My Nikon D1X Arrived!

[sfu_engineer]

So I recently ran into some financial difficulty problems and ended up having to sell my beloved D200 for a song! But today my temporary replacement camera came. It was a Nikon D1X for $400. It feels really really nice in my hands but the ease of use of the D200 is lightyears ahead of the D1X.

Tonight I am taking photos for a charity fashion show and will be using BOTH cameras at the event. Hopefully if some of the photos are good I will post one or two and let everyone know how my experiences are.

Wish me luck. ;)

[goofball]

Good luck, I don't think you really need it though. Please post some photos!

[najibs]

D1x for $400? That's a steal of a deal, assuming it's in good shape.

[sfu_engineer]

D1x for $400? That's a steal of a deal, assuming it's in good shape.

The shape is surprisingly good! No marks on the body, rubber still intact. The only thing is the LCD is oily/scratched a bit. But once the screen is on it looks fine.

Photos of the camera and the night are coming soon! I am surprised at how the photos turned out! They look much much better than on the computer than on the camera screen.

I thought battery life was going to suck but I still managed 392 RAW photos on one used battery. My D200 can do only 300-400 RAW photos with its battery so I am happy.

[sfu_engineer]

Good luck, I don't think you really need it though. Please post some photos!

I find the RAW noise of the D1X to be less than the D200. Which is great! Cause I only shoot RAW.

Pictures of the camera:

http://iconphoto.ca/photos/d1x/SFU_6832_original.jpg

http://iconphoto.ca/photos/d1x/SFU_6834_original.jpg

Pictures taken BY the camera:

http://iconphoto.ca/photos/d1x/DSC_9828_original.jpg

http://iconphoto.ca/photos/d1x/DSC_9837_original.jpg

http://iconphoto.ca/photos/d1x/DSC_9856_original.jpg

http://iconphoto.ca/photos/d1x/DSC_9910_original.jpg

http://iconphoto.ca/photos/d1x/DSC_0103_original.jpg

http://iconphoto.ca/photos/d1x/DSC_0115_original.jpg

http://iconphoto.ca/photos/d1x/DSC_0098_original.jpg

[calcuu]

congrats, nice pictures you taken.

For $400? Good deal.

[isom3tric]

nice pictures :)

I envy your skills, haha no matter what I do my pictures coming out of the D40 still look like P&S quality. I know its not the camera, I just need to learn how to take proper shots/post-processing?.

[goofball]

Nice pictures.
FWIW, I don't think the D200 has "that bad" ISO performance. Maybe noise just doesn't bug me as much as it does other's?

[PQpine413]

congrats on the new camera

sadly, the D1x the university paper at waterloo owns along with a d40 was both stolen. i guess that guy got an even better deal..:o

[THINKPADT61]

Looks like you a having fun already!

[frogger]

nice pictures :)

I envy your skills, haha no matter what I do my pictures coming out of the D40 still look like P&S quality. I know its not the camera, I just need to learn how to take proper shots/post-processing?.

Have you moved beyond the kit lens to a fast prime?

[THINKPADT61]

85mm on a D1X, nice!

[sfu_engineer]

85mm on a D1X, nice!

Glad you noticed! ;-)

I wish I had the 85mm F1.4 though. Shallow depth of field is lots of fun.

[Whitewind]

Love the shots:cheesygri

I am still trying to decide between d200 and the d1x as an upgrade from my d50. I absolutely love the colours comming from the d1x but also worried about the weight, LCD quality and interface. With the d200 I am worried about noise and colour in comparison w/ d50; What is drawing me towards the d200 are the interface, lcd and weight.

SFU, what would you recommend for an amateur?

Thanks

[2000fordfocus]

Love the shots:cheesygri

I am still trying to decide between d200 and the d1x as an upgrade from my d50. I absolutely love the colours comming from the d1x but also worried about the weight, LCD quality and interface. With the d200 I am worried about noise and colour in comparison w/ d50; What is drawing me towards the d200 are the interface, lcd and weight.

