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Nikon D3 (body only)

Manufacturer: Nikon Inc. Part number: 25434

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$4,075.00 - $4,999.99 at 10 online stores

CNET Editor rating:
4.5 stars Spectacular
Average user rating: 4.0 stars out of 10 reviews

Jul 2008

More product information:: Editors' review; User reviews; Specifications; Product series; Manufacturer info

Bottom Line:: Nikon's flagship dSLR packs a full-frame 12-megapixel sensor and is a highly versatile imaging powerhouse that lets photographers create images previously impossible to capture.
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CNET editors' review

Nikon D3 (body only)

price range: $4,075.00 - $4,999.99

Reviewed by: Philip Ryan
Edited by: Lori Grunin
Reviewed on: 07/31/2008
Released on: 11/18/2007

The good: Full-frame sensor; well designed, pro-level weather-sealed body; very low noise, even at extremely high ISOs; fast.

The bad: Resolution lags far behind the Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III and Sony's forthcoming 24-megapixel dSLR.

The bottom line: Nikon's flagship dSLR packs a full-frame 12-megapixel sensor and is a highly versatile imaging powerhouse that lets photographers create images previously impossible to capture.

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Photos:
Nikon D3

For years, Nikon users had been asking their favored camera maker for a dSLR with a full-frame sensor (the same size as a 35mm frame of film). Finally, Nikon caved, delivering the 12-megapixel D3; the result is a camera that reaches new heights in imaging with extremely low noise at astronomical ISO sensitivities, while maintaining the pro-level control and body design Nikonians have come to expect in the company's flagship cameras. Interestingly, Nikon seems to pit its flagship model against Canon's 10-megapixel EOS-1D Mark III, with its APS-H size sensor, rather than the 21-megapixel, full-frame EOS-1Ds Mark III. That makes sense on some level, though, since the 1D Mark III and the D3 are really all-around cameras that combine the burst speed to handle the demands of sports shooters with ruggedness and image quality that should appeal to news photographers and many others.

Design
Camera body design is an exercise in slow evolution; rightfully so, as current designs are the end products of decades of research going back to the good old film days. The D3 is nearly identical to the D2Xs it replaces. The grip is wonderfully sculpted, arching back toward the top, and with a recessed groove on the inside so your fingers wrap around it rather than giving the impression that you're gripping a bar, as I sometimes feel when holding the 1Ds Mark III.

The weather-sealed magnesium alloy body includes a built-in vertical grip, and like most bodies that do, it's heavy--about 3.2 pounds, before lens. Your arms might ache at first if you shoot for long periods of time and aren't used to a camera this heavy, but over time you'll get used to it, and I find that heavier cameras are more stable when shooting handheld (as opposed to on a tripod). The vertical grip is very nice to have if you shoot verticals often, but while Nikon does include duplicate front and back scroll wheels and AF-On button, I did find myself wishing they had also included a duplicate exposure compensation button as well. Custom functions can help you overcome this, though, if you're willing to dig in to the menus and customize it to your shooting style.

All major controls can be changed through buttons or dials on the camera body, so you shouldn't have to dig through menus while you're shooting. Any buttons that might be accidentally pressed or dials susceptible to inadvertent turning have some sort of locking mechanism to prevent this. There are plenty of options to customize the controls to your needs, and you can even change the direction of the two main wheels that are used to change shutter speed and aperture, as well as the direction of the exposure compensation EV display. In the case of the exposure compensation, it defaults so that positive exposure comp moves to the left while negative moves to the right. This only makes sense if you think about the fact that slower shutter speeds let you achieve positive exposure compensation, but in my world, positive adjustments should move to the right.

Some of the current settings are displayed on the LCD next to the shutter atop the camera, while others, such as ISO sensitivity and white balance, are shown on a smaller LCD below the 3-inch color screen on the camera back. All important info is also displayed in the large, bright viewfinder, which was an absolute pleasure to use when focusing manually, especially compared with lower-end dSLRs whose viewfinders tend to give a bit of a tunnel vision effect. If you're searching for reasons to step up to a pro-level SLR, a finder like this one should be high on the list.

