Using the Nikon 3DX in 2019
Using a Nikon D3X in 2019
Supplementary report added 18 June 2020
As you look through this site you will see we have a lot of examples of our automotive photography. Most of our articles will have over 100 final images for editorial consideration with about 30 making the cut for publication. That’s a lot of pictures in one report, most other sites that promote photography don’t get anywhere close to that so we are quite proud of the fact that we can produce so many good images.
Many motor sports photographers will shoot up to 2000 images at a track event , some more, some less, I took 955 for this report. That’s a lot of pictures to review and store. This report is not about the problems with editing or storage, I don’t think there is one. Hard drives are cheap, the various cloud options are getting more convenient to use and photo editing programmes can make the average photographer into an imaging god.
This report is about the camera you chose and the number of times you press that shutter. Let me explain. I will use Nikon examples for clarity but Canon and the other manufacturers have the same specifications and in a lot of cases use the same components, like image sensors.
Hold on. If they are using sensors that are available in other cameras how do you chose what is right for you? A lot of the time brand loyalty will play a part; I have shot with Nikon and Hasselblad all my adult life so that explains my choice and probably yours.
There are four types of DSLR camera available for your purchase consideration when shooting sports photography.
A DX body that has a small image sensor which has about 1.5 times magnification built in. FX cameras that have a large sensor that don’t have that magnification unless it’s part of the package and you select it. FX cameras also are better at throwing the background out of focus - the bokeh.
Pro cameras that cost the earth, and amateur kit. I’m not going to cover mirrorless as I’ve yet to see anyone using one in anger at a track.
When I say four types, the lines start to get a little blurred. Quite a few years ago the single digit cameras from the top manufacturers were the pro kit - the D1 to D5 in Nikon’s case.
The multi digit cameras were for the amateur with some creeping into the semi pro market. These days the top end multi digit cameras are extremely good. Nikon’s D850 (FX) and the D500 (DX) are easily good enough for you to go out and make very good money.
I shoot with a Nikon D7200. The results I get are very good and once reduced in size for the internet, it can be difficult to distinguish between its imagery and the latest semi pro FX cameras .
When I decided to buy this camera it was the best crop sensor Nikon made. The DX system gives me the reach that an FX camera can’t unless I add a lens that would cost the equivalent of the Bolivian budget deficit to purchase.
Matched up, to my Nikon D7200 is a 200-500mm this gives me a focal length of 300-750mm with the DX 1.5 crop factor. When at motorsports event you can be a long way from the action so I use the long end of the lens a lot with great results.
The Nikon 800mm for FX cameras is £16,500 whereas my 200-500mm was £850 and pin sharp from day one and still is today, and gives results that I’m happy with.
Now we get into the main part of this report. Shutter count. My D7200 is well over two years old and is at 180000 shutter clicks. Nikon state that the shutter on the D7200 have been tested to 150000 actuations but in the real world they can break before that number, or go on for much longer.
Anyway you look at it, the shutter is approaching the end of it’s life. I could get the shutter replaced but I started to look at other cameras - the full frame D850 and the crop sensor DX D500 as a replacement, thinking I would use the D7200 as a backup.
I know people who use both systems on the PistonClick site so I get to see their images, putting me in the envious position of making a camera choice by looking at real world pictures, not some tech mumbo jumbo from a web site.
The images I see from both systems are truly excellent, both are great cameras. The D850 is the better all round camera especially if you like to do other types of photography, and the D500 is excellent for automotive photography. So why didn’t I choose either of them when looking for a replacement?
I was looking at replacing my D7200 for a D500 at the end of this season’s motorsport as I have one lens in the DX range that I love, the 17-55mm f2.8 and didn’t want to fork out loads of money on an FX f2.8 walk round lens.
All of my other lenses are FX compatible, so it’s no big deal for me to jump to a full frame FX camera, but the reach of DX is still a strong part of my decision process.
However, I have a brace of old pro body D2X that I use a lot. I love the look of the imagery that comes off them, but they are not great at long range sniping with the 200-500mm. Close in they are fine, so I use them round the paddock.
I like the Nikon single digit cameras and would like to upgrade but they are very expensive and I can’t justify buying a second hand D4 or new D5, so that leaves me with the D3 series as another option.
The D3 and D3S are basically the same and have a FX 12 megapixel sensor but the D3X is 24.5 megapixel sensor, those few extra pixels can make a difference for the sports photographer.
