The Nikon D3 Camera - Part 2

The Nikon D3 camera. As announced, the D3 will be the top model in Nikon's line of and is a 12.1-megapixel professional full frame (35mm) digital single-lens-reflex (dSLR) camera that Nikon Corporation announced on 23 August 2007 along with the Nikon D300 DX formatDSLRs, superseding the D2HsD2Xs.

The D3 features a full-frame 35mm equivalent CMOS image sensor measuring 23.9 x 36.0 mm. This sensor is larger than the DX format sensors of all previous Nikon dSLRs, and Nikon has coined the FX format term to describe it. The D3's sensor has larger pixels and greater light sensitivity than previous DX sensors. This allows the camera to reach higher equivalent film speeds and produce images with less noise in low-light situations. Low-light situations include times when the camera is operated at high shutter speed or high f-number, where the lens' aperture is reduced to improve depth of field and sharpness. The sensor captures image data at 14 bits per color channel, which is higher than the bit-depth of previous 12-bit sensors.

The camera grip and body style were designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro's Italdesign. The camera body retains the long-standing Nikon F-mount, making it compatible with older Nikon lenses. Other features include the ability to take many shots in rapid succession (up to 9 frames-per-second (fps) in FX format and 11 fps in DX format), and a high-resolution LCD view screen regarded as superior to other camera's view screens at the time.

The D3 advertised features are suitable for professional photographers and the commercial photography industry. The FX sensor has a theoretical advantage due to geometry, of providing greater sensitivity to light than the DX sensor, which translates at a given number of photosites (aka pixels) into a theoretical capacity for less noise at equivalent ISO numbers and a corresponding capacity for higher usable ISO numbers.

This theoretical capacity appears to have been confirmed in tests by various independent persons since the camera's announcement and subsequent release, but as yet no full understanding of the camera's relative performance appears to have been gained by the internet photographic community, nor has Nikon confirmed detailed information on the technology underlying the camera's sensor.

This improves the camera's chance to take pictures with superior technical image quality, both at high shutter speeds, allowing photographers to capture fast moving subjects with less blur and better color, and in low light conditions, or usually some combination of the two.

The camera's vertical grip, in addition to the standard horizontal grip, is useful for fashion, sports, and wedding photographers, and anyone else who likes to turn the camera around a lot to alternate between shooting portrait and landscape orientation images.

At the time of announcement, the D3 was priced at $4999.

The Nikon D3 is an upgrade from previous Nikon DSLRs and is not a substitute or minor upgrade of an existing model. Nikon's previous offerings include the professional high-resolution D2Xs and the high-speed D2Hs.

Nikon D3 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Nikon D3 Camera - Part I

Type	Digital single-lens reflex camera
Sensor	36 mm × 23.9 mm CMOS, Nikon FX format
Maximum resolution	12.1 megapixels
Lens type	Interchangeable, Nikon F-mount
Shutter	Electromagnetically controlled vertical-travel focal-plane shutter
Shutter speed range	30 to 1/8000 second and bulb
Exposure Metering	TTL full-aperture exposure metering system
Exposure Modes	Program Auto [P], Shutter-Priority Auto [S], Aperture-Priority Auto [A], Manual [M]
Metering modes	3D Color Matrix Metering II, Center-Weighted, Spot
Focus areas	51 area TTL
Focus modes	Single Area AF, Dynamic AF with Focus Tracking and Lock-on, Closest Subject Priority, Group Dynamic AF
Continuous Shooting	9fps up to ?/64 (RAW/JPEG Fine), 11fps for DX mode
Viewfinder	Optical-type fixed eye-level pentaprism
ASA/ISO range	ISO equivalency 200 to 6400 in 1/3, 1/2 or 1.0 EV steps, boosted: 100 to 25,600
Flash	n/a
Flash bracketing	n/a
Focus bracketing	Eleven sets of focus brackets (area)
Custom WB	Auto, Presets (5), Manual, and Color tempature in Kelvin
WB bracketing	2 to 9 frames, 10,20,30 MIRED steps
Rear LCD monitor	3-inch, 307,000 pixels (922,000 dots), VGA
Storage	2 CompactFlash (Type I or Type II)
Battery	Lithium Ion EN-EL4a
Weight	1240 g (2.7b)
Optional Battery Packs	AC adapter EH-6

Nikon D3 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia