Nikon 1526 Nikon Df 16.2 MP CMOS FX-Format Digital SLR 16.2MP SLR Camera Body with 3.2-Inch LCD (Black)

This is a nice camera but it's definitely not perfect. I have used it for around 8 weddings so far. I do like it but can't honestly say it deserves 5 starts, I almost put 3, but in the light that I don't regret buying it, I decided to go with 4. PROS: - the camera is beautiful, I've gotten many compliments from wedding guests and friends. - it's light and small. It doesn't look as pretty with the new (gold) Nixon lenses but it doesn't look ugly either. - the ISO is amazing, as you can see in the wedding I linked, I took several photos without a flash and they look fantastic. - the 16bit raw images have a greater range and a lot of flexibility, a good think in case you mess up your exposure really bad in a sudden change of light like it happens to a wedding photographer. Compared to my passed D700 this one has even more information and has let me save some before unsolvable photos. - the battery lasts a long time. Maybe a whole wedding, even a little more. I would get one extra battery, if your workload is really big maybe a third one but like a said, a wedding is around 3000 shots! CONS: - as many have said it, the focus at low light sucks, real bad. I wanted to do a high ISO group shots but couldn't because my camera couldn't focus. This being the strongest feature of NIXON is now a disappointment on the Df. The light was low, but not that low. I think not having an assistant light is the biggest mistake they made. MY SOLUTION: I programmed the fn button to "no flash" so I put on the flash on the camera, used the strobe's assistant focus (red light) and shoot while pressing the fn button to avoid actually triggering the flash when I shoot. Way to loose your vintage look... During the day and the C mode work very well. Another problem with the focus is flare, when you are doing a photo with the sun behind you (like in a beach wedding in the pacific) it also has issues to focus, THUMBS DOWN. - the speed dial keeps going round so if I'm in 4000 and go one more step, I get in to a completely different mode and mess up the exposure, if you are not a chimper this could be a serious mess up. That is actually how I messed up my exposures and had to save them in post. - The f dial is uncomfortable, so far I haven't look if it's possible to change the dial as I want to keep the "vintage use", I hope I'll get used to it. - the ISO dial has a really unnecessary button to be able to press it... Seriously??? Well... It seems all the dials are uncomfortable but one gets use to it. - If you go for the 16bit, your files will be heavy, 22mb heavy. This means more memory, I bought 4 16g lexar pro, they fit like 400 photos. So I had to go ahead and buy a 64g, now a whole wedding fits in one card. The card is really expensive though. So I guess now I would have rather buying 32g cards to not put the work in one card. In conclusion, I wanted a cheaper option that had the awesome sensor and the high ISO I needed, I think this was a good buy, but the focus issue needs to be corrected, I can work around it, but still, being used to the great Nikon focusing system, way above than canon's in my opinion... Well, it sucks. I hope the next Df steps it up, I'll be the first to change my camera when it does. UPDATE: I've had this camera for almost a year and I can of regret getting the camera. It's cheaply made, it has plastic parts (painted in silver) and after it gets worn you can see it even more, the "leather" that covers it is starting to unglue after less than a year of use... for the price of this camera, I think this is unacceptable.

Have both the silver and black models (along with other Nikon full-frame cameras). As a long-time Nikon photographer, I find that Df is growing on me more and more. I love the variety of lens I can use on the camera and there is not a big image-quality penalty for using (high quality) older lenses. Most of the top-of-line manual focus (along with early AF) lenses, like the AIS ones for example, are not "out resolved" by the 16MP sensor. In fact, I find that any lens that I cannot get "sharp enough" on a D800 series body, end up working just fine on the Df. This has allowed me to use old lenses that were just gathering dust, fit more lenses in my bags (due to lack of AF motors) and do some creative things that I would not have thought to try with a higher resolving sensor. The controls are easy to use, even in the dark. Occasionally the ISO ring will give me troubles, but all the other controls are easy to use while wearing gloves. They seem to handle cold weather just fine too (although battery discharge was slightly accelerated); I have used the Df in temps as low as -21F. While I wish it was based off of D800 series or D4 series firmware (instead of the D600) everything still works very well in the field. My only big gripe, the thing I feel shorted on, is the lack of a curtain for the viewfinder. Nikon gives you this little plastic piece with a quick release that is supposed to fit over the eyepiece. However, I use a DK-17 magnifying eyepiece and this plastic cover often pulls the rubber pad off of the eyepiece. It can be while getting the camera out of the bag (if the fit is tight) or it might be while I am in the field setting up and I just bump the cover. At any rate, this is a real pain in cold weather as it is almost impossible to re-install the rubber pad while wearing warm gloves. I suspect that I would have the same problem, over time, if I were not using the DK-17 as this seems to be a design issue. Oh, unless you want all of your images on one card, I would not buy anything too big. I purchased 32GB cards for my first Df and after realizing that each card held over 800 RAW images, I only purchased 16GB cards for my second Df body. Maybe it is just me but I do not like the thought of that many images all on one card, especially since there is only one card slot. If you never used older Nikon film cameras like the FM, FE, and FA series models, you might find some of the controls to be clumsy or awkward. If you have used those cameras (including the early "F" models), it will feel a bit like visiting an old friend who you have not seen in several years. :)

A great camera that works well with a number of manual focus lenses that I have. I love the look and style especially the silver color. A great addition to my camera list which takes wonderful photos.

