I love it. It completes me.
How’s that for a review? Need I say more?
If you want to the Nikon D3X, I’d appreciate it if you got it from B&H Photo, is the best place to buy it! I love that store. When I die, I want my ashes scattered in the Nikon section.
I will tell you a little bit about my experience with the camera. If you want to geek-out on stats, dimensions, weights, optics, sensor tech, and all that BS, you can grab that off Wikipedia. I’ll simply speak from a practical and personal perspective.
The D3X in the Wild
As my regular readers know, I think very intensely about photography and equipment. I want the absolute best, since I may only make it to these locations once in my life. I only have one chance to grab it, and I want to ensure the quality is as good as possible.
I’m pretty much an all-Nikon guy. I don’t get into the Canon vs. Nikon debate. I think it is a silly discussion. They are just about equal, really. Once you start down one path, just stay on that path so you can re-use lenses as new bodies come out. That’s it. End of discussion.
I started with a Nikon D70 and then moved on to the Nikon D2X. I now use the Nikon D3X exclusively.
It is dependable, fast, takes incredible images, and does it all with an eye-popping 24.5 megapixel sensor. Some people will say that is too many megapixels. I ignore those people because I like as many details as possible in my shots. Now, that is too many megapixels for a standard 8×10 print, for example. However, I believe that the future of “looking” at photography will be online. Monitors will continue to get bigger, resolutions will get bigger, and bandwidth will get faster. Imagine a day several years in the future, when people have giant art flatscreens in their house, and your high-fidelity photos will be filling them with incredible walk-up detail.
Most of my work is HDR (about 80%), and the D3X is great for that too. It, of course, has auto-bracketing. My only complaint is that I can only do steps of 1. That means that I normally have to take 5 exposures at -2, -1, 0, 1, and +2. Why I can’t program this thing to step by 2s is amazing to me. Another minor complaint is that the mirror goes up and down between each shot. That is a very silly thing, and it reminds me of some ancient Da Vinci mechanical device. I’m waiting for someone to hack it for me!
Now, in all honesty, the D3X is only, maybe, 20% better than the Nikon D700, if you do not care about megapixels. The D3X is much more expensive. But again, if you simply want the best, and you are into photography where financial reason flies out the window, then you really don’t have a choice, do you?
The D3X is also exceptional at low-light situations when you are not using a flash. Look at this shot I grabbed at Medieval Times. It was very dark inside even though this looks well lit.
The D3X in low-light conditions with no flash. The shot is at ISO 2000, F 2.8, 1/124 sec shutter speed.
Last, I will finish by showing some of my favorite images I have snapped with the Nikon D3X.
Any questions about the nature of these reviews? Visit my Ethics Statement. It’s all quite simple!
May 8th, 2009 22:03 | Alex Suarez
FANtastic images as always, Trey. I’d love to get a D3x (I’m jealous), but for now, I’m quite happy with my D300.
May 8th, 2009 22:20 | Jacob W Crosby
I am effectively astonished you even wasted time typing this up. The pictures really speak for themselves. Sadly, the D3X budget is far beyond mine, hopefully the D90 will be mine within a few months. One other thing, the website dpreview.com might be very helpful to some readers.
May 8th, 2009 22:30 | Morgan McLintic
If buying a D3X made me take photos like that, I’d get one in an instant! Good review Trey.
May 8th, 2009 22:33 | Elliot Haney
Absolutely love the review, would give anything to own one of these… let’s call it my “holy grail” for now… your end of the world shot is one of my favorites ever, thank you for it
May 8th, 2009 23:20 | casusan
I love your site Trey! It wakes me up every morning and puts me to bed at night – I am not a photographer – but if I was I’d get a D3X to try to be more like you! Keep up the great work!
May 9th, 2009 00:59 | p.m.w
i love this too <3
May 9th, 2009 01:57 | Charlie
Cool, but I hope everyone realizes that it is photoshop/photomatic which makes those photos spectacular, and not the camera itself.
