I have been taking pictures ever since I can remember. Whether it was goofing around as a kid with the family Polaroid camera, or as I prepared for my first photography class at age 12. My first camera was a black and white, Mamiya Sekkor camera. We didn’t have much money growing up and my parents weren’t sure that photography would be a hobby that would “stick,” so the purchase was made at a local pawn shop for $35.00 – and that included an old, leather case.
Years have passed since then and for the past several years, I’ve been stashing money away, knowing that my dream camera was looming on the horizon. I’ve been a Nikon shooter for the past 8 years, so I knew my next purchase would likely be a Nikon. Nikon cameras are a dream to shoot with and over the years they keep getting better to the point where I was fearful about making such an extravagant purchase. I figured I’d know when the time was right; when my skill level warranted my dream camera, as well as recognizing just what that dream camera could be. When Nikon recently unveiled their revolutionary D3 full sensor camera, I knew that that was it. That was the camera for me.
Normally, when I order a camera, I put in and order and wait with the masses. Not this time. This time I was really lucky (really, really lucky). Two weeks ago I attended MacWorld for the day. I sought out my favorite camera vendor who had a booth at the show. I asked the guy in charge what he could do for me, in terms of delivery times, since the D3 has been on backorder since its announcement (I have one friend who ordered his camera 3 months ago and just this week got his delivery). And I did something that I have never done before, which was to give the guy my business card (I work for an impressive company), explaining that I work in advanced imaging at my company and could he help me get a camera sooner rather than later. A week later I got a voice mail message stating that they got a shipment of D3’s in and did I want one. With a nervous voice, I called my husband and told him, “They called me. They have a D3 for me if I want it.” Bill’s response: “Why are you calling me? Shouldn’t you be calling them back?” My camera arrived Friday afternoon at 12:40 p.m. I know this because Bill was at home and he sent me a text stating, “the gold box has arrived.” I was ecstatic and couldn’t wait to get home and rip open the box (silly, I know, but have you ever wanted something so bad and do you recall how excited you felt when you finally got that object of your desire?).
This weekend has felt like Christmas. I am driving Bill crazy, pointing the camera in his face every 5 minutes. Even the dog has turned in the opposite direction. It’s been raining hard most of the weekend, so there has been little opportunity to run wild outside. Still, I took what opportunity I could find, photographing ceiling lamps, the refrigerator, a flooded deck and some flowers outside a photo store, feeling exhilaration each time the shutter clicked (and at 9 frames per second, it clicks quickly). It’s the most responsive shutter release of any camera I have ever owned. Typically, when I’ve gotten a new camera and taken my first few sets of pictures the pictures have not been all that impressive. I attribute this to my own learning & skill, not the quality of the equipment. It’s a humbling experience. This time, however, I was pretty happy with my first few shots.
The D3 is a big camera (My "man" camera I call it) and it makes my D200 seem tiny in comparison (albeit, the tiny camera will come in handy as my backup camera). Some of my favorite things about this camera: 1) Auto focus is incredibly responsive, locking on to a subject with the speed of lightening. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve lost a great shot due to slow focus response (even in manual mode). 2) It nails white balance spot on in “auto” white balance mode. While I typically take test shots and measure my white balance, using auto mode has been right on. This means I don't have to process my Raw images on the backend because of sloppy shooting. 3) It has, not one, but two, memory card slots, which can be used for overflow when card one is full, used for backing up card one, or used to record jpegs on one card and Raw files on the second card. Have you ever been happily shooting away only to your memory card register, “full?” Last time I was at Yosemite I found out just how awful this is, since it was snowing and the light was fading fast. By the time I removed my gloves, changed the memory card, threw the camera back up on the tripod, my fingers were not moving as nimbly as I had expected.
Buying a new camera, however, is much like a money pit. Here's how it goes: "You don't want me to shoot with that old lens now that I have this beautiful, new camera do you?"
No doubt, I will have months of learning ahead of me. Admittedly, I feel a bit overwhelmed by the power of this camera (something similar to if my parents had given me the keys to a Porche on the veery same day I got my driver's permit). On the other hand, I can’t wait to see what great pictures are only a shutter’s click away!
Below are a few of my first photos using my new camera. The bottom photo was taken at ISO 6400 without a tripod and a heavy 105mm micro lens. If you are a photographer you know that ISO 6400 is unheard of without a great deal of digital noise and artifacts.
Note: Camera Photos courtesy of Let's Go Digital and Nikon.
