[Hacker]

I did my first wedding at the weekend with the D3 and using the D300 as backup. These are three images from the D3 which had the 70-200mm VR on the front which is a great combo. I have only included a very small selection as editing is not finished yet and I need to get the rest on my site.

All comments and critique welcome!

This will probably be a filler for the album, the D3 handled the backlight and dynamic range very well:






The bride and groom. just a quick shot as they took a stroll in the garden. First experiences with the D3 shows that it handles colours very well and as someone mentioned a couple of days ago, produces images that have a film like feel to them.



A kiss for Mum, I've added a touch of soft focus to this one.

[JMitchell]

Great shots, the colours are very natural looking, and that lens combo looks good too. The bride taking a walk in the park looks terrified though

[Dabhand16]

Originally Posted by JMitchell

The bride taking a walk in the park looks terrified though

Remember who she is looking at!

Nice set here and agree about the colours. I like the detail shots but the first has a fussy background, although I realise you can only play the cards you are dealt.

Surely the last one is the Bride and not the Mum?

[JMitchell]

*Looks at avatar*, Mmmm...

Graham, I think he's looking at it from the young mens' points of view, as in it's their mum...!

[Dave]

How do you find it vs D300 Colin ?

[Dabhand16]

Originally Posted by JMitchell

*Looks at avatar*, Mmmm...

Graham, I think he's looking at it from the young mens' points of view, as in it's their mum...!

Fair point Jack At weddings I tend associate 'Mum' with mother of the bride.

[Hacker]

Graham, apologies for the confusion but this is the bride and her two sons were giving her away.

These are just a few shots chosen at random as I am still editing and I haven't started on my assistants shots yet.

Originally Posted by Dave

How do you find it vs D300 Colin ?

Dave, it's too early to do a full evaluative review as I am still learning the camera and it's capabilities but first impressions are WOW! It is a completely different animal to the D300, the colour rendition is superb and the final images have a depth to them that I haven't seen on any other DSLR. If anything it tends to slightly overexpose much like the D300 but that is easy to dial in -1/3 EV, having used the D70 and D200 for some time it takes some getting used to as they used to underexpose.

The following shot has had no PP done except for adding a vignette and sharpen/resize for web, as you can see the colours are superb and it has handled the exposure very well when you consider the dynamic range:



One of the best features of the camera is the auto ISO feature, I know my other Nikons have this but I now have no qualms about switching it on and setting the upper limit to ISO 3200 or even 6400 - not something I would have attempted with the D200. I took a number of indoor shots at 3200 on Saturday and they are all perfectly useable and will be presented to the B&G. This feature will be very useful not just for dimly lit churches but also for indoor equestrian work, I've just added the latest firmware which allows me to set the minimum shutter speed on Auto ISO at a whopping 1/4000th, it was 1/250th. Obviously I won't need 1/4000th but it will be handy to use at say 1/800th.

Have I any regrets about the D3? None whatsoever!

[Dabhand16]

No need to apologise for me being thick Colin!

[Gary Bagshawe]

Cracking shots mate, it looks like it has handled things well, "Auto iso" wow, cameras can do that now. I really must get with the times.

[JMitchell]

The D300 can do that TOOOOOOO! Sorry, don't want any overshadowing to be done.

Colin, it would be interesting to see over time the differences you think there are between the D3 and it's little brother, and whether it is significantly a superior camera all round, or just for pros etc etc.
For example, did you have any qualms having the D300 as a backup rather than another D3?

[Hacker]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, ya bunch of comedians. What I was trying to say was that I couldn't/wouldn't have set the Auto ISO at such a high level with other bodies.

Jack, no qualms at all about using the D300 alongside it's bigger brother, both are great cameras and complement each other well. I had the 17-55mm on the D300 and the 70-200mm on the D3 which gave me all the coverage I wanted.