{"id":589,"date":"2007-09-28T11:46:07","date_gmt":"2007-09-28T02:46:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2007-09-28\/589"},"modified":"2007-09-28T11:46:07","modified_gmt":"2007-09-28T02:46:07","slug":"my-visit-with-a-nikon-d3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2007-09-28\/589","title":{"rendered":"My Visit with a Nikon D3"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n<p>Nikon is hosting a series of hands-on preview events across Japan for\nits <a href=\"\/blog\/2007-08-23\/552\">recently-announced D3\nand D300<\/a> cameras. Today, <a\nhref=\"http:\/\/www.kotodama.net\/blog\/\">Zak<\/a> and <a\nhref=\"\/blog\/2007-01-28\/375\">Shimada-san<\/a> joined me for\n<span class='nobr'>a trip<\/span> to attend the event in Osaka, which started today and runs through\nthe weekend.<\/p>\n\n<p>I thought it'd be nice to head down in style, so after some excellent\nramen on the 10th floor of <a href=\"\/blog\/2007-11-15\/636\">Kyoto Station<\/a>, we took the fastest class of <a\nhref=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Shinkansen\" class='quiet'>bullet train<\/a>\n(<a\nhref=\"http:\/\/mydia.jr-odekake.net\/search\/mydia.cgi?h_cmd=show_train_inf&amp;dep_node=5&amp;arv_node=23&amp;year=2007&amp;month=9&amp;day=28&amp;train=8378&amp;line=174&amp;diffday=0&amp;jp_mode=0\">Nozomi\n#17<\/a>) which made the trip in just 14 minutes, hitting 253 km\/h (157mph),\naccording to <a href=\"\/blog\/2007-08-09\/539\"\nclass='quiet'>my GPS unit<\/a>. <span class='nobr'>I thought<\/span> the maximum speed would be faster\n(the new maglev trains being tested can go well over twice that speed) but\nit was fun and fast nevertheless.<\/p>\n\n<p>We arrived 25 minutes before the event was to start, and already perhaps\n80 people were waiting. Most were men at or approaching retirement age. <span class='nobr'>The three<\/span> of us perhaps represented the youngest 4% there. <span class='nobr'>Of the 80<\/span>, there\nwere two women. (I'm sure the crowd tomorrow &mdash; the weekend &mdash;\nwill be younger, but probably just as male.)<\/p>\n\n<p>We received a pamphlet and a piece of candy (?) and waited in line for\n10 minutes, and, to our delight, they opened the event 15 minutes\nearly.<\/p>\n\n<p>It was not a particularly large room, but had <span class='nobr'>a number<\/span> of sections:<\/p>\n\n<ul> <li><span class='nobr'>A kiosk<\/span> with half <span class='nobr'>a dozen<\/span> D3s and as many D300s, for hands-on\nplay. <span class='nobr'>You were not<\/span> allowed to put your own memory card in, as the slot\ndoors were covered with <span class='nobr'>a small<\/span> strip of tape (in Nikon yellow, no less). <span class='nobr'>It would<\/span> have been <span class='nobr'>a fairly<\/span> simple task to slip your card in when the staff\nwasn't looking, but unfortunately, <span class='nobr'>I suffer<\/span> from <span class='nobr'>a slight<\/span> touch of\nintegrity.<\/li>\n\n<li>They had <span class='nobr'>a lady<\/span> playing <span class='nobr'>a harp<\/span> under bright studio lights, where you\ncould use <span class='nobr'>a D3<\/span> (or D300?) to take shots, then have one printed for you\n(Epson was there as <span class='nobr'>a Nikon<\/span> partner).<\/li>\n\n<li><span class='nobr'>A long<\/span> display case of lenses... perhaps every lens in current\nproduction? There were a <i>lot<\/i> of lenses. The recently-announced super\ntelephotos were there as well. Yum.<\/li>\n\n<li>They had huge poster-sized printouts of D3 pictures from the same shoots as the\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.nikon-image.com\/jpn\/products\/camera\/slr\/digital\/d3\/sample.htm\">online sample images<\/a>.<\/li>\n\n<li>They had <span class='nobr'>a little<\/span> theater\/presentation area, where Nikon people spoke\nabout, well, <span class='nobr'>I suppose,<\/span> cameras.