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11-04-2013, 07:31 PM   #31
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QuoteOriginally posted by Class A Quote
+1

I wonder whether you'd be able to buy mechanical "plunger-style" extension cables for that shutter release if you need a bit more distance.
You can still get 25 foot long air bulb cable releases. But I wonder if they still give you a wireless or bluetooth option.

11-04-2013, 07:43 PM   #32
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QuoteOriginally posted by Adam Quote
I agree, the top of the camera seems a bit busy. It's more bulky than I expected it to be, which is a little discouraging to me personally. Still, I think this camera will sell very well as it'll win the hearts of die-hard Nikon users. Pentax should have done this with a digital version of the K1000, but I guess they were too busy merging with Ricoh to do that
I bet it sell pretty good for a brief period of time, but its obviously not designed to be a big seller. Nikon is expecting low-volume so they have priced it high.

I just want Pentax to put a FF sensor in the K-3 body.
11-04-2013, 07:43 PM   #33
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So-called "retro" styling is only widely useful when it recaptures something that's been lost in the rush to embrace the "new" because it's just different. If you've never properly experienced the "old" then you should be as wary of embracing its return as you should of jeering at it, just because it is "old". Looked at objectively, the Df returns the notion of manual control to the top of the body, although that never left, for Leica. That, in itself, is no bad thing, although the implementation in the Df looks a bit over-fussy, to me.

The technical specification, if Nikon Rumors is to be believed, is very conservative, perhaps in keeping with the overall theme. There's nothing inherently wrong with borrowing the low MP sensor from the D4, or the AF from the D610, but it isn't at all ground-breaking, not that it has to be, of course.

The question is who it is aimed at. The immediate assumption here seems to be that it's aimed at the Baby Boom generation (after all, they're to blame for everything bad, aren't they?) but I'm not so sure. Having been around for a while, I suspect I know a nostalgia movement when I see one, and in my experience they're usually arranged to give a new generation a sense of received heritage, rather than help the older members of society relive their pasts. Take a close look at the man in the video "teasers" – that designer stubble isn't aimed at the over-55s. IMO it's squarely aimed at the aspirant 40-year-olds who are contemplating their first Audi or Jaguar, and who want to be seen to be expressing solid, conservative values anchored in appreciation of the finest things of the past. To some of us, that writes the words "pretentious, self-absorbed prat" all over it, and makes us run a mile from it. Nice body, shame about the face.

Last edited by RobA_Oz; 11-04-2013 at 07:57 PM.
11-04-2013, 09:00 PM   #34
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There is nothing wrong with this camera. Perhaps top notch craftsmanship, finish and performance.
In the sea of 12 years of all the same look and approach across hundreds of DSLRs that even Pentax followed, finally a refreshment.

If lacking video, this doesn't mean this is made for film guys; we forget that video is a relatively recent addition and I see this camera to take best from simplicity of analog cameras and convenience of early digital SLRs.
It will have its audience. Pity Ricoh Imaging didn't investigate something similar but rather insisted that constant company name changes are more important news to work on. It is to their own loss.

I presume lots of guys here will try to sketch this as irrelevant and boring, but many of them would sell their own mothers if this was a Pentax branded digital SLR camera, uncomplicated and made to look like a true Pentax classic.


Last edited by Uluru; 11-04-2013 at 09:12 PM.
11-04-2013, 09:02 PM   #35
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Here's my hands-on with the Nikon Df: Nikon Df First Impressions Review - Reviewed.com Cameras

In short, I like it a lot, but there are some odd missteps (primarily the fixed focusing screen).
11-04-2013, 09:09 PM   #36
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QuoteOriginally posted by Yassarian Quote
$2750 for camera and a standard prime... NO video capability what-so-ever. This would be PERFECT for me when I go to my local coffee house to type on my mechanical typewriter... I don't understand why anyone would buy this instead of the D800 (heck, almost enough for the E)... Is the "retro" style really worth THAT much?
I think it is body only.
11-04-2013, 09:11 PM   #37
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It is, yes. $2,999.95 with the Special Edition 50/1.8.