The D3 series can’t be purchased new now but does come up second hand. I would never consider buying a camera from a professional user as they will have been clicked to death and Nikon now don’t support this series with spares anymore.
However, you can still get the important bits for them and other companies like Fixation who will replace the shutter and other important parts for you.
I was lucky enough to find a D3X with very low shutter actuations for less than the price of a new kit lens which made me very happy. However, is the D3X better than the latest multi digit Nikons? No, no it’s not. Technology has moved on with better and faster auto focus systems and better sensors, so why did I go down this route?
Well I do like the size, feel and weight of a pro body, ergonomically its just right. Having used the D2X the buttons feel right, easy to find and the tough all weather body is also a big selling point.
When buying a camera you have to look at all the stuff that you need to go with it. I have loads of compact flash cards and batteries from the D2X which work on the D3X. Nikon batteries aren’t cheap so its a bonus having a few to hand.
Shutter actuations has a lot to do with it, and more importantly 90% of my lenses were produced before the D3 series came out, so I won’t be able to take advantage of the latest Vibration Reduction technology as they don’t have any.
So my decision was that I would prefer to upgrade my glass at the end of this year than get a brand new body as the lens will last a lot longer than any new camera I get if my track record is anything to go by.
As for shutters, Nikon test the pro bodies to 300000 clicks which is a third more than the best multi digits. Note test, not this is the limit or when they will fail, they have been tested up to this number. Lots of D3 are still snapping away at half a million clicks and as I take a lot pictures this influenced me greatly.
Also, looking at my friends pictures taken with the D3X, I liked the look of the pictures. It’s hard to articulate, they are pin sharp but softer looking, not as harsh as the D7200.
So clutching my old but new to me D3X, I took it out to my local track to see if I had made the right choice. To be honest I was confident it would do what I wanted, the pixel size is just a bit bigger than the D7200 but now in FX, so twice the sensor area. The AF system has a similar setup, so as long as it’s not a retrograde step from the 7200 I will be happy.
The first image I looked at using the one touch 100% magnification, which is a nice feature of the pro bodies, was pin sharp. Lucky shot? Well, the next set were the same, looks like it’s a keeper.
So the AF is fine on motorcycles moving at speed, produces very nice images and the battery lasts for over 4000 clicks on one charge, I’m liking this.
To push the camera, I shot a long sequence of images; this is where a newer cameras win. The write speed is not as fast as my D7200, the processors on modern cameras are much faster.
There is a delay on the D3 when shooting over 10 images in a row before all of the images are ready to view. This is so not a problem for me as I’m not a spray and pray guy, 1-3 shots is all I will take for 99% of my shots.
Getting home and reviewing the images, there are as good as my D7200 and in some cases a lot better, with more keepers. Not bad for a 10 year old design. However, I had used the custom settings from my D7200 in the D3X.
I increase sharpening by 2, vibrancy by 2 and the active D-lighting to high. The 3DX definitely doesn’t need to be pushed in this respect. I had to tone down the images in post processing, the colour depth looks a lot better on the D3X than the D7200.
To adjust and store the custom settings there are 4 settings in two banks that you can store and then access quickly on a 3D.
The shooting menu has 4 banks A-C. This controls things like image size and picture control where you can find the settings to tweak the sharpening, contrast and the like.
The Custom menu also has 4 banks also called A-C here you can fine tune the autofocus, metering and exposure. Both banks can be renamed and store your setting automatically as soon as you come out of the sub menus. I will tweak the settings over the next week and report back.
All of the images above were shot using a Nikon D3X on the same day at the British Motorcycle Racing Club MRO Championships - Round 7 at Cadwell Park on the 3rd Aug 2019.
The focus and target acquisition was extremely fast on the 80-200 but a little slower on the 200-500mm. However, the light was a little low for the 200-500mm when I got round to using it. I will do more testing but I will probably fix the D7200 to the 200-500mm for long range work and keep the 3DX for 200mm and under which is where I will shoot 70% of my images.
In conclusion the Nikon D3X was the best Pro camera you could purchase when it was released 10 years ago and is still a very competent camera in 2019. Not the best DSLR anymore but still very usable. If you can get one with a low shutter count I would recommend it for sports photography especially if you are partial to big heavy brutes of a camera that you are going to click to death.
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