I was a long time Nikon user who switched to Canon as I went digital, but kept my Nikkors hoping Nikon, Kodak or Fuji would leapfrog ahead at some point. Canons are far from perfect & have issues, but I am very dissapointed that Nikon has stuck with a 1.5 FOV cropped sensor & not gone full frame.
Probably my biggest concern with the current FOV cropped dSLRs is their small viewfinders. The D2x's magnifaction is .86x, but that needs to be divided by the 1.5 FOV, so the effective magnifaction is a dismal .57x, whereas the 1Ds/1Ds2 are .7x. When used with a "normal" lens the image in the D2x's viewfinder is almost half the size as the naked eye viewing the same scene, which makes seeing detail & manual focusing very difficult. I've owned 1.6 & 1.3 FOV cameras, but these add a sense of distance & I felt I got my eyes back when I went full frame again.
I could see where the greater DOF inherient in the smaller sensor would be useful for PJist & such, but selective focus with moderate primes is more important in my genre (fashion/lifestyle) so I'll probably never go back to less than full frame, I'm somewhat interested in the resolution differences between the D2x, 1Ds & 1Ds2, but I'm more concerned with color palette, highlight roll-off, shadow banding, dynamic range, moire & color fringing in backlight. I mostly use the 35, 50 & 85mm for my work, so I'd also like to see if the equivalent FOV lenses on the Nikon caused extra distortion.
If I had to carry two bodies over my sholder at all times I'd also be very interested in this Nikon as a couple of 1Ds will break your back. I want Nikon to be huge success & wish the D2x had been a "Canon killer", but honestly I'm not (yet) recomending it for commercial photographers.
Regards,
Bern Caughey
White Balance so easy, even our 5 year old can do it.- Melissa Strickland
Thanks for amplifying this important point, Bern. I'm sure widdle 1.5 FOV viewfinders have a use, but focusing is not it.
Old technology that Nikon still sells for the F5 (DW-31) solved this problem big time -- huge, full screen 100 percent image, not just 6X center mag tubes like the DG-2. But this fact does today's photographers no good as long as they withholding existing technology from their pro digi bodies.
I think your comments are right on target.
Regards,
Jim
White Balance so easy, even our 5 year old can do it.- Melissa Strickland
I wish Nikon just used the F5 body and put in a full frame chip and i would probably still have Nikon . I am with Bern on this one , your flagship camera has a 1.5 crop factor. makes no sense and Nikon can't explain it either, they tried to explain there reasoning behind it and I had to laugh and walk away from there booth. It certainly may be a good camera but without full frame it is of no use to me as a commercial photographer.
White Balance so easy, even our 5 year old can do it.- Melissa Strickland
wish the D2x had been a "Canon killer", but honestly I'm not (yet) recomending it for commercial photographers<<<<
Yes, but what about for wedding / event stuff?
TBH, I wish I waited to switch (9 months ago) to Canon, as the playing field being a bit more even now, has me thinking.
I could really like my Nikon flash(s) back, and my 17-35 as well. I also could really like back some of the ergonomics I am missing on the Canon. Also, size and weight being a factor for me.
That being said, the M2's are very nice machines, and produce dreamy, creamy files. I'm not feeling "stuck" but now that the D2X has come out, and does not "suck" (as I feared it might) I have to admit I have had second thoughts.
There's a lot to consider, and I'm giving the whole scenario about six months to play out. Let the "joy" die down a bit, and the more objective reports roll in. Give it a firmware update or two, and we'll see what happens.
There's a lot to like about both camera's now, with Canon not sitting still by all means (I'll bet.)
But, for me, after having Nikon for 30 years, and Canon for 9 months, it would not be that much of a stretch to consider a move back. Kind of like Emmit Smith!
QUOTE: Old technology that Nikon still sells for the F5 (DW-31) solved this problem big time
Are you saying that you're using the DW-31 on your D2x (or whatever Nikon DSLR) you work with?
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IS THERE a magnification finder that will work with the D2X?
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No, I didn't mean to imply that there is, or that the DW-31 is usable on the D2X. Nikon seems to have given up on this point -- did you notice that the F6 has no DW-31 equivalent either? Canon has a right-angle finder that I hear Canon users would love to replace. In fact, someone has posted instructions for gluing together one based on RB/RZ parts, I believe. While I can't give you numbers on the percentage of digital buyers who consider this an important selling point, I think it is clearly a concern among serious professionals.
I don't blame Nikon for harvesting all the low-hanging fruit they can get. It would be easier to forgive them though if they were waiting to develop technology to solve this problem. This is one they solved long ago, they just don't see yen/euro/dollar signs in shipping the solution. It kills me that I can't use my DW-31 on my digital bodies. Mount it on an F5 with an 85mm f/1.4 or PC micro lens and don't count on breathing for about thirty seconds.
I feel that viewfinders of all available DSLRs are a far bigger bottleneck to bringing home the finest possible images than the resolution of their sensors, or being able to shoot twenty frames/ec instead of three, etc. What Bern said.
Regards,
Jim
White Balance so easy, even our 5 year old can do it.- Melissa Strickland
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