I posted this on another forum:
Greetings,
I recently sold my D800e after reading some reviews of the D810 I thought I would give it a try. There are a few features which I was really excited about, the base iso of 64, allowing more creativity in the studio, improved ISO capabilities, and additional frame per second and last but not least the adoption of the autofocus system used in the D4s.
Package from B&H arrived today, spent a few hours customizing my menus getting familiar with the new body, Taking a few test shots in the house. I was impressed by the quiet shutter in normal mode, I like the new display in the viewfinder, I like the ergonomic improvements of the grip, these are a few improvements I was able to notice while laying on the studio floor Reading and setting up menus.
Fast-forward to 7 PM this evening, high school football game starting in Phx, AZ is about 15 minutes before sunset, I chose the Nikon 200 mm F2 a.k.a. Chubby and a MB-D12 loaded with a En-el15 battery to perform the job tonight. Impressions:
* overall the body even though modifications were slight feels much more pleasing to my large hands
*I like theQuiet shutter, its solid & Precise, I choseThe high continuous mode, this body can do 6 & 7 frames per second in DX mode, but I chose to stay in FX, 5fps.
* Autofocus, I tried the new Group focus mode. WOW totally impressed my keeper percentage appears to be on par with my D3s's, A far cry from the D800e who's keeper percentage on the field were terrible. Originally I was going to use the group focus for a bit and then move to single point in continuous mode for the rest of the evening but after seeing the results I stuck with the group focus mode all night. One thing I did find about the group autofocus mode is that the visible AF dots make it much easier to track a moving object with more smoothness, its not a technical advantage but more of a mental thing I guess...Much easier to keep the moving target confined with in the box of 4 dots than it is's to keep the dot right on the target.
*ISO has improved, they say 1 stop...I think closer to 1/2 to 3/4. Regardless the file at 6400..I was VERY pleased to say the least, definately cleaner than the D800/e
* last but not least the big 36mp file is really nice. I had an image of a catch all the way the other side of the field and another 30 yards down that was tack sharp and I can actually use the file, it didn't fall apart like it would from my D3S, Dam I could crop the image down and actually still print from it.
Thats all I have for now, the camera is been in my hand for roughly two hours tonight and I must say it's a breath of fresh air. With the D800/e my confidence in being able to pick up that camera, shoot it, enjoy shooting it because I know the results were going to be good.... was not very good and thats not good when you make a living as a photographer.
The D810 while I have only scratched the surface could be the best DSLR Nikon has made
Ciao
Image below shot with a Nikon D810, iso 6400 ,1/800th with a Nikon 200mm f2 shot wide open