Rangefinder Magazine
September 2005

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Field Test: Nikon D2X by Tony Sweet

The Nikon D2X was released in February, four years after the D1X, with much anticipation and was certainly worth the wait. Upon opening the box, it was clear that the Nikon D2X is a serious professional camera. To past Nikon shooters, there will be an instant familiarity with the controls. The LCD monitor is a very roomy 2.5 inches across, the largest of all 35mm digital cameras, making it very easy to check composition and see the menus. But, even with the great size and quality of the LCD, exposure is best checked by viewing the histogram.

The top control panel is large and very easy to read. The rear control panel, just under the LCD, has controls to quickly adjust ISO, image size/quality, and white balance without going to the menu. This is a very nice feature when you need to adjust ISO on the fly.

	A really great thing about digital is its ability to show you what you did on the spot. This is extremely helpful in tough situations like this one. It is dusk, almost dark, and I could check the exposure to make sure I had it. The great and subtle color in this is exactly how it looked, and Matrix metering at -.7 compensation nailed it.

The D2X has a 1.5 conversion factor, which means that the lens focal length is multiplied by 1.5, while maintaining the same f-stop. This also means a smaller sensor (APS) than the full frame, which results in greater edge-to-edge sharpness. Longer lenses really benefit from this conversion factor: for example, a 300mm, f/4.5 becomes a 450mm, f/4.5. But, for landscape photography, much of which is shot with wide-angle lenses, this can be a problem. A 20–35mm, f/2.8 lens becomes a 30–52mm f/2.8 lens, losing the wide-angle effect. However, the purchase of one additional lens, a 12–24mm DX lens, gives 18–36mm, solving the wide-angle issue.

Being sealed against the elements is of utmost importance in my specific area of the profession, outdoor/nature photography. It’s also an issue for any photographer who works outside and can get caught in the rain. For this field test I had the D2X out in Niagara Falls getting heavy and continuous mist, in extreme heat and humidity in South Carolina, and in extreme cold in the Smoky Mountains. It performed admirably with no problems to report. I didn’t expose the camera to the elements recklessly, but used it as I would use my F5 film camera, protecting it as much as possible in adverse conditions.
The D2X can shoot in RAW and various qualities of JPEGs simultaneously, allowing for fast viewing of a large number of JPEG images without having to wait for the large NEF (Nikon RAW format—Nikon Electronic Files) files to download. I have mine set to RAW and JPEG basic so I can view the JPEGs quickly without waiting for the very large NEF files to become viewable in Adobe Camera RAW (ACR).

This image exemplifies the sharp detail achievable with the D2X and the Nikon 12–24mm f/4G ED-IF AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor lens. Notice the natural color of the sky.

The lowest ISO is 100, but the camera can be shot up to ISO400 with no noise. Long exposures (30 seconds and longer) are noise free! For higher ISO settings, noise reduction can be turned on in the custom settings.

I set the white balance on bright sunlight, which has the least effect on the image, when shooting RAW. When shooting in RAW, the white balance can be changed in the ACR conversion plug-in for Photoshop.

Cleaning the 12MP CMOS chip is very easy and non-invasive with the D2X. As we need to change lenses frequently in the field and image sensors tend to attract dirt and dust like a magnet, frequent cleaning is a necessity. Note: Don’t forget that when you place the lens cap in your pocket for rapid replacement after shooting, the lint and dust from your pocket will wind up on the sensor! You can clean the chip in a very non-invasive way using an EH-6 (AC adapter that is an additional purchase) and a Giottos squeeze bulb to blow air onto the sensor. Do not use canned air as damage to the sensor may result.

The D2X is one of two digital cameras that perform in-camera multiple exposures. On the D2X, they are a snap to create. With “Auto Gain” turned on, the camera does the math for you. After you indicate the number of exposures you would like to shoot, you’re ready to go.

I wanted to use this image to check detail and color contrast, and the D2X performed admirably. Luckily, these birds tend to strut around for long periods of time, allowing me to practice my exposure against the histogram and make adjustments.	This is a great high contrast “test” for the D2X. As the sun breaks through on Sparks Lane in the Smokies, the background leaves are in pretty bright sunlight and foreground tree trunks are in relative shade. The 3-stop contrast range was handled well, having a wide dynamic color range.	The metering in the D2X is outstanding—very little correction was needed on this, shot in the very early morning in a very dense and dark fog. The light on the face of the fish store is a mercury vapor light on the adjacent pier. In this scene a light mist built up on the camera (for a time) with no effect of the electronics. The sealed body held up, no problem.

There are many other features accessed with the electronic menu, including custom functions.

Stock photographers and those aspiring to stock photography will be pleased to know that images from the D2X are of sufficient megapixels and quality to be acceptable by the two largest stock agencies on the planet, Corbis and Getty.

I’d like to see a black-and-white setting so infrared could be performed in camera with the addition of a red or opaque filter. (There is no black and white setting.)

I’d also like to see an ISO 50 or lower to give the option of longer shutter speeds without the addition of ND filters.

	This is a more traditional double exposure with one image sharp and the other being placed out of focus. The effect looks genuine and not digitized at all. It has the appearance and warmth of Velvia 50.

I’d like to see the cable release attachment positioned differently, as its placement at the top left interferes with the Arca Swiss plate in vertical format using the “L” bracket. The back placement, as is on the F5, is non-intrusive.

As one of the last film shooters standing, I found the switch to the D2X very painless and quite easy.

As a teaching tool, it is unsurpassed: The student can see and study the image on a large and very viewable LCD.

As a professional tool, it meets and exceeds the requirements of the world’s largest stock agencies.

As a creative tool, it meets all my personal requirements—multiple exposures are easy to accomplish, viewing is large and fast on the LCD allowing for endless experimentation and instant feedback, and its durability and reliability in adverse weather conditions has proven to be excellent!

As a studio tool, it will serve the photographer well and will be a viable camera for many years to come.
None of the images accompanying this article were manipulated more than I would a film scan. That is to say each was color corrected, small amounts of contrast and saturation were added, and they were all slightly sharpened. The image coming straight out of the camera needed minimal adjustments. 

Tony Sweet is a professional nature/stock photographer, author, lecturer, and workshop instructor living in Eldersburg, MD. Visit his web site, www.tonysweet.com/.