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Author Topic: Thinking of switching to Nikon D3x  (Read 14274 times)

SeanBK

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Thinking of switching to Nikon D3x
« Reply #20 on: February 13, 2009, 07:35:55 am »

Quote from: ErikKaffehr
Bernhard,

Which exam do you need for NX2?

I have an MSc. in mechanical engineering so I guess the Leica M3 is the camera I'm certified for, or possibly a Linhof ;-)

Best regards
Erik
I have my Master's in Structural Engineering, but checking out the structures of models thru' my camera is all I am allowed by Mrs.  
    I run NX2 on PC, as I am more on PC, then on my iMac.
« Last Edit: February 13, 2009, 07:37:26 am by SeanBK »
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Colorado David

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Thinking of switching to Nikon D3x
« Reply #21 on: February 13, 2009, 08:37:39 am »

Quote from: Smallcooter
Permanent head Damage?

Piled Higher and Deeper.  

James R Russell

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Thinking of switching to Nikon D3x
« Reply #22 on: February 13, 2009, 10:38:25 am »

Quote from: Colorado David
Piled Higher and Deeper.  


I don't think it's knowledge or lack of ability that makes some of the software flaky.  All of the newer software I use seems to be computer and even on the day specefic.

I can run many thousands of files in C1, or huge multiple files in ps4, without issues for days, then all of a sudden, even with a restart everything just seems to get flaky or bog down.

Maybe this stuff is very ram dependent, or maybe the new apple computers only work well under a full moon, but if you asked me on one day if NX software was easy and realtively stable I'd say sure, a week later I'd say no., so there is something more to it than just general issues.

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gss

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« Reply #23 on: February 13, 2009, 11:27:15 am »

NX2 leaks at a rate of about 1GB/min after a few dozen changes to a file.  I use NX2 right now because ACR and Lightroom do a very bad job with the color in D3 and D3X files.
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Jonathan H

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« Reply #24 on: February 21, 2009, 12:38:04 am »

The Nikon 70-200 VR was designed at a time when Nikon had no FX sensor.  It's a phenomenal lens on a crop sensor, but the corners leave something to be desired on full frame.  I have a feeling the D3X might really be too much for that lens.  I've never shot a D3X though myself, so I could just be full of hot air.

The lens test on dpreview is pretty depressing for owners of the 70-200 and any FX Nikon.
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Dan Wells

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« Reply #25 on: February 21, 2009, 12:29:05 pm »

I'm using Capture One 4.6 into Photoshop CS4 with D3x files, and I'm quite happy with it. The only quirk is that the file appears slightly desaturated in Photoshop, compared to how it looked in Capture One (only if the profile is ProPhoto RGB - Adobe RGB transfers fine for some reason). I generally apply a slight curve that increases the saturation after the transfer from C1 to PS, and the files print fine from PS (looking as they did in PS, not as they did in C1). I wonder why C1 is oversaturating the display of ProPhoto files slightly?

                                    -Dan
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SteveF

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« Reply #26 on: February 21, 2009, 09:03:51 pm »

Quote from: eronald
I'm a Ph.D, and have been unable to get NX2 to work on my Mac. Yuck.

Edmund

Hello,



This is on a Mac with 10.5.6


When I got the NX2 disc and installed it, it was V2.0, and would not open a D3X file. I then ran "update" and it went to v2.1. It would still not open a D3X file.

For whatever reason I hit "update" again, and it went to v2.11. It would still not open a D3X file.

Then I ran "Software Update" on the Mac and needed to re-boot the machine. After re-booting NX2 would open the D3X files.

Maybe you tried all that, but thought I'd share in case not. It definitely did not install like typical Mac software.
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SteveF

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« Reply #27 on: February 21, 2009, 09:08:10 pm »

Quote from: Jonathan H
The Nikon 70-200 VR was designed at a time when Nikon had no FX sensor.  It's a phenomenal lens on a crop sensor, but the corners leave something to be desired on full frame.  I have a feeling the D3X might really be too much for that lens.  I've never shot a D3X though myself, so I could just be full of hot air.

The lens test on dpreview is pretty depressing for owners of the 70-200 and any FX Nikon.

I did some tripod, MLU, carefully focused test shots with the 70-200 VR and 70-300 VR on the D3x.

The 70-200 VR was unbelievably bad on the outer third of the frame. Leaf detail would simply be gone compared with the center.

To my surprise the 70-300 VR (a consumer grade lens) looked really impressive and handily beat the 70-200 at the same apertures.

I'm hoping that Nikon sees this hole in their lineup and releases an updated 70-200 VR soon.
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eronald

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« Reply #28 on: February 21, 2009, 09:16:21 pm »

Quote from: SteveF
Hello,



This is on a Mac with 10.5.6


When I got the NX2 disc and installed it, it was V2.0, and would not open a D3X file. I then ran "update" and it went to v2.1. It would still not open a D3X file.

For whatever reason I hit "update" again, and it went to v2.11. It would still not open a D3X file.

Then I ran "Software Update" on the Mac and needed to re-boot the machine. After re-booting NX2 would open the D3X files.

Maybe you tried all that, but thought I'd share in case not. It definitely did not install like typical Mac software.

Hi Steve.

 Thanks for the pointer. I did as you indicate, and installed update, and update. until I got 2.11. And it still wouldn't open the files.
 And I refuse to install 10.5.6 because it breaks DDC and thus won't run some of my own software and also breaks some third party profiling tools
 10.5.6 seems to be a "Hurt Me" update.

