The Nikon DF, shown here with an ILott strap Photo: PORTIA WEBB
We’ve got used to serious digital cameras looking like large, black, plastic
boxes. The more cutting-edge technology the manufacturers cram in, the
uglier the camera seems to get. But photographers, by their nature, are
interested in aesthetics. Gorgeous-looking cameras were perfected the
Sixties and Seventies – the 1966
film Blow-up would look very different with a Canon 5d mk III at its
centre – but it’s taken a very long time for anyone to make a
high-performing digital camera that matches the beauty of its film
ancestors.
The Nikon Df was released at the end of 2013, and it may have changed the way
digital cameras look forever.
The Df is a state-of-the-art piece of digital equipment transplanted into the
body of something very close to a 1978
Nikon FE 35mm SLR. Aimed at romantic, design-loving photographers,
it places beauty and form before all other considerations. Even the name,
Df, sheds Nikon’s usual number-naming conventions, reflecting the camera’s
fusion of digital chops with a film photography bloodline.
It’s certainly meant for dedicated photographers. The price – RRP £2749.99 –
puts it out of reach of most casual snappers right away, and if you’re
looking for something serious to take arty shots of children and landscapes
then Nikon has plenty in a lower bracket that would be better suited (not
least 2013’s all-singing, easy-to-use D7100).
The Df comes in a kit with a newly retro-styled 50mm 1.8 lens, which feels a
bit unnecessary given that most people thinking of buying the camera will
already have a perfectly good 50mm in their bag. Still, the lens sets off
the Df’s vintage aesthetic, even while inspiring me to go rummaging around
for old Nikon
AF lenses to complete the look. Because, joy of joys, the Df has
unrivalled lens compatibility: it supports almost every auto or manual focus
lens Nikon has ever made, including the original F Mount lenses from the
Sixties.
(PICTURE: PORTIA WEBB)
Once you’ve slotted your beloved antique glass into place, the rest of the
camera’s spec is state-of-the-art. The Df is vintage from the front, fresh
from the back. Turn it around in your hands and you’re into modern DSLR
territory: a roomy, bright LCD screen surrounded by digital menu buttons.
Inside is the same full-frame 16.2 megapixel sensor as the flagship Nikon
D4, and 204,800 ISO sensitivity with exceptionally clean results way beyond
12,800. The battery life is almost decadently long (I have yet to run it
down) and the performance of the auto ISO and white balance is flawless.
Back on the outside, an essential part of the old-school look is the external
controls. Having dials on the outside might seem basic, but it’s something
that pro digital photographers have been pining after for years. The warren
of digital menus that you usually have to hack through to do something
simple on other DSLRs can cost you valuable shooting time.
(PICTURE: PORTIA WEBB)
On the Df, there are tactile clicking wheels for ISO, shutter speed and
exposure compensation, as well as the more prosaic shooting mode and on-off
switches. The dials are light to move, but they clunk into place with
satisfying weight. After a few hours using this camera, the muscle memory in
my hands allowed me to change shutter speed before I even had time to think
about it. I’ve heard grumbles that the slightly fiddly lock settings on the
dials can make it difficult to change settings one-handed, but I didn’t find
this a problem after a couple of sessions.
The external dials are beautiful, too: engraved metal and built as solidly as
the rest of the (mostly metal) body. For a 21st-century DSLR user, this
build quality feels like going from driving an automatic car to flying a
spitfire. The camera comes in chrome and in black, with the chrome version a
step further from the standard DSLR black-box look and winning the aesthetic
edge.
What’s it missing? Despite otherwise astonishing low-light performance, the
autofocus can go on extended hunting trips. There’s no built-in flash, no
second card slot, and most surprisingly, no video function at all. For Nikon
to release a new top-end digital camera without video looks so careless that
it must be intentional: without in-camera flash or video or card back-up,
the Df weighs much less than its digital peers, is easier to carry around
and unashamedly all about pure stills photography. That’s a compromise that
some photographers will be more than happy to take.
Where others see a bug, romantics see a feature. If you’re desperate for
video, seek elsewhere, but if you’re an old-fashioned type with a soft spot
for stills, the Df will be love at first shot.
For more information see Nikon.co.uk
Objects of desire: Beautiful
handmade camera straps