Nikon D3x

	Controls Summary
• All-encompassing array of controls • Bracketing options stand out as being especially comprehensive • Large amount of manual control of focusing area for autofocus • Copyright information and audio notes can both be added to images
	Hardware	Page 10 of 18	Design & Handling

Shooting Modes (11.50)

The D3x relies on the four standard settings, with none of the automated specialty modes found on consumer cameras. They're all accessed by holding down the Mode button, and rotating the rear dial.

Shooting Modes
	Manual You have complete control over both shutter and aperture settings.
	Program Mode The camera will calculate the optimum shutter and aperture settings. You can then use the rear dial for program shift, which changes the settings in tandem, without affecting the overall exposure.
	Shutter Priority You set the exposure length, and the camera finds an appropriate aperture setting.
	Aperture Priority Offers manual control over the aperture, with the shutter speed controlled by the camera.

Live View (3.00)

There are two Live View modes, Tripod and Hand-Held, Tripod uses a rather slow contrast-detect autofocus, and Hand-Held lowers the mirror to perform traditional Phase-Detection focusing, which is significantly faster but blacks out the Live View momentarily. In Tripod mode, you use the AF-ON button to start the focusing, and the joystick to select any point on the frame to focus on. In both modes, you can zoom in up to 13x to make sure everything is correctly in focus. Neither focus mode is ideal, and while this technology is slowly improving on SLRs, the focus speed is still too slow for most situations.

Pressing the INFO button cycles through various information displays that are overlaid on the image. They go through shooting information off, framing guides, shooting info and histogram, virtual horizon, and shooting information on.Virtual horizon is a tool that displays the camera's current level, and is useful if your tripod doesn't have a physical one, or you're shooting handheld.

Scene Modes (0.00)

The D3x has no scene modes.

Picture Effects (1.50)

The D3x is unsurprisingly slim on the picture effects. It has a selection of four Nikon Picture Controls: Standard, Neutral, Vivid and Monochrome. These can then be adjusted for sharpening and contrast. The non-monochrome modes let you change saturation and hue, and monochrome can add virtual filters (yellow, orange, red and green) and tones (sepia, cyanotype, red, yellow, green, blue-green, blue, purple-blue and red-purple).

Picture Styles
	Standard The default shooting mode, for most situations.
	Neutral The mode with the most true-to-life color.
	Vivid Brighter and more saturated colors.
	Monochrome Black and white, with the option for various filters.

Focus (19.00)

As with everything else in this camera, the focusing options offer an in-depth level of control. The D3x has an impressive 51 autofocus points, of which 1, 9, 21 or all 51 can be utilized at a time, for different size focusing areas. When shooting with the full focus-point array you can take advantage of 3D tracking, which is useful for following swiftly moving targets. The autofocus system is rated for a detection range of -1 to 19 EV at ISO 100. You can adjust the brightness of autofocus target illumination, should you need the boost, which is handy under direct bright light, where the standard illumination level might be hard to see.

The autofocus was extremely fast in good illumination, locking on to targets easily. It still focused quickly in our low light tests (20 lux of illumination) but started to really struggle after dark. Street lamps generally provided enough light for it to get a quick fix, but in areas without them, it took significantly longer. Even so, the D3x usually managed to find an appropriate focus eventually, which is good for a camera not designed for low light performance.

51 point focus with 3D tracking

The focus modes on the D3x are controlled via a small switch by the lens that toggles between the three settings. On our review unit it felt like there was a non-functioning fourth setting, between continuous and manual modes, which made it difficult to quickly adjust the focus mode. This may have been a problem limited to our particular review unit, though.

Focus Modes
	Single-servo AF When half-pressing the shutter button, the camera focuses once, and stays there.
	Continuous-servo AF For as long as the shutter button is partially depressed, the focus motor will keep trying to get a lock.
	Manual The old fashioned way, using the focus ring

The autofocus area can be set to three modes, each with its own options.

