Guest guy_mancuso Posted January 21, 2008 Share #201 Posted January 21, 2008 Advertisement (gone after registration) Not out yet folks. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted January 21, 2008 Posted January 21, 2008 Hi Guest guy_mancuso, Take a look here Any M8 users with Nikon D3 or d300 experience?. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
marknorton Posted January 21, 2008 Share #202 Posted January 21, 2008 Not out yet folks. What isn't out yet? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olsen Posted January 21, 2008 Share #203 Posted January 21, 2008 - Nikon...? What's that..? Isn't it Canon it's called...? Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/41476-any-m8-users-with-nikon-d3-or-d300-experience/?do=findComment&comment=458118'>More sharing options...
Guest guy_mancuso Posted January 21, 2008 Share #204 Posted January 21, 2008 What isn't out yet? Oops posted on the wrong thread, new firmware that is. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Mondello Posted January 26, 2008 Share #205 Posted January 26, 2008 Interesting thread! I bought my M8 because I hated the results I got from my D200 in low light/high ISO and the M8 certainly bettered the D200 for that kind of shooting. Plus it was such a pleasure to shoot rangefinder again after many decades away. But the D3 changes all that. Sure it's big and heavy, but man oh man does it handle low light/high ISO in a whole new way! Coming back to digital rangefinders with the R-D1 and then the M8 was a pleasure but the cameras themselves were simply not reliable. When I got the D3, I imagined using the M8 as a backup system (I know its a little weird) but then my M8 failed completely -- and I've already sold my D200 and its DX glass, so perhaps I go with a D300 and make the M8 go away completely. Sad, but hey this is already my second M8 and it's a machined brass brick at the moment after 5000 shots -- whereas the D3 can shoot 5000 shots on a single battery charge! Anyway, if the M8 were a more reliable tool, I'd be delighted. As things stand, if I can't depend on it to work, then I can't keep it around. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Photoskeptic Posted January 26, 2008 Share #206 Posted January 26, 2008 Joe, I got rid of my D200 when the M8 became available. I was really tired of carrying around a DSLR with a 70-200 lens brick. My M8 has performed flawlessly and I'm getting some unique images with it. After a year, though, I realized I have to have both systems if I want to shoot long (and I do ) So I'm looking at the D300 and even if it sits in the closet 90% of the time it will be okay. But my bread and butter cameras will continue to be Leica, digital and film. Good luck to you with whatever you settle on. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
billh Posted January 27, 2008 Share #207 Posted January 27, 2008 Advertisement (gone after registration) ........... But the D3 changes all that. Sure it's big and heavy, but man oh man does it handle low light/high ISO in a whole new way!............. It sure does. I brought my M8 and several lenses, plus the 1Ds2, 50 f1.2 and 85 f1.2 to photograph this recording session. I brought the D3 along too, with a 24-70 zoom. I almost never used zooms, and fully expected to use the M8 and Canon - but virtually all of the images I shot were with the D3 and the little zoom at ISOs mostly between 5000-6400. http://homepage.mac.com/billh96007/PianoCraft/PhotoAlbum267.html The more I use this camera, the better I like it. It feels lighter to me than the 1D2 and 1Ds2 with comparable lenses attached, and compared to the past when I often used cameras like the Rollei 6008, the size and weight is not all that bad. I would love to have an M that would silently (like the old film Ms) shoot comparable quality at these ISOs. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
delander † Posted January 27, 2008 Share #208 Posted January 27, 2008 Sorry to add to this thread as it is boring me rigid but I noticed that over on the DPReview D3 forum there's a guy publishing Excel spreadsheets on how to understand the menu of the D3! Jeff Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
billh Posted January 27, 2008 Share #209 Posted January 27, 2008 A more authoritative source I cannot imagine. Actually, I found the menu simple and intuitive. I used it for a couple of weeks before taking the time to look at the instruction book. I love the M8, but this new Nikon is wonderful too, opening up a new world of low light photography and unparalleled AF tracking. I’ve discovered it works wonders to simply avoid things that bore you (rigid or not) and instead spend that time doing something you like! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodyspedden Posted January 27, 2008 Share #210 Posted January 27, 2008 I don't understand all the fuss about the D3 (or D300/ menus. The D3 menus are very intuitive and if you have some confusion there is a help menu associated with most choices which clears the fuzz. The guy with the Excel spreadsheet set up all four banks so as to have a quick way to go from say daylight shooting, to low light shooting to flash shooting etc, It takes some time to set up all four banks but once done and properly named there is no quicker way to go from one shooting style to another. How you set them up obviously is dictated by your own style of shooting. Just MHO and YMMV Woody Spedden Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
delander † Posted January 27, 2008 Share #211 Posted January 27, 2008 I dont have a D3. My comment was to highlight the fact that the menus are proliferating ad infinitum. It seems to be unstoppable but I sure hope Leica does not go this way – I am not too good at spreadsheets. And to be frank this a thread 90% about Nikon. Jeff Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ptomsu Posted January 27, 2008 Share #212 Posted January 27, 2008 I dont have a D3. And to be frank this a thread 90% about Nikon. Jeff So Jeff, your answers say actually all! 1) No Nikon D3 experience - well then you can't tell how easy the menues are. Coming myself from D2X this is actually almost the same and I know it in and out, but with some well accepted improvements. 2) Yes, this thread is mostly about Nikon, but issue is we would love to have the same discussion about Leica - just there is nothing to discuss Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tom0511 Posted January 27, 2008 Author Share #213 Posted January 27, 2008 Sorry to add to this thread as it is boring me rigid but I noticed that over on the DPReview D3 forum there's a guy publishing Excel spreadsheets on how to understand the menu of the D3! Jeff The menue is not that bad to understand. I dont see how you need excel sheets - and then you can build your own personal menue. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
