Nikon D3x Prices Lower in CA

I don’t think I’ve mentioned this yet- last week, I walked into a pawn shop around where I work and saw the random old Canon and Nikon (FM’s mainly), huge Mamiya, and wasn’t too thrilled. Looked a little longer and saw a MINT F’ing F3! The best one I’ve yet seen in person. Looks like grandpa never used it once.

Price? $498.00. Conversation went about like this:

Matt: I’ll give you $250 right now.

Them: No.

Matt: $300.

Them: I don’t think [the owner] will go for that.

Matt: Look- how often is someone going to walk in off of the street, spot a film-body and offer you cash on the spot?

Them: …(unphased)…

Matt: On ebay, I bought one recently in similar condition for $300, you’re not going to do better than that and if you don’t want to sell it to me now, then I’d recommend you sell it on ebay, because no one else is going to walk in and want to buy it.

Them: …(unphased)…

Matt: (leaves)

I can’t quite understand the shop’s way of thinking- presumably they bought the camera with cash and it’s likely sat on the shelf for a while. They’re paying rent and utilities and labor- having inventory sitting on the shelf does nothing to generate income. Also- while their $100 (let’s pretend that’s what they bought it for) is sitting on the shelf in the form of a mint F3, they’re losing the interest they could have been earning on it. A store’s goal is to have as little inventory as practical- they only make money on product turn-over.

I mention this because Brad points out to me that in Canada, the price of the D3x is actually coming down, probably because shops figure it’s better to get a few hundred less on the D3x than nothing at all- inventory sitting around is actually costing you money:

…by last week a number of western Canadian Pro Nikon dealers have dropped the price by $250 and are now advertising the camera at $9199.00. It would seem that the D3x is NOT flying off the shelves in western Canada (an area quite well buffered from the economic malaise hitting almost everywhere else in the world). I haven’t bothered checking, but odds are this is happening right across Canada (both the slow sales and dealer discounts on the D3x).

I’ll be going back to that shop on Friday- maybe I’ll be able to convince them. Likely as not, it’ll be gone and I’ll be kicking myself for letting a near MIB F3hp get past me. Or maybe they’ll see thinks my way- $300 in hand is better than $500 in the form of a camera on the shelf.

Thanks Brad!

Nikon D3x vs Nikon D3 on Noise

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before, but a bit ago, PBase put up a quick comparison between the Nikon D3x noise and the D3’s noise.

Apparently, the D3 is the low-noise Emperor while the D3x does a respectable job, especially given its megapixel count.

From quickly looking at the shots from the D3x, you produce (what looks to me) like a much sharper shot at a NR setting of “Low” than you’d get without any NR. But that might just be their setup.

Nikon D3x Noise / Sample Shots / Review

Imaging Resources has some great test shots with the Nikon D3x here.

Lots of difference shutter / aperture combo’s, include standard color charts, etc, gray background this time instead of blue.

ISO 3200 on the D3x in these shots (for example) still looks like a “only when required’ setup and I’m sure it’s meant to be- who’s shooting a high-res camera meant for the studio at 3200? Even the landscape guys don’t need to go that high (I’m thinking).

3200 seems like ~800 on the d2x and something closer to 6400 on the D3 (I rarely shoot that high, I’m likely wrong on this guess)?

Nikon D3x Noise / Sample Shots / Review

iZyz has some still-life studio shots of a doll at all of the Nikon D3x’s ISO speeds.

No noise reduction claimed, no post.

Impressions- without NR, you won’t want to go above 200 iso if you don’t have to. Expose to the right. 3200 iso is only if you can’t get the shop any other way- but you’d be silly to use the D3x at 3200- that’s what the D3’s for.

I’ve resisted watching this for a few days, assuming that it was going to be really stupid. I guess that made an ass of me and me…

But the Fuhrer has some good points here:

Hilter Rants on D3x

Nikon D3X Studio Samples - Marcus Bell

Studio Pro Marcus Bell shows us his new toy and gives us a fine example of my first law of photography- beautiful subjects (hot chicks) gives 80% of what you need to make anyone wants to see.