May 9th, 2009 10:24 | Leslie
That knight REALLY makes me want to pay a visit to medieval times…*swoon*.
May 9th, 2009 23:38 | Richard Uchytil
One of these years if I ever have the money, I’ll get something like that and really learn how to use it – I mean if you spend that kind of money, you’d BETTER know how to use it, huh?
Oh, and I LOVE your take on the Canon vs. Nikon battle. I’ve always wondered about that and your comment is perfect. Thanks!
May 10th, 2009 02:18 | Rodney
It would also be useful to know which lens or lenses you used to shoot those photos. Surely it’s the camera plus lenses (plus processing) that makes the images.
May 10th, 2009 02:47 | gypman
Yeah, it’s a great camera, Trey, but it’s the photographer that that takes the picture. A good camera helps, but the photographer composes, decides on the depth of field, the time of day to take the shot, and makes many other decisions in the post processing.
May 10th, 2009 03:37 | Alex Richards
Hi Trey,
Is it just me or can you see that on the ‘knight’ photo there seems to be 2 stuck/hot/defective pixels? Not only that, but around the said pixels seems to be very weird artefacting.
Great shots and review nevertheless
May 10th, 2009 05:03 | Jakob Montrasio
I think the D700 is enough, as long as you don’t shoot sport stuff.
May 10th, 2009 10:17 | Stuck In Customs
Thanks!
Well if you zoom in to most of the photos, you can see the Exif and get a hint of the lens. They are all Nikkor lenses – either then 14-24 or the 28-70
Alex – around those stuck pixels – I have no idea – did not even notice till you told me!
May 10th, 2009 19:03 | Dale Martin
I want one!!
May 10th, 2009 21:37 | Daniel Vincent
Trey, what is that cube thing on top of the D3x?
May 11th, 2009 10:56 | Stuck In Customs
It’s a level. If you just google “Green cube level camera” – you can probably find it!
May 11th, 2009 16:50 | Joseph
Trey, Love the images! Would also love it if you could work a magic tutorial to talk about HDR and people in your images (how not to get the people to look to HDR, not to have them blur, etc)- the one of the Christmas tree above is amazing, one of my favorites on your site. Thanks for taking the time to post and allowing us to share in your adventures. Great stuff!
May 11th, 2009 22:17 | John Rogers
As always, great review. I understand that B&H is a sponsor of yours, however, for the small percentage of readers that live in your hometown of Austin Texas like myself, I have to give a plug to Precision Camera. I too have purchased thousands of dollars of equipment from B&H. They provide great service & great prices. In the past I tended to buy the ‘big’ stuff from B&H and the small stuff locally at Precision. I would scout at the local store to see what I wanted to buy & then send the big bucks to NYC for my purchase. Now, Austin, a city of over a million people only has one ‘real’ store left where professional photographers can go and actually try out different equipment. Thus my justification in spending an extra $60.00 when I purchased my $1600.00 70-200 f/2.8 VR. In the big picture (no pun intended) I decided it was worth the rather insignificant difference in price to purchase locally. I encourage photographers to support their local camera stores. Often they will virtually match the price of B&H (it never hurts to ask)& they will be there in your neighborhood when you need them.
Just my 2 cents worth.
John
June 2nd, 2009 13:10 | Matt
So Trey,
Would you mind explaining why it is that the 3X can grab so much more light than say a D80 or even a D300? Isn’t your example shot showing great light being captured at midevil times a result of the ISO being at 2000? Does the 3X not make it grainy? Did you use Noiseware on that shot? PLEASE EXPLAIN!!! Thanks man.
June 2nd, 2009 21:21 | Trey Ratcliff
Thanks all.
Matt – it is just a much better sensor. That’s all. You can take high ISO shots without much grain… And no – that shot was right out of the camera.
