Nikon D3 full frame DSLR unboxed

So it looks like the first lucky individuals have started receiving their Nikon D3s in the mail -- lucky not just because they're the proud new owner of a 12.1 megapixel full frame DSLR with 6400 ISO, 51-point autofocus, two CF slots, HDMI, and a 3-inch live view LCD, but lucky because, you know, they can afford to spend $5,000 on a camera. For those of us who can only aspire to possess such luxuries, there are always a bunch of nice unboxing shots to really help flesh out our weird gadget fantasies. You can check out another such pic after the break, before hitting the Read link for an entire D3 gallery including a few images of those new AF-S NIKKOR lenses...

[Thanks, Andrew]

Gallery: Nikon D3 unboxing

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[Bobs @ Dec 4th 2007 12:26PM]

Dont drop it!

[Foof @ Dec 4th 2007 6:43PM]

It's a pro camera. It's designed to survive bumps and drops.

[revaaron @ Dec 4th 2007 12:30PM]

I needs this camera.. badly...

[kj @ Dec 4th 2007 12:31PM]

'51-point autofocus'

wow!

[kevjohn @ Dec 4th 2007 12:36PM]

Tell me, O' Engadget, where do we sign up for our chance to win this marvelous device? ;)

[rndmnme @ Dec 4th 2007 12:45PM]

You sign on a personal check made out to Engadget for $5,000. You're odds of winning the camera are 1:3 though, so I'd just assume buy it.

[murray @ Dec 4th 2007 12:59PM]

This picture looks kooky. Somehow, the camera itself seems like a miniature. Trick of perspective, I guess, but it's bizarre. (Or maybe the drool is getting on my screen)

[Motoma @ Dec 4th 2007 3:49PM]

Yeah, unfortunately they couldn't figure out how to use the camera to take a picture of itself.

[Backlin @ Dec 4th 2007 1:05PM]

Nice box.

[Charlie Taylor @ Dec 4th 2007 1:10PM]

Meh, looks like all the other Nikon boxes. C'mon nikon, when are you gonna admit that dichromatic boxes like Canon's are vastly superior to your monochromatic boxes!

/sarcasm off

[louder @ Dec 4th 2007 1:09PM]

i have a D300. i don't need full frame sensor. or 3400 $ difference.

[still.reprise @ Dec 4th 2007 1:26PM]

I want one. Badly. I want this camera in a D300 body even worse though.

[michaelportent @ Dec 4th 2007 1:31PM]

I'm with Charlie Taylor. As a graphic designer, I appreciate that Canon's machines don't interpolate the crap out of the photos you take. When Canon says you have 12.1 megapixels, you actually have them - unlike Nikon and others, they're not among the companies that "predict" pixels after you take the shot.

Before buying your next high-end dig cam, read this article: http://www.istockphoto.com/article_view.php?ID=158&Page=1

[michaelportent @ Dec 4th 2007 1:33PM]

Read a little too fast. Charlie was being sarcastic. *Fail*

Still, my point remains valid!!! =P

[still.reprise @ Dec 4th 2007 1:48PM]

Please explain to me how Nikon uses interpolation in it's dSLRs. Thanks.

[BigIUFan @ Dec 4th 2007 1:56PM]

Where did you get from the article you linked that Nikon interpolates?

[Nick @ Dec 4th 2007 2:06PM]

Please check your facts on Nikon.

I believe that you're talking about something Nikon's D1 line used to do. DPReview discusses this on the first page of their D2X review (the must current info I could find on this topic):
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/NikonD2X/

The D1X had rectangular photosites which were interpolated to create square pixels. Since then, Nikon has moved to square photosites. The CMOS layout is the same as Canon's.

[michaelportent @ Dec 4th 2007 2:33PM]

The article I linked to was implicating Fujifilm far more than it was Nikon, but to my eyes, all the photo comparisons were drastically in favor of Canon's rigs.

Maybe the dSLRs are much better - hell, for $5,000, I'm sure they must be.