On the D3x:

As you will see with the images I have posted the clarity, sharpness, dynamic range is exceptional.  The images posted are direct from camera without any corrections whatsoever.  I can honestly say I would be happy to send the file to press without any post work.

…

The specifications advise it is 5fps, but during the shoot the buffer never got full and there were times I was hammering it.

Check the shot of the model’s eye- now imagine your favorite pr0n girl put under similar scrutiny…

Jeff-C has a good reputation on dpReview as frequently having credible information ahead of time. Now he’s got a D3x and has published some sample studio shots with it at various ISO’s here.

3200iso looks pretty good to me- no reason not to use it if you have to.

On the other hand, studio pro’s tend to have tons of money sunk into lighting, so the likelihood of them using 3200 is probably pretty damned low.

[Updated: Added release date]

Nikon D3x Officially Announced - Product shot

She’s here! There’s an official shot from the product images site in the US.

From the press release:

• 24.5MP
• 6048 x 4032 native
• 5:4 crop mode with 20.4-megapixel resolution
• 5.49 micron pixel size
• 14-bit files (NOT 16 bit as was rumored)
• Processed files are approximately 138 MB (? In what format- uncompressed TIFF?)
• 5 FPS native
• ISO range of 100 to 1600, expandable to 50 (Lo-1) and 6400 (Hi-2)
• NO sensor-cleaner

Release Date /  In Stores:

December 19th

Supposedly. Don’t hold your breath, but get your name on the list.

Prototype Bodies

I don’t like surprises, never have– you can’t plan for them, so I’m happy to report no surprises here.

Nikon does however throw us a bone- check out this shot of the prototype bodies for the D3x, cleverly masked with “D2H” logos:

Nikon D3x Prototype Bodies

Sample Images:

Nikon D3x Sample Images

Wow, notice the small black makeup spot above the model’s eyebrow on the RHS of the image, and we need a little more tweezering… boy.

Price

$7,999.00. What was my guessed price range? $7K – $7,500- So I’m not too far off. Certainly not the $9,500 equivalent that the Japanese home market will be paying!

Lenses

No lenses? No lenses.

A reputable list has a posting of what the poster believes to be the Japanese price for the D3x:

…898,000yen. [ed: That's $9,431.69 per Google today!]

Whoa, that’ quite a bummer. Basically as of today I could buy 4.5 D700 with a resolution of together 54MP for the price of one D3x.

I guess this prices translates into roughly 8000USD in the USA and 6000Euro in Europe.
…
Tomorrow at 1pm JST will be the official announcement.

Japanese Standard Time (JST) is UTC+9, Eastern Standard Time is UTC -5, that’s 14 hours difference- Japan’s 14 hours ahead of EST. So, if my calculations are correct (and I’m not vouching for them), 13:00 JST is 23:00 (11pm) EST on today- Sunday.

We should get some more info later tonight- but I wouldn’t expect the US price to be that high- I find it hard to believe that they’d sell all that many copies if it’s really that expensive, especially since the Canon’s aren’t quite that pricey. I’m betting that we see a price closer to $7k or $7.5k.

Btw- NO NEW LENSES are expected, despite the rumors, and I’m not expecting any surprises at this point.

D3x Info Released a Day Early On Accident

From a reputable list:

Subject: Re: Nikon pro mag

Date: Sat, 29 Nov 2008 01:09:05 +0900

I phoned Nikon UK earlier today and they said that although they cannot give any information yet, to phone on Monday when they should be able to reveal all.

Apparently the magazines should have been sent out on Saturday so that they would have been delivered on Monday, but some plonker sent them out yesterday by mistake.  They cannot release any further information until the official announcement on the 1st December 2008.

Reportedly from Nikon Pro magazine (Euro? Note the British spelling of “colour”, etc), supposedly NOT fakes (click for larger images):

Confirmed. Not Fakes. (click for larger images)

Nikon D3x Scans/info from NikonPro Magazine

Nikno D3x info from NikonPro Magazine

Nikon D3x info from NikonPro Magazine

Summary

So what are we looking at- basically a FF D2x sensor in a D3 body– should make the landscape and studio guys happy, I’ll stick with my amazingly good high ISO capabilities for a while, I think.