AF-Area Mode
	Single-point AF The user selects a single point of the 51 available for autofocus. Alternatively, you can reduce the possible 51 points down to 11, and choose one of them.
	Dynamic-area AF Between 9 and 51 autofocus points are used.
	Auto-area AF The camera automatically detects the subject and selects the appropriate focus points. With G and D lenses, the camera can distinguish humans, and focus on them.

When shooting with a lens that has a maximum aperture of f/5.6 or greater, you can use the Electronic Rangefinder to assist with manual focusing, which shows a small dot on the viewfinder if the subject is in focus. If any lenses are focusing incorrectly, you can fine-tune autofocus for up to 20 different lens types using the AF Fine Tune capability.

As with every other facet of this camera, the level of control is impressive. You can tell the D3x to only take photos if the shot is in focus, and set the delay between a subject falling out of focus and the camera's attempt to adjust in Continuous focus mode. The idea here is to avoid having the camera attempt to refocus if something briefly crosses the frame.

Exposure (7.00)

The D3x offers an extensive array of bracketing options. Exposure compensation runs ±5EV in 1/3EV, and bracketing can be achieved either with exposure compensation or with the flash, in 1/3, 1/2 or 1 EV. The table below shows the different frame counts available with bracketing, the different modes in each, and the order in which the exposures are taken.

For dynamic range optimization, there's the Active D-Lighting setting, which can be set to Auto, Extra High, High, Normal or Off. Alternatively, you can use the D-Lighting tool in playback mode on images already taken.

If the camera is consistently exposing incorrectly, you can fine tune the optimal exposure for your unit by ±1 EV in 1/6 stops.

The D3x has two additional exposure tools we found interesting. Multiple exposure takes 2-10 shots, and overlays them, either using auto gain to balance the exposures or each at full brightness (useful with dark backgrounds). Interval Timer takes numerous shots over a specific period. It can be set to start immediately, or at a specified time, and will then take photos at set intervals. with a specified number of shots at each. You can even combine the two tools to have a multiple exposure, time-lapse image.

Depth of Field Preview (2.00)

There is a dedicated Depth of Field preview button on the front of the camera, which can be programmed to control other camera functions if you prefer. The programmable Function button can also be set for Depth of Field preview control, though we're not seeing a real advantage here, since the two buttons are very close to one another in the first place.

Metering (9.50)

The D3x employs a 1,005-pixel metering sensor, with three metering modes.

Metering Modes
	3D Color Matrix II Meters across the widest possible area of the frame.
	Center Weighted Camera assigns the greatest significance in metering to the center of the frame. This defaults to a 12mm circle in the center of the viewfinder, but with CPU lenses, you can set this to 8, 15 or 20mm, or use the average for the entire frame..
	Spot Meters off the current focus point.

Shutter Speed (11.00)

The shutter speed range is typical for high-end SLRS, and wide enough to cover almost any situation.

Self-Timer (8.00)

The self-timer is selected by shifting the release mode dial, and can be set to one of four intervals: 2 seconds, 5 seconds, 10 seconds or 20 seconds.

Other Features (2.00)

Copyright Information
The D3x lets you embed your copyright info with your photos. You can add an artist name of up to 36 characters, and copyright holder names of up to 54 characters.

Audio Memo
The D3x has a built in microphone so that audio memos can be attached to files. In auto mode, the maximum record time can be set from five to 60 seconds; the camera starts recording as soon as the shutter button is released, and will stop when the time runs out or the microphone button is pushed. Alternatively, the memo system can be set to manual, and it will record as long as the microphone button is held down.

Hardware	Page 10 of 18		Design & Handling
Nikon D3x Digital Camera Review Navigation
Intro	Product Tour	Color	Noise
Resolution	White Balance	Sample Photos	Playback
Hardware	Controls	Design & Handling	Speed & Timing
Nikon D700 Comparison	Canon 5D Mark II Comp	Sony A900 Comparison	Nikon D90 Comparison
Conclusion	Specs & Ratings