It is June 15th, 1999. The box office is being dominated by the release of the first new Star Wars in 16 years, even though it is tainted by one Jar Jar Binks. Until this day, photography was largely dominated by a technology that had existed for over a hundred years. It was a technology pioneered by George Eastman in his invention called, the Kodak. Over the many years from 1885 onward, it became known to the photographic community and to the world as “film.”
However, on a sunny day in Tokyo, the Nikon Corporation would announce a camera that would change photography as we knew it, the Nikon D1.The D1 was not the first digital camera by any means, but it was the first major adoption of digital by a camera company that the photographic community embraced. Until its arrival the niche market that was digital had been dominated by none other than Kodak. Digital cameras before the D1 represented collaborations, where the chassis was made by one manufacturer (Canon or Nikon) and the sensor and LCD (if it had one) by another (usually Kodak).
To me, the Nikon D1 was a unicorn of sorts. I had searched on and off in recent years for a new Nikon D1, only to find many “well used” copies with paint missing and buttons hanging off the body. Then in mid-2018 I saw a camera collector’s estate sale with a D1 (not H, nor X, but the original) listed in it. They sent me pictures of it and it was as though they had gone back to 1999 and photographed it. They wanted $150 for it… I bought it immediately without any further questions.
A few days later the box arrived. When I opened it up, it was almost an emotional experience. Here it was, the first Nikon digital, and it appeared like it had never been touched. I might as well have been opening a window into the 90’s, for it looked brand new. So new that there was a certain part of me that wanted to put it on the shelf and find a beater to use for this piece. But that goes against everything I believe. I am a photographer; I use cameras, I do not collect them.
The next day, I decided I would take the camera out to see if it worked as well as it looked. I mounted my 24-70 on it and went for a walk around downtown Phoenix. I didn’t really care if there was a subject to photograph or not, just using the camera was an amazing experience. The body was a direct derivative of the iconic F5 complete with a built-in vertical grip like it should have. A funny note on this, the vertical grip only has one dial (the rear one), so if you are shooting manual, you first need to dial in your exposure… and then flip to the vertical grip.
I shot for about an hour, never removing the rear LCD cap. It felt like I was using a film body again, really quite an exhilarating experience. As much as I would have loved to spend hours using the camera that day, I was limited by the fact that the battery life had diminished over the years. And by “diminished” I mean that the Ni-Cad battery in the camera would last me about 60 shots if I didn’t use the LCD, 30 or so if I did.
On the topic of the LCD, there is another part of the Nikon D1 that I truly love for its period representation. To start off, the D1 comes with an LCD cover that takes three men just to remove from the camera. After you pry it from the body, you are left with an LCD that has less real-estate than an Apple Watch. After shooting a shot, you have to wait for the file to clear the buffer (designated by a green light under your thumb on the grip). Once the files are written you can then preview them on the LCD. Upon pressing the Monitor button, you see a very blurry representation of your image with an hourglass over the middle. It may be enough of an image to see if the exposure is there, but think of it as an image from an iPhone… with Vaseline smeared all over the lens. About 15 seconds later, the hourglass goes away and your image sharpens. All things considered; it isn’t a terrible preview. However, to understand the time in which the Nikon D1 existed, you will need to look at the files on a computer.
Upon getting home that evening, I dusted off the old CF card reader from my D3X case and popped in the 1GB CF card that came with the D1 as it was the only card that I had that would work (there is a 2GB limit for the camera). When I pulled up the first image, I was taken aback by the 2.7 megapixel resolution. To put it into perspective, most of your phones have screens with a higher operating resolution than the D1. When I went to preview the images in Bridge on the Surface Studio, I thought the images were small previews, only to realize that I was looking at the full res files. It was a bit shocking, and really enforced the idea that the composition on the shot had to be perfect in camera, for cropping was not an option. I was beginning to see the complexity that existed in using the D1 and that I would need to dedicate more time to practicing with it to have any chance of creating an image worth showing. It was at this point I decided to put the project on hold until I could commit the time that it would take to do it properly.
As spring approached, my schedule opened enough for me to take out the Nikon D1 for a proper evaluation, and I had a subject to photograph. As a child, my family and I used to spend our summers in a small farming town in southern Illinois. There wasn’t much to do there, other than walk the train tracks for hours each day. My brother and I used to lay pennies on the rails with the hopes that a slow freight train would come by and smash them flat, so that we could add them to our collection. It was a time in life that I hold quite fond and it is the origin of my love for trains.