• 24.5mp (maybe new anti-alias filter?)
• Native ISO range: 100-1600, 50-6400 possible, 50 and >1600 are LO and HI’s
• 5fps full-res, 7fps 10mp crop mode
• New Active-D lighting mode
• No Movies!
• No Price ($7k-$7500?)

Quicky text transcription of the features:

The Sensor
The D3x has an exclusive 35.9×24mm (fx format) 24.5mp image sensor with unique OLPF (optical sensor low pass filter) and high speed channel readout ISO range covers the equivalent of 50-6400.

The Focus
The widely acclaimed speed and accuracy of the MultiCAM3500 AF system with 51-AF points individual selection assumes a new importance of combination with the high resolution it’s easy to isolate and focus on small details in the scene.

Speed and Response
At full 24.5mp resolution, the D3x shoots at 5fps, 7fps is possible in crop mode. The camera is as responsive as the super-fast D3 12ms start up with a shutter release lag time of just 41ms (CIPA standard). It writes files to the dual CF slots at about 35mb per second.

Image Processing
The D3x’s 16bit EXPEED engine is specially tuned to deliver detail-rich colourful files with low levels of noise and high detail. It is also tuned to minimise the effects of colour fringing with older F-mount Nikkor lenses, and to miminise he effect of unnatural looking (digital) noise patterns. Vignette (peripheral fall-off) can also be controlled for creative effect.

Active D-Lighting
The D3x features a new Extra High Active D-Lighting setting, designed to better manage extremely high-contrast scenes, especially tonal gradation in highlights.

Scene Recognition System
Information from the 1005-pixel RGB sensor with diffraction grating is used to recognise the subject position and colour prior to capture. The results are then used by autofocus, auto-exposure and auto white balance.

Live View
The D3x is the highest resolution digital SLR yet to offer Live View. Allowing photographers to compose and shoot via the 3in monitor instead of the viewfinder brings a variety of practical advantages both in the studio and on location. Two modes are offered, Handheld and Tripod. Contrast-detect autofocus is available in tripod mode.

Monitor
3-inc wide angle (170deg) rear viewing screen, with 922,000 dots, is ultra-high definition and proven to exhibit extraordinary levels of damage resistance.

The Interfaces
USB 2.0 downloads images off the camera fast when tethered, and flexibly when connected with the WT-4 wireless transmitter. With both HDMI and AV/Out ports. GPS data can be captured into the EXIF as before. The new compact Nikon GP-1 GPS unit can also be attached via the 10-pin terminal mounted in the hotshoe, or clip on the camera strap.

Power Management
The D3x uses the same high performance lithium-ion battery (EN-EL4a) as the D3. Thanks to efficiencies in the camera’s on-board EXPEED image-processing system, battery performance is comparable with the D3.

The Body
Extremely durable magnesium construction with egonomically optimised and weather-sealed button, dial, and LCD displays. Extensuve use of highgrade rubber grips means the body is comfortable to handle for long periods of time, and in a wide range of temperatures.

Rumor: Nikon D3X Was Delayed 6+ Months

This is an interesting bit of info from a reputable Nikon list:

It must be 2 or 3 years ago that I heard from somebody who shot an early prototype of the D3x and what he told me about the details he saw in the images made me want one. The camera itself was actually scheduled for release early this year, but due to some last minute glitch, they delayed the launch 6 months and then again some more months. …

That’s really interesting and might explain why Canon/Sony were able to come out with their high-res models earlier than Nikon.

I’m guessing that chip manufacturing or SW was the cause of the delay, but who knows?

[11/28 Nikon Pro D3x shots and info]

There are shots (likely real) of the new D3x along with a wad of info in this post.

[/Update]

[11/27 Price Update]

From a reputable Nikon list:

A friend of mine was in a Kansas City Camera store last week and was told approximately $7500.00.
[/Update]

Ok- we know that “Something BIG” has been announced.