SFU, what would you recommend for an amateur?

Thanks

I am still using a D50, LoL...

[isom3tric]

Have you moved beyond the kit lens to a fast prime?

No I haven't yet.

[sfu_engineer]

Love the shots:cheesygri

I am still trying to decide between d200 and the d1x as an upgrade from my d50. I absolutely love the colours comming from the d1x but also worried about the weight, LCD quality and interface. With the d200 I am worried about noise and colour in comparison w/ d50; What is drawing me towards the d200 are the interface, lcd and weight.

SFU, what would you recommend for an amateur?

Thanks

The D200 is much much better for a learning amateur. The ONLY reason I can use the D1X at any proficient level is because of the wealth of photography knowledge I have gained shooting with the D200. Shooting with the D200, compared to my old D70s has taught me many lessons regarding noise, shutter speed, aperture and other settings. With this knowledge I can apply it to the archaic interface and cruddy LCD screen of the D1X.

As long as I know to hold the camera steady and shoot with an appropriate shutter speed for the lens and the action that I am shooting I know it will be reasonably sharp. Even though the D1X screen is TERRIBLE and no one will be able to tell sharpness with it. I know that if I shoot properly it will look fine on the computer. I say you should definitely upgrade to the D200 but stay away from the D1X until you really know what you are doing.

The D200 is a great learning tool and the D1X is something you use after you know your stuff! Let me know if you need any more help.

[bluewaker]

So why did you choose the D1x over all the other used cameras at that price? And why don't people commonly reccomend cameras like the D1x (used of course) to a person just starting photography? Is it hard to use, as you had pointed out above? Is that the only reason?

[sfu_engineer]

So why did you choose the D1x over all the other used cameras at that price? And why don't people commonly reccomend cameras like the D1x (used of course) to a person just starting photography? Is it hard to use, as you had pointed out above? Is that the only reason?

I choose the D1x over similarly priced cameras (D50, D70, D40) because I wanted to try a "pro" body and also because I have already used the D70 before and wanted to try something a little different.

I would NOT recommend the D1x to anyone who is just starting out as it makes way too many concessions on ease of use to be useful for someone just started out in photography. IF you had any photography experience say in film or other digital SLRs then I would recommend it if you need a backup body or are poor.

That said, I am really liking this camera right now. Because it is natively 5.4 megapixels (auto interpolated to 10 megapixels) I can use my lens at slightly lower shutter speeds than would normally be required on my D200 (which is 10 megapixels and is totally unforgiving on poor camera technique). For example my Nikon 85mm F1.8 lens would normally need at least 1/125 of a second shutter speed to be reasonably sharp, but now I can do 1/90 pretty easily and it isn't too noticeable at all.

[najibs]

it is natively 5.4 megapixels (auto interpolated to 10 megapixels)

You need Capture NX to interpolate to 10MP, no?

[bluewaker]

By the way, I love your pictures. Stunning, you make it look easy ;).

As for the camera, that's pretty awesome - a 6000 dollar pro body going for only 400 7 years later. I guess things just depreciate that quickly, but based on the sample photos I saw from it, it looks incredibly crisp. Didn't know digital imaging technology was so capable, even then.

I don't quite understand how a lower native megapixel count allows you to take shots at a lower shutter speed. Is it because the sensor has less to deal with (5.33 MP on the D1x as opposed to 10MP on your D200), while maintaining the same method of data extraction FROM the sensor, that allows your data to be piped out faster (thus allowing you to reduce shutter speed)? I'm not sure if that question came out clearly...

And sorry for the excessive questions, but I am just so curious ;). Why does a pro body auto interpolate? Doesn't it reduce photo quality?

