15 years ago I hankered after one of these, when I was still shooting 35mm colour reversal. I since gave up photography and forgot all about it. I stumbled upon your review and then found a D2X on Ebay with under 25000 shots fired. $200 equivalent! I can't wait - it will be my first DSLR.
@@smogstreaming Yes absolutely it's great! I also bought a D3 a month later as I decided I wanted an FX, higher ISO performer as well. The two compliment each other well. I paid £440 for the pair.
@@sdg1970 Very nice!!! I fall on the Canon side of the debate, but I don't care. It's whatever gear you wanna use, and whatever gets you out shooting, aye? Welcome back to the hobby; I hope you capture stellar images.
I still use my D2x along with my D4. You forgot to mention that the D2x will work with practically any lens that Nikon have produced in the last 70 years. They made some fantastic lenses in the 80’s. And it’s robust. If someone breaks into your house at night you can take your D2x and beat him to the ground and still use it for the photo expedition the next morning.
Both the Nikon d2X and the D2Xs are still solid cameras today. I've shot for a long time on the d2xs, and I still occasionally shoot on it today as well. I just love the look that those older cameras produce, truly sets the tone for Nikon to come in later models.
I've used both the D2H and D2X professionally for local baseball and soccer games. The ISO limit made the camera difficult to use as it got dark and I eventually sold them for a D700 which I still use. I'm glad to see people still enjoying the D2X, I've been looking for a mint condition D2Xs to partner with the D700. It was and still is an amazing camera!
I really like your movies .... managed to buy a brand new D2X, only 2000 photos were taken. After receiving the package and unpacking it, the camera looked like new. I bought a Tokina 50-135mm AT-x pro lens. This set draws such beautiful pictures giving me great pleasure in photography ... best regards.
As a person that has used a D2X a lot I would recommend check the exposure, avoid overexposure and go over ISO 500/640 only if you gonna be capable of exposing well, the noise is not bad if the image is correctly expose (I like it actually) but if the image is underexposure the noise will ruin it. A side of that the color quality is really nice.
Great video. I use both the D1X and D1H regularly. The upper limit as far as memory cards go on the D1X / D1H is 2gb. I use SanDisk Extreme III cards and have not had a single fault after years of shooting. I also enjoy using Watson B-3401 batteries. I find the battery life to be much better than my old factory Nikon batteries. I usually can see a full day of use across 1-2 batteries. Hope all is well during this pandemic. Stay safe everyone
I bought a D2Xs on Ebay, and I've recently gotten the time to experiment with it (retired). I hope to get familiar with this DSLR then to possibly move on to a move modern camera. Thanks for the video.
Brilliant video. I love my D2X. Yes the ISO limit is poor by modern standards, but it’s the Daddy of Nikon’s DSLR line-up, and produces beautiful images. Also worth noting it works with 32GB CF cards.
I still own two Nikon D2Xs bodies, and in my opinion they still are the greatest DX bodies ever made. It's strictly an ISO 100 camera - even at ISO 200 there's readily visible shadow noise - but if you expose properly (that's SO key!) and you know what you're doing, those old bodies still yield absolutely stunning images to this day.
back in the days when I finished photo school i got a job as a school photographer and the company provided me with two D2X houses was so cool to have that house.
Good fun to pair with TC-16A to semi auto focus manual lenses. Downside is maximum aperture steps down by 1.6 and that adds more pressure to the struggling ISO.
Great note on this camera. Some modify the TC-16A teleconverters for use on the newer cameras, but the unmodified version still works better on the D2Xs. I love using it with quality prime lenses from the AI/AI-S era, and even have a Tamron 300 f/2.8 that works really nicely with that combination!
Low light can lead to lots of frustration due to blurry photos. Yes you did hear correct the upper iso is 800. When it works though in good light the pictures are amazing.
My most loved cameras are still the D3S and D3X and I never will buy something modern of Nikon! Have also D1 and D3 in different versions, they are still impressive!
