A 24.5 megapixel full-frame sensor
Good color and long exposure scores
Small ISO range
Subpar dynamic range
Introduction
While there’s a significant degree of WB control, performance was worse than expected.
White Balance (10.68)
The D3x white balance performance is one of the few areas we felt slightly let down by the camera. It underperformed compared to the competition, on both automatic and manual settings. More on how we test color.
Automatic White Balance (9.39)
The first part of our white balance test involves shooting an X-Rite ColorChecker chart under strictly controlled light sources simulating incandescent, cool white fluorescent, and daylight sources. These images are then tested for color error using Imatest software. You’ll notice in the graph below that the D3x had a much higher error with incandescent bulbs than other light sources, a tendency in the vast majority of cameras.
Custom White Balance (11.96)
With a custom white balance, we expect much higher color accuracy than with auto or preset WB, so the scoring is much more demanding on this test. The D3x did quite well with the usually problematic incandescent, but it stumbled over daylight illumination a little.
The D3x didn’t deal with daylight illumination as well as many other cameras, though the difference wasn’t very significant. It tended to make the images a bit cooler than they should be.
The D3x handled the always troublesome incandescent illumination quite well, in one of the few areas it outperformed the D700. However, it was still noticeably inaccurate.
With cool white fluorescent bulbs, the D3x introduced the same error as every camera tested here except the Canon 5D Mark II, and compensated too far into the warm end of the spectrum.
White balance was one of the few areas where we saw the D3x struggle, even a little. It had more trouble with daylight illumination than some other cameras, and both automatic and custom settings were less than stellar.
Shop for the Nikon D3x
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