Nikon D800 released

[gregbradley]

Here finally is the release:

http://nikonrumors.com/2012/02/06/ni...comment-232154

Only question I have is whether video has autofocus or not.

It would seem on paper this camera will be hard to beat.

There is a D800e without the low pass antialiasing filter. That'd be the model I would want.

Greg.

[Paul Haese]

Being a Nikon man from way back I would hold off Greg. This camera looks more like a studio unit rather than anything else. While it can go to 25600 in ISO its working range is similar to my D3 yet it is supposed to be an advanced camera.

Yes it has FX and lots of pixels I wonder what the frames per second ability is in real life. It says 4fps and that says a lot about the buffer to me.

Not being a pro body also says a lot to me. Hold off for the pro body mate in a year or less. It will make this look like a toy.

[Marke (Mark)]

Cant wait to see what the noise performance is like because image resolution will be a step up from D700

[Marke (Mark)]

Paul D4 already been anounced thats as pro as it gets

[Paul Haese]

Yes that would be my choice of the two. I am going to wait for D5 or further edition before I upgrade from the D3.

[Octane (Humayun)]

This D800 has the same pixel density as the D7000: 16.2*1.5^2=~36.

H

[Adelastro1 (Wayne England)]

I'll be putting an order in for the 800E tomorrow at my local camera shop! Max. ISO is a little disappointing but I'm used to that level on my current D7000. Can't wait to get back to a wide angle FX camera!

[gregbradley]

Originally Posted by Paul Haese

Being a Nikon man from way back I would hold off Greg. This camera looks more like a studio unit rather than anything else. While it can go to 25600 in ISO its working range is similar to my D3 yet it is supposed to be an advanced camera.

Yes it has FX and lots of pixels I wonder what the frames per second ability is in real life. It says 4fps and that says a lot about the buffer to me.

Not being a pro body also says a lot to me. Hold off for the pro body mate in a year or less. It will make this look like a toy.

There's some awesome choices coming up.

The Nikon D4, the D800 or D800E (you can disable the low pass filter) or the upcoming 5D Mark iii or whatever they will call it or the new Canon 1Dx.

This D800 will be a lot for Canon to match. There are no rumours about Canon having a sensor with that many pixels. Where Canon may go better is the video ability. No autofocus for the D800's video.

Depends on what you want to use it for. The D800E may not be the ideal astro camera or time lapse camera, the D3 series or D700 may be the go for that.

But for landscape, portraits, weddings, on paper it sounds very good.

For me the main thing is full frame and also video ability.

I wonder also this E version with no low pass filter or the ability to disable it as described in the Nikon press release. I wonder if that means its like a modified astro camera and will have fabulous Ha response. If so it will be the 20Da Nikon never made!

Would these things make good planetary cameras with 30 FPS? You can also shoot DX mode. I read there was some possible time lapse ability built in as well.

I'm thinking DSLRs may be nudging astro CCDs a bit here. 36mp? There is no 36mp astro CCD that is any good. The Kodak KAF39000 is a joke so is the KAF50100 for astrowork.

With Kodak bankrupt even if they sold the CCD arm I would not expect too many advancements from them until the financial dust settles. The CCD arm may reevaluate their business model and markets.

Greg.

[gregbradley]

Originally Posted by Adelastro1

I'll be putting an order in for the 800E tomorrow at my local camera shop! Max. ISO is a little disappointing but I'm used to that level on my current D7000. Can't wait to get back to a wide angle FX camera!

Go for it Wayne.

Sensors are like real estate. Its often some fabulous features at the compromise of others.

Small pixels means lower light sensitivity but potentially higher resolution.
There's always the D4 for low light sensitivity or a D700 or D3s or x.

D700's should be cheaper on Ebay for a while.

I reckon the 800E sounds hot.

I wonder how Canon will respond. I personally will wait to see what the 5D Mark iii will be before I buy but I am in no rush.
At this stage I am thinking the D800 will be very very hard for Canon to top but who knows. I'd say Nikon is playing catchup with Canon
with regards to the video side of things though.D800 video sounds a bit more flexible than the 5DMkii but the 5D Mkii has been around for a few years now.

Rumours are a 5D Mark iii or 5Dx announcement Feb 28 so it may not be a long wait.

Greg.

[DavidTrap (David)]

I recall seeing a comment on the Nikon website that the D800E retains the normal IR filtering, etc, so I presume it will not give a better Ha response.

I'm opting for the D800 standard model at this stage - have paid my deposit already! I think the extra resolution provided by the D800E model is aimed at those aiming to achieve what would usually require a digital medium format camera (apparently the anti-aliasing filters is absent in most medium format digital backs) - I recall seeing something about it only being available in specialist shops, so they don't see it as a camera for everyone. My interpretation is that the D800E will give extra resolution, but only noticeable if you are going for mega-huge enlargements/magazine work.

Just my 2 cents worth.

DT

[DavidTrap (David)]

Just watched the promo video - certainly nothing wrong with it's low light performance.

DT

[gregbradley]

The motorbike video? Cool isn't it? Same bike as mine!

Not sure if this is genuine but here is an "ad" for Canon 5d Mark iii;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7_7W...eature=related

Greg.

[Octane (Humayun)]

It's a fake.

July, 2011, also.

H

[DavidTrap (David)]

Originally Posted by gregbradley

The motorbike video? Cool isn't it? Same bike as mine!

Not sure if this is genuine but here is an "ad" for Canon 5d Mark iii;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7_7W...eature=related

Greg.

Not sure about the symbolism of the "birth" though???

DT

[DavidTrap (David)]

Have a look at the comparison shots between the D800 & D800E to see the effect of removing the anti-aliasing filter.

