GrahamWelland
Subscriber & Workshop Member
Jack,My first blush: the files are excellent, the color is very good and the noise handling is spectacular. I am processing them in ACR and LR and am liking what I'm seeing very much. (I cannot wait to get them in C1 though!) I will even go so far as to say this is the best DSLR file I have seen to date as relates to color, noise and *captured* dynamic range.
However, the file does NOT have the malleability of the Phase file; you cannot crank shadows way up and hold the quality like you can on the IQ, so what I'd call the output DR is still superior on the IQ file. The other thing you notice immediately is how much less the image "zooms" when you go to 100% as compared to the IQ180 -- very close pixel pitches and a lot more of them on the IQ180 so that makes sense.
I need to shoot some people in good outdoor light to comment on how it handles skin. So far from a few interior interior shots I've done it looks pretty darn good, but again does not appear to be full MF caliber.
So, is it an MF replacement? No, at least not for me. To me, the most obvious difference is the MF files still have more elasticity to them, and that is something I use a lot to get my final working file to where I want it. But for a shooter who cannot enter MF, I will step out on that limb and say the D800 appears to be the best thing going to date in the DSLR league. I am impressed with it and likely to keep it.
Regarding the malleability of the NEF files, you might want to run them through Nikon Capture NX2 to really see what they are capable of.i have always found that NX2 can pull out a lot more shadow and highlight information from native Nikon files than either C1 or any ACR variant. The workflow sucks but the raw results really are worth it it the end. (I recognize of course that you are very much at home around the C1 workflow).