I received my nikon D3 the other day and have been playing with the settings. Firstly, ISO 6400 is fantastic (although seems to have more noise than some reviews indicated). Its about what I was getting with ISO 1600 (HI1) on my D2X from what I can tell so far.
Also, the 70–200mm 2.8 (my favourite lens) is now a better lens for more portraits etc. Ill have to go to the 80–400 (3.5–5.6) for more reach now but at higher ISO settings, the speed will not upset me too much. I would love a 500mm 2.8 but at $10,000 its a little too much to justify.
Anyway, Ill have some photos to post shortly. I will be shooting the basketball tomorrow in Sydney (I don’t yet know if the Hawks will get any photos yet) just to test the camera out. Hopefully the Higher ISO values, FX sensor, faster frame rate, 2 CF slots and dynamic 3D focussing should help me get some keepers.
Having used the D3 and done some side by side comparissons with my 1DsMkIII, my 2 5D bodies and the 1DMkIII (yes I own them all).
The Nikon does have a nice high end quality, but when shooting in RAW (always HIGHLY reccomended) the difference between the D3 and the 3 different Canons are not noticable, even with the 3 year old 5D body.
High ISO is good, dont get me wrong, but for overall picture quality the Canon beats the Nikon hands down.
check out some photos at: http://www.pbase.com/ausphotoman
I will have some D3 images up soon.
cheers
Brad
You’re right about the 500, I was thinking of the 400mm but I don’t agree with the 1DMkIII (or the 1DsMkIII which i presume you mean). Firstly the canon cannot do nearly as well in the higher ISO’s (which are handy for some of the shooting I do) and I have lots of lenses that would no longer work.
See recent article on camera stable (being written now)
Should have brought the Canon 1DMkIII, the lenses are cheaper and the camera is still better than the D3. I run both brands, with a D3 and a couple 5D bodies and my new 1DsMkIII body. The Nikon is good, but doesnt beat the Canon.
Also, Nikon dont make a 500mm 2.8 lens, nobody does. I think you want the 400mm 2.8 or 500mm 4.0 lens. Both great lenses for both brands, but again Canon is much cheaper.