Still, I think interpolation is a widespread problem among camera companies and what you see on a stat sheet is not always what you get megapixel-wise when you get the pictures into Photoshop. That's all I'm sayin'.

[Jordan @ Dec 4th 2007 3:09PM]

Um, please name a digital SLR that interpolates that is currently manufactured.

I don't think one exists from any company.

[Jordan @ Dec 4th 2007 3:11PM]

Oh boy, let me clarify. Interpolates megapixels into a higher number, not interpolates at the sensor filter.

Digital SLRs are not the $89 Vivitar 14 megapixel hunk of junk you see at your local Wal-Mart.

[celeritas @ Dec 4th 2007 3:57PM]

As JE mentions in a comment below, Canon and Nikon both use Bayer filter (GRGB) sensors that require interpolation by a demosaicing algorithm to get a complete image. Nearly all digital camera manufacturers user Bayer filter sensors so just about any digital camera you pick up, including Canon, interpolates an image. The only brand I know of that uses Foveon sensors is Sigma with the SD14 being their latest model to my knowledge.

http://www.dpreview.com/learn/?/key=Color_Filter_Array
http://www.dpreview.com/learn/?/Glossary/Camera_System/sensors_01.htm

The other interpolation your link refers to is different and is the kind thats used by point and shoots for their "digital zoom" which is similar to cropping images with software on your computer. I've never seen a dSLR that has a digital zoom.

http://www.dpreview.com/learn/?/Glossary/Digital_Imaging/Interpolation_01.htm

What your linked article says about the Fuji S3's sensor resolution is true but the SuperCCD in the S3 (now an S5) is a specialty sensor designed to give greater dynamic range and is aimed at portrait and wedding photography. Canon and Nikon don't use this type of sensor so the 6.1MP versus 12.3MP issue doesn't apply to their cameras.

[Speddy @ Dec 4th 2007 1:35PM]

I WANT!

[nathan @ Dec 4th 2007 1:43PM]

My Precious!

[Alex @ Dec 4th 2007 1:47PM]

Too bad its not actualy "Full Frame" its close to it... but not full frame like my 5D.....

[JE @ Dec 4th 2007 1:59PM]

5D sensor = 35.8 x 23.9mm per Canon's website specs
D3 sensor = 23.9 x 36mm per Nikon's website specs

Enjoy the cropped-frame teeny-tiny sensor on your not-quite-full-frame 5D, sucker!

And to the earlier poster who doesn't understand interpolation - Nikon and Canon both use sensors with Bayer filters that require interpolation. You misunderstood the article you linked to: the sensor that uses the least amount of interpolation is the Foveon sensor.

[nathan.wong @ Dec 4th 2007 1:59PM]

I'm sure the Nikon won't have vingnetting in the edges of the frame like the Canon full-frame cameras seem to suffer from.

[John @ Dec 4th 2007 2:02PM]

Incorrect. They are both full-frame, no-crop sensors. But the D3 has a larger sensor and better pixel pitch:

Canon 5D:
35.8 x 23.9 mm CMOS sensor

Nikon D3:
36 x 23.9 mm CMOS sensor

[BigIUFan @ Dec 4th 2007 2:02PM]

Are you talking about a .1 mm difference. Get real. Too bad your 5D isn't actually "full frame" like my Mamiya 645ZD.

[almostinfamous @ Dec 4th 2007 2:25PM]

i'd like a ZD back, but it doesnt do ISO 25,600 equivalent!!

i don't need the D3(yet) but i do want it so bad. i'd rather drop the 5Gs on some fast glass for now though.

[Jordan @ Dec 4th 2007 3:14PM]

nathan.wong: Vignetting is usually a function of the lens, not the sensor.

[nathan.wong @ Dec 4th 2007 3:39PM]

Jordan, I agree that vignetting is a function of the lens, but Alex was making it sound like having .1 less frame space is inferior to Canon. However, Canon's lenses seem to vignette with "full-frame" Canon cameras, so that makes the Canon useless when shooting anything with an evenly toned blue sky. Since Nikon lenses (non-G) are designed for full-frame film vignetting should be kept to a minimum.

