Since the launch of the Nikon D3 and D300 just over a year ago Nikon has been very successful in getting photographers to switch to their new cameras from other manufacturer’s systems. The D3 in particular has been a great success, specifically in the area of photojournalism, sports and wedding photography as well as various news agencies. This was down to a combination of fantastic low light image quality and class leading build and autofocus performance. The camera met the needs almost perfectly of those it was designed for. The D300 bought the same AF system, high resolution 3 inch LCD and durable build quality that were some of the reasons for the success of the D3 into a body costing around £1000, proving popular with both advanced enthusiasts and as back up to professional photographers.
Nikon then surprised us this summer with the release of the D700, a camera that combined the sensor and therefore image quality of the D3 with a body very similar to the D300. The line up of professional cameras looked extremely strong; the only area not covered was a very high resolution sensor to cater for studio, landscape and architectural photographers. The only option for photographers working in these fields was to switch to another 35mm DSLR system or to shoot medium format.
The D3X is Nikon’s answer to this. In essence it is the body of a D3 with a new ultra high resolution 24.5mp CMOS sensor. Arguably the most capable DSLR body ever produced now shoots 50MB RAW files capable of satisfying the most demanding stock agencies and picture editors. All the features from the D3 are here, the 51 point AF system with 3D tracking, Kevlar and carbon fibre shutter rated at 300,000 cycles; Live View with 2 AF modes, dual CF card slots, HDMI output, the list goes on. Landscape, wildlife and travel photographers in particular will welcome the news that the D3X is compatible with the new GP-1 GPS unit that was announced with the D90, allowing images to be ‘geo-tagged’ as they are shot. Whilst the D3 will still be considered the high-speed model in Nikon’s line-up the D3X is no slouch itself. Much like it’s predecessor, the D2X, it can shoot at full resolution at 5 frames per second which is ample for most uses. On the occasions when you need to shoot faster than this the camera can resort to ‘DX’ mode where it shoots using only the centre portion of the sensor at 10MP and can up the frame rate to an impressive 7 per second. Like the D2X, this one body can be utilised by photographers who cover a number of disciplines without the need for buying two different cameras. The images captured will be processed by a new version of Nikon’s acclaimed Expeed processor which manages to combine high quality and speed with impressively low power consumption, the Nikon EN-EL4a battery can shoot up to 4,400 frames from a single charge.
To complete the list of specifications Nikon have included the Electronic Virtual Horizon, Active D-lighting, picture control system, Vignette control, 5:4 shooting mode, all features that helped secure the success of the D3. We will have to wait for samples to be able to judge the image quality but on specification at least Nikon look to have another winner on their hands.
For a downloadable Nikon brouchure on the D3x, please click here.
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