 POST UPDATE: I hadn't rebooted the machine. I just checked and now it runs! Thank you very much for your help. I have no problem admitting publicly that I'm a total idiot
 UPDATE UPDATE: So pretty, so unusably slow.
Edmund
« Last Edit: February 21, 2009, 10:22:05 pm by eronald »
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SteveF

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« Reply #29 on: February 21, 2009, 11:14:14 pm »

Quote from: eronald
UPDATE UPDATE: So pretty, so unusably slow.
Edmund


It is slow. And you need to use View NX to see the 100% crops.

People keep saying that NX2 has the "je ne sais quoi" that makes it worthwhile for D3X files, but it is simply not a usable solution to processing a lot of images in 2009. Maybe in 2007, but not today.

I've been very happy with ACR and will continue to use that until someone can show me definitive results that make the awkwardness of NX2 worthwhile.
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Guillermo Luijk

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Thinking of switching to Nikon D3x
« Reply #30 on: February 28, 2009, 11:16:40 am »

Quote from: eronald
POST UPDATE: I hadn't rebooted the machine. I just checked and now it runs! Thank you very much for your help. I have no problem admitting publicly that I'm a total idiot
No need for that Edmund, you already admitted you are a Ph.D  

eronald

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« Reply #31 on: February 28, 2009, 11:34:53 am »

Quote from: GLuijk
No need for that Edmund, you already admitted you are a Ph.D  

Admitted? I publicize it

By the way, I find that Gimp 2.6 gives very nice color with the D3x. It seems to be based n UFRaw, I'm going to see if there's a way to get UFRaw independently and write 16-bit files. Then of course, there's RPP etc. So much software, so little time.

Edmund
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Ray

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Thinking of switching to Nikon D3x
« Reply #32 on: February 28, 2009, 10:15:15 pm »

Quote from: eronald
Admitted? I publicize it

By the way, I find that Gimp 2.6 gives very nice color with the D3x. It seems to be based n UFRaw, I'm going to see if there's a way to get UFRaw independently and write 16-bit files. Then of course, there's RPP etc. So much software, so little time.

Edmund

Edmund,
Could you tell us what your Ph.D thesis was about? If it was about the cultural influences of 13th century Persian pottery, for example, then that might explain the irrelevance of your Ph.D to Mac operating systems   .
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uaiomex

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« Reply #33 on: March 01, 2009, 12:08:52 am »

David:
16 years ago, the TS line of lenses were main subject for me to switch from Nikon to EOS. Nowadays, the new TS line of lenses might keep me away of switching back to Nikon.
My 2 centavos
Eduardo
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Graham Welland

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« Reply #34 on: March 01, 2009, 06:36:01 pm »

I use Nikon Capture NX2 almost exclusively for my NEF raw processing from the D700 & D3X. The advantage for me is the beautiful colour rendering and superb CA correction with not just current Nikon glass but also my Zeiss ZF lenses and older AIS glass.

The workflow takes a little getting used to, that I would definitely admit. The way that the application works by stacking adjustments (beyond the base camera/quick adjust/lens adjustments) can be quirky and confusing for new users, particularly compared to the way that ACR/LR/Aperture hide this. The other issue is the way that if you go up the adjustment stack and make a change you need to re-enable the stacked changes to render the full image. Not a problem once you know how it works.

The downside is that this rendering of raw through various transformations is pretty CPU intensive and they don't seem to cache to speed things along. On my 3GHz MacBookPro it is definitely not a fast process, although I find it usable when working on single images that I consider 'keepers'. On my 8 core MacPro it's a whole lot more usable. For rapidly processing a pile of files, other than sticking to the base adjustments, I'll sometimes use Aperture instead (I have no love for ACR's colour rendering, also Aperture doesn't support D3X yet natively).

As mentioned by another poster, for viewing your captures Nikon View NX does a pretty decent job and renders D3X 14bit NEFs quickly. It's much faster than the browse feature in NX2. There's a nasty bug in the current version though that sometimes produces an error 'File Format Not Supported' in certain zoomed/flip between images mode. I have to close the app and reload and it's fine - Nikon/Nik need to fix that NOW.

In summary, for me at least, Capture NX2 renders the nicest images in terms of colour, detail with essentially no CA. It is fair to call it slow, especially compared to the competition. It is however very usable and I find I can go through a standard workflow very rapidly just within NX2 for most images without need for further work in CS4. The local colour/contrast correction tools in NX2 mean that my Photoshop time is minimal and only needed where specific custom work is required.

$0.02.  
« Last Edit: March 01, 2009, 06:40:33 pm by gwelland »
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KevinA

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« Reply #35 on: March 05, 2009, 08:03:21 am »

Quote from: Jonathan H
The Nikon 70-200 VR was designed at a time when Nikon had no FX sensor.  It's a phenomenal lens on a crop sensor, but the corners leave something to be desired on full frame.  I have a feeling the D3X might really be too much for that lens.  I've never shot a D3X though myself, so I could just be full of hot air.

The lens test on dpreview is pretty depressing for owners of the 70-200 and any FX Nikon.

I have both Nikon and Canon 70-200 f2.8, yes the Canon is better, yes the Nikon corners are poor but not so bad you can't use it. Plus the focus issues I've had with the Canon kind of make lens quality an unusable luxury.

Kevin.
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