It is for this reason that when I was planning the story about the Nikon D1, trains were immediately at the top of my subject list. Not only was there a distinct nostalgia of the camera that started us (photographers) down the digital road, but there was a sentiment of the simplicity of my youth. This story was just as much a photoshoot as it was therapy for my love of photography. With the trains near my house, I would drive to the tracks a couple times a week and photograph them with hopes of finding out how to extract the most from the camera. This would not be an easy task…
For starters, in single shot mode, the Nikon D1 can only shoot 1 frame every 10 seconds! Now, imagine you are photographing a freight train rushing by and you get one, yes ONE, photograph of the engine before it passes. You can imagine how many shots I missed and time I waited just to get the first keeper. About a week in, I found that I could shoot the D1 in Continuous mode and grab more than one frame per train. However, I usually shut the camera off between trains to save the battery, but in doing so, I lost all the shots that had not cleared the buffer, for the camera does not have a safe shut-off mode. This was getting complex…
Unfortunately, getting the proper exposure out of the D1 would prove to be just as challenging. New cameras have 12-15 effective stops of dynamic range, meaning that a missed exposure can usually be pulled back in post without too much integrity loss in the shadows or highlights. On the D1 you get about 2 stops, noticeably less than if you were shooting slide film. So, creating a proper exposure on the Nikon D1 is less a practice in skill and more a sadistic joke played on the person pressing the shutter button. To aid in the torment of the photographer, while the camera has four (yes, four) ISO’s available (200, 400, 800, 1600), the only one that is safe to use is 200. Go any higher than 200 and you may be better off painting the image.
This brings us to the ultimate question that is this article, “what is it like to shoot the Nikon D1?”
FUCKING WONDERFUL
It is one of the hardest cameras I have ever used, and its capabilities are extremely limited, but for some reason, I can’t help but love every second of using the D1. In some sense it is a photographic meditation where the images being created are less important than the practice of creating them. It is extremely difficult to settle in to creating pieces with the D1, but so rewarding when a solid shot is made. It is the equivalent to an athlete practicing their sport while wearing a weighted vest. Every motion and reaction are delayed and sluggish, but the muscles and neurons become stronger and quicker in the process. Shooting with the Nikon D1 has made me better on set, even in the short time I have had the luck to use it.
Then there is the part that I can’t ignore. Every time I take out the Nikon D1, it reminds me of how far we have come in the last 20 years. I sadly have taken for granted so many aspects of photography that I never even realized until I used the D1. Often when I am out in the middle of the forest with it, taking pictures of trains, I think about those that created art and informed the world with the D1. I think about a photographer in Miami, armed with the Nikon D1 and a Tokina lens, showing up to house to photograph an immigrant boy named Elian Gonzalez. The photographer’s name was Alan Diaz, and on that sunny April day he didn’t think about all the difficulties that were presented by the D1, he simply created. The image he shot with the camera was lower resolution than most of your monitors, but it does what every photographer sets out to do, tells a story. On April 22, 2000, Mr. Diaz created the very first digital image to win the Pulitzer Prize.
Never forget the greats that laid the foundation upon which we stand.
This is amazing. Thanks for sharing this story!
Great story, loved it
Who else is blown away at the images of a 2.7 mega pixel sensor?
I have 2 D1X bodies in quite good cosmetic condition, I acquired a couple of new batteries off the web that hold a charge for much longer the the original ones did when I got them… still they don’t hold a charge like my newer cameras batteries.
It also only work with a 1gb cf card. I also found a few used ones on line for a good price.
I use them with a 50mm Nikon f1.8 and a 60mm 2.8mm close up. They still take quite acceptable pictures for there age.. But remember they were once very expensive and were the hight of technology.
One day the Nikon D5 will be old, cheap and a collectors toy….in what, 20years..
All you have to do is see Jim Brandenberg’s “Chased by the Light” to know that the D1’s sensor wasn’t nearly up to the task of fine art photography. The D1’s biggest claim to fame is just that it was the first that got the photojournalists to make the switch. It was quickly buried by Canon in that regard, and at the time I managed to acquire some Nikon lenses from pros making the switch to Canon. Another commentor points out that soon the D5 will be obsolete, too, but, I’d point out that at least the D5 makes great images and will continue to do so until it no longer functions. That’s not true of the D1.
Great article, thank you
I enjoyed your article. A good reminder of how far things have come. I enjoy using a slightly more recent antique, the Fuji Finepix S2. What I find most fascinating about the S2 is that unlike the Nikon digital cameras of the same era, which could not use any of the early Nikon SB digital flashes in TTL mode, the Fuji S2 supports most of them. Many of them are very capable flashes, and I’m amazed that Nikon limited itself as it did.
I was editor of a small daily newspaper in northern Michigan in 1999 when I got the box from the corporate graphics guru. In it was a full D1 setup for the regular photographer, and three Coolpix 990s for the reporters.