June 11th, 2009 12:22 | Rob McCall
Trey,
You mentioned nothing of the D3. I am set to buy a new camera and have been wrestling between this issue of D3 or D3X. You say its only 20% better than D700, but what about between D3 and D3X? Is there justification in spending $3000 or so more. My take is I see a lot more mega pixels, but I keep hearing that the night abilities and burst speeds were reduced from the D3s. I do much of the same shooting you do, outdoor, cathedrals, monuments, etc and mostly in HDR. Any thoughts?
Rob
June 11th, 2009 12:41 | Stuck In Customs
Rob – the D3 is a great camera. From what I understand, it’s pretty much the same as the D3X, just with half the resolution. I also believe it shoots a little faster if you are into sports and high-action stuff.
June 25th, 2009 10:37 | Another Photography Website » Blog Archive » Nikon D3x Review - Take Those Amazing Shots With Nikon D3x
[...] nook and cranny in his or her camera, the Nikon D3x is unquestionably the best choice. A detailed Nikon D3x review indicates an improvement over previous D3 digital SLR, which was widely praised for its ergonomic [...]
June 25th, 2009 15:02 | Nikon D3x Review - Features and Benefits of Nikon D3x For Your Photoshoot Requirements
[...] over each detail in his or her camera, the Nikon D3x is definitely the one to choose. A close Nikon D3x review indicates better features over an earlier D3 digital SLR, which received positive feedbacks for its [...]
June 25th, 2009 22:37 | Nikon D3x Review - Take Those Amazing Shots With Nikon D3x | Byte Space Media
[...] over each detail in his or her camera, the Nikon D3x is unquestionably the top choice. A close Nikon D3x review demonstrates an improvement over an earlier D3 digital SLR, which was widely praised for its [...]
June 26th, 2009 06:09 | Nikon D3x Review - Features and Benefits of Nikon D3x For Your Photoshoot Requirements - Learn Photoshop Online
[...] every last detail in his or her camera, the Nikon D3x is definitely the one to choose. A detailed Nikon D3x review demonstrates better features over previous D3 digital SLR, which received positive feedbacks for [...]
June 28th, 2009 14:03 | Nikon D3x Review - Excellent Portability And Extreme Reliability With Nikon D3x | Arts And Entertainment
[...] over every last detail in his or her camera, the Nikon D3x is definitely the one to choose. A close Nikon D3x review shows better features over an earlier D3 digital SLR, which was widely praised for its ergonomic [...]
July 7th, 2009 00:36 | Nikon D3x Review – Take Those Amazing Shots With Nikon D3x | Discover Unknown Resources and Announce Your Resource to the World
[...] nook and cranny in his or her camera, the Nikon D3x is unquestionably the top choice. A detailed Nikon D3x review indicates an improvement over an earlier D3 digital SLR, which was widely praised for its ergonomic [...]
July 9th, 2009 04:07 | Senior Portraits » Nikon D3x Review - Excellent Portability And Extreme Reliability With Nikon D3x
[...] last nook and cranny in his or her camera, the Nikon D3x is unquestionably the best choice. A close Nikon D3x review indicates an improvement over an earlier D3 digital SLR, which was widely praised for its ergonomic [...]
July 12th, 2009 14:33 | Nikon D3x Review – Features and Benefits of Nikon D3x For Your Photoshoot Requirements | Photography blog
[...] over every last detail in his or her camera, the Nikon D3x is absolutely the top choice. A detailed Nikon D3x review shows better features over an earlier D3 digital SLR, which was widely praised for its ergonomic [...]
July 13th, 2009 01:03 | Nikon D3x Review – Features and Benefits of Nikon D3x For Your Photoshoot Requirements | Photography blog
[...] every nook and cranny in his or her camera, the Nikon D3x is definitely the top choice. A detailed Nikon D3x review demonstrates an improvement over an earlier D3 digital SLR, which was widely praised for its [...]