[najibs]

I don't quite understand how a lower native megapixel count allows you to take shots at a lower shutter speed. Is it because the sensor has less to deal with (5.33 MP on the D1x as opposed to 10MP on your D200), while maintaining the same method of data extraction FROM the sensor, that allows your data to be piped out faster (thus allowing you to reduce shutter speed)? I'm not sure if that question came out clearly...

It's more the AF system and shutter blackout time that allow that. When I shot with a Canon 1D I noticed the same thing. Pro bodies are pro bodies because they do everything better.

And sorry for the excessive questions, but I am just so curious ;). Why does a pro body auto interpolate? Doesn't it reduce photo quality?

It's only done with Nikon's Capture NX software, and it's the oly camera that can do it succesfuly.

[sfu_engineer]

You need Capture NX to interpolate to 10MP, no?

Sorry everyone. I forgot to mention I use Adobe Lightroom software to manage and edit photos. Upon importing Nikon D1x RAW files into the program they are automatically interpolated into 10 Megapixel files.

By the way, I love your pictures. Stunning, you make it look easy ;).

As for the camera, that's pretty awesome - a 6000 dollar pro body going for only 400 7 years later. I guess things just depreciate that quickly, but based on the sample photos I saw from it, it looks incredibly crisp. Didn't know digital imaging technology was so capable, even then.

I don't quite understand how a lower native megapixel count allows you to take shots at a lower shutter speed. Is it because the sensor has less to deal with (5.33 MP on the D1x as opposed to 10MP on your D200), while maintaining the same method of data extraction FROM the sensor, that allows your data to be piped out faster (thus allowing you to reduce shutter speed)? I'm not sure if that question came out clearly...

And sorry for the excessive questions, but I am just so curious ;). Why does a pro body auto interpolate? Doesn't it reduce photo quality?

Thanks! I really enjoy photography and find it a wonderful hobby that allows you to meet all kinds of interesting people and get into the craziest of situations.

The lower original sampling megapixel count means that the mistakes are harder to notice. The D200 has greater resolution causing any flaws in your photography to show up much easier. For example a lens that seems sharp on a D70s/D1x may seem blurry on a D200. Similarly a photo taken with somewhat poorer technique (slight camera shake) on a D1x looks better than a photo taken with poor technique on a D200.

I hope that answers your question! I actually wanted this thread to bring up discussion as if one were to purchase an older camera like the D1x nowadays it is hard to take the old reviews into context as newer and better cameras have come out. I want people to take my impressions of this "old" camera after I have already used some of the more current camera technologies of today.

[sfu_engineer]

It's more the AF system and shutter blackout time that allow that. When I shot with a Canon 1D I noticed the same thing. Pro bodies are pro bodies because they do everything better.



It's only done with Nikon's Capture NX software, and it's the oly camera that can do it succesfuly.

I thought Adobe CS3 would do it natively as well. But I just tried it and it attempted to output a 6 Megapixel file. I always use Adobe Lightroom and it did it automatically but I do know other programs do it like Bibble from Bibble Labs. I am not sure if image quality suffers dramatically but I would 100% say the D200 native 10 Megapixels has more resolution that the D1x interpolated at 10 Megapixels. But photography isn't always about pixel peeping at 100% zoom. :D

So najibs I am glad I was not the only person noticing this. You think this has to do with the shutter blackout time? I will need to take a more closer look at this as this is a most welcome advantage.

[Whitewind]

Just a couple more questions

how is the D1x's viewfinder size compared to the d200's?

Does your D1x have the buffer upgrade?

do you know if the write speed to the CF is hardware limited, or limited by the CF speed?

Thanks

[AirTimid]

Just a couple more questions

how is the D1x's viewfinder size compared to the d200's?

Does your D1x have the buffer upgrade?

do you know if the write speed to the CF is hardware limited, or limited by the CF speed?

Thanks


I think the viewfinders are about equal. Maybe the d200 is slightly better, didn't really notice too much when I switched.

Write speed is hardware limited.

