What do I need to know now that I bought a Nikon Df

[Tim Murphy]

Dear Board,

Please don't say, throw it in the trash.

I bought it because every Nikon lens I own will work with it.

But something tells me I went for the glow and missed the flash?

Come clean and let me know before I get it. 😉

Regards,

Tim Murphy

Harrisburg PA 😉

 

[wlewisiii]

Good camera. I seriously considered one when I bought my D810 last summer but couldn't afford it.

Charge your battery and enjoy the heck out of it.

What glass do you have? I'd grab my Nikkor 50/1.4 AI'd and go walkabout to get to know it.

My serious everyday FX walkabout lens on my D810 though is my AF Zoom-Nikkor 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5D IF. Stupid cheap on Eprey (got mine for $50 😉 ) but really good optical quality, it's the first zoom I've ever really liked.

 

[Tim Murphy]

Good camera. I seriously considered one when I bought my D810 last summer but couldn't afford it.

Charge your battery and enjoy the heck out of it.

What glass do you have? I'd grab my Nikkor 50/1.4 AI'd and go walkabout to get to know it.

My serious everyday FX walkabout lens on my D810 though is my AF Zoom-Nikkor 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5D IF. Stupid cheap on Eprey (got mine for $50 😉 ) but really good optical quality, it's the first zoom I've ever really liked.

Dear wlewisiii,

I have a Nikon 24mm f2.8 AIs, a 28mm f3.5 S, a 35mm f 2.8 S, a ton of 50's, plus a 135mm f2.8 S, a 200mm f4 S, and a 300mm f 4.5 S. Plus a lot of AF Nikkors that will work with it.

I have the lenses covered for my needs. Are they the best, no, but they cover my needs.

Regards,

Tim Murphy

Harrisburg PA 🙂

 

[wlewisiii]

Sounds fine to me. Just have fun, it's a really neat camera and I think you'll enjoy it.

 

[Evergreen States]

DSLRs are pretty straightforward. I don't know what complications you might face with a DF that you wouldn't with any other DSLR. Get a spare battery and an SD card, bolt on a lens go have fun. Be sure to share the pics with us!

 

[Keith]

I've thought of one myself occasionally because apparently they have the same sensor as the D4 and I think the sensor in my D4 is my favourite ever of any digital camera I have owned. The thought of that sensor in a more svelte body is very appealing ... I'm sure you'll love it! 🙂

 

[Sonnar Brian]

You have to remember that is actually works with Autofocus lenses, AF, AF-D, and AF-S- but not those made for the F3AF.
It is just not for manual lenses.
You can use Nikon Rangefinder lenses made for the Reflex Housing with an N->F tube. I use the 25cm F4.
You can use a Deckel Adapter to use lenses from the Kodak Retina S series cameras on it.

I bought my Df the first day it was available in the local camera shop, 10 years ago this month. Great camera, has withstood the test of time.

 

[Sonnar Brian]

Nikon Df, Nikkor 85mm F2, wide-open.

Out of Place by fiftyonepointsix, on Flickr

Fantastic Camera.

 

[wlewisiii]

You have to remember that is actually works with Autofocus lenses, AF, AF-D, and AF-S- but not those made for the F3AF.
It is just not for manual lenses.
You can use Nikon Rangefinder lenses made for the Reflex Housing with an N->F tube. I use the 25cm F4.
You can use a Deckel Adapter to use lenses form the Kodak Retina S series cameras on it.

I bought my Df the first day it was available in the local camera shop, 10 years ago this month. Great camera, has withstood the test of time.

Yup, that's why I mentioned that AF 28-105 zoom. I love it on my D810 & I imagine it would be a gem on a Df as well.

 

[Sonnar Brian]

Buy a couple of older 4x Sandisk or PNY SD cards for it, use them when shooting at High ISO. I found this to be true with the Leica M9 and M Monochrom. I tested on the Df, and there was less Band noise at very high ISO. I did this first time using the camera at the Skating Rink, shooting under the Disco lights.

 

[Timmyjoe]

The Df is a great camera. As Keith mentioned, it has the D4 sensor, which is a gem. Have had one since 2016 and enjoy using it with all my old Ai'D Nikkor glass.

Only two bugaboos that I know of. First, check your diopter setting every time you pull it from a camera bag. The adjuster is not recessed and can easily get knocked out of the setting you want it at. And second, you need to program into the camera the focal length and f-stop of the manual focus lenses you want to use with it, and remember to set the camera to the lens you are using.

Otherwise, just a fun camera to shoot with, and so cool to be able to use sixty year old lenses that were designed for the original Nikon F on a "modern day" digital SLR camera.