Very nice review thank you. Just bought one with 60k actuations in pretty good conditions for 130 bucks, pretty nice IQ and very nice colors if shot in the proper conditions (i.e. good light and avoiding at all cost to blow the highlights, as it clips them like hell). Somehow the color signature reminds me of the CCD sensor used in the D200/S5 Pro (sans the latter dynamic range of course), definitely different than more modern CMOS sensors. Don't know if it's my sample or it is normal, but the AF is behavioral at best, it has a nasty habit to focus behind the main subject, if it's less contrasty/illuminated than the background, even if the AF point is right on the spot. I've read that the AF sensors are quite larger than the squares in the viewfinder, and that could lead to this kind of issue, anyone else experiencing that?
I use a CF Card adapter for the SD/Micro SD Adapter and the images came out spectacularly on my D200 (the D2x’s little brother). After your review here, I’m going to acquire a D2X for my collection.
Still have my D2x. Great camera. Iso ok up to 640. A 4-channel output (!) from the CMOS sensor gives good color, and an almost imperceptible 37ms shutter lag time makes it highly responsive.
I still use D2xs in winter time. The only problem is the rubber coating does not stay intact for this long and is not available anymore as replacement parts.
*I have Nikon 6006 film camera and my question is that all the accessories that I use with Nikon 6006,can I use them with Nikon d2x as well?Plz do let me know.*
Great video very informative. I have just purchased a D2x looking forward to it arriving. Although it doesn’t have a rubber grip on the memory card door and I am struggling to find one to fix it, Any suggestions greatly appreciated many thanks.
That's a beautiful classic for sure. I learned , got into digital with a D2H. Coming from 35mm film you feel right at home from an F4E, F5 and the then new F6. The rear LCD was not meant to be the share display. It's just for menu & quick reference. Photographers will always look, edit and share later. I still use a D3S . dual 64Gb Lexar is about the spot. I think 32gb was ok for D2X / D2Xs. But if reviewing too much from back, it slows a tad. Try to use it more for histogram / highlights & such. Like with in the film days w/ F4, if you really needed to confirm a focus or exposure, they use Polaroid film backs to get a sort of quick review before wasting that costly film at 5-8 fps on a 250 exp data back . Us kids take instant review for granted. That's what bracketing is for. fire off a few sets and sort it out later.
Had one for years, still one of the best camera i owned .Solid, heavy and noisy ! i did moto MX and surfing photography, it did work well and the pictures were very good given the crop sensor and 12 millions pixels. The thing that made me stop using it is, The menu are long and i almost never used them. Like pages after pages for not much use. I never used the fast mode at 6 millions pix,
first time i use it that was for street architecture shutter bangs its work that noisy that guy on the other side of the road 20 meters away turns himself and look at me and i say oh yes this is gun! :-D
Hoje 07/07/2023 procuro uma camera para fotografar aves e surf, e assistindo ao seu video e vendo como essa nikon D2X dispara em sequencia(FPS) ela me serve, as modernas como a linha Z nikon e R canon com seus altos preços eu não tenho dinheiro para comprar, pois ainda estou como amador! Vou procurar no E-bay e ver se encontro uma D2X com bom preço e que enviem para o Rio de Janeiro/Brasil. Abraços, Sucesso e Deus abençoe.
I am thinking of getting myself a dslr after shootung film for a while and stumbles upon a nikon d2x with a sigma 50-150mm f2.8 apo dc hs lens for 360€ do you think it is worth it i am on kind of a tight budget.
How about colour rendition between D1x and D2x? is the D1x closer to the analog quality? Have you tried printing from any of them.? If you have, how was it compared to the 35mm analog results? Thanks for the video. cheers
@@JJShankles i hear the 2DX / D200 sensors (CCS & CMOS) had better color rendering & output than D3 / D700 generation? I have the D700 (with grip) but was looking for a second body. I like the pro bodies (D2/D3) but the D200 caught my eye too
@@joshblank1 I don't know if better but its true that the second gen was famous because of its colors I really like them. I would choose the third gen, in the D3 and D700 you can still using the D2X Mode 1,2 and 3. If not, try to convert DCPs from the D2X to your camera model.