Features
Without a doubt, the feature Nikon shooters have been looking for is this camera's full-frame sensor. Nikon calls this the FX format, in contrast to the 1.5x field-of-view crop offered by its DX-format cameras. Lenses are labeled the same way and if you should choose to mount a DX lens on the D3 (something you can't do with Canon's sub-full-frame EF-S lenses on that company's 1D or 1Ds cameras), this Nikon can automatically adjust for the smaller circle of light shining onto the sensor and crop the image to 5 megapixels. (You can, of course, override this and end up with a 12-megapixel photo with black edges and a circular image in the middle.) Most importantly, all those Nikon users who were told time and again that the company would never go full frame will still be able to use the DX lenses in which they may have invested, though that comes at the cost of a lot of pixels.

Following suit with the latest SLR trends, the D3 offers a pair of live view modes--one for handheld and one for tripod use--which let you frame your images on the LCD. Like most live view implementations, there's a substantial delay when focusing or shooting an image, since the camera has to flip the mirror up to provide the live feed, then flip it down to focus, then flip it up again during image capture. Sony's dual-sensor approach provides a much nicer experience, though you won't find it on a camera of this caliber. It may, however, hit the higher end of the midrange in a full-frame model by the end of this year, or early next.

The other big upgrade on the D3 is its LCD screen. Nikon has stepped up to a 3-inch LCD with 920,000 dots and a 170-degree viewing angle. There has been a lot of debate around the 920,000-dot specification as compared with the pixel spec we usually see in camera specs. We could go around and around on this, but suffice to say that the D3 has one of the nicest LCD screens we've seen on a dSLR so far. Image playback is very nice, but as with any dSLR, you really shouldn't trust the LCD playback too much for checking image quality in the field. You should always check the histogram if you want to verify exposure (make sure it's not bunched up too much to the right or left) and run home to a calibrated monitor if you want a really accurate rendering of your images' color.

Performance
As it should, given the price tag, the Nikon D3 performed quite well in CNET Labs' tests. It took 0.1 second to start up and capture its first JPEG. After that, it took 0.3 second between JPEGs and raw images. Shutter lag measured a very impressive 0.3 second in our high-contrast test and 0.6 second in our low-contrast test, which mimic bright and dim shooting conditions, respectively.

Noise remains well under control through ISO 1,600, and begins to creep up a bit at ISO 3,200 and ISO 6,400. As usual, Nikon includes its Hi1 (12,800) and Hi2 (25,600) settings and you even get third-stop steps up to Hi1, but you have to take a full-stop leap up to Hi2. Hi1 has obvious noise, but depending on the situation, you may be able to eke out some very usable prints, especially at smaller sizes. Hi2 gets rough around the edges, but is still surprisingly decent considering you're shooting at an equivalent of ISO 25,600 at that point, something you just couldn't do with 35mm film. Sorry diehards: your celluloid just can't keep up with digital anymore.

In continuous shooting mode, we were able to capture 37 frames in 3.3 seconds for an average of 8.6 frames per second at full resolution. That's quite impressive and near, but not better than the Canon EOS-1D Mark III's 9.9-frame-per-second burst in our lab. Of course, the D3 does have 2 million extra pixels to process compared with the 1D Mark III. If you're willing to step down to 5 megapixels, Nikon says that the D3 can achieve 11fps in DX crop mode (we only test at full resolution).

The D3's 51-point autofocus with 15 cross-type sensors delivers a major upgrade over the D2Xs's 11-point AF system. It's the same system found in the D300 and the recently announced D700. Just like those cameras, the 1,005-point 3D color matrix metering system works with the AF system to create the camera's 3D-tracking mode, meaning that it has the same quirkiness described in the review of the D300. That means the when you're shooting a subject with colors that contrast substantially with the background colors and will remain in the frame while you shoot it, you should use the D3's 3D tracking mode. If you're shooting something that will move into the frame while you're shooting, then you should opt for the 51-point (or 21-point or 9-point) dynamic AF without 3D. For example, if you're shooting a bird perched on a post and waiting for it to take off so you can get it in action, then you should probably use 3D tracking. If you're framing around a soccer goal and waiting for the player to run into frame and kick the winning goal, you should use one of the non-3D modes.

