Nikon D800......

chrism_scotland said:
I'm very tempted, realistically unless I'm going to move to Canon (6D) I'm looking at there not being a massive price difference between the D610 and the D800 after cashback, my only real worry is size (although I use primes mainly) and it doesn't seem much larger than the D600 is.
Also a little concerned about the 36MP, I have heard a lot of folk talk about only getting the best out of it with astounding glass, which I currently don't have... only the Nikon 50 f1.8G and Nikon 24 f2.8D (and either the Siggy 35 or Nikon 28 f1.8G budget dependant)
Click to expand...
Chris, i use mine with a Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 and it produces stunningly detailed and sharp results, i dont have many images online from this co but if you Look at Sir SR Flickr stream he has quite a few and he will also recommend the lens as well, we both have the one WITHOUT the built in motor, its the model WITH the aperture ring

You dont need to spend silly money to get good glass
 
Going to get hold of a D800 and see what I think, will make my eventual decision easier if I can have a play with one and try my existing lenses.

Really comes down to D610 or D800.... quite liked the Canon 6D but the equivalent lenses seem quite pricey compared to the Nikon ones (Canon 24mm f2.8 & Canon 35mm f2 IS) I had half thought about the new Olympus EM1 but I just know that going for successive D600's back to Micro 4/3 would likely disappoint.
 
If you buy online or over the phone youre covered under DSR and can send it back no questions asked if you dont get on with it, ust be from a UK seller although HDEW also accept no quibble returns
 
The D600\610 is the same size as the D7100, and to me the D7100 I have feels like a toy after using my D800. That said, I get far more soft pictures with the D800 and the noise in low light situaions with high ISOs can be quite messy. The D600 is supposed to cope better with high ISOs so I'm tempted to get one. I use 2.8 zooms a lot, the D800 makes me switch to 1.8\1.4 primes instead.
 
Tizer said:
The D600\610 is the same size as the D7100, and to me the D7100 I have feels like a toy after using my D800. That said, I get far more soft pictures with the D800 and the noise in low light situaions with high ISOs can be quite messy. The D600 is supposed to cope better with high ISOs so I'm tempted to get one. I use 2.8 zooms a lot, the D800 makes me switch to 1.8\1.4 primes instead.
Click to expand...
I think shooting both at full resloution the D600 might just edge the D800 in the noise but if you resize the D800 down to the D600 size than the D800 is clearly better IMHO
 
Tizer said:
The D600\610 is the same size as the D7100, and to me the D7100 I have feels like a toy after using my D800. That said, I get far more soft pictures with the D800 and the noise in low light situaions with high ISOs can be quite messy. The D600 is supposed to cope better with high ISOs so I'm tempted to get one. I use 2.8 zooms a lot, the D800 makes me switch to 1.8\1.4 primes instead.
Click to expand...

I've heard a lot of folk talking about soft D800 images, with the suggestion that the 36MP can punish poor technique!
 
Just used the D800e in earnest today - 2470 + pictures on one battery - 82 Gb.... Amazed... & the battery still had life in it....
 
chrism_scotland said:
Well its arrived, not actually as much larger than the D600 as I expected, feels very nice in the hand.
Looking forward to getting finished work today and having a shot with it!
Click to expand...
Maybe not much bigger but a damn sight better made and sits perfectly in the hand, very, very nicely balanced with a grip if you use physically longer lenses like the 24-70mm and 70-200mm, can feel a bit front heavy without a grip when using these lenses hand held
 
Don't notice any difference here myself.

I have been working with faster shutters to compensate for the soft pictures and it does work. I focus and recompose a lot and I've found that back button focus has also helped me, as i can stay in AF-C all the time if i need to then jump to AF-S by releasing.

Still, that said, its a constant battle to keep the ISO down in a church and i do see myself replacing it with a D4 in the new year.
 
