NIKON introduces the new D2X

As reported in the picturelinenews August 2004 edition, pictureline had become a new Nikon Pro Dealership.  We are now pleased to announce the introduction of the latest top of the line digital SLR camera from Nikon, the D2X.  The forecasted delivery dates for this camera is scheduled for early January of 2005, but here is today’s look at the D2X.

The new D2X Professional digital SLR has a 12.4 million pixel DX format CMOS sensor, which can capture images at 5 fps.  It also has an interesting 6.8 million pixel option that reduces the sensing area (to a Field Of View crop of 2x) but increases the frame rate to 8 fps.  Hence the D2X can be seen as two cameras in one, a 12.4 million pixel high resolution shooter and a 6.8 million pixel high frame rate shooter.  The D2X's core camera capabilities are nearly identical to the D2H, and the two models are near-clones in appearance too.

The High-Speed Crop mode utilizes the center portion of the CMOS sensor only, allowing for faster data readout in support of the 8 fps burst rate.  The new Type-V focusing screen installed in the D2X has an inner rectangle etched on it that delineates the somewhat smaller capture area of the High-Speed Crop mode.

The Nikon D2X viewfinder showing the new rectangular etch for the High-Speed Crop mode.
Crop mode indicator lights up, to the left of the shutter speed, when the mode is engaged.
Visual clarity of the Nikon viewfinder is superb.

The big news is the CMOS sensor at the heart of the D2X.  At 12.4 million pixels, D2X photos have roughly double the number of pixels of any current Nikon digital SLR. Nikon has stuffed all these image pixels into a sensor of about the same physical dimensions as the rest of their digital SLR lineup, making it DX-size (to use Nikon's nomenclature).  This translates into the same 1.5x field of view magnification relative to 35mm film.

Obviously the use of CMOS is new to Nikon but also new on this camera is a four channel read-out from the sensor and the ability to perform White Balance correction to the analogue data before it is digitized.  The launch of the D2X also marks the first major revision in the 3D Color Matrix Metering functionality of the 1005 pixel RGB metering sensor installed in the Nikon F5.  Dubbed 3D Color Matrix Metering II, the revamped ambient metering system is designed to better handle sand and snow-type scenes in particular, and the new algorithm "diminishes incidents of washed-out highlights or lost details in shadow portions" overall, says a Nikon press release.

Image review has seen some attention too.  Though the rear LCD monitor is a generous 2.5 inches, the same as the D2H, the number of pixels has climbed from 211,000 to 235,000.  The image review modes build on those found in the D2H, through the addition of 4 separate RGB, red, green and blue saturated highlights screens (the R screen, for example, only shows areas of the photo that are fully-saturated in the red channel), as well as a screen that contains four selectable histograms, one each for RGB, red, green and blue.  Selecting one of the histograms shows the saturated highlights for that channel in a 1/4 screen size photo.

Also new is the WT-2 wireless transmitter with 802.11 b/g support and wireless Capture Control (Nikon Capture 4.2).

Rear view of the Nikon D2X.

pictureline.com Digital Cameras Section