I photographed this wedding with photographer Scott Watt. It took place at the famed Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens.
Since I've put at least 10,000 clicks on the new Nikon D3 I think it's safe for me to review it more thoroughly.
The images below have not been altered (other than to insert them into the BerensImage.com frames) so that you can see the images as they come straight out of the camera. All images are shot with available light except for the last dancing image.
Why would you want to consider buying the D3?
If you're concerened with low light situations, moving subjects, and can't use flash, you would be a candidate for the D3.
I loved the D2x, but past 800 ISO it did not look good enough in my opinion (unless I made it a grainy b&w). But now, shooting at 4000 ISO gives me no concern at all. I'm not kidding! I'm regularly shooting this high when the situation calls for it.
6400 ISO is starting to get too noisy, but I will shoot at 5000 if necessary, which probably looks like 1100 or 1250 on a D2x. If you're wondering, 3200/4000 ISO looks like 800 on a D2x. I say 3200 - 4000 because the better the shot and lighting, the better the image quality.
If high ISO is not a concern with you, then the D300 or even the D200 might be a better choice.
What about the full-frame sensor?
I didn't purchase this camera for the full-frame, though at times it is nice to have when I put on the 50mm f/1.4, or the 85mm f/1.4. Usually, I'm looking to shoot as tight in on my subjects, so full-frame isn't that great to me.
The display screen is bigger than the D2x. I have found I need to lower the brightness to -2 for the most accurate visual.
The battery life is better than before. I'll shoot all day with about half the battery power left over, and that includes shooting around 3000-3500 images.
Two compact flash card slots make it nice to shoot throughout the day without changing cards. I use two Lexar 8gb 300x UDMA CF cards. It does have the ability to write a duplicate copy of the first card onto the second card, or even shoot in RAW on the first, while making a JPG duplicate on the second.
The overall performance, such as speed of focusing, durability, etc., is exactly what you would expect from Nikon's flagship model.
Are there any changes I'd like?
The 51 auto-focus points seen inside the viewfinder are great, but if I could make one change it would be to spread them out just a bit more than they are right now.
Below are the specs for each of the images. Starting on the top row reading from left to right:
(each image shot in Aperture Priority)
One:
1/1640s
f/2.8
ISO 200
+0.33 eV
32mm
Auto WB
Two:
1/2000s
f/1.4
ISO 200
+0.33eV
50mm
Auto WB
Three:
1/800s
f/2.8
ISO 200
+0.33eV
60mm
Auto WB
Four:
1/2000s
f/2.8
ISO 200
-0.33eV
200mm
Auto WB
Five:
1/2000s
f/2.8
ISO 200
-0.33eV
135mm
Auto WB
Six:
1/160s
f/2.8
ISO 1600
-1.00eV
34mm
Auto WB
Seven:
1/100s
f/2.8
ISO 1600
-0.67eV
38mm
Auto WB
Eight:
1/60s
f/2.8
ISO 1000
-0.33eV
95mm
Auto WB
Off-Camera Flash