I received my camera and everything works well, no knock on Nikon BUT there are signs that I'm not the first person using this camera. 1) Back LCD had fingerprints on it. 2) Battery was not in it's package but rather inside of the charger. 3) Time and time zone both set on the camera. Normally this is the first thing you get prompted to change. I didn't have to since my local time and time zone was already set. First time i have ever seen this coming from a "new" camera. 4) Handful of shots taken already with the camera. I have heard of tests being done at the factory and you can get anywhere from 250-350 shutter actuation's from a new camera but this normally happens during the initial release of the camera. This camera had 8 shots. 8 shots is not testing, someone tried this camera out first. Nothing is wrong with the camera but I would expect if I pay new prices I get a new item.

The status was not as published. Major scratches at the bottom and sides, the cover of the synchro port is missing and the cover of the viewfinder cover as not included. The camera is fantastic but definitely is not in the status that was published.

I would give this camera a perfect 5 stars except it's not holding up well. The shots are fantastic and I have no problem with the quality of the images as they are excellent. I also have a Nikon D4 and the shots are very similar in contrast, latitude, etc...my problem is in surface of the camera. The material that is glued to the front is coming off (and I even use a retro leather case to protect most of the camera all the time). The fabric over the round front aperture dial also came off. The battery door in the bottom of the camera wants to fall off when you open the door. I have tape holding it as you are at a shoot, open the door and it falls off....not a good thing. It took me a while to get used to the placement of the dials but eventually you can get to everything quickly with practice. As I said before the quality of the shots you will get (especially using 24-70 nikkor 2.8 or 70-200 VR) will amaze you. Note other Nikon cameras I've owned: D300, D700, D4 have also had the fabric start to fall off and I sent those back for Nikon to repair as I'll be doing with the Df. Seems their glue gives up in less than a year of use. With the Df I got it as soon as it was released (November of 2013) and it was already coming off after 3 months.

It takes a few days to get to know the camera, but after that, it is pure photography. Try manual mode with auto ISO. The knobs will make perfect sense.

1. Too expensive/bad value for 2018. Low light capabilities had been equaled by the D810, and surpassed by the D500 and D850. The D810 has 2x the resolution, and the same or lower price. My wife thinks it is much uglier than the film cameras it tries to imitate (Nikon FM/FE). 2. Compared to late model Nikon film (F4 and later) and digital cameras, all the controls on this camera seem to in the wrong place. In car analogy, it's like driving automatic on the right side of the road, suddenly having to drive a manual car on the left side of the road. All the controls are there somewhere. It may on the wrong side of the camera, or buried deep in a menu. E.g. 1, the shooting mode is a small dial under the shutter speed dial on the right (as compared to the left on other Nikons), in really small print, and easy to accidentally changed while turning on the camera. E.g. 2, the auto ISO is only available in the menu system, even though the ISO dials on the left have Auto Hi and Auto Lo, and has a lot of room to just added a simple 'A' click. 3. The LCD top panel is too small. Which wouldn't be so bad but for the fact that Nikon auto lenses do not allow manual aperture control from the lens body. All those lenses rely on a 'command dial' to change aperture. The top panel's small LCD screen makes it hard to see (compared to any other D series or even the F100/F90/F80) what aperture had been chosen, so the choice is rely on big LCD panel on the back (annoying) or look through the viewfinder. The vertical command dial on the front is hard to use--the index finger will be far away from the shutter button and in an awkward position to make any change. 4. Another problem is the focusing system. It is not (just) it's a slow D600 auto focus system. This camera is meant for low light photography, but all the focus confirmation points are cramped into the middle, making it hard to manually focus on any off-axis subject in the dark. 5. The only reason I tried this camera is to use some old Nikon pre-AI lenses that would not work on other Nikon digital cameras. To set aperture with pre-AI lenses, one has to set the aperture on the lens AND tell the camera through the command dial what aperture was set on the lens (see problem 3 above). Comparing to the film FM/FE., this process seems harder than it needs to be for a digital camera, e.g., could have added a mode where the metering happens when the shot is taken. If you have an arsenal of pre-AI lenses, probably cheaper to have them lenses converted to AI than to buy this camera. In sum, this camera's is form over function, with a lot form being half thought out or defeating the intended purpose of the camera. Modern Nikon cameras users would find it frustrating, having to spend time to unlearn their existing habits and learn where the controls are on this camera, with not much to show for that effort.