Well I've spent some more time playing and impressed v the D600, took it with me when I went for a drink


High ISO Bar by chrism_scotland, on Flickr


Pintage by chrism_scotland, on Flickr

Quite impressed with the High-ISO at smaller sizes but at 100% theres a lot of detail loss.

As I think I'd probably rather have "just" the 24MP of the D610 and maybe slightly (very slightly) smaller size (and spend the £400 or so difference on a new lens!) there are alot of pros for the D800.

The low light AF of the D600 was horrendous (especially v the 6D) however its good to see the D800 rectifies this, AF is not something I've really considered before but I've been doing a lot of low light shooting lately and the D800 AF seems like it it would be much much better for this.

Will need to ponder, I really need to weigh up the cost of the D800 v a D610 and consider my lenses, I only have the Nikon 24mm f2.8D and the 50 f1.8G at the moment and while I found both fine on the D600 I don't think the 24mm will stand up on the D800.
 
Just wondering has anyone had any problems with sd or cf cards with the D800. Over the past month or so I have been getting the error message MEMORY CARD FULL every 20 - 30 shots.
The memory cards are usually nowhere near full. Im using 2 Lexar 32gb Cards. The sd card is 400x and the cf card is 800x. Both cards bought new in May 2013 from amazon.

I started getting the problem when I was using the sd card only, the cf card was full and my cf card reader was broken so I was only using the sd card for a while.
At first I suspected it was a dodgy SD card so I bought a new CF card reader to make sure before I sent the sd card back. I emptied the CF card from the camera and started using the cf card as the primary memory and low and behold....MEMORY CARD FULL error again.

Ive taken the usual precautions with the memory cards, they have only ever been used in this camera. Always format the cards in camera, never delete single pictures etc. So I have come to the conclusion that its probably not the memory cards but the camera itself.

Has anyone any ideas. Is there any way to reset the camera or am I looking at a return under the guarantee.
 
Well folks I've made up my mind to return the D800 and order a D610, I can't justify the extra £400odd quid when I really need to buy a new lens as well so it will be a D610 and either a Nikon 28mm f1.8 (or the Siggy 35 f1.4 that I love) I just feel that the D800 is a step too far for me at the moment.
 
Gary Coyle said:
but if you Look at Sir SR Flickr stream he has quite a few
Click to expand...

You can only view these at 2048 pixels. Most lenses will look fine at that resolution.


Gary Coyle said:
You dont need to spend silly money to get good glass
Click to expand...

All down to what you want. Do you print big? If not... then don't worry about it. The resolution of the D800 is neither here nor there in that case. Just enjoy a great camera, and the great dynamic range and forget absolute lens sharpness.
 
Pookeyhead said:
You can only view these at 2048 pixels. Most lenses will look fine at that resolution.




All down to what you want. Do you print big? If not... then don't worry about it. The resolution of the D800 is neither here nor there in that case. Just enjoy a great camera, and the great dynamic range and forget absolute lens sharpness.
Click to expand...

But if you want to crop large the resolution and lens sharpness will matter, David.
 
arclight said:
But if you want to crop large the resolution and lens sharpness will matter, David.
Click to expand...

This is true... horses for courses. It's a valid point. If you find yourself cropping in massively, then it becomes an issue again... but if all you're doing is moderate crops, and looking at them on a 1080P monitor as a full screen image (not pixel peeping)... most lenses will give a pretty good account of themselves with any camera.
 
Pookeyhead said:
This is true... horses for courses. It's a valid point. If you find yourself cropping in massively, then it becomes an issue again... but if all you're doing is moderate crops, and looking at them on a 1080P monitor as a full screen image (not pixel peeping)... most lenses will give a pretty good account of themselves with any camera.
Click to expand...

The ability to do large crops was a big selling point for me getting my D800E. :thumbs:
 
Laudrup said:
Does the D800 make anyone want to step up to digital medium format?
Click to expand...

