Nikon D3X DSLR review - is this camera from 2009 worth anything in 2023?

[@mccuenoirfilms]

I shot with the D3X in 2008-2010 when I was in college because our Commercial Photography program had a rental partnership with Midwest Camera. I was able to check one out once week to use for assignments. I have a Z9 now, but the D3X still holds a special place in my heart. I LOVED the sharpness and the color tones it produced. Now I want to buy one 😅

[@key2adventure]

Yes it is a lovely camera, and I find it still produces very useable images.

[@Mortenthorpe-DK]

The D3x is, as its much newer brethren the D850, an elegant classic… always worth holding onto… much like the legendary D4S

[@key2adventure]

Thanks for your comment, agree so much.

[@bivouacphotography4768]

Love my D4s

[@Ghostmanriding]

Thanks for this review. I forgot Nikon was puting out 24 MP in 2009! Great channel you have here. Subbed.

[@key2adventure]

Thanks for subscribing, and for your comment. Yes it was amazing with 24 MP in 2009, and it still holds 🙂

[@utube321piotr]

I also own the D3X. By the looks of it, far fewer units of D3X were produced than D3 bodies, making it a valuable classic.

[@key2adventure]

I think that might be true. D3 was used by sports shooters, so I guess that lots of theses were sold.

[@utube321piotr]

@@key2adventure Interestingly, a replacement BL-4 battery door cover for all D3's is not available anywhere, whether new or used.

[@key2adventure]

@@utube321piotr No, you would probably have to buy a whole non-functioning camera to get one.

[@Pembers357]

Thanks for producing some really interesting content. I have a Hasselblad X2D and a Nikon D4 and still really enjoy using the DSLR.

[@key2adventure]

Thanks for your comment. I fully understand you, I also enjoy using my DSLRs even though I have the Hasselblad cameras which technically are superior.

[@andrewgulland8012]

I have used this camera as a commercial photographer for many years...its weight, 'low' light performance and old school design is not an issue for me. I find 1600 ISO is very useable and with a vr lens you can shoot most subjects. But, for me, where this camera is worth its weight in gold is in its RAW files...they are are fantastic...its like shooting with a medium format camera.

[@davelawler695]

Although comparatively unforgiving, it's my favorite camera to shoot with in 2024 :) People think I'm crazy, but it's really as good as anything at lower ISOs, and the D3-series ergonomics have never been outdone. Thanks for sharing; love the channel.

[@key2adventure959]

Thanks for your comment. Agree so much 😀

[@garethwilliams976]

Got mine after trying one out and no regrets. I do not need super high ISO (How ever did we manage with Kodachrome 25?). I do not do video. I do not do sport but appreciate the cameras very good resolution and image quality. I appreciate that there are huge numbers of F mount lenses available which are not perhaps as good as the latest z mount ones but the differences are, in real life rather than tests, truly marginal and the real advantages are resistance to flare and corner resolution at full aperture ( does anyone apart from perhaps architectural photographers ever compose for the corners at full aperture or surely there are few who not shade their lenses or deliberately shoot to include the sun?). My main criticism of the Z cameras is that they did not make the flange/sensor distance and mount the same as for F mount. I might have been tempted just for the higher resolution. Now I have to buy an adapter to mount my 20 F mount lenses and lose autofocus on those that are not s types. Also any Z mount lenses are redundant as far as my 6 film and digital bodies are concerned - no brainer as the present range of Z cameras offer no real advantages. Other great points about the camera are the superlative build quality, the huge battery life (The batteries work in the adapted MD10 on my 300 and 700 as do the CF cards thus saving on duplication). I like the charger having dual battery ports and lastly I actually like the heft of the camera as I find heavier cameras easier to hold steady. A great reviw - oh before i forget and should perhaps have been top of my list is the fact that my liw shutter count mint copy cost me less than £700 for a camera built to sell new for well over £5000 - a real bargain!

