What Chuck Does

D3 Dilemma

I have decided to pull the trigger and buy the camera of my dreams to replace my outdated Nikon D2H. The main features I’ll get from shooting the D3, are more megapixels, great high-ISO performance, full-frame sensor, and better dynamic range.

I’m pretty excited because for months I’ve been drooling over the pictures on the Internet. The high-ISO performance of this thing is simply staggering. The pictures that I’ve seen from the D3 at 1600 and 3200 are typically as good as what I experience with ISO 400 on my D2H.

Click here for full comparision.

However because the D3 is utilizes a full-frame sensor, that opens the possiblity for true wide-angle photography. Up until this point I’ve lived with my 17-55mm f/2.8 DX lens which has been my default go-to lens. It’s great for everything. However since 17-55mm f/2.8 on a DX sensor is effectively a 26-88mm with the 1.5x crop factor, I suddenly feel ill-equipped for taking landscape pictures that might provide a better AoV (angle of view).

The possible solutions to this are the 14-24mm f/2.8, the 17-35mm f/2.8 and the 24-70mm f/2.8. The 24-70mm f/2.8 is least capable in the WA front. That leaves me with either the 14-24mm or the 17-35mm each of which has its strengths. Both are spectacular lenses with the 14-24mm being incredibly sharp. The 17-35mm better suits my focal length needs because I don’t like changing lenses often. This is the dilemma. This is what I get when I buy the flagship Nikon D-SLR.