[sfu_engineer]

Just a couple more questions

how is the D1x's viewfinder size compared to the d200's?

Does your D1x have the buffer upgrade?

do you know if the write speed to the CF is hardware limited, or limited by the CF speed?

Thanks

D1x:
- Viewfinder shows 95% of frame.
- Viewfinder has a magnification of 0.80x

D200:
- Viewfinder shows 95% of frame.
- Viewfinder has magnification of 0.94x

So the image through the viewfinder is significantly smaller than the D200. Mine does not have the upgrade so it only shoots a max of 6 RAWs or 9 JPGs in a row at 3 FPS. I do find the write speed pretty slow for action. I am too used to the D200's 5 FPS and 21 RAW buffer. :P

[Whitewind]

For guys w/ the D1X

http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fd1liion.vincenttrepanier. com%2F&langpair=fr%7Cen&hl=en&ie=UTF-8

This is a tutorial/hack for implementing internal Li-ion batteries into the D1x

The batteries and charger are available at Dealextreme

[sfu_engineer]

For guys w/ the D1X

http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fd1liion.vincenttrepanier. com%2F&langpair=fr%7Cen&hl=en&ie=UTF-8

This is a tutorial/hack for implementing internal Li-ion batteries into the D1x

The batteries and charger are available at Dealextreme

Wow. Awesome find Whitewind. I had heard/read about the Lithium Ion conversion but I thought it may be too expensive to do it. But I being the RFD'er I am I love DealExtreme and the fact that shipping is free. Thanks! :D

[Whitewind]

np sfu.

for the D1X, would there be any benefit to invest into a highspeed CF card or should I just pickup a cheap 133x?

Thanks

[najibs]

np sfu.

for the D1X, would there be any benefit to invest into a highspeed CF card or should I just pickup a cheap 133x?

Thanks

133x IS high speed :lol:

[isom3tric]

Wow. Awesome find Whitewind. I had heard/read about the Lithium Ion conversion but I thought it may be too expensive to do it. But I being the RFD'er I am I love DealExtreme and the fact that shipping is free. Thanks! :D

I don't know if i'm being paranoid, but would you trust those batteries from dealextreme? Cause they are awesomely priced but aren't you scared of it like leaking in your camera?

[sfu_engineer]

I don't know if i'm being paranoid, but would you trust those batteries from dealextreme? Cause they are awesomely priced but aren't you scared of it like leaking in your camera?

I think it should be fine. There seems to be lots of people who have done the EN-4 to lithium ion conversion and they seem to be quite happy:

http://www.flickr.com/groups/d1x/discuss/72157600296123321/

Reading the reviews of the batteries over at DealExtreme it looks like quite a deal! I cannot wait to get my 18650 batteries and try out this mod. People were reporting over 900+ shots with 2 3.7V 2500mAh batteries!!!

[sfu_engineer]

I am still using a D50, LoL...

Time to upgrade! ;)

[Whitewind]

SFU or anyone else what CF card are you guys using with the D1X?

I am planning to get a D1X soon and just want to confirm CF card limitations.

So far I know that D1X is only capable with FAT16 formats, which limits it to a max of a 2Gb CF card. Since write speed is hardware limited, getting a card faster than ~80X CF card would be a waste. (I could be wrong though)

Thanks

[sfu_engineer]

SFU or anyone else what CF card are you guys using with the D1X?

I am planning to get a D1X soon and just want to confirm CF card limitations.

So far I know that D1X is only capable with FAT16 formats, which limits it to a max of a 2Gb CF card. Since write speed is hardware limited, getting a card faster than ~80X CF card would be a waste. (I could be wrong though)

Thanks

FAT16 limits card usage to 2GB. I have not tried high speed cards in my D1x. But my un-buffered D1x clears the buffer at a snails pace compared to my old D200. But I am shooting RAW files only with my D1x.

[Whitewind]

Received my "new" Nikon D1X camera.

