gregbradley
02-08-2012, 01:02 PM
I have had this camera now since about April and I have gotten to know it reasonably well (the manual is 330 pages thick though!).
I was lucky to preorder the camera early on as I was initially looking to get a 5D3. But when Nikon announced a 36mp camera I was excited by its possibilities and there was no news about the 5D3 at that time. So I preordered at ECS cameras in Dummoyne who got me a D800E fairly quickly as they are in tremendous demand.
Firstly the D800 has not had a totally smooth ride. Nikon completely underestimated the demand and most of the internet posts for the first several months (its even still going on) were about where can you get one etc etc.
Secondly there has been some quality control issues with some D800's which Nikon still hasn't acknowledged although they appear to be about to.
Firstly there were a lot of complaints about the LCD screen having a greenish colour cast. Some said this disappeared after several weeks as some glue used cures and goes clear. I don't think this is the case in all cameras as I still see some complaints about green colour casts in the LCD display (not the recorded images). Nikon's response to this was it is more accurate than previous models and it has a sensor that adjusts the display depending on the ambient light.
Second more serious issue has been left most autofocus points on some cameras being badly off. So if you focus with a left focus point on a fast lens then the image will be out of focus. Nikon is working on a fix for this and it appears they have finally come up with one with some owners reporting that Nikon totally fixed this on their camera. It isn't on all cameras and appears to be a callibration of the autofocus software problem.
Luckily mine was perfect and the display seems fine (it does have a slightly yellowish/very slightly green look compared to my Canon 40D).
Images have no colour cast. I would describe mine as perfect and no issues.
My previous cameras have all been Canon's except for my first digital DSLR which was a Nikon D70 ( because I couldn't afford a Canon 10D at the time). The D70 was an OK camera nothing special and a slight disappointment for astro work as it had bad amp glow.
I then had a few Canon 20Ds and 300D and 40D which I all loved.
The D800E model has no anti aliasing filter which is common in medium format cameras and in a few others like Leica M9, Fuji XPro 1 and Foveon Sigma cameras.
Otherwise it is not in any Canon camera nor Sony, Pentax etc DSLR. Its unique in DSLRs and is the first to offer this due to its highly resolving 38mp sensor.
The trade off for this is the AA filter reduces moire which is a pattern effect seen when the sensor resolution is less than fine patterns in an image. In about 1000 images so far I have seen moire only 3 times and even then it was correctable.
So moire which was talked about a lot with the D800E has turned out to be a non-issue. Also the D800 will also show moire under the same circumstances but not as much. Moire can also be seen in any camera not just D800's.
This camera has been a total delight and is far beyond any other camera I have used. It feels like an extremely advanced piece of gear. The autofocus is superb and fast and works in lowish light. The video is good and nice and sharp. Images are unbelievably sharp and super highly resolving as long as you shoot with faster shutter speeds.
The high ISO performance is as good as anything out there including 5D3 in RAW images.
Dynamic range is the highest of any camera and you can pull detail out of shadows with no noise that other cameras would simply show noise or banding (Canon's weak point).
Features I like about the camera:
Internal time lapse feature is fantastic and works great. It also has a deflicker routine built in.
Power on and off is wrapped around the shutter which is terrific ergonmics. Overall button layouts and menus seem to be pretty easy to use and well thought out.
Its light. There are plenty of accessories. So far the Nikon lenses have been superb and I think apart from Canon offering more choice in lenses they seem very close in regards to lens offerings and performance.
Colour is sensational. Detail is the best ever. High ISO performance is exceptional. This cameras sensor has a QE of 57% which is unbelievably high.
Auto ISO and minimum shutter speed is another good feature.
I have found a few times shooting a backlit subjuct was tricky but I believe that is a matter of changing the exposure meter settings.
So overall its been a fabulous camera so far and I know there is more it can do that I haven't explored as it is also a very complex camera as is a 5D3. These cameras have a lot of depth of ability and features.
So far I can't fault it and am thrilled with it.
In astro shots ISO6400 appears to be workable in RAW. I think higher than that you start to notice the noise but it could be controlled with post processing.
The Nikon Capture software is a bit quirky/poorly thought out, in its layout but is very good overall.
So for astro work I think it is a very viable competitor to the usual Canon EOS cameras which have dominated for so long thanks to their low noise characteristics. It would appear Nikon has closed the gap between them.
Last year if you had said you could have 36mp, low noise at high ISO, 57% QE and low read noise you would have been told it was impossible and that you should study theory of pixels/noise. Well somehow Sony has developed a sensor that does just that and this sensor is the heart of the appeal of the D800E.
I think the D800E's appeal boils down to 3 main factors: 36mp superb sharp detail resolution that virtually matches medium format cameras that cost $40,000 (apparently its created a big stir in that market),
low noise as high ISO that is above your normal camera
the widest dynamic range of any DSLR and the highest QE sensor of any DSLR (medium format are low QE, poor high ISO performing sensors that work up to ISO400 at mega sharp resolution but can't match the D800E for shadow details, high ISO noise, compactness and useability with lots of lenses and accessories).
These are 3 conflicting engineering goals and the Nikon/Sony partnership have pulled off a revolutionary camera that has changed the photographic world from here with a large leap forward that sets a new standard.
