Harbour after dark - Nikon Df

[Ndukes]

Just back recently from Saint Martin-de-Re, France, where I had the chance at last to put my new Df through its paces. These are two of a number of stitched panoramics made after dark - both hand held. (I don't like tripods.)

There is not a lot of discussion on-line about this camera (apart from the usual brand bashing when a new model is produced), possibly as it is seen as quirky and outside the mainstream of what consumers in general think a camera should look like and how it should operate. So far I'm very impressed with the sensor and with the throw-back to a previous age in terms of its dials and switches. (I'm showing my age here!)

As regards the photo stitching, this was done using Photoshop CS6 Photomerge and, interestingly, despite the gentle movement of water in the harbour, no merge conflicts are apparent.





Neville Dukes

More at http://www.ndukes.net

[Polar01]

Great pictures Neville, personally I do not like the Df to my way of thinking Nikon was jumping on the reto wagon (I shoot Nikon), but what is does have I understand is it is excellent for low light shooting and has a large DR. These images show proof of that here.

Cheers: Allan

[deetheturk]

Nice Neville, #2 is my pick

David

[Shadowman]

Perhaps not a lot of discussion but a lot of sample images are posted and if you get positive feedback on the images the brand/model shouldn't matter. Nice lowlight images.

[bnnrcn]

Very nice indeed

[IzzieK]

Neville...if you do not like the channel,there is always the up and/or down button on your remote of the Power Off button should the show you are watching is not to your liking. Here at CiC, it is the image that matters and the feedback you will receive will be proof enough, not the type or brand of camera. Both of your shots here are sharp and nicely composed.

I too do not like using a tripod much when doing pano too, always handheld...(I shoot Nikon too.)

[Kodiak]

… both hand held. (I don't like tripods.)

Your first shot is very good in my book but the second cries for WB tweak!

I like so much the retro design of the Dƒ but this is a body I shall never buy.
The three Nikon bodies I have now grant me an almost homogeneous layout
that makes possible to switch to any of them and fell at home… mind you, the
D800E needed some getting used to but is still much closer to the other single
digits than the Dƒ will ever be.

[lukaswerth]

Nice pictures, even though some highlights do seem blown-out to me. I mention this because high-ISO performance is considered to be a main advantage of the DF. By the same token, technically spoken on the whole I certainly see nothing which could not have been done with a d800/e.
I am sorry, but since you make a point about the camera with which the pictures were taken, my take on the DF is that this is a camera designed primarily to give some class to the owner - not for photographic reasons, that is.
Be that as it may, once again, nice pictures!

Lukas

[Ndukes]

Many thanks to all for kind and constructive comments. Just to prove that I don't just come out at night, some more from the same stay in Saint Martin-de-Re, France.











Neville Dukes.

More at http://www.ndukes.net

[Ndukes]

Your first shot is very good in my book but the second cries for WB tweak!

I like so much the retro design of the Dƒ but this is a body I shall never buy.
The three Nikon bodies I have now grant me an almost homogeneous layout
that makes possible to switch to any of them and fell at home… mind you, the
D800E needed some getting used to but is still much closer to the other single
digits than the Dƒ will ever be.

Many thanks Kodiak for your input. The white balance in number 2 is interesting as the street lighting at this harbour is predominantly amber (Sodium gas I think) while the 'angular' profiled restaurant buildings are lit by a very white light. These kind of lighting challenges require much input to reproduce what the eye saw processed by the mind which compensates for colour casts. I'm happy I got very close to what I saw.

Yes, the Nikon bodies are all different but there is great uniformity which enables one to switch between them. My journey through Nikon since 2008 (after a switch from Canon due to reliability and service issues) has been interesting. Initially D300 - brilliant but surpassed although I could not bring myself to part with it until recently, D3s - brilliant sensor and in every other respect but a back breaker as a casual walk around camera), D800 - Wow, fantastic versatile camera but just a bit too heavy for me, D5200 which I bought for when I didn't want to carry the D800 with its heavier lenses and subsequently replaced with a D7100, also great and really a DX fore-runner of the new D750.
The D3s sensor and the size and weight of the D7100 really appealed to me and realistically I don't need 36 m'pixels. So it was time to simplify my gear down from 3 bodies to 1 and the Df, which also reminded me of my beloved Olympus OM1, stolen from my car in Dublin City in the mid-1980's, seemed just right. I am having much fun with the Df using mainly Nikon's 24-120 F4 zoom. It reminds me of those days many years ago when I would gaze into the camera store window and only dream. The dream is now a reality.
I have to say that I have never had any issues with any Nikon camera or lens.
What a journey - and it continues to be fun.

Thanks again for your comments.

Neville.

[Kodiak]

Just to prove that I don't just come out at night…

Very nice shots Neville…
It's now too late for theses excuses attempts!
You've already been stamped "the vampire with the Dƒ"! ;-)

[Ndukes]

Nice pictures, even though some highlights do seem blown-out to me. I mention this because high-ISO performance is considered to be a main advantage of the DF. By the same token, technically spoken on the whole I certainly see nothing which could not have been done with a d800/e.

Agreed.

I am sorry, but since you make a point about the camera with which the pictures were taken, my take on the DF is that this is a camera designed primarily to give some class to the owner - not for photographic reasons, that is.

Yes to that also but the specifications and general style happen to tick the boxes for me. I suppose it's early days yet in terms of final judgement on the Df after several other Nikon bodies but, so far, I'm happy and I think I'm getting the images I want without straining my shoulder.

Be that as it may, once again, nice pictures!

Lukas

Many thanks for that Lucas.

Neville.

[Ndukes]

Very nice shots Neville…
It's now too late for theses excuses attempts!
You've already been stamped "the vampire with the Dƒ"! ;-)

AGHHHHHHHH...NO! I've been rumbled.

[DanK]

Hi Neville,

some very interesting images. However, I think the thread is misplaced. This really isn't about postprocessing and printing.

Assuming your main point is the camera: speaking for myself, in most cases, I don't find on images posted online to be very useful for evaluating a camera. These are very low resolution images that don't tax the quality of the equipment very much. I suspect you could have achieved similar results with most current DSLRs. I shoot with two bodies, an old 50D and a 5D3, and in many cases, you would be hard pressed (I would be too) to tell online which images are from which. Of course, there are some cases where this isn't true, but often it is.