<\/li>\n\n<li>In what might be the most colossal waste of space ever recorded, they\nhad <span class='nobr'>a small<\/span> display of their consumer point-n-shoot cameras, and some\naccessories like camera bags.<\/li>\n\n<\/ul>\n\n<p>I'll offer some superficial impressions of the D3, but first <span class='nobr'>a few<\/span>\npictures...<\/p>\n\n<div class='ic'><a name='037990' href=\"\/i\/JEF_037990.jpg\"\n><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/i\/JEF_037990_sm.jpg\" width=\"690\" height=\"462\"\nalt=\"Zak Compares a Nikon D3 to His Fuji S5 Pro (The Fuji S5 Pro uses a Nikon D200 body. He has a Nikon SB-400 mounted on his.) -- Osaka, Japan -- Copyright 2007 Jeffrey Eric Francis Friedl\"\nid=\"i037990\"\ntitle=\"Zak Braverman compares a Nikon D3 with a Fuji S5 Pro\"\/><\/a>\n<br\/><span class=\"camera-info robots-nocontent\">Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55 f\/2.8 @ 26mm &mdash; <sup>1<\/sup><big>\/<\/big>50 sec, f\/2.8, ISO 400 &mdash;\n<a  href=\"\/imageinfo.cgi?url=http%3A%2F%2Fregex.info%2Fi%2FJEF_037990.jpg\">map &amp; image data<\/a> &mdash; <a href=\"\/blog\/proximity\/i\/JEF_037990.jpg\">nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n<br\/><span class='caption'>Zak Compares <span class='nobr'>a Nikon<\/span> D3 to His Fuji S5 Pro<\/span><br\/>(The Fuji S5 Pro uses a Nikon D200 body. <span class='nobr'>He has a<\/span>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.adorama.com\/NKSB400AFU.html?searchinfo=speedlight&amp;item_no=6\" class='quiet'>Nikon SB-400<\/a> mounted on his.)\n<\/div>\n\n<p>Here's a close-up crop. <span class='nobr'>The D3 is<\/span> <b>huge<\/b>....<\/p>\n\n<div class='ic'><a name='037990c' href=\"\/i\/JEF_037990c.jpg\"\n><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/i\/JEF_037990c_sm.jpg\" width=\"690\" height=\"461\"\nalt=\"D3 vs. Fuji S5 Pro + SB-400 -- Osaka, Japan -- Copyright 2007 Jeffrey Eric Francis Friedl\"\nid=\"i037990c\"\ntitle=\"Zak Braverman compares a Nikon D3 with a Fuji S5 Pro\"\/><\/a>\n<br\/><span class=\"camera-info robots-nocontent\">Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55 f\/2.8 @ 26mm &mdash; <sup>1<\/sup><big>\/<\/big>50 sec, f\/2.8, ISO 400 &mdash;\n<a  href=\"\/imageinfo.cgi?url=http%3A%2F%2Fregex.info%2Fi%2FJEF_037990.jpg\">map &amp; image data<\/a> &mdash; <a href=\"\/blog\/proximity\/i\/JEF_037990.jpg\">nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n<br\/><span class='caption'>D3 <i>vs.<\/i> Fuji S5 Pro + SB-400<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class='ic'><a name='038001' href=\"\/i\/JEF_038001.jpg\"\n><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/i\/JEF_038001_sm.jpg\" width=\"690\" height=\"462\"\nalt=\"Shimada-san Tries the Nikon D300 With Nikkor 18 -200VR -- Osaka, Japan -- Copyright 2007 Jeffrey Eric Francis Friedl\"\nid=\"i038001\"\ntitle=\"Katsunori Shimada tests a Nikon D300\"\/><\/a>\n<br\/><span class=\"camera-info robots-nocontent\">Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55 f\/2.8 @ 40mm &mdash; <sup>1<\/sup><big>\/<\/big>60 sec, f\/2.8, ISO 400 &mdash;\n<a  href=\"\/imageinfo.cgi?url=http%3A%2F%2Fregex.info%2Fi%2FJEF_038001.jpg\">map &amp; image data<\/a> &mdash; <a href=\"\/blog\/proximity\/i\/JEF_038001.jpg\">nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n<br\/><span class='caption'>Shimada-san Tries the Nikon D300<\/span><br\/>With <span class='nobr'>Nikkor 18<\/span>-200VR\n<\/div>\n\n\n<div class='ic'><a name='038007' href=\"\/i\/JEF_038007.jpg\"\n><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/i\/JEF_038007_sm.jpg\" width=\"690\" height=\"462\"\nalt=\"BIG Friggin' Lenses (This is only about a third of the entire display) -- Osaka, Japan -- Copyright 2007 Jeffrey Eric Francis Friedl\"\nid=\"i038007\"\ntitle=\"A huge display case of Nikon lenses\"\/><\/a>\n<br\/><span class=\"camera-info robots-nocontent\">Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55 f\/2.8 @ 17mm &mdash; <sup>1<\/sup><big>\/<\/big>30 sec, f\/2.8, ISO 400 &mdash;\n<a  href=\"\/imageinfo.cgi?url=http%3A%2F%2Fregex.info%2Fi%2FJEF_038007.jpg\">map &amp; image data<\/a> &mdash; <a href=\"\/blog\/proximity\/i\/JEF_038007.jpg\">nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n<br\/><span class='caption'>BIG Friggin' Lenses<\/span><br\/>\n(This is only about a third of the entire display)\n<\/div>\n\n<div class='ic'><a name='038013' href=\"\/i\/JEF_038013.jpg\"\n><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/i\/JEF_038013_sm.jpg\" width=\"690\" height=\"462\"\nalt=\"Zak Receives Instruction on a D300 -- Osaka, Japan -- Copyright 2007 Jeffrey Eric Francis Friedl\"\nid=\"i038013\"\ntitle=\"Zak Braverman checks out a Nikon D300\"\/><\/a>\n<br\/><span class=\"camera-info robots-nocontent\">Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55 f\/2.8 @ 45mm &mdash; <sup>1<\/sup><big>\/<\/big>20 sec, f\/2.8, ISO 400 &mdash;\n<a  href=\"\/imageinfo.cgi?url=http%3A%2F%2Fregex.info%2Fi%2FJEF_038013.jpg\">map &amp; image data<\/a> &mdash; <a href=\"\/blog\/proximity\/i\/JEF_038013.jpg\">nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n<br\/><span class='caption'>Zak Receives Instruction on <span class='nobr'>a D300<\/span><\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class='ic'><a name='038029' href=\"\/i\/JEF_038029.jpg\"\n><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/i\/JEF_038029_sm.jpg\" width=\"690\" height=\"462\"\nalt=\"Zak with another D3 -- Osaka, Japan -- Copyright 2007 Jeffrey Eric Francis Friedl\"\nid=\"i038029\"\ntitle=\"Zak Braverman behind a Nikon D3\"\/><\/a>\n<br\/><span class=\"camera-info robots-nocontent\">Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55 f\/2.8 @ 38mm &mdash; <sup>1<\/sup><big>\/<\/big>10 sec handheld, f\/5.6, ISO 1000 &mdash;\n<a  href=\"\/imageinfo.cgi?url=http%3A%2F%2Fregex.info%2Fi%2FJEF_038029.jpg\">full exif<\/a><\/span>\n<br\/><span class='caption'>Zak with another D3<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n<p>I've been sort of mulling about the idea of getting <span class='nobr'>a D3,<\/span> which has many\nmore\/better features than my D200 or the new D300, but it also has some\ndrawbacks. <span class='nobr'>I started<\/span> <span class='nobr'>a thread<\/span> on DP Review to catalog the list of <a\nhref=\"http:\/\/forums.dpreview.com\/forums\/read.asp?forum=1021&amp;message=24795008\">D3\ndisadvantages to the D300<\/a>, and one that's really worried me was the D3\nsize. <span class='nobr'>It looked<\/span> to be huge.<\/p>\n\n<p>But it's much bigger than even <span class='nobr'>I worried.<\/span> It's <b>HUGE<\/b>. It's\n<b>MASSIVE<\/b>.<\/p>\n\n<p>My walk-around camera bag is a <a class='quiet'\nhref=\"http:\/\/www.adorama.com\/LPOT2BK.html?searchinfo=Off%20Trail%202&amp;item_no=1\">Lowepro\nOff <span class='nobr'>Trial 2<\/span><\/a> with the side lens cases removed. <span class='nobr'>It's big enough<\/span> to easily\naccept up my D200 with <a\nhref=\"\/blog\/2007-03-18\/398\"><span class='nobr'>Nikkor 17<\/span>-55\/2.8<\/a>\n<i>with<\/i> lens hood attached (the combo seen in the first big picture on\nthe post about <a href=\"\/blog\/2007-08-17\/547\">my\ntripod<\/a>). <span class='nobr'>I really<\/span> like that it just swallows up the camera and lens with lots of room to spare all around,\nmaking it <span class='nobr'>a breeze<\/span> to whip the camera out, and simple to just drop it back in.\n<\/p>\n\n<p>Yet, the D3 could barely fit, as the next picture shows.....