Buying a Nikon D3

theregsy

Senior Member
Hello all, I have been offered the chance of a used D3 for £500 its been a second body and doesn't have a high shutter count and normal minor wear from general use, do any of you have anything that I should be looking out for? I know my way around having a D2x, D700 and D800 but wondering if the D3 has any weak points?

Any help gratefully received,
thanks

mark
 

nikonpup

Senior Member
per internet search i see a lot of problems with auto focus. I am not sure i would put out money ($700+) for a camera that could 9 years old even with a low shutter count.
 

theregsy

Senior Member
Thanks for the heads up on the links, been a while. I will have to give her a thorough going over before I purchase, I kind of know the bloke who owns it so a test run will be in order.
 

kkchan

Senior Member
I bought a refurb one back in 2013 for almost $2000, then I sold my D700 after a short while.
I love the camera, even it has the 2008 technology, focusing is fast enough for me. The 2 CF cards slots are pretty good idea, so if one card is full, then rest of the images will flow to the other.
I have pretty big grip, so the camera fits me perfectly, and overall the balance is well.
Solid metal constructed, ergo body design, you won't feel tired in a long day shooting.
 

theregsy

Senior Member
I bought a refurb one back in 2013 for almost $2000, then I sold my D700 after a short while.
I love the camera, even it has the 2008 technology, focusing is fast enough for me. The 2 CF cards slots are pretty good idea, so if one card is full, then rest of the images will flow to the other.
I have pretty big grip, so the camera fits me perfectly, and overall the balance is well.
Solid metal constructed, ergo body design, you won't feel tired in a long day shooting.

Thanks for that I love my D700 so that is indeed a big plus on getting the D3 :)
 

editorial_use_only

Senior Member
About buying a particular D3, I'm not aware of any common issue or failure. I think it's going to be you have to evaluate it like any other older camera, test functions and be thorough and then take your chances.

About buying any D3, I do think there is a weak point now. I recently shot an event alongside someone who was shooting a D3. At 3200 and 6400, their shots looked awful, by today's standards. Skin tones and dynamic range were awful and noise was obvious. When I first saw the published shots, I thought they had been taken with a cellphone. For not much more money than you're talking, you could get a refurbished D610, possibly even for the same money get one used. The D610 is hardly my favorite camera in Nikon's lineup, but my point is that unless you need 9 fps or want the bigger pro body of the D3, I'd have a hard time buying a D3 now based on the performance. With a D610 for example, you would get vastly better ISO performance, better AF, a pop-up flash, video. It's a more versatile, current, better all-around camera. Don't get me wrong, I love my D3S, and I have a lot of (nostalgic) love for the D3. But for the money you're talking about, I'd prefer another camera for almost any subject.
 

kkchan

Senior Member
I think its not a bad deal to pay around 1k for an all metal body, its true that a 2008 camera cannot beat the quality of any current models, but the beauty of it is still able to accept the CF cards, especaily for the people jumping from a D2 or D700 cameras.
Yes, the ISO performance is quite poor when shoot up above iso2000, but to me its still acceptable.
Below pictures are shot with D3 and a Sigma wide angle zoom, as I remember I pumped the ISO to 4k since the museum is an all glass building. 10575263_10208905504223335_2502547487134387467_o.jpg12794755_10208905570064981_2529751944178485686_o.jpg12804817_10208905604905852_8324517450676847799_n.jpg
 

theregsy

Senior Member
Well I did it, only issue is that the rubber on the CF card cover is starting to unstick, no great issue, I even found out you can buy replacements on Ebay. First impressions are that its familiar and pretty similar to ever other Nikon I own, and like the D2x you can bang nails in with it if you want.
Used it for a local no rules ball game that kicked off five minutes before sunset so it was a good excuse to compare with the D700, both had f2.8 lenses on board and I have to say that its hard to spot the difference, but for me its that massive fps rate that seals the deal. I don't know how I will carry the D3, D700 & D800 together but I think she will become a firm favourite.

Thanks for the replies everyone, buy the way I have a Sigma 24-75mm F2,8 lens, its a corker and these were taken with it on the D3.
tuesday-9622.jpgfriday-9518.jpg
 

editorial_use_only

Senior Member
Congrats on your new camera. If you decide to buy the replacement rubber and do it yourself you might check to see if the part has adhesive tape already fit, and if so what it looks like. I've seen some parts advertised on eBay with double-sticky tape that looked very poorly fit. I've also seen some replacement stuff on eBay advertised with the word "Genuine" that seemed to mean "genuinely new" not "genuinely Nikon".

to compare with the D700, both had f2.8 lenses on board and I have to say that its hard to spot the difference

The D3 and D700 use the same sensor and processing engine.
 
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