Nikon D800......

swiftflo said:
Reading all the above and to be quite honest I have never been completely happy with my D800 with regards to focusing, I get many shots which are out of focus. I put this down to my inexperience, however I would like my lens calibrated to my camera to see who is at fault, so how is this calibration carried out.
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I had the same issue with both copies of the D800 I had with the first being way worse than the second. The D700 af and D3 were way better. Maybe because of the lower Mp, maybe not. At the end of the day it was due the camera I left the Nikon system overall.

Thankfully changing to the mk3 I have had no problems whatsoever.

I currently own both systems so it's not a Canon vs Nikon argument
 
F/1.4 said:
I had the same issue with both copies of the D800 I had with the first being way worse than the second. The D700 af and D3 were way better. Maybe because of the lower Mp, maybe not. At the end of the day it was due the camera I left the Nikon system overall.
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Agree with you there, I own the D800 and D3 and the D800 has good focus but the D3 just tops it, I always wondered if It is because the D3 is a pro style body and takes Nikon EN-EL4a's which are more powerful.
 
Joeturner11 said:
Agree with you there, I own the D800 and D3 and the D800 has good focus but the D3 just tops it, I always wondered if It is because the D3 is a pro style body and takes Nikon EN-EL4a's which are more powerful.
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Joe people say the D3 / D700 are the same camera but I beg to differ, it's Af to me at least was better, less shutter lag. It wasn't until I had the both side by side I could see that. The D800 is a super camera for landscape but when I had mine I wouldn't have even used it for 10% of shots at weddings. I never truly trusted it's af. Maybe it's why canon hasn't went to ridiculous MP counts yet. I can't see me ever needing that res unless landscaping
 
F/1.4 said:
Joe people say the D3 / D700 are the same camera but I beg to differ, it's Af to me at least was better, less shutter lag. It wasn't until I had the both side by side I could see that. The D800 is a super camera for landscape but when I had mine I wouldn't have even used it for 10% of shots at weddings. I never truly trusted it's af. Maybe it's why canon hasn't went to ridiculous MP counts yet. I can't see me ever needing that res unless landscaping
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Agree with you on that one, Switched from 2x D700's to a D3 and D800, Use D3 for Sport Photography and D800 for Wildlife/Landscape & Wedding. The D3 has extremely low shutter of 88ms compared to the 197ms of the D700's, and has a 100% viewfinder compared to 95% of the D700, Also the Feel of the D3 is far better and I love the dual card slots along with I find the autofocus speed faster than the D700's and D800's, I believe down to the huge powerful battery's inside.
 
I apologize for asking, I don't mean to start a discussion, but I don't understand why it is an indication of a problem with the camera if as in the case described above the camera performs well with several lenses and only has a problem with one lens. Why does this indicate that the camera has to be adjusted?

I've been doing a lot of testing myself when I got the Sigma 35mm f1.4,and I found some weaknesses there too, while with my other lenses those problems don't exist. So I discarded it as being a lens issue, did the best I could to adjust the lens and left it at that. Was that the wrong decision?
 
Joeturner11 said:
Agree with you there, I own the D800 and D3 and the D800 has good focus but the D3 just tops it, I always wondered if It is because the D3 is a pro style body and takes Nikon EN-EL4a's which are more powerful.
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The D800 is a pro body. I can't imagine why a more powerful battery would make the AF better :)
 
Never used a D3, but would agree the D800 can be a little slow to snap focus at times. Shot a Hen party at the weekend and you know how mental they can be! Well, some of the shots missed focus by a mile as I was snapping away pretty fast. Limited time, 20-odd drunken mares all going bananas :D I got the shots I wanted, because I made sure to take plenty. It is definitely better suited for more calm occasions. Where you have that bit more time to ensure sharp focusing. But .... I'll still use it for events like that, just take more than enough and maybe chimp a bit more than normal on the go.
 
Gary Coyle said:
Pro maybe, but not the choice of pros in certain fields, where the AF speed and accuracy matters its not pro class
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I agree 100%. Just saying that the D800 is a pro body, just one designed for a different purpose, and AF is not a major concern to most who use it for what it was designed for. Having said that, the AF is perfectly respectable - just not up to the same standard as a camera built for sports and press... the D3.
 
colda said:
I've found no problems with the D800(E) when it comes to autofocus even when using alongside a D3 (and sometimes a D3X) - I don't use 3D tracking though
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Same here. Also, the little focus assist light is really nice.
 
colda said:
I've found no problems with the D800(E) when it comes to autofocus even when using alongside a D3 (and sometimes a D3X) - I don't use 3D tracking though - very much agree with Ming: http://blog.mingthein.com/2012/03/24/a-quick-note-on-nikon-d800-autofocus/
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Ive not had any issues with the D800's AF speed aither, i only pick it up for landscape, portrait type stuff, the AF simply cant cope with field sports at pro level, it just cant.