Hi, Quite the opposite. I was using digital medium format virtually all the time in our studio and for a lot of wedding and location work. After equiping with D800s I find I am using them more often than not instead of the medium formats. The medium formats of course can yeald a slightly smoother and more detailed image quality and can sync with electronic flash at all speeds which is sometimes needed when using flash and ambient light at the same time. But the quality of the D800 images is very close to medium format if used to their full potential that most of the time you'd be hard pushed to tell the difference.

Hope this helps.,

George.
 
Laudrup said:
Does the D800 make anyone want to step up to digital medium format?
Click to expand...

I was already using it. I got the D800 because the medium format gear is a pig to use outside of the studio.

I'm not sure it will tempt many due to the massive price gap between high end SLR gear, and low end medium format gear. With high end MF gear well into 5 figures, it's predominantly the reserve of those who know their work will pay for the investment... or the wealthy.

Medium format film still kicks the D800's ass though.... and they go for peanuts on Ebay. It does mean you gotta be able to stop relying on computers as much though... and polish your skills.
 
Last edited:
essexash said:
Youre manually focusing. Focus points are irrelevant
Click to expand...

Are they?
I was under the impression that the green dot confirmation is confirming whichever focus point is selected.
Or am I wrong (again) ?
 
The green dot is the camera telling you that it thinks its in focus using whatever green focus square is on screen? So if youre using that as a manual focus aid then you might as well use auto focus and let the camera get on with it. Of course if your lens is MF only then hey ho, youre stuck with it.

The Q earlier, I dont think you can get all 57 boxes to appear, after all you probably wouldn't actually see what you were pointing the camera at :)
 
I must dust off my cam and get back to using it more often. Been avoiding it lately, just not been in form. I have done a few odd jobs with it, but nothing personal. Winter usually sets my mind in motion, so here's hoping. If I don't have a tonne of new pic's by end of January, I'm going to sell on the lot. I have too much gear to be wasted.
 
Im in a similar boat, the D800 has been gathering dust for a good while now. Ive been shooting film far more. I think if someone brings out a good FF "compact" with a bit of a zoom lens next year then that will be the death knell for my Nikon kit.
 
I did buy the D800 after having the oil probs with the D600.

A clear advantage of the D800 is the AF which indeed works better and faster than the D600's. Not even just when you use all AF points, but it is also considerably faster and hunts less when you just use the central AF point. Also the AF-C is better.

The 36 MP is no prob, I didn't use anything much below 1/125 even on my old analog SLRs, and at 1/125 I can shoot clean pics with the D800 as well. It is, however, true that to a small extent, an unsteady hand can become a tad more visible with the D800 than with the D600.

Regarding the lenses, if you use less than optimal lenses, they will not produce worse images on the D800 than on the D600. They just don't allow you to get the maximum out of the D800's magnificent sensor. Images taken with inferior lenses on a D800 will look the same as they look on a D600. With better lenses, the D800 just can get a bit more out of an image than the D600.

The handling of both cameras is by and large comparable, although the D800's user interface is quite different. But both are intuitive and easy to learn.

The D600 beats the D800 in terms of bulk - it is not that much smaller and lighter, but the difference is noticeable.

The 36 MP are not an issue in terms of processing, provided you have a good computer and USB3. The loading delay for D800 images in Lightroom is slightly higher than for D600 images if you use full quality (which I exclusively do), but the difference is neglectible.

My D800 has taken quite a bit of beating, it has travelled a lot in the trunk without much cushioning, and it still works flawlessly. So maybe its build is a tad rugged than that of the D600. Difficult to compare. I also won't talk much about the weather sealing - I'm less weather proof than the camera, when it rains so hard I stay inside.

One thing I can say is that the D800 copes very well with climate changes. Like out of the A/C'ed car into 45 °C, and the images still don't have any mist in them - that is nice.

And of course - no oil ;-)
 
AchimT said:
I did buy the D800 after having the oil probs with the D600.