<\/p>\n\n<div class='ic'><a name='038025' href=\"\/i\/JEF_038025.jpg\"\n><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/i\/JEF_038025_sm.jpg\" width=\"690\" height=\"462\"\nalt=\"The D3 in my Camera Bag -- Osaka, Japan -- Copyright 2007 Jeffrey Eric Francis Friedl\"\nid=\"i038025\"\ntitle=\"A Nikon D3 in my Lowepro Off Trail 2 camera bag\"\/><\/a>\n<br\/><span class=\"camera-info robots-nocontent\">Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55 f\/2.8 @ 17mm &mdash; <sup>1<\/sup><big>\/<\/big>80 sec, f\/5.6, ISO 1000 &mdash;\n<a  href=\"\/imageinfo.cgi?url=http%3A%2F%2Fregex.info%2Fi%2FJEF_038025.jpg\">map &amp; image data<\/a> &mdash; <a href=\"\/blog\/proximity\/i\/JEF_038025.jpg\">nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n<br\/><span class='caption'>The D3 in my Camera Bag<\/span><br\/>\n<\/div>\n\n<p>(Note to self: if you do buy a D3, buy <span class='nobr'>a cloth<\/span> to clean fingerprints\nfrom the screen.)<\/p>\n\n<p>Despite the size, the D3 was not as heavy as <span class='nobr'>I expected.<\/span> The 17-55\/2.8\nis <span class='nobr'>a heavy<\/span> lens, weighing about as much as the camera itself, so <span class='nobr'>a D3<\/span> with\n<span class='nobr'>a light<\/span> lens like an 18-200VR seems airy and light to me.<\/p>\n\n<p>I didn't even notice the screen, which is supposed to be much higher\nresolution than I'm used to. <span class='nobr'>I was playing<\/span> with the camera for <span class='nobr'>a while,<\/span>\nusing the screen to pixel-peep, but forgot all about checking out the\nquality of the screen itself until Zak mentioned it later. <span class='nobr'>It may be<\/span> better\nthan the screen on my D200, but not so much that <span class='nobr'>I even<\/span> noticed. (Although\nto be fair, it was quite dark and bland inside the room, and except for the\nharp-playing lady, there was nothing all to take test shots of, so perhaps\nit just wasn't <span class='nobr'>a real<\/span>-world situation.)<\/p>\n\n<p>I liked how the D3's viewfinder protrudes out from the back of the\ncamera, because my nose didn't rub on the screen when <span class='nobr'>I looked<\/span> through the\nviewfinder. With my D200, my nose rubs.<\/p>\n\n<p>They put on a 17-55\/2.8 for me (my favorite lens), which happens to be <span class='nobr'>a\nDX<\/span> lens, and <span class='nobr'>I put<\/span> the camera into manual FX mode. At 17mm, you could\nclearly see the image circle projected onto the larger sensor, with black\nall around, but by about 24mm there was only <span class='nobr'>a bit<\/span> of dark in the four\ncorners. Beyond that, the image covered the entire FX sensor. <span class='nobr'>I don't<\/span> know\nthe quality of the image out to those edges, but it bodes well for using <span class='nobr'>a\nDX<\/span> lens on <span class='nobr'>a D3<\/span> in FX mode.<\/p>\n\n<p>I couldn't get the Live View to work, and didn't really care enough\nabout it to ask. <span class='nobr'>I would<\/span> be very interested in it for the accurate focusing\nwhile on <span class='nobr'>a tripod,<\/span> but that's probably about it.<\/p>\n\n<p>My second big worry about the D3 is that it has all the autofocus points\ncrammed toward the center of the frame, so that they can all be used even\nwhile the camera is in DX mode. Indeed, when in FX mode, you don't get an\nAF point outside of the center cluster, which <span class='nobr'>I think<\/span> is <span class='nobr'>a huge<\/span> drawback. <span class='nobr'>As it is<\/span>, <span class='nobr'>I wish my<\/span> D200 had wider AF-point coverage, so moving up to <span class='nobr'>a D3<\/span>\nwould be <span class='nobr'>a big<\/span> step down in this respect.<\/p>\n\n<p>After all the hype, <span class='nobr'>I was a<\/span> bit disappointed in the high-ISO quality of\nthe D3. <span class='nobr'>I compared<\/span> an ISO 1600 shot on my D200 with an ISO 6400 shot on the\nD3, and they seemed comparable (which means comparably bad, since the D200\nat ISO 1600 is pretty bad). Being comparable at two stops faster is an\namazing feat, but after all the hype, <span class='nobr'>I wanted<\/span> ISO 25,600 to look like it\nwas rendered by Pixar.