And just which of Mr Mings images from his vast stock requires quick AF, its all static stuff, not a single footballer/rugby player in sight
 
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Gary Coyle said:
And just which of Mr Mings images from his vast stock requires quick AF, its all static stuff, not a single footballer/rugby player in sight
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dunno, I've not looked too deeply at all into his library, as I've said previously I don't find the use of the D800(E) to be restrictive in such situations, as I do agree that given the choice for sports I would rather have a D3/4 in my hands but for me the difference is not that great - I'm sure if I was shooting in burst mode and relying on 3d tracking then I may feel different

I think that our difference of opinion on this matter is slight and perhaps even insignificant (although everyone enjoys a good forum debate *grin*) on the whole scale of things, if people read this and can get more out there D800(E) by setting to AF-C single point then I think that's a good thing, also I don't believe that people should be put off getting a D800(E) because of a perceived 'poor' autofocus as this is simply not the case (I do think that anyone buying a camera just for sports should be looking at a D3/D4 depending on budget)

If I were to return to shooting pitchside then I'd be looking to get a used D3S (or a D4 if I could stretch the budget) and would be very happy to have my D800E with a 2.8 zoom as my second body :)
 
JonathanRyan said:
Same here. Also, the little focus assist light is really nice.
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:) - can't agree on that, focus assist is the first thing I turn off on any new camera, not the done thing in a photo pit - am sure it does a damn fine job though :)
 
colda said:
dunno, I've not looked too deeply at all into his library, as I've said previously I don't find the use of the D800(E) to be restrictive in such situations, as I do agree that given the choice for sports I would rather have a D3/4 in my hands but for me the difference is not that great - I'm sure if I was shooting in burst mode and relying on 3d tracking then I may feel different

I think that our difference of opinion on this matter is slight and perhaps even insignificant (although everyone enjoys a good forum debate *grin*) on the whole scale of things, if people read this and can get more out there D800(E) by setting to AF-C single point then I think that's a good thing, also I don't believe that people should be put off getting a D800(E) because of a perceived 'poor' autofocus as this is simply not the case (I do think that anyone buying a camera just for sports should be looking at a D3/D4 depending on budget)

If I were to return to shooting pitchside then I'd be looking to get a used D3S (or a D4 if I could stretch the budget) and would be very happy to have my D800E with a 2.8 zoom as my second body :)
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No one in their right mind uses 3D tracking for shooting sports, unless theyv'e been reading Ken Rockwells website

The crux of the matter is that if you need quick and reliable AF for shooting sports you would never buy a D800 in the first place, while it might get you a half decent percentage of keepers in good light, it wont get you anything in poor light or adverse conditions, anyone who depends on accurate and quick AF for sports would spend that money on a used D3S/D3/D700 instead

Ive sar beside hundreds of pro sports photographers and not a single one of them uses a D800 for their first or even second body set up, i use mine as my 3rd body for shooting the grounds/stadiums, after match presentation stuff but not for anything approaching action shots, it just doesn't cut it.
 
Gary Coyle said:
Not really of any use on a floodlit rugby pitch
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colda said:
:) - can't agree on that, focus assist is the first thing I turn off on any new camera, not the done thing in a photo pit - am sure it does a damn fine job though :)
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Yes. Of course. Different people use the same equipment for different things and in different ways.

But when it's really really dark and your subject is relatively close and it's appropriate to use it then the D800 slays the D3/S for focus because of that tiny little light ;)

(Yes, I know i can use a £300 flash gun to do the same)
 
Well, I'm not going to disagree with you but having shot pitchside for 3 seasons at a league one club (whose floodlights were not the best) and having used the D700 before getting the D800 (and using the D3 alongside) I did not experience any adverse issues with the D800

I agree that no sports pro would choose a D800, and as I said previously I would get a D3S myself if I were to return to such work on a regular basis, certainly for such work the need to shoot, sort, process and get to the agency is paramount and 36mp would just get in the way - although for shooting the odd game such as when a team comes to town that I like then as I don't have agency pressures on my I'll happily use the gear I have and not feel restricted

For music photography (where I have more experience) I've found the D800 to be less 'forgiving' than the D3 but I would put this down to resolution (36mp can reveal what 12mp does not)
 
JonathanRyan said:
Yes. Of course. Different people use the same equipment for different things and in different ways.

But when it's really really dark and your subject is relatively close and it's appropriate to use it then the D800 slays the D3/S for focus because of that tiny little light ;)

(Yes, I know i can use a £300 flash gun to do the same)
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fair point :)
 
colda said:
Well, I'm not going to disagree with you but having shot pitchside for 3 seasons at a league one club (whose floodlights were not the best) and having used the D700 before getting the D800 (and using the D3 alongside) I did not experience any adverse issues with the D800
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If you ever sell that D800 then ill buy it

The D800 was introduced for a purpose and field sports aint that purpose, and for a reason.
 
