Nikon D800......

Thanks for the data, interesting :)

Agreed, I owned a D700 for a short period of time and got rid of it because it felt wrong in my hand - the D3 has been perfect but my work is demanding higher res images of over 5000px so I need something better native. I've tested D3x's and they are awesome for sure - but if with the increase in native image sizes if the D800, I think I may have to compromise :(
 
What aspect of your work is "demanding higher res images"?
I thought about the D800 but couldn't convince myself that was what I wanted - I love the hand-friendly D3 series body so bought another D3S.
 
Its art work for publishing book covers/double pages, somtimes digital art. Demands are changing and up scaling has its problems - the D800 would put me in a good place but I don't know if I can make a mental leap towards a small body :/
 
Sounds more studio than outside work (may be wrong!), if so why not a D3X?
 
gramps said:
Sounds more studio than outside work (may be wrong!), if so why not a D3X?
Click to expand...

Its more in locations, none of it is studio. Good question, D3x costs more than D800 and (I may be wrong) provides less technical benefit than a D800. If the D800 was in a D3 body, I would have one already :)
 
redddraggon said:
What about a gripped D800?
Click to expand...

I had a D700/MB-D10 and handling was hopeless compared to a D3/D4 series. The balance is all wrong, the buttons are too fiddly and the single screw doesn't lock onto the body solidly enough - a total nightmare on a tripod. Plus it's bigger (too big) and heavier than a D3/4 series. I certainly wouldn't buy another separate grip.
 
sophos9 said:
Its art work for publishing book covers/double pages...../
Click to expand...

I've used the D3x for this kind of work (with L bracket & tripod) and it's excellent - especially with the 105 macro.

What size do you need the finished results to be? The D3x will go to 6048 without upscaling.
 
Last edited:
Ozei said:
I had a D700/MB-D10 and handling was hopeless compared to a D3/D4 series. The balance is all wrong, the buttons are too fiddly and the single screw doesn't lock onto the body solidly enough - a total nightmare on a tripod. Plus it's bigger (too big) and heavier than a D3/4 series. I certainly wouldn't buy another separate grip.
Click to expand...

I don't disagree, however the D700/grip is not hopeless, but you do need to make compromises somewhere. IMO its just daft to pay more for a camera with a lower IQ.
 
Where is the evidence of the D800's vastly superior IQ?
So far I've seen just one set of images that I would describe as outstanding, if it were so much better I would expect to be seeing loads of 'look at my pics' Internet posts.
 
gramps said:
Where is the evidence of the D800's vastly superior IQ?
Click to expand...

I'm not going to argue with you because you are making stuff up now. At no point did I type the word "vastly".

Even if the D800 has only fractionally superior IQ, I still think it's daft to pay substantially more for an old camera.
 
redddraggon said:
I don't disagree, however the D700/grip is not hopeless, but you do need to make compromises somewhere. IMO its just daft to pay more for a camera with a lower IQ.
Click to expand...

In my experience, the D700/MB-D10 combination proved to be utterly hopeless for tripod use where fine framing adjustments are needed. With the ballhead drag set up correctly, the D700 would start to move a fraction before the MB-D10 did (due to the inadequate single screw fixing) - this made it virtually impossible to make tiny adjustments to framing.
 
gramps said:
Where is the evidence of the D800's vastly superior IQ?
So far I've seen just one set of images that I would describe as outstanding, if it were so much better I would expect to be seeing loads of 'look at my pics' Internet posts.
Click to expand...

I've been totally and utterly amazed by loads of D800 images but the amazement always comes from zooming in to the tiniest details. Like that horse's eye on the previous page. Fantastic. But... when you remove that wow factor, I just keep wondering, how many people will actually make use of that? I did an A1 print from my D700's measly 12mp the other day and it looked great to my eyes.

It's one of those cameras that I'd really, really love to have a play with but try as I might I cannot rationalise a purchase.
 
redddraggon said:
I'm not going to argue with you because you are making stuff up now. At no point did I type the word "vastly".
Click to expand...

It was a generalisation based on various comments made I was not making a personal challenge to you.


redddraggon said:
Even if the D800 has only fractionally superior IQ, I still think it's daft to pay substantially more for an old camera.
Click to expand...

Then why not a D7000?
It isn't all about pixels, there are many other considerations ... and is the D3X really an "old" camera?
 
Ozei said:
In my experience, the D700/MB-D10 combination proved to be utterly hopeless for tripod use where fine framing adjustments are needed. With the ballhead drag set up correctly, the D700 would start to move a fraction before the MB-D10 did (due to the inadequate single screw fixing) - this made it virtually impossible to make tiny adjustments to framing.
Click to expand...