A clear advantage of the D800 is the AF which indeed works better and faster than the D600's. Not even just when you use all AF points, but it is also considerably faster and hunts less when you just use the central AF point. Also the AF-C is better.

The 36 MP is no prob, I didn't use anything much below 1/125 even on my old analog SLRs, and at 1/125 I can shoot clean pics with the D800 as well. It is, however, true that to a small extent, an unsteady hand can become a tad more visible with the D800 than with the D600.

Regarding the lenses, if you use less than optimal lenses, they will not produce worse images on the D800 than on the D600. They just don't allow you to get the maximum out of the D800's magnificent sensor. Images taken with inferior lenses on a D800 will look the same as they look on a D600. With better lenses, the D800 just can get a bit more out of an image than the D600.

The handling of both cameras is by and large comparable, although the D800's user interface is quite different. But both are intuitive and easy to learn.

The D600 beats the D800 in terms of bulk - it is not that much smaller and lighter, but the difference is noticeable.

The 36 MP are not an issue in terms of processing, provided you have a good computer and USB3. The loading delay for D800 images in Lightroom is slightly higher than for D600 images if you use full quality (which I exclusively do), but the difference is neglectible.

My D800 has taken quite a bit of beating, it has travelled a lot in the trunk without much cushioning, and it still works flawlessly. So maybe its build is a tad rugged than that of the D600. Difficult to compare. I also won't talk much about the weather sealing - I'm less weather proof than the camera, when it rains so hard I stay inside.

One thing I can say is that the D800 copes very well with climate changes. Like out of the A/C'ed car into 45 °C, and the images still don't have any mist in them - that is nice.

And of course - no oil ;-)
Click to expand...

Thats good to hear, I still haven't ordered a D610 yet.... had it in my head that I don't really "need" a D800.... but a big part of me does want one, main reasoning is budget, I can afford a D610 with a grip and Sigma 35mm f1.4 which would go with my Nikon 24mm f2.8D and 50mm f1.8G, however with the D800 I'd be looking at just the D800 but could maybe stretch to a used Nikon 28mm f1.8G which seems to get good write ups too,
 
I'd like to think you would be happy with either however I suspect that if you try the D800 you will buy it..

If the file sizes are a non-issue
If you can deal with only 4FPS
If you have FF lens's (good quality versions)

then buy it..
It is that good
 
I doubt file size would be an issue (i7 laptop, although might double the 8GB RAM even if I don't buy a D800)
FPS doesn't really bother me, only time I really use anything other than single shot is when doing HDR bracketing.
The lenses are my concern, I'm not so sure my current 24mm would standup on the D800 although I'm encouraged by Achims comments that if they were fine on the D600 they shouldn't be any worse on the D800..... improved AF would be good, the one thing that annoyed me with the Nikon D600 (after using the Canon 6D) was the focus in low light which is fairly dire.
 
focus is low light with the d800 hasn't been an issue with my,better than my d700 even.


Exposure0.025 sec (1/40)
Aperturef/1.8
Focal Length50 mm
ISO Speed3200
Exposure Bias0 EV



Exposure0.077 sec (1/13)
Aperturef/1.8
Focal Length50 mm
ISO Speed8063



Exposure0.01 sec (1/100)
Aperturef/2.8
Focal Length70 mm
ISO Speed6400


all of these were taken in very low light. I've taken one where i couldnt see my mate bar his outline 5m away it was that dark and the camera still locked on,you had the light the image a few stops to be able to see him.
 
Last edited:
Emailed Nikon about the 1+/- EV limit for bracketing and didn't really get a positive answer for a future firmware upgrade. What really made me wonder though is I saw a sign somewhere saying Nikon and Promote Control (on the same picture as if they were affiliated or promoting in some way, obviously it could have been the other way round). If Nikon sorted the bracketing then, as far as most Nikon users ( who want an easier HDR option), there really wouldn't be any point in getting a Promote Control. Just my opinion of course.
JohnyT
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top