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Nikon D1 as interesting 'collectible' second-hand camera

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Dawid Loubser

Member
Hello all,

First of all, I am through and through a Canon guy, but always open to interesting possibilities, and love to tinker with equipment. I have opportunity to purchase a Nikon D1, together with the AF-S 28-70mm f/2.8 lens, for a really really good price (like, ludicrously good), and I am going to have a look at them tomorrow.

The seller says they are both in excellent condition, but of course this needs to be verified. I am very familiar with the limitations and the shortcomings of the Dinosaur1, but there is a certain interest in this being the word's first pro digital SLR from a single company (I am not counting the 'hacks' from Kodak, though they are very interesting and impressive cameras in their own right, considering when they came out).

I am of the opinion that the D1 would, (if any DSLR), become quite collectible one day (probably together with the Canon 1D). Does anybody share this sentiment and interest in this old beast? I actually downloaded and played with a RAW image from a D1 a bit (ISO400 taken in daylight) and, apart from the obvious low-low resolution (2.7MP - ha!) and some aliasing, it is very very sharp and vivid, and noise at ISO400 not as bad as I thought it would be (due to the huge pixels, which, as far as I understand, is actually a 10MP sensor hard-wired to output 'grouped' pixels for noise reasons.

I know the D1H is a far superior camera (though with the same sensor) but there is something interesting about 'the first of the line'.

And that lens is supposed to be fantastic (Leica-league, and certainly almost Leica-price) - anybody using this lens?

I might try to re-sell (after playing with it a bit) but I am definitely intrigued to see what things were like 8 years ago, and I am sure it will teach me to appreciate my 1DMkIIN all over again! The photographic side of the D1 should be very good though. Will keep you posted.
 
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Angela Weil

New member
AF S Lens...

This lens is the best. I have it already - otherwise I would have said "Ship it to me with same day mail". :))
No, it is incredibly fast, sharp and bright. I tend to keep it on the camera because it is so versatile. Everything else in the bag is used for special occasions. Actually, I have it for many years and used it with film first (Nikon F4 at the time).
Angela
 
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Dawid Loubser

Member
They guy selling the camera advertised it incorrectly, it in fact only includes the AF Nikkor 24mm f/2.8 lens. The D1 is, however, in mint condition, and I am actually very impressed with the image quality. However, I will still decide whether to buy it or not.

It's a bit suspicious that somebody with such a camera actually doesn't fully understand how the lens models work?
 
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Steve Saunders

New member
The D1 is definitely the DSLR that got the technology war heated up. It was the first relatively affordable DSLR and made Canon sit up and take notice and within a year or so we had a range of similar spec and price DSLR's (D1H, D1X, 30D 1D, S1 etc..), so the D1 will be remembered for that. People would still probably be paying $15000 for DSLR's with around 6MP right now if the D1 hadn't arrived.
Having said all that, sentiment has to be balanced against reality. The D1 had some issues, most notably the magenta cast issue (which Nikon to their shame never admitted to). You can work around this in Photoshop though. Images straight out of the D1 usually need some editing to get the best from them and it pays to shoot Nefs because of this. Sharpness and colour wouldn't be as good as from the D1H, D1X etc. and noise is more noticeable as well.
BTW, the 28-70AFS is regarded as the sharpest zoom that Nikon make and I certainly found this to be true of mine. The 24 f2.8 is one of their better wide primes as well.
 
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Dawid Loubser

Member
Thank you for the replies, Steve and Angela. Just to close this off, in the end I decided not to go for the D1 - it was in great condition, but I became more and more suspicious of the seller. I believe this could very well have been a stolen camera, even though this seller may not have had anything to do with it.

The person selling the camera had far too little knowledge of the camera and Nikon lenses in general, especially considering that he claims to have used it since 2000. Anybody shelling out that huge amount of money for this camera seven years ago would virtually be guaranteed to be a professional, or a very knowledgeable hobbyist.
 
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