Image quality

Color accuracy is among the best we've seen in a digital camera, and overall image quality is wonderful, partly attributable to the D3's 14-bit analog-to-digital conversion which feeds into a 16-bit internal processing pipeline. Images show oodles of fine detail, especially at lower sensitivities, and have plenty of contrast. If Nikon is going to take any criticism for the D3, it's likely to be that the 12-megapixel sensor leaves it far behind Canon's 1Ds Mark III, which offers 21 megapixels and produces similarly excellent images. Of course, it's also about $3,000 more than the D3 and tops out at an equivalent of ISO 3,200.

I have to give Nikon a slight edge over the 1D Mark III for its remarkable noise profile, which enables shooting photos that couldn't be captured as they can now. It's more expensive than the 1D, but even in the murky depths of the dank, dark rock clubs of New York's lower east side, the D3 can shoot at speeds fast enough to stop the swaying motion of annoying hipster Axel Rose wannabees as they wail their horribly unoriginal lyrics toward the ears of the drunken masses.

If you're among the Canon crowd whose faith has wavered amidst this year's onslaught of incredible image-making machinery from Nikon, the D3 might be worth the trouble of switching brands (though Canon seems to swear that it has some interesting things in store for us over the next year or so). And if you don't need some of the D3's speed and power, you might want to wait and see how the D700 stacks up as a smaller, less-expensive alternative. But if you're a Nikon shooter and you want the best that the company can offer, the D3 is a no-brainer and significant step up from the D2Xs.

Shooting speed (in seconds)
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)

Time to first shot

Raw shot-to-shot time

Shutter lag (dim light)

Shutter lag (typical)

Nikon D3

0.1

0.3

0.6

0.3

Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III

0.3

0.4

0.9

0.4

Canon EOS-1D Mark III

0.1

0.5

1.1

0.4

Nikon D2Xs

0.2

0.7

1.1

0.4

Nikon D300

0.1

0.5

0.9

0.5

Typical continuous-shooting speed (in frames per second)
(Longer bars indicate better performance)

Canon EOS-1D Mark III

9.9

Nikon D3

8.6

Nikon D300

5.8

Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III

4.9

Nikon D2Xs

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User reviews

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Average user rating: 4.0 stars out of 10 reviews
My rating: 0 stars

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8 stars

After 30 days of shooting with my Nikon D3 im still in love, but a few cracks may be entering.

by sofuscomer on December 30, 2007

Pros: Fantastic Speed, True colours, Great and crystalclear 922.000 pixel screen, and Great High ISO performance.

Cons: Ghostly effects on Tele, Unsupported unfinished Capture NX software, And hard to get for some.

Summary: I was one of the lucky to get my Nikon D3 on November 30th, with a 14-24mm and a 24-70mm.
First hand impressions where pretty good coming from Canon Mark
...

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Summary: I was one of the lucky to get my Nikon D3 on November 30th, with a 14-24mm and a 24-70mm.
First hand impressions where pretty good coming from Canon Mark IIN. The viewfinder is great and thats important. Next one thing that Nikons seems to rule out of their promotions is the beautiful colours rendered. I havent seen such great reds before.

The fullframe is so great to see again. Its the first DSLR camera to deliver filmlike files. With the charms and nocharms of old fullframe filmcameras. I love it due to reportage and soft corners. But for high precision shooting with clear edges, i would stay canon with a crop factor of 1.3

ISO performance is awesome. Hello 3200 ISO and even hello 6400 for a few assignments.
The higher the ISO the less sharp images of course, but i have never seen this on any kind of camera and its really usefull and has opened up my eyes for nonflash dim lighted photography.

But somehow i feel very uncertain using Nikons 70-200mm 2.8 VR with the NIKON D3. The higher the Focal Length the more ghostly blur its seems to gather. I have submitted files indicating this to Nikon, but it seems that they rather busy with producing for the large number of unfortunate people who havent recieved yet. So maybe its a firmware issue or i was unlucky buying a faulty 70-200 2.8 VR. Can´t say more than that.

I use lightroom, but do have the commercial license of Capture NX 1.3 which was in the Box for the first NIKON D3 owners. Its unfortunate that the latest version 1.3 isn't supported on MAC OSX 10.5 and NIKON warns users from using it on LEOPARD cause it can ruin your files. So a month later still no working software for MAC users. It seems like they are more busy than good is.

Finally i must say that Nikon has created a great new camera, which i don´t regret 3 seconds buying. I just hope that the ghostly effects will be fixed in future firmware releases and that everybody waiting for theirs soon get it. Nikon created a huge demand, but really are behind with delivery, which is semi pro marketing in my mind.