Best,
-Tim

 

[Sonnar Brian]

When I bought the Z5 this last December- from the same saleswoman that I bought the Df from 10 years ago, she told me Df owners tend to hold onto them much more than others.

 

[AlwaysOnAuto]

I'd put the 24mm on it and just go shoot some car pics with it.

 

[oldwino]

A fine camera - mine has never let me down, and always pleases me with its ease of use and optical viewfinder. I use mine with a bunch of AF-D lenses, which are of great quality, and cheap, because they won't work on the newer Z cameras.
I have a newly acquired Zf, and it is a lovely camera, too...but I still have the Df and don't have plans to sell it as it works so much better with manual focus nikkors and the aforementioned AF-D lenses.

 

[James24]

I've had mine for nearly 10 years now and have no plans to ever sell it. It makes nice images and works with most Nikkors except for my rangefinder lenses. It makes a great travel camera with just a couple of primes or a small zoom.

My only gripe is that I wish Nikon had made it look like my favourite film camera, the F2 rather than the FM which is what I think they modelled it on.

Looking at the 2nd hand market they seem to hold their value well.

 

[kshapero]

I owned one. Super loved it. One small correction: It does not accept Z lenses. The reason I sold it was because it has no AF Illuminator and this meant poor AF in low light. Enjoy the rig.

 

[phojsu]

I got mine about a year after they were first released. I seldom buy anything when first released, I like to know if there are any bugs to be rectified.

A basic straight forward DSLR, as mentioned, same sensor as the D4 and NO VIDEO. I mostly use MF glass on my pair, typically a Nikon 24/2.0, 105/1.8 and the Voigt 58mm f/1.4. I have the Nikon VF magnifiers on my Df bodies (I don't wear glasses).

These likely will be the last DSLR bodies I buy, I hope they keep on keeping on.

 

[DownUnder]

The Df has been one of my secret lusts for many years.

The late Roger Hicks considered it the only Nikon DSLR he didn't want to throw across the room. An impressive recommendation.

I've wanted one since they came out. alas, nowadays even used in AUS they cost too much. Not many come on the used market, obviously their owners know what they have and hold on to them.

I missed one recently in Melbourne but it went for AUD $1700. Without a lens.

Ultimately I opted for a D800. Much cheaper, more resolution, better than all the other Nikon Ds I've owned (D90s, D700s). But expensive. Wow.

I had been using my D700s for seven years when a used D800 with about 1800 actuations came into my life. I read the Ken Rockwell how to guide for it, played with and rejigged the settings, took it out, and boom! Gorgeous results. My poor D700s have mostly sat on the shelf since.

About a year after I got my '800, a second body came my way via an estate sale, at a price I could afford. with a grip. Naturally, I bought it.

Now I'm thinking of selling my D700s as to my surprise, those 12.something MP monsters are now selling here in Oz for more $$$ than I paid for the, to me, far superior D800s.

Either those buyers know something I don't, or the sellers see them coming, as the Aussies say.

Being me, I will probably hold on to my '700s. My one and only preferred consignment shop takes 25% on sales which would reduce the cash-stash. I don't really need the money anyway. And while they aren't a Df, they are such lovely cameras.

Someone I know has offered me (gifted) a D600, again little used. I will likely take it in.

In our house we do the same for otherwise unwanted older cats. Cameras are a little more expensive than felines to acquire, but they don't eat much and they cost almost nothing to use. Of course cats catch mine, not that any of ours have ever seen a rodent let alone chased after one, too much disturbance to their sleeping routines. But then this post isn't really about cats, so never mind.

Now if a Df were to turn up at our door, meowing pitifully and looking for a new home...

 

[wlewisiii]

There are folks out there who ascribe mythic properties to the sensor in the D700. I don't see it personally and I find my D810 superior in every way. But yeah, the Df would be a Purrrfect addition to the family, wouldn't it? 😉

 

[Archiver]

Whenever I see the Df, my mind wanders to the French photographer Theo Gosselin, who became famous online through his road trip photos of his young, attractive and often naked friends. Theo shoots with Nikon and three primes, 24, 35 and 50. When he's not shooting a F2, he uses a D850.

THEO GOSSELIN - Théo Gosselin

Théo Gosselin, photographe représenté par LGA Management Paris / London.

www.theogosselin.fr

Really, it's all most of us need. If I was to get into the Nikon DSLR system (NickTrop's controversial thread is a strangely compelling argument), I'd go with either a Df, a D700, a D750 or D810. I'd buy a 24/2.8, a 35/1.4 and 50/1.4. That would set me up for a long, long time. On a tangent, if I were to get a Zf, I'd get the Nikon 40/2 and/or the Voigtlander 35/2 APO