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FIRST LOOK NIKON D3X By Philip Ryan
Megapixels and a
whole lot more
For a while, it looked
as if Nikon were taking a break
from the megapixel race to focus on
other aspects of image quality. After all,
the pro-caliber D3 is just 12.1MP, and
the recent D90 is only 12.3MP.
But the hiatus is over. Nikon is back
in the fray big-time with the introduction
of a 24.5MP full-frame flagship, the D3X
($8,000, street, body only).
Trading the 12.1MP D3’s superhigh
ISOs for a greater pixel count, this
new camera takes direct aim at Canon’s
EOS-1Ds Mark III and Sony’s Alpha 900.
In fact, the difference between the
D3 ($4,200, street, body only) and D3X
is much like the difference between
Canon’s EOS-1D Mark III ($3,750,
street, body only) and 1Ds Mark III
($6,680, street, body only). In both
cases, a step below the flagships gives
you about half the pixels, but fast burst
rates and high ISOs with relatively low
noise. (The table on the opposite page
spells this out.)
Harvest the crop
So this new Nikon promises high
resolution and great performance in
bright light (it goes down to ISO 50),
tON THE BACK: Two CF card
slots hide behind a weathersealed
door, while dedicated buttons
for ISO, image quality, and white
balance put you in control.
NEW & NOTEWORTHY
n24.5MP full-frame CMOS sensor.
nSensitivity up to ISO 6400.
n14-bit RAW capture.
nRugged, weathersealed body.
CONSIDER THIS IF…
nYou’re a pro who needs the most
pixels you can get in the Nikon
system, and money’s not an issue.
nYou’re looking for Nikon’s most
rugged and powerful camera yet.
76 POP PHOTO FEBRUARY 2009
GABRIEL MOISA/FOTOLIA.COM (LCD IMAGE)