I have a Nikon D2H but I encountered the CHA error and it formats to fat16. I can still use my memory card ( 2 of them) with no issues in my laptop but in fat16 format. I also did recover the whole storage space but going back to the camera format and it goes back to fat16. I hope someone can help me on this. Thanks
Sounds like a card error. I sometimes run into this with cheaper cards, where the camera won't recognize more than 2GB of the card, and it wants to format to FAT instead of FAT32. Replace the card and you should be good.
@@jamesonnorthI also tried a sandisk 16gb (cf cards are hard to find here for some reason even online sandisk does not carry cf cards here) and gave the same results. The other one was transcend 8gb. Nikon service tested that the 256gb worked. They also referenced it on the supposed official CF card compatibility. I hope there is just some sort of setting I need to configure also.
I didn't know International Organization for Standardization, I.S.O. was pronounced "EYE SO" by so many people, it sounds horrid LMAO or should I type "LA MOW" HAHA :D
Are you talking about these older Nikon cameras, and shooting high ISO with them? If so, yes they can be slightly recovered it just all depends on how grainy you really want your shot. About the highest I've ever shot with mine (D2Xs) was about 1600 ISO, and it can be slightly recovered but I would not suggest it. That's why they called some of those order cameras and ISO 400 camera.
Agree with Cam. I have some older cameras (D2H and D200) and the max ISO I'm comfortable shooting is 1600. You can push 3200 on the D2H and D2Hs if you have to, but dynamic range is awful, so your exposure has to be spot on. The color noise is the problem--Lightroom is very good at cleaning this up automatically. The luminance noise can be intrusive, but much better than film, so compared to similar mediums of the era, these cameras are great. Compared to even a cheap camera from today, they're really awful above 800 ISO.
I've owned a D2X in the past and currently have a D2Xs along with a D800 and a D3s. I try not to use my D2Xs over iso 800. At 800, it's the equivalent to shooting at iso 3200 on my D800 or 6400 on my D3s. So if you're shooting below iso 800 outdoors in daylight or indoors with flash, the raw files are amazing just like a newer camera.
Nikon D2x doesn’t have weather seal. Not good for rainy day or inside way too hot will burst the chip inside the camera. Nikon D300s is way better camera than Nikon D2x with weather seal.
What is your favorite Retro Camera of History?
Canon 1D Mark III or 1Ds Mark II.
@@Eso000teric_32 Unfortunately, there is an annoying focus defect in a sequence of 1D iii.
@yourepicfailure I have one, and I really like it.
Pentax Program A. Still works.
The Nikon F3 hp
15 years ago I hankered after one of these, when I was still shooting 35mm colour reversal. I since gave up photography and forgot all about it. I stumbled upon your review and then found a D2X on Ebay with under 25000 shots fired. $200 equivalent! I can't wait - it will be my first DSLR.
Did you get the camera??? Do you like it? Are you shooting again???
@@smogstreaming Yes absolutely it's great! I also bought a D3 a month later as I decided I wanted an FX, higher ISO performer as well. The two compliment each other well. I paid £440 for the pair.
@@sdg1970 Very nice!!! I fall on the Canon side of the debate, but I don't care. It's whatever gear you wanna use, and whatever gets you out shooting, aye? Welcome back to the hobby; I hope you capture stellar images.
@@smogstreaming Many thanks!
I still use my D2x along with my D4. You forgot to mention that the D2x will work with practically any lens that Nikon have produced in the last 70 years. They made some fantastic lenses in the 80’s. And it’s robust. If someone breaks into your house at night you can take your D2x and beat him to the ground and still use it for the photo expedition the next morning.
Both the Nikon d2X and the D2Xs are still solid cameras today. I've shot for a long time on the d2xs, and I still occasionally shoot on it today as well. I just love the look that those older cameras produce, truly sets the tone for Nikon to come in later models.
To be honest all their cameras are rock solid, except for 5x 3x series. Complete knockout heavy weight champion.
