In the couple of years I've been writing The Dark Slide, I've not once posted a technical review of any kind. Considering that I have as much fun using a 4 x 5 view camera, a big empty box with a lens, as I do my digital equipment, I wouldn't exactly be the go-to person for technical advice. That's what CNET is for, right?

I've always been of the mind that gear is overrated. When other photographers start talking about technical specs at our monthly pho get-togethers (Vietnamese soup), my eyes glaze over instantly. After all, some of the greatest (and sharpest) photos I've ever seen, and the photos that really impacted me as a kid,  came out of the Vietnam War--taken on "primitive" Nikon F's in miserable conditions and processed in dirty darkrooms. In fact, a childhood schoolmate of mine, Ken Rockwell, has created a wildly popular website devoted to photography, a site where he specifically demonstrates how one can make gorgeous images using nothing but a cheap, old camera.

Having said that, for the last couple of weeks I've been using a D3, graciously loaned to me by my buddy Ron Taniwaki at Nikon, and I have to say it's pretty spectacular. Ron is an old friend, dating back to my days in Los Angeles in the early '90's, and, with Robert Hanashiro of USA Today, first introduced me to dim sum, something I'll always be grateful for.

As we all know, for years now Canon has stolen a lot of the thunder from Nikon and people were starting to wonder if the guys with the black lenses would ever recover. Well, worry no more. Nikon's D3 is a remarkable tool and I will be buying a couple shortly. Just about every photo on this new blog has been taken with it.

This camera is sharp. Really sharp. I purposely inverted this small detail of a shoot from yesterday afternoon of the Schuller family to demonstrate my point. As Josh was swinging Griffin, I noticed that each time the baby cleared his body the most amazing rim light would illuminate his hair. As it was just before sunset, this is exactly how the image appeared to me as I was shooting. And since the D3 has what feels like a mini-HD display on the back, I could tell immediately that I had gotten the image.

Since The Dark Slide isn't written specifically for photographers, I won't get much more technical. Come to our next pho lunch and I'll tell you more. (Ask for the #12 with an extra side of brisket.) There are other features--particularly the second CF slot--which make it really appealing to a wedding photographer.  The drive is fast and the focus is dead on. And ergonomically speaking, it feels like a more comfortable descendant of the Nikons I always grew up with. (My favorite camera of all time remains the brickish F3HP.)

 Well, I have to run. It's a Saturday and I have my 458th wedding of the last ten years in a few hours. As F. Scott said, and so we beat on....

Matt