Nikon D3x

Handling (7.00)

The D3x is a substantial camera, and is designed for tripod use. It’s 6.3 inches wide, 6.2 inches high and 3.4 inches deep (159.5mm x 157mm x 87.5mm) and weighs an intimidating 43 oz (1.22kg) without lens or battery. To put it bluntly, this is a tank. It’s big, heavy and tough, with a magnesium frame and weather-sealing. It’s obviously not designed to be thrown in a backpack for a weekend at the beach, but rather optimized for a studio environment.

The camera can be held in either portrait or landscape mode, with a shutter release and two control dials for each orientation. The side controls can be locked, so that you don’t accidentally hit them when shooting in landscape orientation. Considering how much care was taken to optimize the camera for shooting in both orientations, it’s unfortunate that the information on the color LCD doesn’t rotate with the camera.

Buttons & Dials (10.50)

Nikon’s higher-end cameras, like the D3x and D700, have slightly different control schemes than their less expensive SLRs. Rather than a mode dial, they have a mode button, which is controlled using the rear and front control dials. There’s also a dedicated dial for ‘release mode’ which sets single, burst, Live View, self-timer or mirror up modes. Three of the more commonly altered settings (ISO, quality and white balance) have their own small, dedicated LCD on the rear of the camera with small buttons to control each beneath the display.

Unsurprisingly, the controls are highly customizable. During playback, the button at the center of the joystick can be set to bring up thumbnail view, a histogram or magnified view. In Live View you can use it to select the focus point or magnify the view.

The function button on the front of the camera can be set to depth of field preview, flash value lock, AE/AF lock, AE lock only, AE lock until pressed again or a photo is taken, AE lock until pressed again, AF lock only, Flash off, bracketing, Matrix, Center-weighted or Spot metering, Virtual horizon, Playback or else access the top item in My Menu. If you hold down the Function button and use the rear dial, you can choose the image area (FX, DX or 5:4), invoke a 1 EV change in speed or aperture as appropriate, choose the lens number for non-CPU lenses, select focus point, select a shooting menu bank or the area for dynamic AF. While the depth of field preview button defaults to its stated function, it can be programmed in the same way as the function button, except you can’t use it to change focus point selection. The AE/AF lock button can also be set to handle the vast majority of these functions, expect focus point select or the 1 EV change.

The virtual horizon tool shows a simulated level, to help with aligning your camera. It displays on the LCD, as shown below, and through the viewfinder using using the exposure compensation axis. While it’s a nice touch, it’s not very precise, and goes away as soon as you half press the shutter button.

Display(s) (10.10)

The D3x has three LCD screens, one full-color 920,000-dot screen, and two monochrome LCDs with basic shooting info, one on the top and a smaller one on the back.

The primary LCD is designed to mirror the look and feel of a monochrome LCD when showing shooting information. Information is displayed as light grey text against a dark gray background, but the colors can be reversed. The screen can be set to seven levels of brightness. It remains off most of the time, but is brought to life with the Info button. The only direct camera control you have via this screen is setting the focus area.

Secondary Display

Both of the monochrome LCDs can be briefly illuminated via the light setting on the on/off switch. Shooting information is split between the two screens, with the bottom handling ISO, image quality, and white balance (with buttons nearby to control each), and the top LCD handling the rest of the readouts.

The top LCD and and rear color LCD both show much of the same information, in an almost identical layout. The only substantive difference is the dark area on the lower 1/4 of the screen, which we explain below.

Viewfinder (7.00)

The viewfinder offers 0.7x magnification with 100% field of view, which means what you see will exactly match what you get.

The default eyecup for the D3x is very slim, with minimal padding, which is slightly uncomfortable, and bespectacled users may not be huge fans. Of course, there are many alternatives available as optional accessories.

The diopter adjustment for the camera is above and to the right of the viewfinder, and must be partially pulled out from the body to be adjusted, like the dial of a watch. It can be set from -3 to 1 m-1.

Above and to the left of the viewfinder is a small lever that brings down a sliding cover that prevents light leaks that might throw off the meter reading when shooting on a tripod.

The viewfinder with shutter open and closed

Image Stabilization (0.00)

As with all Nikon SLRs, image stabilization for the D3x is based around the lens. After discussion with Nikon, we decided to test the camera with their AF-S Nikkor 24-70mm 1:2.5G N lens, which doesn’t have vibration reduction. This camera is designed for use in a studio setting, with a substantial tripod. While the D3x will undoubtedly benefit from vibration reduction lenses in some settings, we opted to test with a lens best suited for the studio nature of the camera, but without the benefits of vibration reduction.

Image Stabilization Comparison Table			Expand
	Low Shake IS Off	Low Shake IS On	High Shake IS Off	High Shake IS On
1/500
1/250
1/125
1/60
1/30
1/15
1/8