marknorton Posted January 27, 2008 Share #214 Posted January 27, 2008 Jeff, I'd be more sympathic of your view if the M8 was a model of menu perfection: - The WATE selection menu should be on the SET menu. - User Profiles include some options but not others. - There are 17 combinations of DNG and JPEG. Does anyone seriously use 1Mb JPEG basic with no DNG? - Some options should be greyed or hidden when DNG only selected not just disabled. - The picture numbering function is attrocious. Howe many here could say, hand on heart, they know exactly what the next image number is going to be after using it? The only way to find what the new numbering is is to take a picture. - There are 22 entries in the menu, too many. How can "Language" and "Set Date" be on the same menu as Flash or JPEG options? - Date "Sequence" and Time "View". How about "Format" for both? And so on. Sure the D3 has lots of menus, but it has lots of options reflecting its versatility and the menu system is a model of clarity, especially with the new screen and fonts. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
badpets Posted January 27, 2008 Share #215 Posted January 27, 2008 wow, i love your dogs!!!!!!!! Hi Arthur, Can you post some photos or a link that will show the problems you are having? I tried a D2h out of curiosity to see if the AF tracking was better than my Canon 1D2 and 1Ds2, and it was much worse. I don’t know for sure how the D2H AF system compares to the D2x, but when I tried the D300, the AF tracking was so much better than my Canons that I ordered a D3. I think the D3 tracking AF is as much better than the Canons as the high ISO images are from the D3. I almost never get an oof focus shot with the D3, and I am using old slow lenses, an 80-200 f2.8 and a 300 f4.0, both pre af-s lenses. The examples here are representative of the thousands I have taken with the D3 since it arrived Dec 21st, D3 AF test 2 It does not matter how fast the dog is running (and they are very fast indeed), or where his/her face is located in the viewfinder. I always try to be on the dogs level, not standing looking down on them, and I mostly use dynamic AF with 51 points, and have the camera set to fire only when the shot is in focus. I start (if possible) with the shutter release half way down to activate the AF, and place the lighted center red AF square on the dog’s face. If you are going this and getting poor results, it may be worth sending the camera back to Nikon to be checked. Is there another one near you that you can rent or borrow to try? Bill Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
delander † Posted January 27, 2008 Share #216 Posted January 27, 2008 Well I'm going in the opposite direction to you folks. The M8 menu may not be perfect but I like the flat simple structure of it. I'm an oldish guy who spent 35+ years taking photographs with a Nikon F and a Nikkormat. I sold those cameras (mistake) when I got my first M8. Managed all those years to enjoy my photography with no menus. How many pages is the D3 instruction manual? I have heard that its is something of a tome. Jeff Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
markowich Posted January 27, 2008 Share #217 Posted January 27, 2008 even if it has been said before, i have to reiterate: as far as i am concerned the only advantage of the m8 is portability plus some hard-to-quantify leica coolness factor. the d3 and the d300 live -technologically speaking- in a different galaxy. actually, the leica designers and engineers could take lots of lessons from their nikon colleagues. image quality is about equal after correct postprocessing (clearly, nikon files need more sharpening). that said, i still like to take pictures with the m8. very strange though, isn't it..... peter Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
monza Posted January 27, 2008 Share #218 Posted January 27, 2008 The M8 is unique in that it enables the use of some really amazing glass...and I'm not simply talking modern exotic Leica aspheric glass...the amazing variety of signatures from Summitars and Summicrons to Nikkors (and many others) from past eras makes it very enjoyable. The menu could be marginally improved from a human interface perspective but it is also nice that the M8 is a relatively simple machine. If only Nikon would resist the 'bells and whistle' competition with Canon. If a D3 were to be designed with a minimal feature set, so as not to require a 'tome' of a manual...well, one can wish. In the meantime, I'll enjoy the features of the D300 that I like to use, and ignore the gimmicky ones... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
giordano Posted January 28, 2008 Share #219 Posted January 28, 2008 If a D3 were to be designed with a minimal feature set, so as not to require a 'tome' of a manual...well, one can wish. In the meantime, I'll enjoy the features of the D300 that I like to use, and ignore the gimmicky ones... Pity we all have different ideas which features are the essential minimum, which are useful and which are gimmicks! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ptomsu Posted January 28, 2008 Share #220 Posted January 28, 2008 Well I'm going in the opposite direction to you folks. The M8 menu may not be perfect but I like the flat simple structure of it. I'm an oldish guy who spent 35+ years taking photographs with a Nikon F and a Nikkormat. I sold those cameras (mistake) when I got my first M8. Managed all those years to enjoy my photography with no menus. How many pages is the D3 instruction manual? I have heard that its is something of a tome. Jeff Does not matter how many pages, it is so intuitive that I almost never used the manual. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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