Nikon D3 Why buy ?

No question, the Nikon D3 is the most eagerly awaited camera of the last ten years. Finally, Nikon bring out a pro spec Digital SLR that rivals anything they ever made for the silver halide Market, putting Canon firmly in their place as second best once again.

I love Nikons – they have always been my favorite, from my first FM on. A massive range of lenses and bits to satisfy just about anyone and best of all – built to last. I kept my last Nikon for years and it was still going strong when I grudgingly part exchanged it in for a digital after coming to the conclusion that it wouldn’t be long before I would be back to hand processing my own films or paying an arm and a leg to get them developed.

First thing – it is hands down the best camera money can buy, and even if one of the other manufacturers fights back with a slightly better specification, this will not go out of date or wear out.

The Nikon D3 has an almost esoteric list of specifications and there have been more diatribes on this than enough, so I will not bother replicating them. The main reason to but a Nikon D3 is:

It will make you a better photographer.

It will do this in several ways. Perhaps most important is the fact that you have almost complete control over the image. In-camera. Not only that, but it can all be done automatically, so you can concentrate on the one thing the camera cannot do for you – composition.

It will take shots using ISO 6,400 and will choose automatically. You can of course override this, but, why? The camera will do a better job than you will.

Up to 11 frames per second. Realistically, 9fps is achievable in average lighting conditions. With the advent of digital, it makes a lot of sense to take this many images – no wasted film, no wasted paper. Just pick the images you want to keep and discard the others.

Better color saturation, better high- and lowlight controls, fast auto focusing and a viewfinder to die for. I think you could just about be 50% blind and still compose using this viewfinder.

These images are taken from the Nikon Imaging site and the Nikon Press center – Just click on an image to see a bigger size. They are reduced quality images to cope with this site’s image size limitation. If you are interested in the full size, or details of the photographer, pay Nikon a vist. I have one word for the quality of these – WOW !

A larger, wider image – in fact, the first Digital SLR that makes full use of the same format as 35mm film. An effective 14mm lens – non-fisheye.

It is around $5,000 and likely to increase in price rather than decrease - Body only. That sounds like an awful lot of money for a camera – and it is. But look at it this way – This camera is not going to go out of fashion, or out of date, or wear out. So you can expect that this is the last camera you will need to buy. For the sake of argument, let’s say it will last you 15 years. $5,000 over 15 years is $333 per year. When you take inflation into account, that $333 is going to actually cost less each year in real terms.

If Nikon don’t make it – you don’t need it. The widest lens in the range is 10.5mm. The longest lens is 600mm. It is impossible to hold anything longer than this steady, although you can add a 2x converter and try ☺

The range of zoom lenses has got better and better and depending on your interest, two lenses will probably take care of most shooting situations. Buy a 24-70 and one of the new 70-300mm lenses or another similar comination, and you are good to go. If you need a 600mm once a year – hire one. Having said that, if you shoot a particular subject, they have a lens to suit. Close up, medical, super telephoto, portrait – any thing.

My favorite Nikon lenses have always been their 85mm and 105mm portrait lenses. If you are shooting portraits, these are just about perfect. The 105mm AF DC-Nikkor even has built-in defocus control.

If you really can’t justify this much money, consider the D-300. It’s as close to professional standard as you are going to get without buying a D-3. Not quite the same thing, but will certainly satisfy most people’s needs. It doesn’t have that extra kick the D-3 has, and is certainly slower, but $5,000 is a lot of money, however you justify it. It uses some of the technology of it’s big brother along with some of the digital image processing features.

It’s built to Nikon’s usual high standards and utilizes all the same range of lenses, flashes and parts. It’s built of magnesium alloy and will also last the course. I haven’t listed the specs for either of these cameras because I don’t see the point of repeating the same stuff everyone else has written. If you want them, they are here at Nikon’s website. But quite honestly, both of these cameras are more than the sum of their specifications and to a certain extent, they are meaningless – especially with the Nikon D3.