Nikon DF Images and Experiences...

[P. Lynn Miller]

I run into my first issues with the Nikon Df...

Using the Nikkor-N 35mm f1.4, I seem to missing my focus point too often. Not sure I can totally blame the Df as the optical cell rattles in the 35/f1.4 when you shake it, so it could be that i never noticed it while using film since it is much easier with digital to zoom to 100% to check focus.

I am also struggling with exposure. Part of it is the I am rusty from not using a camera for 3 years and I am not as sharp with knowing the exposure that I need, but the sensor in the Df responds differently than Tri-X. For the past 15 years my main film was Tri-X rated at 250ASA and developed in Rodinal, so my exposure guesstimates are abit off. The Df sensor worked better with underexposure and not so well with overexposure like Tri-X. So mostly operator error.

I have just started to realise how far behind the curve I am, while using a Df, I just noticed last night that you can see the meter in the viewfinder and use it to help set your exposure. I have not used a meter in my camera since I stopped using Kodachrome 64 a long time ago.

I have so much to sort out, my monitors are way out-of-whack, I need to get the latest version of CaptureNX2, and have to spend some time to really workout my B&W conversions. All I really want is a preset that works like Tri-X rated at ASA 250 and developed in Rodinal 1:50 for B&W and a Kodachrome 64 preset for color. I am pretty easy.

 

[Davewolfs]

I like to shoot in A mode. And utilize Exp Comp when needed. The same can be done in M mode and seeing how your exposure is in viewfinder.

One nice thing if cam had EVF is you get the live histogram without having to chimp.

 

[colonel]

Dfing around ... bliss ?

Dfing around ... bliss ?

Thanks for this thread

Well I use the X-E2, RX1, A7, M240 and I think the Df is brilliant.
The dials are wonderful to use, you can be set with the camera turned off. Yes I like the X-T1 as well BTW but the dials of the Df are easier to use IMHO.
The Df is also surprisingly light. With many lenses lighter then the M240.

The real plus points are the sensor, speed of operation compared to CSCs, dials, look (love it or hate it, all non-photogs I show it think its really cool), extent of lenses in the Nikon system and their quality and cost. Ones to point out in the value sector with awesome performance are the 28mm f1.8, 35mm f1.8G FX, 24-85mm VR, 85mm f1.8G, 50mm f1.8G SE to mention just a few and thats not to count the brilliant third party lenses, like the Sigma 35mm Art, Tamron 70-300mm SP VR, etc.

This is a great camera, if you like its design (and sure, its not for everybody), with an extensive and lightweight lens system that is sheer fun to use and lovely to pick up and carry around. What more can you want from a camera ....

 

[dasuess]

I am probably going to get a Df early this summer... Sort of a retirement present to myself and maybe the last camera I buy for a long time. I still have the black Nikon F I bought new back in 1972.

Which brings me to my question: Does anyone here have any experience with having non-AI lenses converted by John White (www.aiconversions.com)?

I have non-AI versions of the 35/f2, 55f3.5 Micro and 85f/1.8.

 

[Vince Lupo]

I'd like to hear from those of you who have owned the camera for a while. Are you happy with it? In particular, how is it to focus with manual lenses? I understand that there are now aftermarket focusing screens available -- has anyone installed one? If so, how difficult was it to do? Does it affect the other camera functions?

I put aside my desire for this camera once it came out (damn you 0.95 Noctilux!), but my interest in it has come around again. Any thoughts/advice from current Df owners would be greatly appreciated.

BTW I also own a D4 and D800 -- would love to know how the ergonomics differ between them and the Df.

 

[Black]

Just placed my order and expect the Df to land towards the end of this week.

I've imported from Digital Rev as there is circa a £1000 saving and I'm able to avoid having to get the kit lens. Opted instead to pick up the Nikkor 50mm 1.4 AF-D as opposed to the G due to the styling (they look to match the Df's styling very nicely), the higher likelihood of character in the lens, aperture ring & cost saving.

Planning to pick up the 20mm 2.8 AF-D and 85mm 1.4 AF-D soon.

Will update this thread when I've took some decent images with it.

 

[ricnak]

I am joining the Df club too. Traded in some (not all) Leica M gear that I rarely use.

I am not expecting the DF to be the "best ever" camera, but I am expecting it to be a nice way to ease into DSLR territory.

Stay tuned.... I am sure to have a million stupid question for you to laugh at...

Should arrive next week.

 

[ricnak]

The DF has arrived. Charged the battery and went for a quick walk around the yard. So far, I like it. The body is quite light and fits very comfortably in my problem hands. I ordered a 24-70mm zoom with the camera and have a 50mm in the post. The zoom is HUGE. It seems to perform quite well. Autofocus has come along way since I last tried it on an SLR back in the 80's. Manual focussing with the DF screen is OK too. Anyway, some pics...

 

[burancap]

I just took delivery of my new black Df this past weekend. I have been spending as much time with it as possible. Is this the "official" thread for images, or is there another one?

 

[robert blu]

Interesting to read this thread again one and half year later. Beside my RF cameras (M7 and Bessa R) I'm user of an FM2 and less frequently an F100.

I don't own a DSLR, my wife use a D5100. I'm interested in the DF as "digital substituted" of the FM2 which I mainly use with a 50mm 1,4 AIS and the 20mm 2,8 AFD originally bought to be used on the F100. I love that idea, one camera with a lens and a second lens in the bag, nothing more.

