditions.  Team it up with the Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8G VR lens or the Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8G lens and you have a great combo for virtually any scenario that I will shoot.  

Unprecedented low light performance

This camera consistently produces excellent shots at ISO values up to 6400.  It didn’t take me long to put this to the test.  A few days after I got this camera, I went to a drag race on a cloudy and rainy day to see how it would handle the dark conditions and quick actions of dragsters.  The race was interrupted several times due to rain showers and the sun was never out.  I amplified the condition some by shooting a higher shutter speed than was really required on some shots; but I wanted to see the effect of the low light amplification of this thing. I wasn’t disappointed.  I kept it in AutoISO with the max set to ISO6400 (it will go as high as 25,000 if you let it).

I positioned myself on the wall out in front of the start line so I could get a good shot of the launch.  This was an ORSCA event with stock-looking cars that leaped off the line with the front wheels in the air most of the time.  I set the white-balance to CLOUDY and shot everything in shutter priority exposure mode. The following samples go from lowest to highest ISO starting with ISO400 on the Camaro, then ISO1250 on the Mustang, and ISO6400 on the Nova.  Clicking on these will take you to my Flickr site to see larger versions.

    

I used my new Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8G VR lens on all these shots.  On a few of the longer shots, I had the Nikon 1.4x TC attached.  This lens is super fast focusing and creates really sharp images even wide open.  I used a circular polarized light (CPL) filter to help remove most of the glare on the hood and windshield.

The low light performance has also enabled me to get good shots live music venue shots here Nashville.  Using just the dim lighting on most small stages, you can capture the performer in a more authentic scene.  Nothing kills the mood of a stage shot like throwing a flash on it.  A strong flash will illuminate things that should not be seen and wash out any cool lighting that might be there.  Even in a light fill mode, flash can take away from the mood of the subject. 

Below are two some samples taken with the D3 with no flash.  The first is 1/60s, f/2.8, @155mm, ISO 4500.  The second is 1/320s, f/2.8, @200mm, ISO 6400.

Top of the line DSLR construction and features 

This camera is made for professionals.  It is easy to use with all the critical controls in familiar places for Nikon DSLR users.  I can quickly change exposure settings on the fly without taking my eye out of the view finder.  It is large and has a rugged but comfortable feel to it.  It has 9 fps continuous shooting rate (full-frame), 51-point auto focus area, dynamic focusing, and 3D focus tracking.   The LCD screen is bigger and brighter than any that I have seen and you can actually do live view through it.  Though I haven’t really used it yet; I can see where it would be very useful in those awkward angles where you cannot get your face to the camera. 

Overall, I could not be happier with this camera.  It does everything that I need and more.  I will keep the D80 as a backup.   For a complete review of the Nikon D3 check out this DPreview article.

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