Nikon D2X

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Nikon D2X
Type Digital single-lens reflex camera
Sensor 23.7 mm × 15.7 mm CMOS, DX format
Maximum resolution 4,288 × 2,848 (12.2 megapixels)
Lens type Interchangeable, Nikon F-mount
Shutter Electromagnetically controlled vertical-travel focal-plane shutter
Shutter speed range 30 to 1/8000 second and bulb
Exposure Metering TTL full-aperture exposure metering system
Exposure Modes Program Auto [P], Shutter-Priority Auto [S], Aperture-Priority Auto [A], Manual [M]
Metering modes 3D Color Matrix Metering II, Center-Weighted, Spot
Focus areas 11 area TTL (High Speed Cropped: 9 focus areas)
Focus modes Single Area AF, Dynamic AF with Focus Tracking and Lock-on, Closest Subject Priority, Group Dynamic AF
Continuous Shooting 5frame/s up to 17/22 (RAW/JPEG Fine), 8frame/s up to 29/35 (RAW/JPEG Fine) in HS crop
Viewfinder Optical-type fixed eye-level pentaprism
ASA/ISO range ISO equivalency 100 to 3200 in 1/3, 1/2 or 1.0 EV steps (100-800 only in auto-ISO mode)
Flash n/a
Flash bracketing n/a
Focus bracketing Eleven sets of focus brackets (area)
Custom WB Auto, Presets (5), Manual, and Color tempature in Kelvin
WB bracketing 2 to 9 frames, 10,20,30 MIRED steps
Rear LCD monitor 2.5-inch (63.5 mm), 230,000-d
Storage CompactFlash (Type I or Type II)
Battery Lithium Ion EN-EL4a
Weight 1070 g (2.4lb) without batteries, 1252 g (2.8lb) with batteries
Optional Battery Packs AC adapter EH-6

The Nikon D2X is a 12.4-megapixel professional digital single-lens reflex camera that Nikon Corporation announced on September 16, 2004. The D2X was the top model in Nikon's line until June 2006 when it was supplanted by the D2Xs and later on by two new flagship cameras: the Nikon D300 and Nikon D3, the former being the ultimate DX model and the latter using a new FX format sensor.

Contents

[edit] Technology

Its image sensor uses CMOS technology supplied by Sony instead of either a charge-coupled device or the Nikon proprietary LBCAST sensor which had both dominated Nikon's digital SLR lineup until the D2X. The camera supports sYCC color space.

The D2X surpasses the D2H and its successor the D2Hs by providing 5 frame/s at 12 megapixels, and 8 frame/s at 6.8 megapixels with its high speed crop mode.

The D2X retains a DX format sensor which is 66% of the size of a 35 mm frame. In high speed crop mode the camera sacrifices pixels in favour of speed and crops the image to 50% of a 35 mm frame to enable continuous shooting at 8 frames per second (vs. 5 frame/s at full resolution).

The D2X incorporates some other innovations such as refinements of the metering and autofocus systems. At the same time the camera is able to make use of virtually all of Nikon's F-Mount lenses including most legacy lenses.

The D2X is very well suited to wedding and portrait work. It is one of very few cameras with a built-in "3rd-eye" which records the color of ambient light, giving the D2X an additional tool to accurately compute the white-balance for each image, instead of relying on calculations based only on subjects within the picture frame.

The D2X has the highest concentration of pixels (pixel pitch) of any Nikon DSLR made to date. While its resolving capabilities are impressive, the very small resulting pixel size puts the camera at a disadvantage when working in low light by introducing slight noise in underexposed areas. Fortunately, the D2X has excellent noise reduction software built into the camera, so its images reflect the very high quality one would expect from an expensive digital SLR.[citation needed]

The CMOS sensor built into the D2X has the ability to resolve about nine times more than the human eye. At 90 line pairs/millimeter (90 lp/mm) the sensor can resolve extremely fine detail. This makes the camera perform exceptionally well when used as a landscape or scenic imager, since it can better resolve smaller detail in distant objects.

The D2X is a professional-level camera, made to last for many years. It has a rated shutter life of 200,000+ images, which is generally double or triple less costly cameras.

12-Megapixel cameras, like the Nikon D2x, are easily capable of making a 16x20 inch (40.6 x 50.8 cm) print with only minor enlargement, or a double-page magazine spread at 300 dpi. Images of this size used to be reserved for the best of 35 mm transparencies or even medium format film cameras.

[edit] Audience

The D2X is aimed at professional users. It is a replacement for a previous professional model, the D1X and complements Nikon's D2Hs camera with which it shares a body. It was, to many, a very important model for Nikon given the 3½ years which had elapsed between the D1X and D2X, during which time competitive pressure mounted on the D1X.

[edit] Competition

The principal competitive camera for the D2X are the full-frame Canon EOS-1Ds Mark II & Canon EOS-1D Mark II N. There is also some competitive overlap between the full-frame Canon EOS 5D and the D2X, although they are not direct competitors.

An unresolved debate rages about the respective technical compromises of the DX format sensor and so called "full frame" sensors (100% of a 35 mm film frame) offered in competition with the D2X's DX format. Each format offers advantages and disadvantages which become more or less important in different usage settings (e.g studio vs sport, indoor vs outdoor, wide angle vs telephoto). Nikon, convinced that the design characteristics of the DX format are best choice for its customers and target markets, has committed itself publicly to the DX format sensor and offers several lenses specifically optimised for DX sensors.

Nikon's D2X was awarded best product accolades for 2005–6 by the European Imaging and Sound Association. Named European Professional Camera of the Year, the D2X's 'extraordinary performance' was praised by the judges.[1]


[edit] Nikon D2Xs

Nikon D2Xs is a digital single-lens reflex camera announced June 1, 2006, replacing the professional Nikon D2X.

Its improvements over the original D2X include[2]

  • Automatic viewfinder masking in High-Speed Crop mode
  • Increased buffer capacity to 60 frames in continuous shooting
  • additional ISO steps between 800 and 1600
  • improved metering for High Speed Crop
  • more Autofocus options
  • an AF system that can now detect focus at lower contrast and in lower light
  • higher capacity battery rated to 3,800 exposures per charge
  • improved Auto-ISO features
  • image verification
  • ability to save and load camera settings from a memory card
  • 2.5 inch (64 mm) 230,000 pixel LCD with 170 degree viewing angle (same as D200)
  • menu look ported from the D200
  • Black and White mode
  • additional color mode selections
  • locking USB connector
  • support for multiple custom curves
  • a lockable recent settings menu
  • improved GPS data recording
  • AF and VR mode recording in shooting data
  • in-camera cropping

The original D2X gets the majority of these upgrades with a simple firmware update, with the exceptions of:

  • Automatic viewfinder masking in High-Speed Crop mode
  • 2.5 inch (64 mm) 230,000 pixel LCD with 170 degree viewing angle (the viewing angle is the area of improvement--size remains the same)

The larger capacity EN-EL4e is compatible with the original D2X and will give it the same improved battery life.

[edit] References

  1. ^ EISA Awards 2005/2006
  2. ^ Comparison of D2X and D2Xs, nikon imaging


Nikon Digital SLR Timeline
1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2
High-end - FX/Full Frame sensor D3
High-end - DX sensor, high resolution D1 D1X D2X D2Xs
High-end - DX sensor, high speed D1H D2H D2Hs
High-end - DX sensor D100 D200 D300
Midrange - DX sensor D70 D70s D80
Entry-level - DX sensor D50 D40x D60
D40
This box: view • talk • edit