It's scary though the amount of excuse my french, Bellends take idiots like rockwell for gospel. The man is a complete t***!
 
Looks like I've just bought myself a D800.

Can anyone recommend any CF or SD cards that work well?

Cheers
 
I used 32GB SanDisk, udma super fast. Stung me about 60-70 quid
 
As an update to my previous post.

First of all, many thanks to you all who provided a lot of help regarding my first set of AF test results from my newly acquired D800.

Second of all, I just thought I would provide an update incase its of any interest or helps any other fellow new D800 owners.

Third of all, if I ever see another focal chart it will be too soon!

Anyway, after performing many tests on my first D800 I thought I started to notice some inconsistencies in my technical replicates.
I was aiming at the 'bullseye' of my focal charts and it appeared that the focus was a little hit and miss. On my 'control' D3S each and every shot taken either on Live View (LV) or through the View Finder (VF) was absolutely spot on and as such I felt that was a fair comparison to duplicate my testing using the D800. Not quite!

My worst focal point was always on the left side, yet all of my LV shots were pin sharp (to my eyes). I initially only replicated each shot 3 times but I increased this to 5-6. 1 in 5 shots produced a relatively focussed image. Anyway, to cut a long story short the original D800 really struggled to focus in the centre of the focal chart (convergent geometric pattern perhaps?), even though the D3S had no issue with this what so ever! I altered my testing protocol accordingly, yet on my original D800 something STILL wasn't quite right.

I headed back to the shop I bought the camera from. They were good enough to swap camera bodies for me. With my modified testing protocol and with a new D800 I produced the following images.

To give some testing details:

Tripod mounted and remote shutter release
Lens: 50mm f/1.4G
Manual
Iso: 1000 (I had poor light in the room I was using)
Shutter speed: 200th
Aperture: f/1.4
Focal Length: 50mm
WB: Incandescent

Focussed on the 'E' rather than the 'bullseye'
Two shots provided for each condition.

Also, as I was so bored of tedious focus chart testing, I was a little relaxed about the camera being 100% perpendicular to the focus chart at all times or always being spot on in terms of like for like tripod distance to the focus chart pinned to the wall. But I think you will see the huge improvement in these shots compared to previously. If not, sorry about that, but they are good enough for my old eyes! :)

Centre focal point



Right focal point



Left focal point



These images are absolutely fine for my purposes, VF pretty much matches LV across the full range of focal points. When I spoke to the shop and NIKON about my first D800 body they immediately blamed my lens and would not honour any type of refund, as this lens was not on their recommended list for the D800. I accepted a new D800 and with my slightly modified testing regime. It appears that second time lucky applies!

Thanks again everyone for your help. The moral of this story is to not let your camera supplier or Nikon immediately blame your lens!
 
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Joeturner11 said:
I use 16GB 60MB's CF Speed cards and they seem to work well, I would recommend getting a large GB size SD Card with a fast speed as they will be alot cheaper than CF!
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I recommend getting both SD and CF, and having the SD back up the CF. That's the real reason for having two slots. Why would anyone use just one?
 
Pookeyhead said:
I recommend getting both SD and CF, and having the SD back up the CF. That's the real reason for having two slots. Why would anyone use just one?
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But bear in mind the camera will only write as fast as the slowest card, no point in having a 120mbs CF card then a 10mbs SD in the other slot
 
Not 10MB/sec no... but I have 60MB/sec CF and 45MB/sec SD and while it is limited by the 45MB/sec card, that's fast enough. I don't even use continuous shooting. You can get 95MB/sec SD cards anyway. I think having your stuff backed up is more important. Cards fail on occasion. You accidentally delete stuff on occasion if you get a bit trigger happy with the trash can button :)
 
Pookeyhead said:
I recommend getting both SD and CF, and having the SD back up the CF. That's the real reason for having two slots. Why would anyone use just one?
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That was my recommendation, Each to there own :)! I personally only use CF as that is the system I use for my workflow,Never would use SD as its to much hassle for me and CF only works fine for me, Thats my personal opinion :) Also Just because it has 2 card slots doesn't mean you have to use them.
 
Joeturner11 said:
That was my recommendation, Each to there own :)! I personally only use CF as that is the system I use for my workflow,Never would use SD as its to much hassle for me and CF only works fine for me, Thats my personal opinion :) Also Just because it has 2 card slots doesn't mean you have to use them.
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I hope you never have a card failure on an important job then. Good luck :)

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Re: speed of SD cards....

I'll just leave this here...

http://www.sandisk.co.uk/about-sandisk/press-room/press-releases/2014/sandisk-announces-world’s-fastest-sd-card/

No idea if the D800 supports that yet.. still reading up on it, but that's insanely fast for an SD card.
 
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