Nikon D3 Digital SLR
The Nikon D3 is Nikon’s first ever FX format or full-frame camera. This means that its CMOS sensor has the same size as a 35 mm negative. With a high-resolution of 12.1 megapixel, this Nikon D3 creates pictures that are satisfactory.
Designs: The design of this camera is almost square. It has a rubber grip and magnesium body, which makes it rock solid. The surface is also robust.
Controls: The control layout is identical to Nikon D2. But there are some sensible changes in this model. The buttons are sealed against moisture.
Key Features: It has a 12.1 megapixel CMOS sensor. CMOS sensor converts light in electrons, which help in clicking the snaps. The ISO range is boosted with a range of 200 to 6,400. Nikon D3 camera also has 51 auto focus points. Now that is something! The LCD screen is also huge. With dual CF card slots, you can use
one for backing up the images. Live View is also featured in Nikon D3 camera. This user-friendly feature makes sure that images come with reduced blur and shake.
Performance: Thanks to Kevlar/carbon fiber-composite shutter and Speed image-processing engine, Nikon D3 can shoot 9 frames per second. What a speed! Performance wise, this is one of the best cameras, you will find in the market. It gives high image quality and is purely superb. The color rendition in Nikon D3′s images is excellent. The white balance is accurate too. It gives wonderful performance in terms of picture quality. The resolution and dynamic range of Nikon D3 is extremely good.
Conclusion Overall this is an excellent camera to own!
The Nikon D3X is a 24.5 megapixel professional-grade full frame (35 mm) digital single-lens reflex camera (DSLR) announced by the Nikon Corporation on 1 December 2008. The D3X is the third camera in Nikon’s line to offer a full frame sensor, following the D3 and D700. As Nikon’s new flagship model, it augments the Nikon D3, Nikon’s high-speed professional model, and while the D3 retains advantages in terms of high ISO performance and higher frame rate, the D3X offers a dramatic increase in resolution and image detail. It offers the same features, like automatic correction of lateral chromatic aberration, and vignetting (“vignette control”) and lens distortion (“distortion”) correction as well as image rotation (“straighten”) via playback (“retouch”) menu. The combination of very high resolution with the option of 14-bit per channel recording and a very sharp anti-aliasing filter (which Nikon claims is a unique design, but provides few details about) provides extremely high image quality, with superb dynamic range and color accuracy compared to other cameras.
Reception: Reception of the Nikon D3X by independent reviewers has been very positive, with reservations centered on just a few disadvantages. Imaging Resource concludes that the D3X produces the highest image quality of any camera they have tested to date. Dpreview likewise concludes that that the resolution and image detail is stunning, probably the best of any digital SLR camera on the market, including the closest competitor from Canon, the EOS-1Ds Mark III. Nikon claims the D3x is a competitor to medium-format digital backs, a claim supported both by testing and by many D3x users who report on their experiences online.
This digital camera is expected to seriously shake up the digital camera world and will force other manufacturers to significantly improve their products.
The 37.5 megapixel 30 x 45 mm sensor on the Leica S2 is almost 60% larger than full frame 35mm and the quality it offers is “well beyond that obtainable by conventional pro-caliber DSLRs”. The aim is to combine the quality of a medium-format digital camera with the ergonomics, and ease of use of a 35mm DSLR.
Back in 1925 Leica redefined photography when they created the legendary model A. The S2 is expected to have the same effect on in the 21st century.
The S2 is completely weather-sealed for use in the studio and also outdoors as it is, according to Leica, the ideal camera for people who actually want superior image quality, but the nice hand-held option of taking pictures. So more the moving kind of taking pictures.
Although the S2 approaches medium-format quality, it is significantly lighter and less cumbersome, you can therefore take it with you up mountain sides with relative ease, which cannot be said for medium-format cameras which are heavy and generally also require a tripod to be carried up the mountain too.
Leica are keen to emphasize that the S2 is a tool, not a toy, and that it has been created for professional photographers and pro-am photographers who require quality and reliability, it also has only enough buttons as are absolutely essential to professional photographers, i.e. there is no unnecessary no clutter.
The launch of the S2 is expected for the summer of 2009 and will be up against medium-format cameras such as the Hasselblad H3DII-39 megapixel with an 80mm lens. The Hasselblad sells for around $22,000 – the Leica S2 is expected to be priced around $20,000 – so start saving. If money was no object which digital SLR would you buy? Before you say the Nikon D3 you might like to wait until this summer when Leica launch their new DSLR offering. Leica were always
considered to be the Rolls-Royce of 35mm cameras, and they will be launching their latest digital SLR – the Leica S2 later this year.
The only problem there is likely to be with the new S2 is the cost. The Nikon D3 costs around $8k but the new S2 from Leica is likely to cost considerably more. With the S2 Leica are taking aim at the medium-format digital camera market, by creating a 35mm camera that can provide the same quality image as a medium-format camera such as a Hasselblad. The Nikon D3 for example has a 24 megapixel sensor, which is about double that of the ‘average’ high-quality digital camera.
The Leica S2 will be taking this even further by featuring a 37.5 megapixel digital sensor. In Leica’s own words the Leica S2 is a “remarkable new camera from Germany that redefines the professional DSLR class with a custom 37.5-megapixel, 30 x 45 mm sensor built into a 35mm-sized body”.
This digital camera is expected to seriously shake up the digital camera world and will force other manufacturers to significantly improve their products.
The 37.5 megapixel 30 x 45 mm sensor on the Leica S2 is almost 60% larger than full frame 35mm and the quality it offers is “well beyond that obtainable by conventional pro-caliber DSLRs”.
The aim is to combine the quality of a medium-format digital camera with the ergonomics, and ease of use of a 35mm DSLR. Back in 1925 Leica redefined photography when they created the legendary model A. The S2 is expected to have the same effect on digital cameras in the 21st century.
The S2 is completely weather-sealed for use in the studio and also outdoors as it is, according to Leica, the ideal camera for people who actually want superior image quality, but the nice hand-held option of taking pictures. So more the moving kind of taking pictures.
Although the S2 approaches medium-format quality, it is significantly lighter and less cumbersome, you can therefore take it with you up mountain sides with relative ease, which cannot be said for medium-format cameras which are heavy and generally also require a tripod to be carried up the mountain too.
Leica are keen to emphasize that the S2 is a tool, not a toy, and that it has been created for professional photographers and pro-am photographers who require quality and reliability, it also has only enough buttons as are absolutely essential to professional photographers, i.e. there is no unnecessary no clutter.
The launch of the S2 is expected for the summer of 2009 and will be up against medium-format cameras such as the Hasselblad H3DII-39 megapixel with an 80mm lens. The Hasselblad sells for around $22,000 – the Leica S2 is expected to be priced around $20,000 – so start saving.
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