Nikon D2X

“See it shine in all its glory. It's a mere $4,999.00 USD.






Anybody have this camera? What are your thoughts about it? Your experience with it? It's a professional grade camera that is the next up from Nikon pro-sumer models.”

“I'm sure few people on trailtalk have a camera that expensive. (since this isn't a camera site)

Steve's is a great source of camera reviews.

http://www.steves-digicams.com/2005_reviews/d2x.html”

“Exavius, I looked at it and lusted after it exceedingly. The last time I was that extravagant with a camera purchase was with my F5 several years ago. Now it is worth approximately $750 retail, less than that on trade. Digital cameras depreciate even faster due to their short shelf life, technologically speaking. I would have LOVED the D2X, but practicality and my budget dictated that I settle for the D70S. So far I am tickled to death with it. If I were actually making money with my photography at this point, perhaps I could justify spending that much on the tools. I wouldn't discourage anyone from buying one though.... it is truly a spectacular tool.”

“Oh, I forgot to mention..... If I ever win the lottery, my dream camera would be the Mamiya ZD.”

“A lot of nikon users are holding waiting on a new D200.”

“Looks pretty nice but there is one major thing wrong with it! It's a NIKON 8) LOL!”

“Yes, and for us lowly Nikonians, there's one of these....


AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8G IF-ED (2.9x)

Think I'm gonna ditch the idea of upgrading the body and stick with upgrading lenses for now.”

“y2, what more do you know of the D200?”

“That's what I have been doing for a while now.....The Canon version of that lens is on my wish list :)”

“hobbit - your albums contain many tasteful photos. You have an eye for natural color and its balance in your images. I especially loved the shot of the raspberries. If that was done on your D70S, it's easy to see why you're enthused with it.”

“Just the speculation on the photo websites I was doing my research before a buy over the past few weeks. They seem to think the D200 is more than overdue.”

“I'll stay with my 30 year old technology, a Yashika FX3, thank you.”

“I'd be curious to know how it feels in the hand. Since the F4 the pro lines from Nikon have been getting smaller and more "plasticy"... ;) The F4 has a good, solid feel in the hand; there's a reason why pro's call it a tank! I love my smaller manual FM3A, but I'm most comfortable with my F4S.”

“It's tough to beat the look of film, but I think the newest generation of digitals has come close. One thing I have learned is that my digitally acquired images in many cases are sharper and better images than some of my 35mm transparency scans, even when professionally scanned at extremely high resolutions. I'm still torn between the two mediums, but for now, I'm shooting with the D70S, trying to get used to it and learn it's capabilities and limitations.

Exavius, thanks for your kind words. The shot you mention was acquired originally on film. It looks pretty decent printed on metallic paper. I've been working on my web page, (Photoshop generated) but I still haven't quite got the look I want. I'll keep tweaking until I get what I want. Anyone have any suggestions on affordable software for photo gallery web page building? A work in progress”

“I'm using Adobe GoLive CS and I'm pretty happy with it. It's kind of quirky, but it compliments Photoshop nicely. GoLive is a decent application to develop a web site from scratch that way you can get what you're after without having to rely upon templates. It's kind of tedious this route, but in the end I believe it's easier to manage your works over time. Still a lot of work.

Is your link working for you? Not seeing your web pages.”

“Sorry guy.... I've been working on it and tweaking it all afternoon and evening. Try it now.”

“How refreshing. Clean and uncluttered. The gallery design itself doesn't overpower your work. And the organization of your collection is clear. Nice work.

I'll look forward to seeing new content.

Are you looking to add some of your D70S work to your galleries?
last edited: 9/18/05 1:24:13 AM”

“Some of the stuff in there was shot with the D70s. I haven't really segregated the images acquired on film from the images acquired digitally. I'll add new images as time permits. I'm kind of limited by a real job, a family, and elderly parents that require quite a lot of attention.

A favorite saying of mine, and I don't remember who I stole it from, was: "A camera is merely a light tight box in which to hold your film". Several of us here at "Thebackpacker" got into a discussion a few years back about how much the camera contributed to the image. One thing that always pisses me off is when I have a really great image hanging on my wall, and someone will say, "Wow!, you must have a really good camera". In fact I heard it just last week at work. To illustrate a point, I suggested that we circulate a Kodak throw away camera to a list of participants from Trail Talk, giving each of us one week to take one shot, then send the camera on to the next person on the list. The rules were simple. One week, one shot, make it count. We ended up with something like 27 people on the list, and so we started with two cameras and split the list in two. After several months, both cameras came straggling in and I had the film processed and the images posted on the now defunct Photo Point for all to judge. As can be expected, there were some really bad shots, and some really good shots. To make an already too long story short, it proved my point; It's more the artisan than the tools.

All that being said, I'm afraid I've had to re-evaluate my position on cameras now that digital seems to be the dominating medium. However, the things that you can't cover up with a crappy camera are composition, lighting, and technique.”

“Hobbit...People come into my booth at these little craft fairs and ask "what kind of camera are you using"...I love telling folks I use an
entry level DSLR. Then the response is usually...."Really?...you must have been in the right place at the right time" I admit that does come into play sometimes...but some shots are planned and executed ;) LOL!”

“Have you ever watched a really good golfer? How easy they make it look, and how smooth and sweet their swing is? Or an artist.... they almost make it look simple, and yet the end result is astounding. Does anyone ever say to them, "Wow, you must have some really good clubs!"?, or "Wow, you must have some really good brushes!"?. One of my favorite shots was done with a disposable. I have an 8x10 hanging on my wall at home. I've even been asked if I have an underwater housing for my F5. It was done with a disposable.

”

“I agree with the fact that with digital, the camera and the pp matters to a point. If you can't compose a good shot then no camera will help you. In the olden days ;o) - the use of slide film or good quality negative levelled the playing field somewhat. I often used to get better pictures from my Olympus Mju than my Canon EOS. With the Digi p&s Canon I bought I was never entirely happy with the pictures I took. It often never did the scene justice, I could bracket the shot, crank down the ISO, use a tripod, but it never really got there. I went out with someone with a digi Rebel a couple of years ago, and though we took several shots that were almost the same, there was no comparison in the results in terms of color, sharpness and detail.”

““I'd be curious to know how it feels in the hand. Since the F4 the pro lines from Nikon have been getting smaller and more "plasticy"... ;) The F4 has a good, solid feel in the hand; there's a reason why pro's call it a tank! I love my smaller manual FM3A, but I'm most comfortable with my F4S.”
WanderingPhotog

I have a Nikon N80 and the D100. They look similar in where the function buttons are...
The D100 is substantially heavier-- even to the point that I'm now used to it... When I switch back (occasionally) to the N80, I feel like I've got next to nothing around my neck or in my hands...

Compared to my old Asahi Pentax camera from the 60s (my dad gave it to me), the Nikon N80 definitely felt less substantial. But with the added weight of the processors, etc. inside the D100, it feels very heavy!

I'm guessing (from the picture) that the D2x is heavier than the D100....The body is certainly more square than the D100....”

“Just bought a D200 and it is as far away from the D100 in design as you can get. By comparision, the feel, function, and performance is night and day in favor of the D200. Battery life is too short, so you'll need a few more extras. Other than that, this thing is work of art.

Glad I stuck it out with Nikon. That was a close call.

Here she is:







”

“There's nothing quite like excellent equipment. That sure is a work of beauty.

Now you'll need to post some Galen Rowell quality photos.”

“I'm sure you two will be very happy together! 8)

Congrats James!”