[@key2adventure]

Those are really good arguments both for why this D3X is a very capable camera but also why one should carefully consider if upgrading to Z cameras are worth the prize. Thanks for you very relevant comment 🙂

[@malcolmmacgregor6222]

A great review of the D3X - which was my first 'serious' digital camera, after using a large format 4x5 camera. I had to move to digital as the agency I was working for decided to go completely digital. No more film. As you say, it was big and bulky - but excellent quality. And now we have the Hasselblad X2D for travels. Thank you

[@key2adventure]

Thanks for your comment, and happy new year 🙂

[@Audimann]

I got one a few months ago with an very low shuttercount. It was 8000 clicks or something. Most copies I see are beat up but this one is like new. Only thing I notice are dead or stuck pixels. If you shoot RAW lightroom automatically takes care of those pixels when you load them so that is fine by me😊

[@key2adventure]

Thanks for you comment. Yes most of them are if not beat up then at least well used. My own has above 360k clicks, but works perfectly anyway. As I use Darktable and not lightrooom (stopped using years ago, when they changed from buy to subscribe policy), I didn't know about the automatic fix of dead pixels, luckily my camera doesn't have any dead pixels.

[@danielmartinphotography]

Great video!

[@key2adventure]

Thanks ! 🙂

[@phovid1971]

Hi, congratulations for the video. I still work with the D3x and the images it provides me are still exceptional even in 2024. I deal with architecture and interiors.

[@key2adventure]

Thanks for your comment. Yes, the D3X will fulfill most photographers needs.

[@andrewgulland3925]

I have a D3x and love it! Brilliant RAW files, great ergonomics and 25mb. It’s still my go to camera!

[@samorayee420]

Still have it still love it ❤. It's looks like new mine probably 1000k shut totally

[@key2adventure]

Wow that's awesome. One million shots, and still same shutter?

[@thecaveofthedead]

This was the era in which digital cameras became as good as film in terms of colour rendition and dynamic range - and also stopped being limited by resolution. So cameras from then are capable of delivering wonderful images. It's important to remember that, at the time, many reviewers were asking why anyone needs so _much_ resolution. Since you could obviously make large prints from a 24MP camera - something that few people ever do and - with huge advances in unpscaling - is trivial now on even 6MP-12MP cameras. These are lovely designs. But I personally can't stand the Nikon and Canon principle of making their cameras so large - as large as a few medium format cameras I've used. I far preferred the F100 to the F5 for that reason and I now favour very small cameras.

[@key2adventure]

Agree, resolution is not a problem unless you want to be able to crop in quite a lot or you make huge sized prints, as I sometimes do for exhibition use with images from my Hasselblad X2D camera. In the days of the Nikon D3X I wasn't bothered with size, I even walked 6 days up Kilimanjaro with the camera in my hand all the time just using a wrist strap.

[@thecaveofthedead]

Yeah. I did a big 6 week trip in India, Nepal, and Thailand in 2005 lugging a Nikon F100 and a big bag of film. I got some great results but today I'd really try to go with a smaller camera - especially when today the likes of Fujifilm and Sony can get you so much sophistication in a photographic tool into a really small package.@@key2adventure

[@Cotictimmy]

I’ve had my D3X since Jan 2019 & I loved everything about it from the first time I shot with it. The Canon 1Ds mk.3 is really similar, but the 1Ds 3 needs fast lenses in order for its outer focus points to work well. The D3X is easier to work with. Both have beautiful output IMO.

[@key2adventure]

Agree to that, I'we also shot on the 1Ds III, and also loved the output of it, but I prefer the D3X, just like you.

[@kchappelle]

I had a D1 back in the day that I loved so much. The only downside for we was the battery. They used the old style battery. I missed that camera lately because I haven't used it for years. So I've been doing a lot of research and decided to pick up a nice D3S from Japan in mint shape. Boy, do I love that camera. I love it so much I'm thinking of getting another...only this time the mighty D4S. Keeping my fingers crossed.

[@key2adventure]

Thanks for sharing

[@romansivers]

Interesting review. Thank you! Personally, for one reason or another, I tend to like my D3x less than my other D3 camera bodies. I just can’t find its “wow factor”. In 14-bit raw it is really slow. It turns from 5 fps to

[@key2adventure]

I can understand that, I also previously had a D3 and used it for fast moving objects like in sports shooting and wildlife photography, and loved to use if for that. But as I tend to shoot more still objects primarily, like nature, portraits and still life, I like the higher resolution of the D3X much more, and I sold the D3. But it just depend on what you primarily shoot, and your needs are different from mine. Have a pleasant new year, and happy shooting with your D3s no matter which of them 🙂

[@Cotictimmy]

It think the X really shines with studio flash - which is what I mainly use it for.