July 15th, 2009 10:37 | Nikon D3x Review - Features and Benefits of Nikon D3x For Your Photoshoot Requirements | NIKON DIGITAL CAMERAS
[...] every nook and cranny in his or her camera, the Nikon D3x is absolutely the best choice. A detailed Nikon D3x review demonstrates an improvement over previous D3 digital SLR, which received positive feedbacks for its [...]
July 16th, 2009 15:12 | Latest Photography News » Nikon D3x Review - Features and Benefits of Nikon D3x For Your Photoshoot Requirements
[...] over every last detail in his or her camera, the Nikon D3x is definitely the best choice. A close Nikon D3x review shows an improvement over previous D3 digital SLR, which was widely praised for its ergonomic [...]
July 17th, 2009 14:40 | Nikon D3x Review – Features and Benefits of Nikon D3x For Your Photoshoot Requirements | Photography blog
[...] every nook and cranny in his or her camera, the Nikon D3x is absolutely the top choice. A close Nikon D3x review demonstrates an improvement over previous D3 digital SLR, which received positive feedbacks for its [...]
July 17th, 2009 23:54 | Nikon D3x Review – Take Those Amazing Shots With Nikon D3x | Photography Help And Advice
[...] over every last detail in his or her camera, the Nikon D3x is definitely the one to choose. A close Nikon D3x review demonstrates better features over an earlier D3 digital SLR, which received positive feedbacks for [...]
July 18th, 2009 05:07 | LEEDS PHOTOGRAPHERS » Blog Archive » Nikon D3x Review - Take Those Amazing Shots With Nikon D3x
[...] last nook and cranny in his or her camera, the Nikon D3x is unquestionably the top choice. A close Nikon D3x review shows better features over previous D3 digital SLR, which was widely praised for its ergonomic [...]
July 19th, 2009 12:49 | Nikon D3x Review – Excellent Portability And Extreme Reliability With Nikon D3x | Photography blog
[...] over every last detail in his or her camera, the Nikon D3x is absolutely the one to choose. A close Nikon D3x review indicates better features over an earlier D3 digital SLR, which received positive feedbacks for its [...]
July 22nd, 2009 04:35 | Artistic Photography-Photographers in San Antonio | Nikon D3x Review - Features and Benefits of Nikon D3x For Your Photoshoot Requirements
[...] last nook and cranny in his or her camera, the Nikon D3x is absolutely the best choice. A detailed Nikon D3x review demonstrates an improvement over an earlier D3 digital SLR, which received positive feedbacks for [...]
July 23rd, 2009 22:05 | Nikon D3x Review - Features and Benefits of Nikon D3x For Your Photoshoot Requirements | wireless-digital-cameras.com
[...] last detail in his or her camera, the Nikon D3x is unquestionably the one to choose. A detailed Nikon D3x review indicates better features over an earlier D3 digital SLR, which received positive feedbacks for its [...]
August 7th, 2009 09:28 | ReverendTed
I get the feeling this comes across as more cynical than you intended, or at least I hope so.
What makes these photos spectacular is a convergence of great composition (the talent of the photographer), high fidelity images (the quality of the hardware), and proper post-processing (Photoshop and Photomatix).
If you mean to say that any of these images might have been merely “great” before post-processing gave them the extra pop to push them over into “spectacular”, then I can probably agree with that.
August 8th, 2009 11:11 | Nikon D3x Review – Features and Benefits of Nikon D3x For Your Photoshoot Requirements | Photography Advice
[...] over each nook and cranny in his or her camera, the Nikon D3x is definitely the top choice. A close Nikon D3x review shows better features over an earlier D3 digital SLR, which was widely praised for its ergonomic [...]
August 9th, 2009 17:32 | photos by richard » Nikon D3x Review - Features and Benefits of Nikon D3x For Your Photoshoot Requirements
[...] every nook and cranny in his or her camera, the Nikon D3x is definitely the top choice. A close Nikon D3x review shows better features over previous D3 digital SLR, which received positive feedbacks for its [...]
