D800

[D&A]

No question I will put it up against a gold standard like the Iq 160 back and see how it measures up outside the resolution side. On the resolution side we have to see what are good sharpening setting that give a nice neutral file and look. People tend to push this area too hard. Finally we have to see how it prints at native size and larger.

Guy, You mean when the D800 whips the IQ 160 in all image characteristics, we can expect a "distressed" fire sale on your IQ 160 and all associated equipment? (Time & Date Please :ROTFL

But seriously, I think the more we learn and work with the D800 files and understand both their pluses and minuses, their malleability with regards to various and extensive post processing and certainly the cameras body's capabilities, will certainly go a long way as to their value in providing an appropriate substitute for other systems we have in our arsenal for certain applications. It's a bit too early to tell, but so far I've been impressed with various (although no all) aspects of it's files.

Dave (D&A)

 

[Guy Mancuso]

LOL Absolutely the more we work with it and see how malleable it is and what we can draw from it the more informed we will be. It won't beat MF capture but if we can get close than this thing is certainly a winner.I honestly have 2 dogs in this fight and I truly want to see how well the D800 is. To be real honest i want it damn close as this will be a lot of the client work.

 

[Guy Mancuso]

This is cleaned up in ACR with noise reduction ( ISO 1600 file)and held its detail. Cant wait to get these files in C1

But this is really good. At the moment I am very excited

 

[D&A]

>>>

This is cleaned up in ACR with noise reduction ( ISO 1600 file)and held its detail. Cant wait to get these files in C1
But this is really good. At the moment I am very excited<<<

Guy, it most certainly does look extremely good but speaking for myself personally, images taken at higher ISO's such as 1600 + have to hold up well when such captures are taken where many parts of the frame are going to be in deep shadows, while the rest of the frame will have extensive highlights, the latter which has to be exposed properly (read: file has extensive dynamic range). It is a tall order for many cameras to be able to keep the shadow details in these sorts of images relatively clean but the Nikon D700, D3 (D3s) is able to achieve this. From the little I've seen so far, the D800 might be able to also pull this off too.

Dave (D&A)

 

[Guy Mancuso]

Exactly Dave we need to get this in bad stuff

 

[paulraphael]

&A

...images taken at higher ISO's such as 1600 + have to hold up well when such captures are taken where many parts of the frame are going to be in deep shadows, while the rest of the frame will have extensive highlights, the latter which has to be exposed properly (read: file has extensive dynamic range). It is a tall order for many cameras to be able to keep the shadow details in these sorts of images relatively clean but the Nikon D700, D3 (D3s) is able to achieve this. From the little I've seen so far, the D800 might be able to also pull this off too.

Dave (D&A)

Preliminary tests are showing the camera to be excellent in this regard, possibly at the top of the heap ... but like every other camera it loses a stop of dynamic range for each added stop of ISO. By 1600, limits of the real world are intruding in a big way. We'll have to wait to see how this plays out in the real world, but the image analyses say don't expect miracles.

Luckily the only pictures I take above base ISO are of my cat.

 

[Guy Mancuso]

D800 manual you can download from Nikon rumors. 472 pages

 

[monza]

After you have read it, we want a report!

 

[Guy Mancuso]

That's painful. Lol

 

[D&A]

D&A

Preliminary tests are showing the camera to be excellent in this regard, possibly at the top of the heap ... but like every other camera it loses a stop of dynamic range for each added stop of ISO. By 1600, limits of the real world are intruding in a big way. We'll have to wait to see how this plays out in the real world, but the image analyses say don't expect miracles.

Luckily the only pictures I take above base ISO are of my cat.

With regards to the Nikon D7000, I experienced the reduced dynamic range when I increased the ISO setting beyond 800. Images also looked flat. I was concerned back then and also recently when I heard that in some aspects, the D800's sensor may be essentually an enlarged version of the D7000 sensor. If true (to some degree), that would explain a lot what I and others initially observed with the D700 RAw files. Of course there is no way to know if this aspect holds up and to what extent with the D800, that is until the camera is in the hands of many capable photographers. So judegemnt has to be reserved at this point in time.

Dave (D&A)

 

[paulraphael]

For anyone who hasn't seen this page yet, it's an interesting comparative chart for dynamic range.

Click on the camera names on the right.

Information comes from software analysis of raw files. Cameras with (e) after the model name haven't been tested with the author's standard test setup, but rather from sample raw files found online.

You can see why d7000 images look flatter at iso 800. The same reason all camera images do. DR to ISO ratio is inverse, and mostly linear. At 800 cameras have about 4 stops less DR than at 100.

If you're wondering about the bumpy shape of the d800's curve between iso 200 and 800, the author assumes this is experimental error and will disappear when he's able to test with his standard test subject.

 

[etrigan63]

Ok, I grabbed one of the Fotopolis.pl RAW images from the D800E and ran it through Lightroom 4. It could not clean up the CA in the branches as well as I would have liked, but it noise reduced and sharpened well. And like Guy said, I had to add some black back into it. It is uploaded to Flickr so YMMV. View the full sized image to get the full effect:


Nikon D800E Test by Carlos Echenique, on Flickr

 

[paulraphael]

I need to carefully consider the 800 / 800e choice. My work is mostly urban landscape, and lately a lot of rough, post-industrial interiors. My concerns aren't about fabric as much as patterns in distant bricks, window screens, fences, chicken wire glass, grids, etc. etc..

I have zero sense of how often moiré is likely to be an issue with this work.

I'd be curious to hear from people with MF digital cameras, but probably won't really make my decision until field reports from the 800e start piling in.

 

[johnnygoesdigital]

I Decided on the d800 model because of the ability to sharpen and get close to "e" resolution. For the price of one DF, you could buy both d800's. I think if your printing big poster size gallery prints, you might notice the difference in resolution between the two.

 

[pophoto]

Ok, I grabbed one of the Fotopolis.pl RAW images from the D800E and ran it through Lightroom 4. It could not clean up the CA in the branches as well as I would have liked, but it noise reduced and sharpened well. And like Guy said, I had to add some black back into it. It is uploaded to Flickr so YMMV. View the full sized image to get the full effect:


Nikon D800E Test by Carlos Echenique, on Flickr

Carlos: which lens did you use just for reference?

 

[mypov+]

Some of the sample D800/D800E photos used f/8. I have a strong feeling that this is already diffraction limited.

As others mentioned we need great lenses, good shooting skills and very good post processing. Add my Fine Detail Sharpen to these images and they got quite a bit better. But they also had fine halos baked into the JPEGs.

the link to the page from which to accuire youre Fine Detail Sharpen actions at

DOP Fine Detail Sharpen

contains a link to another action entirely

You can get a demo version of DOP Photo Intensifier from here.

I'd like to try the Fine Detail Sharpen action but havent found a functioning link to same

THank you.

 

[ustein]

the link to the page from which to accuire youre Fine Detail Sharpen actions at

DOP Fine Detail Sharpen

contains a link to another action entirely

You can get a demo version of DOP Photo Intensifier from here.

I'd like to try the Fine Detail Sharpen action but havent found a functioning link to same

THank you.

I could not find the bad link. Here is what I got following your links:

http://www.outbackphoto.com/filters/dopf032_FineDetailSharpen/DOPF032_Demo.zip

I think it is ok?