Kind Regards Sofus Comer, www.scomer.dk

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4 out of 4 users found this user opinion helpful.
8 stars

Great body, supported by great lenses.

by Kanga bill on August 1, 2008

Pros: Full frame 35mm size sensor.

Cons: None that I can see

Summary: Your comparison camera in Canons should have been the EOS 5D, which is a lot closer to the price and specifications of the Nikon D3 than the 1Ds Mark 3. ...

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Summary: Your comparison camera in Canons should have been the EOS 5D, which is a lot closer to the price and specifications of the Nikon D3 than the 1Ds Mark 3. I have a Canon 5D and it is a fairly good camera let down badly by average quality lenses.
I have been a professional photographer for 40 years and have always found Nikon lenses to be far superior to Canons.
I will be changing over from the Canon to the Nikon D3 and Nikon/Nikor lenses as soon as I can, as I require a full 35mm frame sensor camera.

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3 out of 3 users found this user opinion helpful.
10 stars

The best all-round camera ever

by jcypark on September 26, 2008

Pros: Image quality as good or better than Canon champ 5D. Autofocus better than best canon 1dmk3. Dynamic range without peer. Low light capability the best ever except for its sister camera the D700. Only cedes landscape photography to the 1dsmk3.

Cons: Big and heavy. AF occasionally roams in low light using edge sensor points.

Summary: As of 9/2008 the best DSLR money can buy.

Summary: As of 9/2008 the best DSLR money can buy.

2 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
10 stars

Fantastic camera in any light.

by ozarkshome on June 7, 2008

Pros: Hi ISO capabilities, full frame camera. LiveView is awesome

Cons: not inexpensive.

Summary: Fantastic camera, Wide is Wide again. Full frame with wide lenses is nice to have once again. Hi ISO for low light shooting or getting fast shutter speeds with slower ...

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Summary: Fantastic camera, Wide is Wide again. Full frame with wide lenses is nice to have once again. Hi ISO for low light shooting or getting fast shutter speeds with slower lenses works well. LiveView is easy to use and very useful.

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2 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
10 stars

The best camera made to date

by vbagwalla on April 7, 2008

Pros: No visible noise at high ISO's

Cons: Bulky. Long waiting list

Summary: This is the best camera I have used/owned to date. It has a lot of little features built in to encompass a wide range of requirements to make your ...

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Summary: This is the best camera I have used/owned to date. It has a lot of little features built in to encompass a wide range of requirements to make your life easier and focus on shooting.

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2 out of 3 users found this user opinion helpful.
10 stars

by Marc Bennett on December 2, 2008

Pros:

Cons:
8 stars

Simply... Superb!

by ppolgar on November 21, 2008

Pros: Colors, Dynamic Range, detail with the right Lens.

Cons: Can't really think of any. Maybe the price could come down a bit.

Summary: In the rights hands, the Nikon D3 performs exceptionally. The colors and the dynamic range are simply superb. The D3 is a professional tool for the professional photographer who also ...

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Summary: In the rights hands, the Nikon D3 performs exceptionally. The colors and the dynamic range are simply superb. The D3 is a professional tool for the professional photographer who also posses a certain level of technical prowess to get the most out of this camera system. Blogs are already filled with self-proclaimed experts making such assertions as the Nikon D3 lags behind the Sony?s 24 mega-pixel A900. I can tell you without reservation, that?s simply not true. I tried the A900 and in my opinion, the D3 is a far superior camera in virtually every respect. The Sony will perform admirably if the shooting conditions are ideal however, in challenging lighting situations, the A900 simply cannot produce the level of image quality from the D3. 100% crops from the Sony are just OK. Sony should have concentrated on developing a high quality 12 to 16 mega-pixel FF DSLR instead of a mediocre 24 mega-pixel. Nikon knew what they where doing when they developed the 12 mega-pixel FF D3. There is a considerable amount of latitude when dealing with the D3?s raw image files. If you require large print-outs (within limits of course) the D3?s capabilities is nearly boundless where other systems are very much limited. I hope that Nikon?s variant of the 24 mega-pixel DSLR will be properly designed considering the limitations of cramming all of those pixels even on a 35mm sensor. You folks out here who have a true passion for photography, pro or not pro, don?t get caught up with the mega-pixel horsepower race. The Nikon D3 or the D700 for that matter, will not place any limitations on your creative abilities as a photographer unless your printing requirements exceeds billboard sized prints.