Well you are right about that, but one of the main advantages of a grip is shooting in portrait orientation handheld, if you are mainly using a tripod you lose that advantage of the grip. I leave my grip at home if I'm using a tripod. I actually find a smaller body an advantage when used with a tripod.
 
gad-westy said:
I've been totally and utterly amazed by loads of D800 images but the amazement always comes from zooming in to the tiniest details. Like that horse's eye on the previous page. Fantastic. But... when you remove that wow factor, I just keep wondering, how many people will actually make use of that? I did an A1 print from my D700's measly 12mp the other day and it looked great to my eyes.

It's one of those cameras that I'd really, really love to have a play with but try as I might I cannot rationalise a purchase.
Click to expand...

Exactly, I was looking at an article comparing 12MP with 24MP in print output and the conclusion was that the difference was there but was almost unobservable in practical terms.

I'm not saying that the D800 isn't a great camera, there are loads of cameras that are 'great' but not necessarily better in every respect to other existing cameras, e.g. D3 series.
 
To compare IQ I downloaded the studio test shots from imaging resource - I've been studying them for weeks now and I can't see any difference between the two at 6048 (100 ISO - bottle/wool/fabric shots).

If I were Dave (sophos9) I'd only go for the D800 if he absolutely has to have that extra bit on the longest side (24.53 vs 20.16 inches at 300ppi). If he doesn't, I'd go for the D3x because of its superb handling & controls, tank-like build quality and the better battery system (which will match his existing D3).

Also, I'd rule out the D800E completely for book covers & illustrations - moiré is likely to be a real problem with this kind of work.
 
Thanks for the help - ideally I would need to test upscaling images to A2 from a D3x vs. native D800, looks like a trip to Wex for some comparative shooting :)
 
Would the shutter ratings be of interest? I guess it depends how much you believe in them.

  • Nikon D4: Kevlar / carbon fibre composite shutter with 400,000 exposure durability
  • Nikon D3, D3x, D3s: Kevlar / carbon fibre composite shutter with 300,000 exposure durability
  • Nikon D800/D800E: Kevlar / carbon fibre composite shutter with 200,000 exposure durability
  • Nikon D700: Kevlar / carbon fibre composite shutter with 150,000 exposure durability
 
sophos9 said:
Thanks for the help - ideally I would need to test upscaling images to A2 from a D3x vs. native D800, looks like a trip to Wex for some comparative shooting :)
Click to expand...

Yes, that would be a good idea provided WEX have somewhere you can get exactly the same shot with each camera (using the same lighting, lens, subject, framing, etc).

You could also download the full-size studio test shots from imaging resource (they're JPEGs rather than NEFs but they'll give you a reasonable idea). The best shot to use is 'Still-life 100' which I think was taken with the 24-70 at 70mm. The D3x file is called D3XhSLI0100 and the D800 file is D800hSLI00100NR2D. They're downloadable using right-click/save as. I did these tests:

  • Resize both files to match native monitor resolution (e.g. 2560 or 1920). Result - no real difference between the two.
  • Resize the D800 shot to 6048 to match native D3x. Result - no real difference.
  • Resize the D3x shot to 7360 to match native D800, then apply approx 10% sharpening. Result - no meaningful difference.
 
Well it eventually happened, Amazon UK cancelled my (and many others) pre-order for the D800.

Absolute disgrace that they have waited this long and now just cancelled everyones order.
 
welshy1812 said:
Well it eventually happened, Amazon UK cancelled my (and many others) pre-order for the D800.

Absolute disgrace that they have waited this long and now just cancelled everyones order.
Click to expand...
Indeed. But you have it in writing from them that they will honour your order, so does that not mean something?
 
Triggaaar said:
Indeed. But you have it in writing from them that they will honour your order, so does that not mean something?
Click to expand...

I doubt it will mean anything if they say their supplier can't or won't give them any more stock.

I have now heard that Amazon is supposedly going to reinstate the orders as this was due to their code picking up on the pre-orders from 7th of Feb being 90 days old now. My order is only 50 days old so I'm not going to hold my breath !
 
welshy1812 said:
I doubt it will mean anything if they say their supplier can't or won't give them any more stock.
Click to expand...
But we all know they will get more stock, at some point.
I have now heard that Amazon is supposedly going to reinstate the orders as this was due to their code picking up on the pre-orders from 7th of Feb being 90 days old now. My order is only 50 days old so I'm not going to hold my breath !
Click to expand...
Just had an email saying the cancellation email was an error, and that the order will still be fulfilled. Fingers crossed.
 
The D800 review is up on DPReview.

To summarise,

Amazing resolution, if you have the quality lenses and take care when using them.

Noise levels similar to D700, but with 3x the number of pixels.

The 5DIII looked a lot better in the high ISO noise dept. It will be interesting to see the review of that, and how it compares to the D800. :)
 
Went into store to try one out a couple of days back. It's really nice. Looking forward to being able to get my own.
 
Thanks, a bit far away!
Calumet in Bristol have an open day tomorrow and apparantly Nikon will be there with a demo D800 ... wonder if I can get there and if I can get the feel of it?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top