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In five years of testing digital cameras, I've
tried to limit myself to the prosumer products I could possibly
afford. I've neglected the Kodak/Nikon/Canon hybrids and the
other attempts emulate a 35mm SLR as too expensive and too
cumbersome.
When the Nikon D1X became available for testing,
I couldn't resist the chance to work with this ultimate digital
field camera. Based on Nikon's 35mm F5 SLR, the D1X is too
expensive and too cumbersome for me to think about as an
investment.
The camera with the three lenses Nikon supplied
(60mm macro, 24-85 zoom and 17-35 zoom) would cost about the
same as a small car and weigh in at more than a newborn baby.
Since the D1X has the same 5.3mp resolution as my Nikon CoolPix
5000, I thought it would be an interesting test. Indeed it was!
Some amazing things about the D1X. Electronic
noise and grain are virtually absent in ISO sensitivities up to
800. Oh, it's there all right, but not the Technicolor pixels
that show up in the prosumer images. But, the D1X does not have
a Noise Reduction filter for long exposures.
Shutter lag times are very low. No wonder the
D1X is used by so many news and sports shooters.
All of the shooting controls are contained in
buttons and wheels on the camera's exterior. Reliance upon the
camera's LCD and menus is very low. I liked what a Nikon rep at
Photoshop World referred to as the "D1's camera-ness."
In use, the Nikon D1X is very comfortable,
considering its bulk. A reassuring shutter "ker-chunk" follows
every exposure, something I wish more manufacturers would
incorporate into their prosumer models. I found the camera's
Continuous Servo focus a waste of exposures as the subject
doesn't have to be in focus for the shutter to fire. Thank
heavens I wasn't using film!
Like most digital SLRs with interchangeable
lenses, the D1X has a magnification factor (1.5X). This means
one of its widest lenses (17-35mm zoom) is actually a 25-52.
Since this lens costs nearly $1200, wide angle for the D1X is a
weak point. On the other hand, the magnification factor caused
by the CCD being smaller than a 35mm frame has its advantages.
For instance, a 200mm lens becomes a 300mm. And think of
portraits taken with a 75mm f:1.4! That would be your standard
normal lens.
I used wildlife photographer Joe Bailey's
80-400mm VR (vibration reduction) zoom to shoot handheld and
stack up the traffic from a half mile down the road. The lens
equivalent was 600mm!
The D1X proved to be remarkably power-thrifty,
continuing to run on the same battery charge after a week of
shooting and learning the camera. The proprietary battery needs
a recharger, an optional $229 purchase.
This is without a doubt the best digital camera I have ever
used. If I were younger, stronger and a full-time working pro,
I'd have a pair of these babies and a full complement of lenses.
But wait, there's more. At the recent PMA and
then Photoshop World in San Diego, Nikon showed the D-100, a 6mp
SLR that will be priced in the "low $2,000's" according to Nikon
reps. Based on the conventional N-100, this consumer-oriented
camera marks a big step toward affordable SLRs. |