My Nikon D810 Review

Nice review, thanks for posting. Only thing I can say from my own experience with this camera is that shooting to the right a little when above iso 3200 and pulling back in post really helps the IQ, if you under expose at high ISO the IQ drops of the cliff.
 
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psenior1 said:
Nice review, thanks for posting. Only thing I can say from my own experience with this camera is that shooting to the right a little when above iso 3200 and pulling back in post really helps the IQ, if you under expose at high ISO the IQ drops of the cliff.
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Thats the general rule with all digital cameras
 
Thanks Will - good review - concise as well as being comprehensive
 
psenior1 said:
Nice review, thanks for posting. Only thing I can say from my own experience with this camera is that shooting to the right a little when above iso 3200 and pulling back in post really helps the IQ, if you under expose at high ISO the IQ drops of the cliff.
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My bold. What do you mean?

Edited to add, never mind, I googled it.
 
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psenior1 said:
as in pushing the histogram data to the right, i.e. overexposing a little.
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I.e. Allowing more light than you'd expect to get to the sensor. Maybe only half a stop. Works best if using RAW though, rather than JPEG. Try it at lower ISO's, but works better as the ISO gets above 2000. Tends to mean longer shutter speeds though.
 
Still keep looking at those video specs and wondering about this camera. I just don't shoot quite enough video to warrant it though... but 1080p @ 60fps has some great creative uses.
 
Pookeyhead said:
Still keep looking at those video specs and wondering about this camera. I just don't shoot quite enough video to warrant it though... but 1080p @ 60fps has some great creative uses.
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Serious question as i know sod all about video, aren't there much more cost effective and better actual video cameras out there rather than pay £2700
 
Gary Coyle said:
Serious question as i know sod all about video, aren't there much more cost effective and better actual video cameras out there rather than pay £2700
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Not really... not if you want the whole large sensor, DSLR style depth of field thing... they get VERY expensive.

GH4 is good, but £1500 or whatever it is for a whole new still image DSLR... just for it's video is crazy. If I get a D810, then I'm just upgrading the video capabilities of what I already have, as I won't gain any advantage to my still photography that I can see.. Sell the 800E, get a D810 grey.... won't cost anywhere near that.

Anyway... as I said... not even sure it's worth it. 60fps can just allow some nice slow mo stuff.
 
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Mine is winging its way to my door, hopefully Tuesday. Cards, software and PC upgrades in hand!
 
Just a little OT

what is the minimum computer spec that you need to process the files at a reasonable speed in LR?
 
WillNicholls said:
What does OT mean?

As for computer spec, I'm not sure specifically. I have a 2010 Mac with 12GB RAM and it manages it.
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I have the 8 gbte max memory in my 2009 iMac and it struggles a little with the D7100 RAW files, same goes for my MBP, so I reckon that I will have to buy new for both Desktop and laptop if I upgrade to the D810 or even the D800
 
BillN_33 said:
I have the 8 gbte max memory in my 2009 iMac and it struggles a little with the D7100 RAW files, same goes for my MBP, so I reckon that I will have to buy new for both Desktop and laptop if I upgrade to the D810 or even the D800
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Possibly. I imagine it's also to do with the graphics card.

In an ideal world I'd be using a mac pro but they are expensive!
 
WillNicholls said:
Video cameras are a completely different ball game and the expense ladder is much greater than for stills.

A lot of James bond skyfall was shot on the Nikon d4
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Not meaning to derail the thread, but actually Skyfall was shot almost entirely with the Arri Alexa, with some aerial shots using a Red Epic. The cinematographer, Roger Deakins uses the Alexa almost exclusively these days as it's his preferred camera and in the past he has expressed his view that DSLR's are not the best tool for shooting films.

If you really want to find out though, ask on his forum (search for 'Roger Deakins forum') and I'm sure he'll tell you as he's very open to explaining how he shot his films, and it really is a credit to him for such an experienced person to help and advise others via his forum.

-- Sent from my Palm Pre3 using Forums
 
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s162216 said:
Not meaning to derail the thread, but actually Skyfall was shot almost entirely with the Arri Alexa, with some aerial shots using a Red Epic. The cinematographer, Roger Deakins uses the Alexa almost exclusively these days as it's his preferred camera and in the past he has expressed his view that DSLR's are not the best tool for shooting films.

If you really want to find out though, ask on his forum (search for 'Roger Deakins forum') and I'm sure he'll tell you as he's very open to explaining how he shot his films, and it really is a credit to him for such an experienced person to help and advise others via his forum.

-- Sent from my Palm Pre3 using Forums
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Happy to be corrected :)

I heard multiple times at least some of it was shot on the D4, but maybe that's just rumours.
 
Thanks for the review...

I've seen enough positive comments about the improved AF that it's convinced me to make the upgrade. The other minor improvements will be nice, but the AF is critical for me.
 
Hey Will, great review - very in depth and useful. This is the first time I've seen your site. Keep up the good work!
 
BillN_33 said:
Just a little OT

what is the minimum computer spec that you need to process the files at a reasonable speed in LR?
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They're exactly the same size files as the D800, so anything made in the last 5 years with 8GB or RAM or more should cope easily.
 
Pookeyhead said:
They're exactly the same size files as the D800, so anything made in the last 5 years with 8GB or RAM or more should cope easily.
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That's what I was thinking about getting, a D800

both my iMac and MBP have 8 Gbte and have slowed down considerably when I compare D7100 processing in LR with D300 and D700 RAW files

Maybe there is some other problem with my machine then if you say that a 2009 iMac with 8 Gbte should cope easily with a 35 mbte plus file
 
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@BillN_33 When you say slow down considerably.. what are we talking about? Is it still acceptable? It will of course be slower with D800 files, but is it too slow?

One machine with 8GB of RAM and (for argument's sake) a i5 processor may not perform identically to another with the same spec. How fast is your hard drive(s)? How much free space is there on the hard drives? Are they mechanical drives, and if so, when was the last time you de-fragmented them? Do you have a million browser toolbars and applications launching at start up that suck up system resources?

It's a "how long is a piece of string" question this one.

I regularly process D800 files on my wife's 6/7 year old mahine, with 6GB of RAM and old machanical drives with no problem... seems just as fast as my 6core, 5GHz main machine. Yet my 2010 iMac at work, with 8GB of RAM is definitely sluggish... but still perfectly acceptable.
 
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Can you defrag an iMac?

but with respect to the OP we are going OT
 
Agreed.. if you're having issues.. post in the computer/web forum. I'm fairly sure you can defrag a hard drive on a mac though.. never tried. I'm forced to use a Mac at work... it's not through choice :)
 
Will - did you buy an MB-D12?

If you did, does it flex slightly against the D810 body (when lining up the shot on a tripod)?

I had this problem with an MB-D10 on a D700. The single screw attachment meant that the body would start to move before the grip did, making it almost impossible to line up a shot accurately if the head friction was on.
 
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