I still use my D2x. First camera I ever had that had "mojo" to it. And it hasn't lost it.
I've used both the D2H and D2X professionally for local baseball and soccer games. The ISO limit made the camera difficult to use as it got dark and I eventually sold them for a D700 which I still use. I'm glad to see people still enjoying the D2X, I've been looking for a mint condition D2Xs to partner with the D700. It was and still is an amazing camera!
I really like your movies .... managed to buy a brand new D2X, only 2000 photos were taken. After receiving the package and unpacking it, the camera looked like new. I bought a Tokina 50-135mm AT-x pro lens. This set draws such beautiful pictures giving me great pleasure in photography ... best regards.
I’ve been using the Nikon d200 fantastic camera and I agree 12 mil pixels is more than enough for anyone
I have the D3 and the D700. I love shooting with both of them.
As a person that has used a D2X a lot I would recommend check the exposure, avoid overexposure and go over ISO 500/640 only if you gonna be capable of exposing well, the noise is not bad if the image is correctly expose (I like it actually) but if the image is underexposure the noise will ruin it. A side of that the color quality is really nice.
Great video. I use both the D1X and D1H regularly. The upper limit as far as memory cards go on the D1X / D1H is 2gb. I use SanDisk Extreme III cards and have not had a single fault after years of shooting. I also enjoy using Watson B-3401 batteries. I find the battery life to be much better than my old factory Nikon batteries. I usually can see a full day of use across 1-2 batteries. Hope all is well during this pandemic. Stay safe everyone
Purchased a D2X recently and it is a great camera at a very reasonable price.
I still have my d2x and practice with it regularly. I love that I can use my F mount lenses on my Z6 camera. Still love the D2x
I love that I can use the same lenses in the Z6 and the D2X!
I bought a D2Xs on Ebay, and I've recently gotten the time to experiment with it (retired). I hope to get familiar with this DSLR then to possibly move on to a move modern camera. Thanks for the video.
Brilliant video. I love my D2X. Yes the ISO limit is poor by modern standards, but it’s the Daddy of Nikon’s DSLR line-up, and produces beautiful images. Also worth noting it works with 32GB CF cards.
You did a good honest review. Thank you.
I own it. Still my main camera. It is brutal. Only lacks high ISO.
I still own two Nikon D2Xs bodies, and in my opinion they still are the greatest DX bodies ever made. It's strictly an ISO 100 camera - even at ISO 200 there's readily visible shadow noise - but if you expose properly (that's SO key!) and you know what you're doing, those old bodies still yield absolutely stunning images to this day.
back in the days when I finished photo school i got a job as a school photographer and the company provided me with two D2X houses was so cool to have that house.
My last Nikon was the D90 and I may choose this over the D3 because of price.
Good fun to pair with TC-16A to semi auto focus manual lenses. Downside is maximum aperture steps down by 1.6 and that adds more pressure to the struggling ISO.
Great note on this camera. Some modify the TC-16A teleconverters for use on the newer cameras, but the unmodified version still works better on the D2Xs. I love using it with quality prime lenses from the AI/AI-S era, and even have a Tamron 300 f/2.8 that works really nicely with that combination!
Low light can lead to lots of frustration due to blurry photos. Yes you did hear correct the upper iso is 800. When it works though in good light the pictures are amazing.
My most loved cameras are still the D3S and D3X and I never will buy something modern of Nikon! Have also D1 and D3 in different versions, they are still impressive!
Wonderful content 👌 kudos 😊
Be aware early models had a mirror lock bug that needed a mirror replace. I had it and had it fixed. No problems since.
Backscreen is difficult with these old cameras !
Very nice review thank you. Just bought one with 60k actuations in pretty good conditions for 130 bucks, pretty nice IQ and very nice colors if shot in the proper conditions (i.e. good light and avoiding at all cost to blow the highlights, as it clips them like hell). Somehow the color signature reminds me of the CCD sensor used in the D200/S5 Pro (sans the latter dynamic range of course), definitely different than more modern CMOS sensors. Don't know if it's my sample or it is normal, but the AF is behavioral at best, it has a nasty habit to focus behind the main subject, if it's less contrasty/illuminated than the background, even if the AF point is right on the spot. I've read that the AF sensors are quite larger than the squares in the viewfinder, and that could lead to this kind of issue, anyone else experiencing that?
