Well I managed to try out the new D800E and new lenses tonight while down in Bordertown for Mothers Day. There was a lot of cloud around so I only got 45mins of imaging, but at least it was a dark sky!
Although I knew I would be, I am super impressed with this camera for astro... and my new lenses too! The image quality is amazing compared to other cameras I've used - very low noise with ISO 1600 and 3200 and coupled with this, amazing detail (particularly seen on heavy crops - see below). At ISO 1600 I barely notice any noise at all. Hot pixels are almost non-existent. My D7000 really doesn't compare to this camera in those areas. Wow. This is the image quality I've been looking for.
Also, the Nikon 14-24 f2.8 is amazing with this camera, as is the Samyang 35mm f1.4. Both allow much shorter exposure times or lower ISO than the f4 lens I've been using. After reading the reviews of the Samyang lenses it really hasn't let me down even at this early stage - sharp images with little or no coma.
The images below are just done from jpegs and processed in Photoshop (tone, brightness and contrast - that's all). I took them in RAW too and will process later. I also did a few 10-shot series that I will stack later too. so these are virtually straight out of the camera and compressed.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/2900549...ream/lightbox/
My very first astro shot with the D800E! I like how the bit of cloud gave a diffuse effect to the stars - really accentuates the bright ones. Nikon 14-24mm at 14mm, ISO 1600, 30sec, f2.8.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/2900549...ream/lightbox/
Pointers, Crux and Eta Carina region. Samyang 35mm, ISO 1600, 10sec, f1.8. I'm amazed how well the red nebulosity of Eta Carina nebula came out. See the crop of this image below.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/2900549...ream/lightbox/
Crop of the image above of Crux and Eta Carina as an example showing how much detail there is and low noise with the D800E images.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/2900549...in/photostream
Centre of the galaxy around Scorpio. Samyang 35mm, ISO 1600, 10sec, f1.4.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/2900549...ream/lightbox/
The region around Scorpio. Antares can be seen just left of centre. amazing detail and picture quality even at ISO 3200. Samyang 35mm, ISO 3200, 10sec, f1.4.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/2900549...ream/lightbox/
Crop of the image above of part of the Milky Way as an example showing how much detail there is and low noise with the D800E images.
I will post some day time bird shots soon too that I took with a 500mm lens. Again impressive.
Bed time and look forward to getting a few more shots before heading back to the city! Let me know what you think of these.
Wayne