If necessary I could use the 80-200 2,8 or the 35-70 2,8 (both bough in conjunction with the F100 years ago but which now I rarely use, or maybe I could sell them to partially finance the DF).
So the price is high (still affordable) but at least I have most of the lensed I need, no extra to buy. No doubt about files quality.

My main doubt is the size (I have small hands!), the weight when I shortly had one in a shop with my 50 was not so different than my M7 with a 50, I didn't weight them but this was my impression.

Actually where I live the price is the same as when it was introduced in the market and I do not see any in the pre owned market, probably the photographers who bought the DF enjoy it and do not sell.
I'll visit again a shop and try again the handling...maybe this time...
robert

PS: not many shops have it, ideally I would like to rent one for a couple of days to get the real experience, in a few minutes in the shops you only have a first impression which sometimes is not the correct one...

 

[Addy101]

I just took delivery of my new black Df this past weekend. I have been spending as much time with it as possible. Is this the "official" thread for images, or is there another one?

To much chatter here - I would post in the Your SLR Images thread.

@robert blu: if you use manual focus and lenses with aperture rings, take a look at the Sony A7/A7ii as a digital back to your lenses. Nothing really wrong with the Df but the A7 might be better/cheaper choice.

 

[ABrosig]

One of the things that really interests me in the Df is, according to one review, it uses basically the same sensor as the D4. Until recently, I shot for a newspaper and used a D4. The quality of the images off that sensor was astounding, both for clarity and color rendition. I realize there's more to the output than just the sensor. It also matters how the firmware handles the image information before it's saved to the card. Been looking at both the D750 and the D810, both of which have significantly larger sensor ratings. But I"m getting more attracted to the Df with everything I read about it. May just have to pull the trigger and order me one. Now: Silver or black? Decisions, decisions!

 

[jsrockit]

Been using this camera for a month and a half and I love it! Haven't been this happy with how a camera feels in my hand since the M9 and the Fuji X-Pro1. I just works right and was just the thing that was needed for someone who doesn't like the huge grip of modern cameras. I use it with the 50mm 1.4g, the 58mm 1.4g, and the 85mm 1.8g. Wonderful camera. I'm partial to the black one.

 

[presspass]

Been following this thread for a while. Last year, I bought a D200 to use with AIS lenses. It does work, but not as easily as I thought it would. Watching for the green dot is distracting. How well does the Df function without watching the focus confirmation dot? Also, does it work with the older zooms - 25-50, 50-135, and 80-200 f 4.5? Thanks.

 

[jsrockit]

I can handle a minimal grip...like the DF. However, the big grips bother me. Though my Sony A7II has quite a large one. I still prefer a RF style body. Unfortunately, the RF shaped options aren't best for what I want to do these days.

And Cal, I've made plenty of excuses to get rid of something (some legit, some BS). We are opposites in this regard. Where we are the same is that both of us are on a constant search to find the best tool for us.

 

[Calzone]

John,

I was considering getting a black DF like yours. I like the idea of a D4 sensor in a downsized body. My D3X is a "Porker." LOL.

I find the polorization that the DF has created intriguing, because it presents a lot of style because it is specifically not a camera for everyone. In this manner I reguard it as a very cool camera that I think will have a cult like status like driving a Saab 900.

At B&H one of my friends showed me a DF with a MF 50 mounted on it. For me focusing on the ground glass is not an issue, and in practice I replaced the split prism in my R8 for a plain ground glass screen. I found from shooting rangefinders that I use the center of the VF'er to focus, but the split prism became a distraction, and I used adjoining ground glass to establish focus to evade the clutter of a split prism.

Understand that I tend to shoot close to my subjects, and if I focused at infinity or distances further than 12-15 feet, then the split prism might be an asset.

Anyways I'm glad that the DF is a cool camera for you. BTW I think it suits your style. I imagine that you would love it with a 45/2.8P AIS. I think the D4 sensor with this contrasty lens that has vivid color will be a killer.

Cal

 

[burancap]

Nice to hear everyone getting along with the Df. It is still a bit too new to me to comment much, but I can say that it is not quite the camera I was expecting -in a good way. I find that in my limited time so far, that I have headed in a different "use" direction than when I was contemplating purchasing one. In simplest terms, I am using it as near to "full manual" as possible and it has very quickly become rather endearing.

 

[jsrockit]

Anyways I'm glad that the DF is a cool camera for you. BTW I think it suits your style. I imagine that you would love it with a 45/2.8P AIS. I think the D4 sensor with this contrasty lens that has vivid color will be a killer.

Cal

Thanks. I think it will be too. It may be my next lens. I guess I'll have to learn how to like the focus direction. I can focus manually on the default screen as well.

 

[Calzone]

Thanks. I think it will be too. It may be my next lens. I guess I'll have to learn how to like the focus direction. I can focus manually on the default screen as well.

John,

Funny thing is that Tung mistook the 45/2.8P AIS as a Nikon bodycap because of its size.

The 45/2.8P also has a very short focus throw which makes it great for street. The extra contrast you can see in the VF'er is a great focus aid. It is also kinda an undergound cult lens like the DF with the only exception that the 45/2.8 is kinda still inexpensive.

With a 45/2.8 the DF becomes a very compact camera. One day I might have to get a DF just to use with the 45/2.8P.

Cal

 

[jsrockit]

With a 45/2.8 the DF becomes a very compact camera. One day I might have to get a DF just to use with the 45/2.8P.

Ok, you sold me... bought one for $236 shipped. Silver though and no hood, but I'm not that picky to spend twice as much for black and a hood I won't use. We differ in that regard too. 🙂