Nikon D3 and Nikkor DX Lenses

Most of us know that on the APS-C 1.5x-crop D2X / D2Xs, there is a 2x crop mode, meaning that you multiply the current focal length on your lenses by 2 to get the equivalent FOV (field of view).

For example, with your Nikkor 18-200mm DX VR (it’s a DX lens, Nikon-speak for lenses that have been designed to work with APS-C Nikon cameras, which is all DSLRs from Nikon except the full-frame (FX) D3) mounted on the D2X / D2Xs with HSC (high speed crop) mode activated and your lens at 18mm, your FOV would be the equivalent of the lens at 18mm x 2 = 36mm.

With the full-frame D3, what is the crop factor when you mount a DX lens onto it?

From the specs, the D3 will first automatically activate the DX crop mode, which gives you a 1.5x crop factor, so with the Nikkor 18-200mm VR DX lens at 18mm mounted on the D3, your FOV becomes 18mm x 1.5 = 27mm.

Additionally, the D3’s crop mode can be set to be automatic or manual (confirmed by Yves P). That’s good news for those who want to use DX lenses on the D3 and take full advantage of the 12 MP resolution.

In other words, there is a range of focal lengths where your DX lens becomes a “full-frame” lens on the D3, and this depends on the particular DX lens being used. For instance, with the Nikkor 17-55mm DX lens, you get to enjoy the full 12 MP from 27mm onwards, provided you remember to switch off the automatic DX crop mode.

For the mathematically-minded, Jim Kaye has an excellent explanation on why in DX mode, you get only 5.1 MP (megapixels) out of the D3.

Jim further explains the differences in FOV that you get if you mount a non-DX lens such as the 200-400mm vs a DX lens such as the Nikkor 18-200mm VR on the D3.

Julia Borg shares some further insights on the sharpness you can expect if you use the Nikkor 17-55mm and 12-24mm DX lenses on the D3 (interesting fact: the Nikkor 17-55mm basically becomes a 25-55mm lens on a full-frame camera, while the 12-24mm Nikkor becomes a 17-24mm). With the 18-200 VR lens, you get to enjoy FX (full-frame) coverage only in the 20-28mm focal length range.

It seems there’s no fixed formula to determine what focal lengths a DX lens can be used in order to cover the entire area of the full-frame FX sensor - it depends on the unique design of the zoom lens.

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Tags: Nikon 12-24mm, Nikon 17-55mm, Nikon 18-200mm, Nikon 200-400mm