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9 stars

GREAT CAMERA!

by DKYACHTPHOTO on April 2, 2008

Pros: Amazing low light capability, 11 fps is incredible, very similar to d2x so if upgrading there is almost no learning curve, incredible rear display.

Cons: should have made their first full frame slr higher resolution, cant see a use for the live view its a total waste to me, the horizon level thing is cool but it should be in the view finder

Summary: I recently added the d3 as a backup/second camera to my d2x. After looking at all the reviews and researching everything i could about it i don't regret ...

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Summary: I recently added the d3 as a backup/second camera to my d2x. After looking at all the reviews and researching everything i could about it i don't regret buying it. the speed and low light ability of the camera are amazing. I was also very happy to see that all my current lenses worked very well with it, all but my 12x24 that is a dx lens. the over all operation and feel of the D3 is almost identical to the D2x so there is almost no learning curve. Some of the new controls are nice like the D-lighting and ability to customize the sharpness, saturation, and contrast but if you are shooting in raw all the time like i do they mean very little to me. It would have been nice to see a higher resolution camera for Nikon's first full frame camera but it is still a very high res, high quality camera. the horizon level feature is cool but should have been put in the viewfinder so it could be used during all shooting conditions, it is totally useless for hand held shooting. over all i am very happy with it and i think it is worth every penny.

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9 stars

Phenomenal Camera; Could use a better review by Mr. Ryan

by pglickman15 on August 1, 2008

Pros: Low-Light, Beautiful Crisp Screen to quickly view your images

Cons: Expensive, but worth it if you can afford it

0 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
5 stars

Diappointing

by nixl on August 4, 2008

Pros: all the stuff you mention

Cons: price for value

Summary: $4,500 and it lags far behind EOS-1DS & Sony's dDLR!!!
Pretty presumptive that the label will blind the buyer. Perhaps they're right.

Summary: $4,500 and it lags far behind EOS-1DS & Sony's dDLR!!!
Pretty presumptive that the label will blind the buyer. Perhaps they're right.

0 out of 3 users found this user opinion helpful.

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Specifications

Manufacturer: Nikon Inc.
Part number: 25434
Description: Designed with sports photographers and photojournalists in mind, the Nikon D3 introduces an astounding list of brand new features and technologies that make it the most sophisticated and advanced Nikon digital SLR to date. In addition to the new FX-format CMOS sensor, the D3 incorporates Nikon's new EXPEED Image Processing System that is central to the blazing speed and processing power needed for many of the D3's new features. Images taken with the D3 reflect exceptional overall quality, broad tonal range and depth, along with extremely low-noise throughout its normal ISO range of 200 to 6400. By setting the camera to its built-in options of Lo-1 or Hi-2, the ISO range of the camera can be expanded to the equivalent of ISO 100 or ISO 25,600 respectively, offering unmatched versatility in practically any shooting situation. The D3 also features an entirely new 51-point auto focus system with Nikon's 3D Focus Tracking feature and two new LiveView shooting modes that allow photographers to frame a photograph using the camera's high-resolution LCD monitor. The D3 uses the world's first Scene Recognition System to greatly enhance the accuracy of auto focus, auto exposure and auto white balance detection in the camera by recognizing the subject or scene being photographed and applying this information to the calculations for the three functions. The D3 reflects Nikon's most streamlined, functional and aesthetically pleasing layout in a digital SLR camera, all designed so photographers can take pictures with less fatigue, greater accuracy and comfort.

General
Product Type Digital camera - SLR
Weight 2.7 lbs
Width 6.3 in
Depth 3.5 in
Height 6.2 in
Body Material Magnesium alloy
Main Features
Resolution 12.1 megapixels
Sensor resolution 12.1 megapixels
Optical Sensor Type CMOS
Effective Sensor Resolution 12,100,000 pixels
Total Pixels 12,870,000 pixels
Light Sensitivity ISO 200-6400
Special effects Vivid, Neutral, Monochrome
Field of View Crop Factor 1.0
Max Shutt

Nikon D3 (body only)

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