I use a CF Card adapter for the SD/Micro SD Adapter and the images came out spectacularly on my D200 (the D2x’s little brother). After your review here, I’m going to acquire a D2X for my collection.
Super smooth and timely review. Great show old chap. Many thanks.
Still have my D2x. Great camera. Iso ok up to 640. A 4-channel output (!) from the CMOS sensor gives good color, and an almost imperceptible 37ms shutter lag time makes it highly responsive.
I still use D2xs in winter time. The only problem is the rubber coating does not stay intact for this long and is not available anymore as replacement parts.
Mine is becoming sticky and degrading every time I touch it
This an excellent review 👏 couple it with the Niklor 25-50 f4 AIS and you have a capable image maker.
*I have Nikon 6006 film camera and my question is that all the accessories that I use with Nikon 6006,can I use them with Nikon d2x as well?Plz do let me know.*
Great video very informative. I have just purchased a D2x looking forward to it arriving. Although it doesn’t have a rubber grip on the memory card door and I am struggling to find one to fix it, Any suggestions greatly appreciated many thanks.
That's a beautiful classic for sure. I learned , got into digital with a D2H. Coming from 35mm film you feel right at home from an F4E, F5 and the then new F6. The rear LCD was not meant to be the share display. It's just for menu & quick reference. Photographers will always look, edit and share later. I still use a D3S . dual 64Gb Lexar is about the spot. I think 32gb was ok for D2X / D2Xs. But if reviewing too much from back, it slows a tad. Try to use it more for histogram / highlights & such. Like with in the film days w/ F4, if you really needed to confirm a focus or exposure, they use Polaroid film backs to get a sort of quick review before wasting that costly film at 5-8 fps on a 250 exp data back . Us kids take instant review for granted. That's what bracketing is for. fire off a few sets and sort it out later.
nice review of the D2X, thank you.
Had one for years, still one of the best camera i owned .Solid, heavy and noisy ! i did moto MX and surfing photography, it did work well and the pictures were very good given the crop sensor and 12 millions pixels. The thing that made me stop using it is, The menu are long and i almost never used them. Like pages after pages for not much use. I never used the fast mode at 6 millions pix,
first time i use it that was for street architecture shutter bangs its work that noisy that guy on the other side of the road 20 meters away turns himself and look at me and i say oh yes this is gun! :-D
Putting over the weight limit...that hit home!
Es la cámara con la que juega mi chaval!! Pero bueno da buenos resultados con buena luz
The best is buying them all :-) I own the new 24-70 vr. Not sure it will fully operate.
Hoje 07/07/2023 procuro uma camera para fotografar aves e surf, e assistindo ao seu video e vendo como essa nikon D2X dispara em sequencia(FPS) ela me serve, as modernas como a linha Z nikon e R canon com seus altos preços eu não tenho dinheiro para comprar, pois ainda estou como amador! Vou procurar no E-bay e ver se encontro uma D2X com bom preço e que enviem para o Rio de Janeiro/Brasil. Abraços, Sucesso e Deus abençoe.
Awesome review
Glad you enjoyed it! This is a fun camera to play with
Can i use af-s lenses on the 2dx? The ones with autofokus motor inside the lens?
Yes, they work great. The autofocus surprised me with how good it was on these lenses!
I am thinking of getting myself a dslr after shootung film for a while and stumbles upon a nikon d2x with a sigma 50-150mm f2.8 apo dc hs lens for 360€ do you think it is worth it i am on kind of a tight budget.
How about colour rendition between D1x and D2x? is the D1x closer to the analog quality? Have you tried printing from any of them.? If you have, how was it compared to the 35mm analog results? Thanks for the video. cheers
Great review of this camera that I have and I absolutely hate! After watching your post I’m going to start only shooting with my Nikon D750!📷
Can i use lenses that go on my D500 and D810 on this ??
