Nikon D3

Launch price £4,000.00

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Stuff says

A true pro camera that slots in nicely between the flagship Canons

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There are some who might accuse Nikon of sitting on the fence with the D3. Equally, the less critical may just consider that the Japanese camera masters have seen a gap and decided to build a suitably sized plug.

Thus this pro-standard DSLR is pitched directly between Canon’s two top-end models, the 1D MkIII and 1Ds MkIII. Its specs sit between the two and so does its price – and so we were initially inclined to think Nikon has been very astute, avoiding a direct battle with either of its awesome competitors... so long as its performance was up to its billing.

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Thankfully, we need not have worried about that. The D3 has a 12MP full-frame sensor which, for the uninitiated, means that the sensor is the same size as a 35mm film frame, as opposed to the smaller APS-C sensors used in most SLRs.

This means it’s simply astonishing at capturing detail and making the most of the available light to saturate images with lush colours – noticeably better than the 1D MkIII, particularly at ISO 1600 and above, where the shots are less flat.

Ergonomically, the D3 is also excellent, even if it is ridiculously heavy. There’s little to choose between it and the Canons in this respect – personally, we’re more comfortable with the Nikon control layout. The new 3in screen is super-crisp, too.