Camera Test: Nikon D3

	Photo by Michael J. McNamara
	Click photo for more images taken by the Nikon D3.

In live view, the AF comes in two flavors: Phase Detection, which uses all 51 AF zones, and Contrast Detection, which lets you place a focus zone on any part of the image (not just the central portion covered by the 51 AF zones). Both work at similar speeds and capabilities to the D300, with a momentary blackout in Phase Detection and a slightly slower AF operation in Contrast Detection.

Live view isn't great for shooting action sequences -- better to use the viewfinder and 9-fps burst mode (up to 130 images in Fine JPEG mode, and up to 18 RAW images, according to our tests). During bursts, mirror blackout is incredibly short and hardly interferes with tracking.

Shooting in low light, foggy scenes, or buildings with odd angles and corners can often throw off your sense of balance, messing up your horizon line. The D3's virtual horizon indicator helps solve this problem, if you take the time to use it. In live view, it looks like an aircraft horizon indicator, making it a cinch to level the camera. But you can also get the system to work through the viewfinder by setting the function button to override the exposure scale. It's a less-sophisticated approach but it's useful.

Most exposure, metering, and creative controls can be set quickly from the D3's well-positioned buttons and dials. Located where expected, these are rarely activated by accident. Menu pages give you quick access to everything from variable exposure-compensation steps (up to 5 EV in 1/3-, 1/2-, 2/3-, or 1-EV steps) to AF-zone focusing groups. Fine-tuning adjustments are also available for white balance presets and Picture Control settings, as well as the size of the centerweighted metering pattern.

Three levels of Active D-Lighting can be used to expand dynamic range in JPEG images, and a multiple exposure control lets you capture up to 10 overlapped images on a single frame with the correct resulting exposure. There's even an interval timer that you can set to start and stop at specific times.

The D3 supports i-TTL metering with Nikon's external Speedlights such as the SB-600 and SB-800, as well as other lights in its Creative Lighting System. But to control multiple flash units wirelessly, you'll need to attach either an SB-800 Speedlight (set to Commander mode) or the longer-range Nikon SU-800 Wireless Speedlight Commander ($250, street).

Hard body, great view

A DSLR that costs five grand had better withstand abuse. While we didn't test the D3 under gunfire or in a hurricane, we're impressed with its magnesium-alloy chassis and extensive water- and dust-resistant seals. The camera sports a beefed-up Plexiglas shield over the 3-inch LCD, vertical shutter release and controls, dual CF card slots, and thick rubber covers over every port. The Kevlar/carbon-fiber shutter has a mighty 300,000-exposure rating and self-diagnostic tool. The trade-off for all this: weight, over 3 pounds without a lens.

Our lab tests confirmed our initial reaction to the D3's impressive fixed eye-level pentaprism viewfinder. Bright and clear, it provides a field of view that covers 100 percent of the captured scene, earning an Excellent rating. Data is easy to read, with no visible vignetting or light falloff across the image area, thanks to the finder's great eye relief and locking diopter adjustment dial. Its 0.72X magnification earns an acceptable rating. Although this may seem low compared with the Nikon D300's 0.95X (Excellent) magnification, since the D3 uses a full-frame sensor, there's no 35mm lens factor to boost it. So the D3's viewfinder magnification is closer to what you'd find in other full-frame DSLRs such as the Canon EOS 5D or EOS-1Ds Mark III.

Bottom line

Is this a perfect camera? No, but it is the best that Nikon has made to date. The D3 could use some type of built-in flash (even a tiny circular light) to control external Speedlights. A swiveling LCD would add protection to that gorgeous 3-inch LCD and allow for off-angle live view composition (as on the ). And a sensor-shift image stabilization system would help defray the extra cost we now pay for Nikon VR lenses.