- 200 / 500 mm
- 100 mm 2.8 MACRO
- 50mm 1.8D
etc ...
Yes, no issues.
Yes, and.... 500 mm becomes 700 mm due to crop factor.
good info
Is there a difference in build quality between D3 & D2X?
I haven't tried the D3 yet, but they are both the top of the line from Nikon so probably both very solid build quality
@@JJShankles i hear the 2DX / D200 sensors (CCS & CMOS) had better color rendering & output than D3 / D700 generation?
I have the D700 (with grip) but was looking for a second body. I like the pro bodies (D2/D3) but the D200 caught my eye too
@@joshblank1 I don't know if better but its true that the second gen was famous because of its colors I really like them. I would choose the third gen, in the D3 and D700 you can still using the D2X Mode 1,2 and 3. If not, try to convert DCPs from the D2X to your camera model.
FYI Nikon's latest AF-P lenses do not work on this body.
Same thing with newest Sigma lenses
I have a Nikon D2H but I encountered the CHA error and it formats to fat16. I can still use my memory card ( 2 of them) with no issues in my laptop but in fat16 format. I also did recover the whole storage space but going back to the camera format and it goes back to fat16. I hope someone can help me on this. Thanks
Sounds like a card error. I sometimes run into this with cheaper cards, where the camera won't recognize more than 2GB of the card, and it wants to format to FAT instead of FAT32. Replace the card and you should be good.
@@jamesonnorthI also tried a sandisk 16gb (cf cards are hard to find here for some reason even online sandisk does not carry cf cards here) and gave the same results. The other one was transcend 8gb. Nikon service tested that the 256gb worked. They also referenced it on the supposed official CF card compatibility. I hope there is just some sort of setting I need to configure also.
Okay I seen one of these with a crazy looking lens at a pawn shop for 1k. Good deal?
I'm not sure how much that lens could be worth, but this camera goes for $150-$200 on ebay
Can I use a earlier manual focus Nikkor AIS 50mm f/1.4 and still have all the features besides the auto focus ? Like can I meter with a vintage lens.
Yes, you just have to enter the lens data in the non-cpu lens menu, and you will have metering.
I didn't know International Organization for Standardization, I.S.O. was pronounced "EYE SO" by so many people, it sounds horrid LMAO or should I type "LA MOW" HAHA :D
Odd question have you tried editing high iso raw files with new software to see if it can be recovered better
Are you talking about these older Nikon cameras, and shooting high ISO with them? If so, yes they can be slightly recovered it just all depends on how grainy you really want your shot. About the highest I've ever shot with mine (D2Xs) was about 1600 ISO, and it can be slightly recovered but I would not suggest it. That's why they called some of those order cameras and ISO 400 camera.
Agree with Cam. I have some older cameras (D2H and D200) and the max ISO I'm comfortable shooting is 1600. You can push 3200 on the D2H and D2Hs if you have to, but dynamic range is awful, so your exposure has to be spot on. The color noise is the problem--Lightroom is very good at cleaning this up automatically. The luminance noise can be intrusive, but much better than film, so compared to similar mediums of the era, these cameras are great. Compared to even a cheap camera from today, they're really awful above 800 ISO.
I've owned a D2X in the past and currently have a D2Xs along with a D800 and a D3s. I try not to use my D2Xs over iso 800. At 800, it's the equivalent to shooting at iso 3200 on my D800 or 6400 on my D3s. So if you're shooting below iso 800 outdoors in daylight or indoors with flash, the raw files are amazing just like a newer camera.
Some of my very best photos came out of this camera. 😥
Nikon D2x doesn’t have weather seal. Not good for rainy day or inside way too hot will burst the chip inside the camera. Nikon D300s is way better camera than Nikon D2x with weather seal.
👍👍👍👍👍
it is NOT a BLOODY nYcon it is a nIcon
Jeremy, it's NYKON. This is America. Deal with it.