This is my second dslr that I own, my first is a D50 which is still running strong. My buffer upgraded D1X came with 4 batts (only 2 good ones), batt charger, as well as ac/dc adapter all for an amazing price. I would like to make a quick review for this camera

Strong points:

- AF Motor speed!!! (crazy amount of torque and speed with my 35-70mm 2.8)
- Body is extremely well built and sturdy
- D1X is approximately the same speed as my D50 interms of menu interface speed
- manual lens metering (finally get to use my AIS 50mm 1.4)
- Viewfinder is much larger than my D50, but not as big as my FM2 film camera
- Fast 3fps shooting rate
- Anti-mirror shock is good to have, but slows down the frame rate to ~1fps

Weak points:

- this mofo is heavy 2x the weight of the D50
- Extremely slow write speeds with compressed raw files ~13s due to processing (good thing I have the buffer upgrade). Write speeds for uncompressed raws are much faster to write to card ~4s
- Needs a good amount of menu tweaking before good shots can be achieved
- my copy has a slight backfocusing issue which can be easily corrected with a little tweaking.
- Batteries are weak (still waiting for my Li-ions)
- LCD on D1X is not as sharp as the one on my D50
- under exposes by 2/3 to 1 stop
- highlight blow out is annoying

I still have a lot more testing to do with this camera, but I think this one is a keeper. Apart from the slow write speeds and lcd quality I believe I can adjust/fix up most of the issues.

currently my D50 takes better looking pictures than the D1X, mainly because I haven't familiarized myself to all the customizable settings as well as metering characteristics.

Happy Shooting

[sfu_engineer]

Congrats on your "new" camera Whitewind!

I too have noticed the same pros/cons that you have encountered but I mainly shoot uncompressed RAWs (7 MBs) so the write speed isn't a ridiculous 13 seconds but it still is freaking long compared to my old D200.

Highlight blowout sucks and it is difficult to tell on the LCD screen so I always have my camera display info on the flashing highlights setting so I can compensate in case I blow highlights accidentally.

I love processing and editing in Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop and the RAW files from the D1x are nice and small compared to my D200 and still produce a nice 10 Megapixel file which is nice.

I bought my NIMH batteries from Global-Batteries and they're not bad for the price of $15.00:

http://www.global-batteries.ca/product_info.php/cPath/3_85/products_id/550

I got a set of Lithium-Ion batteries and attempted to build the modified battery but it didn't work. I have to get my hands on a voltmeter to figure out where the exact problem is though.

[Whitewind]

I would rather not buy Nimh Batteries, since their life is rather limited.

If u are having problems with the li-ion conversion, shoot a couple pics of the mod and I could probably tell you what is the problem.

[ashman]

I downgraded from a D200 to a D2H for a few reasons, although I am glad to hear you guys with your D1X's are having lots of fun. For me, I shoot my kids playing sports so I needed fast AF, fast fps and I wanted a more pro like feel to the body. The focus speed on the D200 was just not good enough for me, nor was the 5fps. I had the battery grip for the D200 and it worked ok, but the feel of the D2H body is just much better. I did take a hit in the mega pixels going from 10.2 to 4.1 but I usually shoot tight anyway so cropping isn't something I need to do, and you get can get decent prints all the way up to 16x20 from a 4.1MP D2H, so its no problem.

AM

[Whitewind]

Finished the D1X Li-ion conversion a while ago, but never got around to post some pictures or comments.

http://lh5.ggpht.com/Sword.Dancer/SFxfZvtaRRI/AAAAAAAAAKk/o98GaywXX7k/D1X%20Li-ion%20Batt_000.jpg?imgmax=800

http://lh3.ggpht.com/Sword.Dancer/SFxfZ4jHNlI/AAAAAAAAAKs/3Z238E5qc9I/D1X%20Li-ion%20Batt_001.jpg?imgmax=800

The conversion is pretty much self explanatory from the pictures

Total cost of conversion

4 Li-ion Cells = $20 (2 cells used in the D1X at any one time)
Charger = $12

Overall, these cells perform very well compared to their original NI-MH counterparts. The Li-ion cells hold their charge for weeks on end since they have a much lower discharging rate. This means I can pick my camera up anytime and start shooting w/o worrying too much about batt life.