Competition is good.
Greg.
I was lucky to preorder the camera early on as I was initially looking to get a 5D3. But when Nikon announced a 36mp camera I was excited by its possibilities and there was no news about the 5D3 at that time. So I preordered at ECS cameras in Dummoyne who got me a D800E fairly quickly as they are in tremendous demand.
Firstly the D800 has not had a totally smooth ride. Nikon completely underestimated the demand and most of the internet posts for the first several months (its even still going on) were about where can you get one etc etc.
Secondly there has been some quality control issues with some D800's which Nikon still hasn't acknowledged although they appear to be about to.
Firstly there were a lot of complaints about the LCD screen having a greenish colour cast. Some said this disappeared after several weeks as some glue used cures and goes clear. I don't think this is the case in all cameras as I still see some complaints about green colour casts in the LCD display (not the recorded images). Nikon's response to this was it is more accurate than previous models and it has a sensor that adjusts the display depending on the ambient light.
Second more serious issue has been left most autofocus points on some cameras being badly off. So if you focus with a left focus point on a fast lens then the image will be out of focus. Nikon is working on a fix for this and it appears they have finally come up with one with some owners reporting that Nikon totally fixed this on their camera. It isn't on all cameras and appears to be a callibration of the autofocus software problem.
Luckily mine was perfect and the display seems fine (it does have a slightly yellowish/very slightly green look compared to my Canon 40D).
Images have no colour cast. I would describe mine as perfect and no issues.
My previous cameras have all been Canon's except for my first digital DSLR which was a Nikon D70 ( because I couldn't afford a Canon 10D at the time). The D70 was an OK camera nothing special and a slight disappointment for astro work as it had bad amp glow.
I then had a few Canon 20Ds and 300D and 40D which I all loved.
The D800E model has no anti aliasing filter which is common in medium format cameras and in a few others like Leica M9, Fuji XPro 1 and Foveon Sigma cameras.
Otherwise it is not in any Canon camera nor Sony, Pentax etc DSLR. Its unique in DSLRs and is the first to offer this due to its highly resolving 38mp sensor.
The trade off for this is the AA filter reduces moire which is a pattern effect seen when the sensor resolution is less than fine patterns in an image. In about 1000 images so far I have seen moire only 3 times and even then it was correctable.
So moire which was talked about a lot with the D800E has turned out to be a non-issue. Also the D800 will also show moire under the same circumstances but not as much. Moire can also be seen in any camera not just D800's.
This camera has been a total delight and is far beyond any other camera I have used. It feels like an extremely advanced piece of gear. The autofocus is superb and fast and works in lowish light. The video is good and nice and sharp. Images are unbelievably sharp and super highly resolving as long as you shoot with faster shutter speeds.
The high ISO performance is as good as anything out there including 5D3 in RAW images.
Dynamic range is the highest of any camera and you can pull detail out of shadows with no noise that other cameras would simply show noise or banding (Canon's weak point).
Features I like about the camera:
Internal time lapse feature is fantastic and works great. It also has a deflicker routine built in.
Power on and off is wrapped around the shutter which is terrific ergonmics. Overall button layouts and menus seem to be pretty easy to use and well thought out.
Its light. There are plenty of accessories. So far the Nikon lenses have been superb and I think apart from Canon offering more choice in lenses they seem very close in regards to lens offerings and performance.
Colour is sensational. Detail is the best ever. High ISO performance is exceptional. This cameras sensor has a QE of 57% which is unbelievably high.
Auto ISO and minimum shutter speed is another good feature.
I have found a few times shooting a backlit subjuct was tricky but I believe that is a matter of changing the exposure meter settings.
So overall its been a fabulous camera so far and I know there is more it can do that I haven't explored as it is also a very complex camera as is a 5D3. These cameras have a lot of depth of ability and features.
So far I can't fault it and am thrilled with it.
In astro shots ISO6400 appears to be workable in RAW. I think higher than that you start to notice the noise but it could be controlled with post processing.
The Nikon Capture software is a bit quirky/poorly thought out, in its layout but is very good overall.
So for astro work I think it is a very viable competitor to the usual Canon EOS cameras which have dominated for so long thanks to their low noise characteristics. It would appear Nikon has closed the gap between them.
Last year if you had said you could have 36mp, low noise at high ISO, 57% QE and low read noise you would have been told it was impossible and that you should study theory of pixels/noise. Well somehow Sony has developed a sensor that does just that and this sensor is the heart of the appeal of the D800E.
I think the D800E's appeal boils down to 3 main factors: 36mp superb sharp detail resolution that virtually matches medium format cameras that cost $40,000 (apparently its created a big stir in that market),
low noise as high ISO that is above your normal camera
the widest dynamic range of any DSLR and the highest QE sensor of any DSLR (medium format are low QE, poor high ISO performing sensors that work up to ISO400 at mega sharp resolution but can't match the D800E for shadow details, high ISO noise, compactness and useability with lots of lenses and accessories).
These are 3 conflicting engineering goals and the Nikon/Sony partnership have pulled off a revolutionary camera that has changed the photographic world from here with a large leap forward that sets a new standard.
Competition is good.
Greg.