August 10th, 2009 15:48 | Nikon D3x Review - Excellent Portability And Extreme Reliability With Nikon D3x |
[...] last nook and cranny in his or her camera, the Nikon D3x is absolutely the best choice. A close Nikon D3x review indicates better features over previous D3 digital SLR, which was widely praised for its ergonomic [...]
August 10th, 2009 23:44 | Nikon D3x Review - Take Those Amazing Shots With Nikon D3x | Photography Books
[...] over every detail in his or her camera, the Nikon D3x is definitely the top choice. A detailed Nikon D3x review indicates better features over previous D3 digital SLR, which received positive feedbacks for its [...]
August 12th, 2009 09:34 | Nikon D3x Review - Take Those Amazing Shots With Nikon D3x
[...] nook and cranny in his or her camera, the Nikon D3x is absolutely the one to choose. A detailed Nikon D3x review indicates better features over an earlier D3 digital SLR, which was widely praised for its [...]
August 13th, 2009 04:10 | Nikon D3x Review - Take Those Amazing Shots With Nikon D3x |
[...] nook and cranny in his or her camera, the Nikon D3x is unquestionably the one to choose. A detailed Nikon D3x review demonstrates better features over previous D3 digital SLR, which received positive feedbacks for [...]
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August 15th, 2009 19:22 | Nikon D3x Review - Take Those Amazing Shots With Nikon D3x | Learn Photography 101 - True Art
[...] each nook and cranny in his or her camera, the Nikon D3x is unquestionably the top choice. A close Nikon D3x review shows better features over an earlier D3 digital SLR, which received positive feedbacks for its [...]
August 17th, 2009 02:11 | Nikon D3x Review - Features and Benefits of Nikon D3x For Your Photoshoot Requirements
[...] each nook and cranny in his or her camera, the Nikon D3x is absolutely the best choice. A close Nikon D3x review indicates an improvement over an earlier D3 digital SLR, which was widely praised for its ergonomic [...]
August 17th, 2009 04:19 | » Nikon D3x Review - Take Those Amazing Shots With Nikon D3x
[...] every last detail in his or her camera, the Nikon D3x is definitely the one to choose. A detailed Nikon D3x review demonstrates an improvement over previous D3 digital SLR, which was widely praised for its [...]
August 18th, 2009 20:13 | Nikon D3x Review - Take Those Amazing Shots With Nikon D3x « Arts and Entertainment
[...] each detail in his or her camera, the Nikon D3x is unquestionably the one to choose. A detailed Nikon D3x review shows an improvement over previous D3 digital SLR, which received positive feedbacks for its [...]
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[...] last nook and cranny in his or her camera, the Nikon D3x is absolutely the one to choose. A close Nikon D3x review shows an improvement over an earlier D3 digital SLR, which was widely praised for its ergonomic [...]
August 19th, 2009 20:37 | Nikon D3x Review – Features and Benefits of Nikon D3x For Your Photoshoot Requirements | Digital Cameras Advices
[...] every nook and cranny in his or her camera, the Nikon D3x is definitely the best choice. A detailed Nikon D3x review demonstrates an improvement over an earlier D3 digital SLR, which received positive feedbacks for [...]
August 20th, 2009 10:39 | Nikon D3x Review - Features and Benefits of Nikon D3x For Your Photoshoot Requirements « urbanseniorportraits.com
[...] last detail in his or her camera, the Nikon D3x is unquestionably the one to choose. A detailed Nikon D3x review shows an improvement over previous D3 digital SLR, which received positive feedbacks for its [...]
August 21st, 2009 16:19 | Photo Tips » Blog Archive » Nikon D3x Review - Excellent Portability And Extreme Reliability With Nikon D3x
[...] last nook and cranny in his or her camera, the Nikon D3x is absolutely the top choice. A close Nikon D3x review shows better features over an earlier D3 digital SLR, which was widely praised for its ergonomic [...]