I used the D1 for two weeks for “training purposes” so I could be well-versed in training the staff for the transition to video. Despite the slow reaction time, I knew we were never going back, and even today, the D1 stands out as a pivotal moment in my personal tech history.
That was a great read!! Thank you
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I had the D1H…for a 2.4 mp….i got some amazing shots from it. And it was super fast. Up to 11×14 it was clean and just amazing
The D1 was my first DSLR, and third digital camera. It’s responsible for reigniting my love of photography, and also to blame for the large hole in my bank account. It’s been followed by many, more capable bodies, but I’ll always have a soft spot for it.
Sadly my D1 won’t write to the CF card anymore.
Your experience reads very similar to mine with my Nikon E2N. It’s just over a megapixel. On the one hand I’m actually impressed with how well it can perform under the proper circumstances, but it’s also hilariously dated. The Ni-Cd batteries are shot just like yours. It takes PCMCIA cards for memory (in 16MB, 32MB sixes lol). And just as you said, when I viewed the images on my 27” monitor, I thought I was seeing thumbnails. I have to rez the images up to post them to Instagram. Tons of fun. Thanks for a good read.
Prints from my 1999 Toyo 45AII 4×5 camera probably blow that 1999 Nikon DSLR out of the water.
Great article.
I always found those 100 years of iconic photography books in the early 2000s interesting. It starts with 1900s sepia black and white, though early color, to some fantastic color film shots in the 80s and 90s, and the book often ends at 9/11 with grainy and noisy, Nikon D1 (and Canon) photos. For a number of years there with early digital, what we gained in speed, we lost in quality.
[…] of modern cameras is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to changes. Spending time with the Nikon D1 to create the piece on it really opened my eyes to what it was to take a photo in 1999, and how […]
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Just got a D1 passed down to me! I cant wait to use it. I currently have a Sony Alpha
I dont know to much about the D1, but diving in head 1st!
any tips tricks…
I have an eye for photos but need to dial in my skills.
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Dowload the D1 User Manual FOC from Nikons site as entering the cameras menu system is not how you’d think.
The Nikon D1 i liken to reintroducing yourself to photography as it used to be, an experience not to be missed, modern DSLR’s you learn what the menu’s & sub menu’s can do only with the D1 you learn / find out what you can do.
The camera will accept & use a max of 2Gb CF card.
To get around the buffer lag don’t use the largest file size setting use the next size down until you familiarise yourself with using the camera. Otherwise the lag with the buffer may put you off using the camera as it’ll give you the wrong impression. The idea is to get as many images as you can for evaluation you can select the largerest size later, 2 or 3 shots & you’ll be waiting for the buffer to load the images to the card.
200 ISO is my personal preference as it seems to be the best all rounder.
The battery life is poor when compared to modern cameras only don’t let that put you off. It’ll probably make you feel proud to be using a 20 year old DSLR who can tell.
I have a number of Nikon D1 + the D1X & D1H cameras that i always find most satisfying to use, simply because it asks more from the user.
I love the early tech they used after all there always needs to be a starting point for ant new idea.
The D1 is very basic with nothing to speak of in way of a menu system which i find gives an interesting edge when using it. If you select the largest file size i found 2 maybe 3 shots then your playing catch up.
It’s a really quirky camera that’s more fun to use than my modern Nikon DSLR’s as it makes “You” work instead of the “Cameras” software of today the personal rewards are great.
The D1H uses the same 2.7mp sensor only with the uprated buffer of the D1X making the saving of TIFF’s straight forward. the D1X is slightly slower in operation compared to the D1H due to it’s 5.3mp sensor. The largest CF card which is what i use is 2Gb this can hold heaps of images.
The colours i find are accurate compared to some modern Digital cameras.
I use my cameras for my personal enjoyment & i use a lot of Nikon 35mm & Other medium format SLR & TLR film cameras.
Great read! I was an early adopter and got the D1 when it came out. I don’t remember the slow buffer, lack of DR, or that it was limited to 2gb cards (I recently picked up a very clean D1 to play with for nostalgia sake and bought a larger Compact Flash card and couldn’t figure out why it wouldn’t format). Have gotten ahold of a charger and battery. Just waiting for my 1gb card to show up from Amazon. I think I will stick with my Z9 and D850s for professional work but can’t wait to play with the D1. Should help reaffirm how easy it has gotten with new gear.
I was working for Nikon in Belmont, California as an instructor in their business making huge chip-making machines called steppers when we first started using the CoolPix 950. We were blown away by the sharpness of the images compared to film and used them to take photos inside the machines for our manuals. But for myself, I continued to shoot mainly film for quite a while, and still do, though I have a full-frame Nikon DSLR, a DX one, and a Nikon mirrorless. These days I teach photography to high school students in Idaho.