I personally can't see much difference between the two shots of the rocks, but I can see the obvious difference between the fabric shots. They talk about the not having the anti-aliasing filter being useful when you have control of your subject, lighting and focus point. It sounds to me like a more useful feature if you are a studio photographer or have lots of time to compose and take your shots. As most of my photography is opportunistic (i.e. family snaps or travel photography), I don't think this applies to me. I may be trying to convince myself that I don't need the "E" model, but I wonder if people are being lured to it by the promise of finer resolution, from an already high resolution camera.

Link

Here is a quote from Ken Rockwell (obviously he hasn't seen one yet), nonetheless I think it agrees with my sentiments above:

The D800E is for tweaks. I wouldn't spend my extra money on it unless I either was a tweak, or really had my technique down and printed at 30 x 45" all day. If you're shooting at f/22 or smaller than several feet or meters wide, you'll never see the extra sharpness of the D800E, but everyone will see the D800E's moiré at any print size on fabrics or screens. If you're a tweak, you'll love the D800E, but for photography, stick with the D800.

Here is the quote I referred to earlier about the filters on the camera, and why I don't think the D800E will have better Ha response:

IR cut and antireflective coating properties of the optical filter remain the same with both versions

DT

[Marke (Mark)]

The 800e would be a great choice for macro , I could see it replacing my D2X at some point as I prefer it over the D700 for macro.

[Adelastro1 (Wayne England)]

I'm not sure about the 800E now, might just go for the 800. I think I will also keep my D7000 - the 800 for high res wide angle shots using the FX capabilities with wide angle lenses and the 7000 for long zoom lenses for wildlife etc to take advantage of the 1.5x crop factor (also keeps the weight down).

As for the removal of the anti-aliasing filter on 800E, I'm not sure whether this means that moiré will be seen in ordinary outdoor shots where you don't have much control:

"This is an ideal tool for photographers who can control light, distance and their subjects to the degree where they can mitigate the occurrence of moiré. Aside from the optical filter, all functions and features are the same as on the D800."


I like the sound of the noise reduction system, but time will tell what it's really like. It could be just marketing, although the noise reduction on the D7000 that I have is very very good.

"The D800/D800E set a new benchmark for high-resolution D-SLR cThe D800/D800E set a new benchmark for high-resolution D-SLR cameras, with crisp clean images across a wide ISO range........
....Even at high ISO settings, the camera's intelligent noise reduction systems manage noise without sacrificing fine details, giving the D800/D800E the edge."

[Paul Haese]

Greg, I would not bother with planetary work with these cameras. You can buy dedicated cheaper cameras that will do 60fps and produce much better results.

DX mode is not new either, my D3 has this capacity but I fail to see why I would bother. It is a crop mode and you can always do this in post.

With the filters for control of IR bleed in place I doubt these cameras could even come near the capabilities of a dedicated CCD. Yes lots of pixels would be great but in reality it means less for astro work. Stars would bloat like nothing we have ever seen in minutes. While good for wide field and doing animations I cannot see its use in the narrower fields most employ.

[gregbradley]

Originally Posted by DavidTrap

Have a look at the comparison shots between the D800 & D800E to see the effect of removing the anti-aliasing filter.

I personally can't see much difference between the two shots of the rocks, but I can see the obvious difference between the fabric shots. They talk about the not having the anti-aliasing filter being useful when you have control of your subject, lighting and focus point. It sounds to me like a more useful feature if you are a studio photographer or have lots of time to compose and take your shots. As most of my photography is opportunistic (i.e. family snaps or travel photography), I don't think this applies to me. I may be trying to convince myself that I don't need the "E" model, but I wonder if people are being lured to it by the promise of finer resolution, from an already high resolution camera.

Link

Here is a quote from Ken Rockwell (obviously he hasn't seen one yet), nonetheless I think it agrees with my sentiments above:

The D800E is for tweaks. I wouldn't spend my extra money on it unless I either was a tweak, or really had my technique down and printed at 30 x 45" all day. If you're shooting at f/22 or smaller than several feet or meters wide, you'll never see the extra sharpness of the D800E, but everyone will see the D800E's moiré at any print size on fabrics or screens. If you're a tweak, you'll love the D800E, but for photography, stick with the D800.

Here is the quote I referred to earlier about the filters on the camera, and why I don't think the D800E will have better Ha response:

IR cut and antireflective coating properties of the optical filter remain the same with both versions

DT

It depends on the UV/IR cut filter used. Don't forget a standard modded DSLR usually has a Baader UV/IR cut filter placed in front of the sensor in place of the antialiasing filter/low pass filter.

But you are probably right it is unlikely to be tweaked for astro use.

I read the same and am thinking the D800 would be the way to go.

Also the 28-300mm lens sounds good plus the 16-35mm.

Then maybe a prime later on.

Where are you ordering yours from?

Greg.

[gregbradley]

DX mode is not new either, my D3 has this capacity but I fail to see why I would bother. It is a crop mode and you can always do this in post.

With the filters for control of IR bleed in place I doubt these cameras could even come near the capabilities of a dedicated CCD. Yes lots of pixels would be great but in reality it means less for astro work. Stars would bloat like nothing we have ever seen in minutes. While good for wide field and doing animations I cannot see its use in the narrower fields most employ.[/QUOTE]


It may be worth trying it at some time. 1080 x 1920 at 30fps could be handy.

Also it has a time lapse mode.

Plus an in-camera HDR mode.

A shame no autofocus for video.

I suppose for astro style imaging it would be handy for time lapse, for milky way shots and for things like comets or landscapes with stars in the background.

Greg.