I can shoot about 300 compressed raw shots before the camera goes into battery saving mode. (If I shoot uncompressed raw I could probably triple the number of shots due to the shorter processing requirements) I usually switch the cells at this point due to inconveniences w/ the viewfinder display.

I have taken this camera out to Anime Con. and Doors Open, and it is a pleasure to use esp after the conversion.

Happy shooting

[phazy]

seeing u guys with the d1x makes me wanna try a professional body, however, i still have much to learn. planning to upgrade to a d200 but having used teh d300, i am confused. its always the question of a better lens + a cheaper body or a better body with a cheaper lens for the same price. and another issue is problem with iso on the d200 and the af system, is the iso handling really that bad with teh d200, cuz i know the d300 handles high iso very well. and the af system on the d200 will it improve with an afs lens?.

[sfu_engineer]

seeing u guys with the d1x makes me wanna try a professional body, however, i still have much to learn. planning to upgrade to a d200 but having used teh d300, i am confused. its always the question of a better lens + a cheaper body or a better body with a cheaper lens for the same price. and another issue is problem with iso on the d200 and the af system, is the iso handling really that bad with teh d200, cuz i know the d300 handles high iso very well. and the af system on the d200 will it improve with an afs lens?.

I will try to answer these questions:

1) Buying DSLRs is like trying to optimize your money. With a limited amount of money you can either buy a really nice $$$ body and a cheap lens, or a cheaper body with a more $$$ lens. To a certain extent the lens is what creates good photos and what you should be spending money on. BUT you may get to a point where the crappiness of the body is detrimental to you getting the images you want.

2) The high ISO on the D200 is OKAY in JPEG. But HORRIBLE in RAW. Even with ISO 400+ I was getting unacceptable levels of noise. The D300 is said to have improved that but I have not used a D300 enough to substantiate this statement.

3) The AF system in the D200 was great. Easily able to acquire and track moving targets. MUCH better tracking and acquiring than the D1x. But if you're just using a single point of the autofocus the speed of the focusing mechanism was super fast on the D1x. I suppose with AF-S your speed of focusing is increased too.

--------------------------

Update:
As I am the original poster of this thread I wanted to let everyone know that I recently sold my Nikon D1x and have moved onto the Canon system. The D1x was a fine camera. BUT ... these are the reasons why I made the switch:

1) the awful screen (inaccurate colours, low resolution, low size, and inability to zoom in much) made focusing, composition, and exposure evaluation on the screen very difficult.

2) Awful white balance. HORRIBLE!!! Makes the camera difficult to use in spur of the moment situations as AUTO and the specific lighting mode WB settings are all INACCURATE! I shoot RAW but still this is too hard to deal with. Makes the D1x less than an ideal event photography camera.

3) Terrible TTL flash performance. Intelligent flash was never consistant at all. Sure the manual flash sync was 1/1000th seconds but TTL flash was crap. Again the D1x is less than an ideal event photography camera.

4) Battery life. I bought new higher capacity batteries but would only give 250-350 shots per charge. Plus the discharge quickly so it was always a battle making sure everything was charged before a photo outing.

Overall the D1x experience has been a neutral one. I enjoyed shooting some studio and portrait work with it. BUT hated using it for event photography. If anyone needs a pro level body at a cheap price I would take a look at the D2x as they can be had for $1500 or less these days.

[phazy]

thanks for your feedback, now i think i should stick with buying a d200 and collect some glasses first and polish my skills until i reach to the point where the body is lagging me behind before i upgrade to another body, bcuz i got to the pont where my old d40 is like blah blah.