Nikon D3: Review

Alive with technology

You can read the detailed spec sheet in forensic detail if you like, but the short version is if you think there's a DSLR feature worth having, the Nikon D3 has it (with a couple of key exceptions). Live View for example; digital compact cameras have had it since for as long as there have been digital compact cameras. Even bridge cameras have Live View... but the technology is hard to implement on a DSLR because of the mirror box inherent to the design. The Nikon D3, however, incorporates Live View. This isn't a new feature on DSLR - Olympus and Fuji got there first and it's now the 'must have' feature on most new DSLRs. However, it's generally only useful on a tripod, because it often disables focusing modes.

The D3 has two different modes for Live View - tripod and handheld - that use different focusing systems. You have the choice of the regular 51 point autofocus system used in regular TTL viewfinder work, or tripod style live view mode. You can use contrast mode autofocus which lets you put the focus point anywhere in the viewfinder. This saves you having to compose macro shots according to the focus point.

Live View is fiddly to set up, but it's easy enough to use when you've mastered the art. Press the Nikon D3 shutter to raise the mirror and turn the screen on then just take your picture without mucking about. And... it works. You can use it for taking low or high shots where it would be hard to look through the viewfinder but sadly the LCD screen remains fixed to the camera so you can't use it like an angle finder. You can even use it when shooting directly into the sun - no more blind photographers!

Jonathan Ryan

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