[Scott Goosman @ Dec 4th 2007 3:50PM]

Nikon lenses (non-G) are made for full frame so they won't vignette? Nathan what are you talking about. You are implying that Canon's lenses are not designed for full frame? Your statement strikes me as absurd. All lenses can be prone to vignetting and it's often a matter of trade-offs. Plus go back and do your homework. Kodaks DCS-14N was known for horrible vignetting.

Digital also plays an effect in vignetting hence so many newly designed lenses.

[craig @ Dec 4th 2007 4:57PM]

Alex, with your intellect you're probably better off sticking with Canon anyway.

[nathan.wong @ Dec 4th 2007 5:54PM]

Scott, notice I said "should be kept to a minimum." I've used Nikkor primes for over 20 years and I don't exhibit any vignetting that's noticeable. I know all lenses have some to a degree, but from the posts of many Canon users, especially ones that own the expensive "L" series on their digital cameras, have said that vignetting was unacceptable, especially for a lens that costs so much.

[morcheeba @ Dec 4th 2007 8:08PM]

Re: Vignetting in DSLRs.

Because DSLR sensors have color filters and micolenses in front of the actual sensors, they are sensitive to angle-of-incidence... shine light in at and angle the microlens wasn't designed for, and it'll vignette. How does that affect you? Full frame sensors have a higher angle-of-incidence from the center of the optic axis, so they're more prone to do this. So, you'd think that they could just design the microlenses to point more inward the further from the center of the sensor, and that would solve the problem, right? Well, if you've got a zoom lens, the angle will vary with zoom setting, so you can't optimize it easily. I'd guess there are lots of ways to solve it... smaller sensors, special lenses (but that invalidates the lens you have already bought), and software-correction (at the expense of dynamic range in the corners) - none are particularly good.

[Greg @ Dec 4th 2007 2:04PM]

The things I'd do for this camera. The dirty, degrading things... :-(

[NHAnimator @ Dec 4th 2007 2:25PM]

You're a welcomed customer in the gray market.

[Brent @ Dec 4th 2007 2:05PM]

What camera do you use to take pictures of a $5000 camera?

[BigIUFan @ Dec 4th 2007 2:07PM]

He used a Nikon D80.

[Ladderless @ Dec 4th 2007 2:09PM]

They need to use the D3 to take a photo of the D80... Let's compare.

[Brent @ Dec 4th 2007 2:31PM]

Wow... that was supposed to be a joke.

[Ladderless @ Dec 4th 2007 3:03PM]

...And a darn good one! You beat me to the original post (Had to not confirm the post I sent in...)

[Tyler @ Dec 4th 2007 2:36PM]

That must be a Massive table...

[matt sandy @ Dec 4th 2007 2:49PM]

This really is beautiful performance wise, I just wish they would take a tip from Leica and stop making them look so ugly.

[Naveed @ Dec 4th 2007 3:07PM]

i need to take a photography class. I have a d70 my uncle gave me that ive taken great photos with (compared to point and shooters atleast) But i dont really know what im doing. Are there any good tutorials online (or books) about the D70?

[e2 @ Dec 4th 2007 3:24PM]

Here is a good place to start. It's an interactive guide to using the D70

http://www.nikondigitutor.com/eng/d70s/index.php

[nathan.wong @ Dec 4th 2007 3:34PM]

Will it blend?

[Fubar @ Dec 4th 2007 6:54PM]

Vile Canon heathen!

[Austin @ Dec 4th 2007 3:58PM]

My d300 is on the way. I would love the full sensor D3, but the scratch is a little much for me... maybe my next camera will be full sensor.

[steve3 @ Dec 4th 2007 4:16PM]

Too big. I want a D300 type camera with 51 point focus AND live view with a camera the size of the D40x. OK