Speculation ranges from a new printer (unlikely, I think) to the medium-format high MP body (the rumored “mx-format”), to a D3x.

I’m guessing it’s the D3x- a new higher MP, decent ISO performance (but not matching the D3) pro dslr body.

Prices are unknown though I’ve just seen 7000euro mentioned. 7kEU in USD is way too high- for that, I could get a digital Mamiya. So let’s presume that it’ll be rouhgly 7k US, which is much more likely, but $6499 sounds better to me.

An interesting note on the price is that if 7kEU is actually the price, and the USD price is a direct translation of about $8750, then that price seems high enough to cover the initial year of likely losses for a new larger chip format like the MX! To make that a little clearer, if Nikon DOES make an MX body, the chip is likely to be extremely expensive since the rejection rates on large chips is high. Typically, the rejection rate goes down over time, so the first year may be a loss, but after that, the process improves and the per-unit cost of the chips go down because there are fewer and fewer rejects. But, I’m dismissing this- I’ll bet $10 on the D3x at 24mp.

We’ve also heard potential: in-body VR (possible… Sony’s been doing it lately and we’ve got it on other Nikon bodies), built-in wifi, weaker anti-alias filter (possible- moving this into software would likely be easy), higher bits per pixel giving us 16bit images (I doubt it), video (not for 24mp, I don’t think), mirrorless body using an electric (EVIL) viewfinder (completely unpossible in a pro body), tweaked AF or more AF points (not going to happen…), higher FPS (not a chance), which items am I missing? Let me know.

I’m intending to keep track as we get closer and closer, if I’ve missing something, please mail me (link at right).

We’re seeing more and more rumors flying about a high-res d3x or d4 or whatever other name. Here’s one from some guy who seems particularly sure:

D3x will be launched officially on the local market on december 1st, this year. 24mp, FX (of course). I just had the chance to see and play a bit with it and the camera is awesome ! The detail rendition is incredible.

Hold your breath, it will have a very interesting spec which – now – makes it clear to me why they put on hold the D3 production. I cannot say more, I just promised to the guy (see this thread: http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1021&message=29934712) to keep my mouth shut (I managed to keep it half shut), but you will REALLY love it !

Just wait. This will be a delightful Christmas for us, Nikonians.

I don’t tend to trust random guys on the internet though

I’m still really happy with my outrageous high ISO capabilities and the FX format, so anything else we get is just gravy. A modular, or upgradeable sensor body is the only thing I’m really hoping for at this point other than new primes.

Reports are that Nikon is moving their mysterious BIG! announcement from October 22nd to November 20th:

Nikon’s expected MX press event delayed until November Just one day after an announcement of a planned press launch of what many expected to be Nikon’s new MX format comes news that the event has been postponed…. the event is now on for November 20th, though no location has been announced and may point to a location change.

The rumored MX format from Nikon that is likely to be unveiled at the event is believed to either be larger than the company’s existing full-frame FX format or simply upgrade the existing D3 and D3x DSLRs to a sensor with 25 megapixels. Nikon has not informed the press about the reason for the delay.

There’s also been some speculation that Nikon may simply be announcing a printer… also a rumor that it’ll simply be some amateurs.

We’re seeing a lot of nonsense rumors around the D3x and various other potentialy Nikon DSLR’s like the D1000 and D800. I’m skipping most of them because they’re completely implausible- but since this one is so specific, I’m going to pass it along:

“Nikon USA’s PR Dept. [said] D3X is coming…slated for December at the moment. Full Frame, Crop features…24.4 megapixels 9 fps and a host of other features. The price? $6499.99 USD (U.S. Dollars) Its supposed to look identical to the D3, and use many of the same D3 addon’s…but have more megapixels, better noise-reduction software and faster high-speed for sports. …”

That all sounds essentially plausible- I doubt the high ISO performance can be far better than the D2x/s, but I’m sure it can be better, I can’t see it matching the D3’s performance though.

I also very much doubt the 9 frames per second (fps) claim. I really think that’s pointless- I still have yet to use that mode on my D3, but ok, someone will.