Friday, March 19, 2010

Looking to pick up a new/used camera. What about an old pro?







I have been looking to add one more body to my collection.

The new, high end DSLR's are really something. Many now offer the ability to shoot HD video.
For many this might seem to be a great feature.
For me, it is not. I love to shoot "stills". If I wanted a HD video camera, I would purchase a dedicated "tool for the task". I am not putting down DSLR's that shoot video, I just don't need one.

So if I don't need many of the latest features, why not pick up a "higher grade" camera from the recent past?

Since I have a few Nikon mount lenses that will work with the DX Nikon bodies, here is one option.....

A press release from a few years ago,

The new Nikon D2X is the latest addition to one of the world's most famous camera lines. The new D2X updates the D1X model that hit the market in mid-2001. As you might expect, there's been a lot of development in the intervening three years between the two camera's respective releases, and the Nikon D2X is solid evidence that its maker is still very much a force to contend with in the professional SLR marketplace. While carrying a host of significant improvements and feature enhancements over its predecessor, resolution and shooting speed are probably the two features that will attract most photographers to the Nikon D2X. In its full-resolution mode, the D2X can capture five 12.2 megapixel (4,288 x 2,848) frames per second, a very respectable rate, at a very respectable resolution. Its unique "Speed Crop" mode reduces resolution to 6.8 mega-pixels (3,126 x 2,316) but boosts the frame rate to a blazing 8 frames/second, the equal of any other camera on the market, at least as of its release in late Spring 2005. This is an obvious shot across the bow of arch rival Canon, as the Nikon D2X in Speed Crop mode equals the speed of the flagship Canon EOS-1D Mark II, with better buffer depth and buffer clearing speed, and with only an ~8% reduction in linear resolution.

All in all, the Nikon D2X is an impressive camera, with high resolution, excellent shooting speed, excellent color, exceptional dynamic range, and the "cameraness" that Nikon is so justifiably proud of. Its unique dual-mode combination of high resolution (with respectable speed) and high speed (with respectable resolution) promise to make it a near-universal SLR, meeting the needs of studio and sports shooters in a single chassis. Read on for all the details, but if you're a professional shooter using Nikon gear, this is clearly a camera you've been waiting for.

Now that the price has come down a bit, it is possible for an amateur to pick up one of the older pro-cameras and enjoy a new level of photography!


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