<\/p>\n\n<p>In the end, <span class='nobr'>I was looking<\/span> for an excuse to not get the D3, since my D200\nis still as awesome <span class='nobr'>a camera<\/span> as it was before the D3 was announced. <span class='nobr'>If the D3<\/span> could have washed my windows and given me <span class='nobr'>a massage,<\/span> <span class='nobr'>I'd have reconsidered<\/span>, but since it doesn't, I'll concentrate on understanding my\nD200 better and wait to see what Nikon brings us in the years to come.<\/p>\n\n<p>(Oh, and I might take the money that I <b>saved<\/b> by not buying <span class='nobr'>a D3,<\/span>\nand spend it on <span class='nobr'>a nice<\/span> lens of some sort <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/blog\/wp-includes\/images\/smilies\/icon_smile.gif\" width=\"15\" height=\"15\"\nclass=\"raw\"\nid=\"ismilex2\"\/> )<\/p>\n\n<p>Here's one last picture that's worth <span class='nobr'>a comment,<\/span> Shimada-san checking out <span class='nobr'>a D300.<\/span>...<\/p>\n\n<div class='ic'><a name='038003' href=\"\/i\/JEF_038003.jpg\"\n><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/i\/JEF_038003_sm.jpg\" width=\"690\" height=\"368\"\nalt=\"Shimada-san Checking out a D300, Sans Staff -- Osaka, Japan -- Copyright 2007 Jeffrey Eric Francis Friedl\"\nid=\"i038003\"\ntitle=\"Shimada-san checking out a D300 at the Nikon D3\/D300 Preview Event in Osaka, Japan\"\/><\/a>\n<br\/><span class=\"camera-info robots-nocontent\">Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55 f\/2.8 @ 22mm &mdash; <sup>1<\/sup><big>\/<\/big>15 sec, f\/2.8, ISO 400 &mdash;\n<a  href=\"\/imageinfo.cgi?url=http%3A%2F%2Fregex.info%2Fi%2FJEF_038003.jpg\">map &amp; image data<\/a> &mdash; <a href=\"\/blog\/proximity\/i\/JEF_038003.jpg\">nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n<br\/><span class='caption'>Shimada-san Checking out <span class='nobr'>a D300,<\/span> Sans Staff<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n<p>We were looking at the D300 together, comparing it with my D200, and\ntaking pictures of the nearby harp-playing lady, and comparing, and taking\nmore pictures. <span class='nobr'>At one point<\/span>, <span class='nobr'>I realized<\/span> that we'd moved away from the\nkiosk, and that absolutely no one was paying attention to us or the camera.\nThe staff, back at the kiosk, were all engaged in conversations by the\nsurrounding horde. <span class='nobr'>For easy identification<\/span>, the cameras had <span class='nobr'>a yellow<\/span>\ncardboard square attached by <span class='nobr'>a short<\/span> length of chain, but trust was about\nthe only deterrent to theft.<\/p>\n\n<p>Without telling Shimada-san, <span class='nobr'>I stepped<\/span> back to take the picture above,\nthen <span class='nobr'>I told<\/span> him to look where we were. <span class='nobr'>We laughed<\/span> and jokingly cursed our\nhonesty, and returned the camera to the scrum.<\/p>\n\n<style type=\"text\/css\">\n\n  #post589 li  { margin-bottom:15px }\n<\/style>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Nikon is hosting a series of hands-on preview events across Japan for its recently-announced D3 and D300 cameras. Today, Zak and Shimada-san joined me for a trip to attend the event in Osaka, which started today and runs through the weekend.<\/p> <p>I thought it'd be nice to head down in style, so after some excellent ramen on the 10th floor of Kyoto Station, we took the fastest class of bullet train (Nozomi #17) which made the trip in just 14 minutes, hitting 253 km\/h (157mph), according to my GPS unit. I thought the maximum speed would be faster (the new [...]","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/589"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=589"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/589\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=589"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=589"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=589"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}