London Fog wrote: This baby can picked up second hand at almost ½ it's original selling price. The only question, would anyone still buy this, now in 2013 and why?
If they needed its particular specification set? Seems like a good reason.
But I agree with you. I don't know who would need that set who couldn't settle for the D800/800E or the D4.
RenatoJr - RJ
Posts: 240
San Francisco, California, US
London Fog wrote: This baby can picked up second hand at almost ½ it's original selling price. The only question, would anyone still buy this, now in 2013 and why?
The D3X is still my favorite camera. I find myself using it a lot more then the D800. Don't have the D4 yet....
At the right price I would buy a D3x over a S800. Uses the same accessories as my D3s, same feel and build quality plus I have used one and do not see where I would ever need a bigger file for what I shoot.
London Fog
Posts: 5,003
London, England, United Kingdom
Robert Helm wrote: At the right price I would buy a D3x over a S800. Uses the same accessories as my D3s, same feel and build quality plus I have used one and do not see where I would ever need a bigger file for what I shoot.
Agreed, 24MP is about the perfect size, 36MP is insane! As much as I love seeing that amazing detail, the large files are going to present a major problem in time!
Dan Howell
Posts: 1,802
Jersey City, New Jersey, US
London Fog wrote: This baby can picked up second hand at almost ½ it's original selling price. The only question, would anyone still buy this, now in 2013 and why?
Have the D800 and still rely on my D3X for virtually all shoots except ones requiring high iso. Happy to have the D800 as a back up, but for reliability and durability, I still reach for the D3X. I'll wait on the D4X.
This often happens with the Nikon high-res pro lines. The next gen prosumer body gets a chip as good or better than the outgoing pro high res model. The D300 destroyed the value of the D2x.
Reasons to buy the D3x? Better weatherproofing, integrated vertical controls, longer battery life...
London Fog
Posts: 5,003
London, England, United Kingdom
Robb Mann wrote: This often happens with the Nikon high-res pro lines. The next gen prosumer body gets a chip as good or better than the outgoing pro high res model. The D300 destroyed the value of the D2x.
Reasons to buy the D3x? Better weatherproofing, integrated vertical controls, longer battery life...
You forgot, ability to render a wanabe thief helpless with one swift whack!
Assuming you think more detail and a longer tonal range and the ability to print much larger without a loss of quality constitute "no good reason".
I am a hobbyist. The ability to print much larger means virtually nothing to me -- and come to think of it, I've been quite satisfied with prints from my D700's files.
Tonal range, dynamic range and low light performance -- yes, I could do with improvements in each of those categories. But in my wholly subjective position, they're not worth the tradeoff in file size.
Dan Howell wrote: Have the D800 and still rely on my D3X for virtually all shoots except ones requiring high iso. Happy to have the D800 as a back up, but for reliability and durability, I still reach for the D3X. I'll wait on the D4X.
Totally agree with what you are saying here. I luv my D3x for those exact same reasons. Reliability and Durability, great camera!
London Fog wrote: This baby can picked up second hand at almost ½ it's original selling price. The only question, would anyone still buy this, now in 2013 and why?
Yup..I would buy that or the D3s again.
if you are shooting work that doesn't need the high ISO it's pretty good...I still have my D3s.
London Fog wrote: Just had one of many files from my D800 returned from a re-toucher, one of the PSD's is 1.2GB!
Bumping my ram from 4>8 gb cost me about $40 and a half hour of time. Storage is ridiculously cheap. I rarely use fewer than 4 layers on an image while I'm finishing it in PS, and I'm not having any trouble managing the large files. I knew the computer would have to be upgraded before I bought the D800--comes with the territory.
As to the OP question: I never really had much interest in the D3X at any price. What its pro-build features best enable, I can still get from my "ancient" D3, and the bump from 12 to 24 mp wasn't really as big as it seems. Having said that, what I love about the D800's massive pixel count isn't the large-print capability; it's the ability to crop without worrying about file density for printing at smaller sizes. And, of course, the dynamic range is truly amazing, something I've never heard anyone boast about with the D3X. Still, it's a D-(one-digit) series, and the feel of a Nikon flagship camera is a special characteristic all its own. If I didn't already own a D3 and a D800, you bet I'd be interested in a half-price D3X for its ability to (mostly) replace both of them.
London Fog wrote: This baby can picked up second hand at almost ½ it's original selling price. The only question, would anyone still buy this, now in 2013 and why?
For me, I'd rather buy a refurb D800 and a used D3S for nearly the same amount of money (I'm seeing around $5000 for a used D3X). The things the D3X does better than the D800, the D3s does better. The things the D3X does better than the D3s, the D800 does better.
That's just me, but then I'm a very happy D3 + D800 user.
It's fairly new. I want it to stay feeling that way. Really -- I just have no need for all the extra resolution. Memory cards, storage... everything becomes more of a hassle.
I could handle 18 or 20 MP. 36 is overkill for me.
Phil Drinkwater
Posts: 4,250
Manchester, England, United Kingdom
It's a camera. If it's the best camera for "you", it doesn't matter how old it is. Certainly if you need something which is a bit more rough and tumble than the d800 (and certainly the d600), the other differences between the two might be less significant.
And remember: only a year ago it wasn't old hat at all and people were doing fantastic work with them.
RKD Photographic
Posts: 3,001
Iserlohn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
Because it's half the price it used to be - unless you output massive files, it's probably still better than most people need.
I looked very hard at trading mine in for a D800 and decided it just wasn't worth it - 99% of my customer output is resized smaller anyway. I'll replace it when it breaks, which hopefully won't be for some time yet.
I would add the caveat that it's really only suitable for studio work or considered work where you control the light, as the iso capability is pretty shitty at anything over 200iso.
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