August 22nd, 2009 03:38 | Inside Pandigital - The Digital Photo Frame Company » Blog Archive » Nikon D3x Review - Take Those Amazing Shots With Nikon D3x
[...] over every last detail in his or her camera, the Nikon D3x is definitely the best choice. A close Nikon D3x review demonstrates better features over previous D3 digital SLR, which was widely praised for its [...]
August 22nd, 2009 14:45 | Nikon D3x Review - Take Those Amazing Shots With Nikon D3x » Photography School Resource
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August 22nd, 2009 23:35 | Nikon D3x Review - Features and Benefits of Nikon D3x For Your Photoshoot Requirements | Photography Tips
[...] nook and cranny in his or her camera, the Nikon D3x is unquestionably the one to choose. A detailed Nikon D3x review shows an improvement over an earlier D3 digital SLR, which was widely praised for its ergonomic [...]
August 24th, 2009 18:15 | Nikon D3x Review – Take Those Amazing Shots With Nikon D3x | Digital Camera - Digital Camera Accessories
[...] over each detail in his or her camera, the Nikon D3x is unquestionably the best choice. A close Nikon D3x review shows an improvement over previous D3 digital SLR, which was widely praised for its ergonomic [...]
August 28th, 2009 09:16 | chesson
Wonderful !
September 16th, 2009 05:09 | John Jessup
Took delivery of my D3X yesterday. Will keep my D300 which is great but you know when you’ve got everything you can out of it with pro lenses, filters, software, tripods et al.
I now also feel complete.
October 6th, 2009 06:30 | Nikon D3x Review – Excellent Portability And Extreme Reliability With Nikon D3x :Photography Tips
[...] over each detail in his or her camera, the Nikon D3x is unquestionably the top choice. A detailed Nikon D3x review shows an improvement over an earlier D3 digital SLR, which received positive feedbacks for its [...]
November 13th, 2009 16:47 | Justin
It’s just a tool.
December 3rd, 2009 22:12 | james
Try the Promote control its hooks up to your Nikon and will give you a mirror lock and will enable you to auto bracket 2 spaces.
http://www.red-door.co.uk/pages/productpages/promote-control-P-CTRL-1.html
Love your site
James
December 8th, 2009 22:30 | Steven Carvotta
The D700 works for me, may be the DX3 for a second body down the road. $$$$$$$
December 17th, 2009 22:43 | Daniel Fisher
Loving your work and loving this site, I just stumbled across it yesterday from an @CaliLewis tweet. Cool review and stunning photos. About to jump into a D300s and definitely taking a good look through you lens reviews. As a relative newbie though, what sort of difference will I see with the lenses considering the D300s isn’t full frame? Any tips, tricks, comments, ideas links would be really appreciated!
Cheers,
Daniel
January 13th, 2010 12:52 | Bob Cooper
Hi everyone, I am a semi-professional photographer married to a professional photographer. We both have gone through the process of trying and using all the major manufacturers cameras and lens. We are sorry that Trey does not want to get in the debate of Nikon vs Canon because we think that debate is very important regardless of which brand any particular blogger favours. It is important because the debate will allow camera users (or any standard) to make a more informed case than the absence of such a debate will allow. A lost opportunity Trey! Bob Cooper in Bonnie Scotland!
January 13th, 2010 12:54 | Bob Cooper
Oops, apologies for the typos in my previois entry! Bob Cooper
January 27th, 2010 00:52 | Masa
Uhm, could you please add an info, if a picture is HDR or not. Would be cool. Thank you.
Great Blog!!
)
masa
February 8th, 2010 17:22 | Logan
CRAP I WISH I HAD $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ haha. like you, i’m one of those people who want the best. I’m still working with an APS sensor. that’s ok. maybe when the D5x comes out i’ll have the money… start saving…