11-04-2013, 09:22 PM   #38
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QuoteOriginally posted by deadwolfbones Quote
Here's my hands-on with the Nikon Df: Nikon Df First Impressions Review - Reviewed.com Cameras

In short, I like it a lot, but there are some odd missteps (primarily the fixed focusing screen).
Nice review. The most detailed info I've read about the camera so far.
11-04-2013, 09:49 PM   #39
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QuoteOriginally posted by deadwolfbones Quote
Here's my hands-on with the Nikon Df: Nikon Df First Impressions Review - Reviewed.com Cameras

In short, I like it a lot, but there are some odd missteps (primarily the fixed focusing screen).
Thanks Ben, nice review! This is close to what I'd like to see Pentax produce - except with more viewfinder/focus screen options, SR, keeping a manual video mode, and a lower price point, all of which I think is achievable by Pentax.

I hope "de"-crippling the F mount with this camera will start a trend that Pentax will pick up as well!
11-04-2013, 11:01 PM   #40
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The favourite camera that I ever owned was a Nikon FM, so I would love to own a retro camera that emulated it. However the Df looks more like a Nikon F3. The real killer is the price, although pricing hasn't been released For Australia, it would probably cost about the same as 2 K3's plus a DA prime. The lack of a split focusing screen is a real problem for a camera that has the ability to take older manual lens.
11-04-2013, 11:40 PM   #41
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@deadwolfbones, Does the viewfinder have a green focus feedback light for manual focus?
11-05-2013, 12:06 AM   #42
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QuoteOriginally posted by Winder Quote
I bet it sell pretty good for a brief period of time, but its obviously not designed to be a big seller. Nikon is expecting low-volume so they have priced it high.

I just want Pentax to put a FF sensor in the K-3 body.
Hear, hear! And I think it's possible, in spite of the reservations some might have.

When you think about it, almost all DSLRs are "retro" styled, in that they carry the same essential form that film SLRs had, particularly toward the end of the era. All Nikon has done with the Df is to place direct exposure control on the top plate, and add a few styling references to the 1970s. The lack of an interchangeable focussing screen says fairly loudly that this camera is a bit of a toy, meant to be seen as much as used, in spite of its fairly capable underpinnings. Very like a Porsche Cayenne, in that respect.
11-05-2013, 01:17 AM   #43
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Man... I really wish Pentax had produced this instead.. LoL!
C'mon... Just copy them alright? My K mount is calling for a proper FF home... Zzz....
11-05-2013, 01:26 AM   #44
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It's chunkier than I had hoped for, but a handsome camera. If I had a few grand lying around to spend on FF gear, I'd be very tempted.

It's along the lines of what I'd expected from Pentax if they did eventually come out with a FF camera. If they do, I'd hope that it would be something like this but smaller.
11-05-2013, 01:26 AM   #45
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QuoteOriginally posted by RobA_Oz Quote
Hear, hear! And I think it's possible, in spite of the reservations some might have.

When you think about it, almost all DSLRs are "retro" styled, in that they carry the same essential form that film SLRs had, particularly toward the end of the era. All Nikon has done with the Df is to place direct exposure control on the top plate, and add a few styling references to the 1970s. The lack of an interchangeable focussing screen says fairly loudly that this camera is a bit of a toy, meant to be seen as much as used, in spite of its fairly capable underpinnings. Very like a Porsche Cayenne, in that respect.
Although Porsche purists may look down upon the Cayenne, it's pretty much lead all Porsche model sales since it's first production year - so for Porsche, that was a great move. Pretty sure the Nikon Df isn't gonna lead Nikon's sales though.

But couldn't you also say the Df is similar to a modern day 911? Both use styling cues that remind us of the heritage of its manufacturer, yet have modern underpinnings. I would also say that most people who buy 911s want to be seen and do not use them nearly to their full capabilities.
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