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Nikon D800 First Blush
- Thread starter Guy Mancuso
- Start date
mountainjoe
Member
I now know why the D800 is priced very reasonable. They could give it away for free and sell all new glass
Guy Mancuso
Administrator, Instructor
That is pretty funny. Well I'm kind of done testing this thing out. I need to try the flash setup and would love to get this in the studio with a model but anything else you folks like me to try let me know. I really hope this was helpful to folks waiting to get them or wanting too. It's a nice setup and yes it is getting closer to the ball park with MF but it's not MF and MF is not Nikon. If your planning on buying into a MF system this really changes nothing in a lot of ways. But it does get closer and that's the real reality. I'm fortunate enough to have both and I really upped my 35 system and that makes me happy.
Guy Mancuso
Administrator, Instructor
I agree Uwe and folks please check out what Uwe is doing on his site as well. Uwe is a good friend of GetDPI and also a personal friend of Jack and myself. Not to mention some of our mods as well.
This sums it up very nicely Guy. The amount of testing and discussions that youself, Jack and others initiated and contributed greatly to, was an exceptional introduction to what is turning out to be an extremely fine camera. Examples and comparisons that followed were greatly appreciated.
I believe at this point, some individuals who anticipate using this camera, may have very specific uses for the D800. Whether it will fit the bill and be able to perform adaquately for those specific and often times demanding situations that might push the capabilites of this camera to say where a D3/D3s/D4 might have normally been employed but a much bigger file size is required, is something that thats yet to be adaquately determined. In other words, whether certain performance or image charateristics compromises can be accepted, in order to get a very useable larger file size is yet to be explored. No doubt, interesting times ahead for this camera.
Dave (D&A)
Last edited:
ustein
Contributing Editor
>is getting closer to the ball park with MF but it's not MF and MF is not Nikon.
Image quality is one aspect. On the other side smaller cameras allow more flexibility. I am a 35mm shooter since over 40 years and love the flexibility. The means I can check and execute many different angles in a few seconds (meaning handheld). At times I love the tripod too but it is more static. Having this detail from the 35mm camera is more than I ever expected. Horses for courses.
I like the approach by Guy to show how his tools work for the job at hand. Both MF and the 35mm cameras have their place.
Image quality is one aspect. On the other side smaller cameras allow more flexibility. I am a 35mm shooter since over 40 years and love the flexibility. The means I can check and execute many different angles in a few seconds (meaning handheld). At times I love the tripod too but it is more static. Having this detail from the 35mm camera is more than I ever expected. Horses for courses.
I like the approach by Guy to show how his tools work for the job at hand. Both MF and the 35mm cameras have their place.
Guy Mancuso
Administrator, Instructor
The flexibility of a 35 cam is the huge plus for them. No question about it.
Guy Mancuso
Administrator, Instructor
Also please folks as your cams come in tag on in and give us your thoughts. This is a great data bank we have on this and the more the better. I honestly would like to get the E version as well at some point in time. Hopefully they will ship soon so we can see what that can do.
Guy Mancuso
Administrator, Instructor
Little plug here for Camera West for getting me a D800 under such short notice. These folks are awesome and have a great product line of gear. Also the best Leica display I have seen anywhere. So kudos to Sean and his crew. They are a site sponsor so please check them out for your photo needs.
bensonga
Well-known member
I think what the D800 may change is the resale value of older MF digital backs. All things considered, the results I've seen from the D800 images posted here, together with the ergonomic advantages of a 35mm DSLR. I have a feeling that the resale value of my Hasselblad CFV-16II is falling even as I write this post. I hope I'm wrong.....just glad I'm not planning to sell it anytime soon.
Gary
Swissblad
Well-known member
Gary,
You may be right, but when I look at some very large images then I'm not so impressed: http://www.naturalart.ca/images/test_shots/_D800771_ColumbiaRidge_24-70@24_FullRes.jpg
Just too much CA for my taste. Also the reported loss in sharpness post f8 is disconcerting.
A lot of Nikon glass didn't handle the D3X well...
At the moment I'm sticking to my HB - and if anybody wants to trade their CFV-50 for a D800 - just contact me
Have a good Easter up north!
S
You may be right, but when I look at some very large images then I'm not so impressed: http://www.naturalart.ca/images/test_shots/_D800771_ColumbiaRidge_24-70@24_FullRes.jpg
Just too much CA for my taste. Also the reported loss in sharpness post f8 is disconcerting.
A lot of Nikon glass didn't handle the D3X well...
At the moment I'm sticking to my HB - and if anybody wants to trade their CFV-50 for a D800 - just contact me
Have a good Easter up north!
S
Last edited:
eleanorbrown
New member
I just received my 14-24 yesterday and have the 800e on backorder...while the 14-24 is heavy for a wide angle lens, on the Nikon it will still be about 2 lbs lighter than my H2 and phase 65 plus with the 50 wide angle lens. Has anyone had any experience comparing the Nikkor 85 to the nikkor 105 VR in reference to micro detail and sharpness, say for landscape work? Eleanor
Guy Mancuso
Administrator, Instructor
Great question Eleanor , I guess for you really the question would be which is best at infinity. I know the 85 is really good here but the 105 being a macro usually they are designed for tight work and in a lot of cases don't do infinity real well. I don't have a definitive answer for you just usually that is the case. I know from reports the 105 is really good just not sure at the infinity level. Also a option which I want to explore myself at some point is some of the Zeiss glass. Some are really good like there 100 macro I believe it is and I know the 21 is outstanding . Now of course they are manual focus but having some specialized lenses like this I can deal with. For a landscape shooter only this is something worth looking at since you have the time to focus. Myself I need AF for certain work but for some gigs I can easily look at manual especially with live view handy.
BTW and I forgot to bring this up but most of my shots here are handheld so quality WILL go up being on tripod and mirror up. When I did shoot both the phase and D800 I was tripod bound and mirror up on those comparisons.
BTW and I forgot to bring this up but most of my shots here are handheld so quality WILL go up being on tripod and mirror up. When I did shoot both the phase and D800 I was tripod bound and mirror up on those comparisons.
Guy Mancuso
Administrator, Instructor
Bottom line for me having the Nikon instead of having the DF makes sense for me since the IQ 160 is hanging off the tech cam. Bottom line I can cheat a little with the Nikon since most Jobs I don't need the 160 but I do have it when I need it. I'm just not wanting to support 3 separate bodies and all the glass that goes with it. So I decided to cut 12 grand out of the equation and try this. But this is me with many diverse projects. If I need the DF it's a fed-x away to rent. I will do that given a job that needs it. Renting bodies and lenses is basically very cheap so I decided to play the renting game when it comes up . My DF kit after getting the tech cam kit sat for a long time. Having gear sitting in my safe drives me nuts.
ustein
Contributing Editor
I don't have a newer 85mm lens but use the 105mm f/2.8 VR. Here is a raw file close to infinity:
http://jirvana.outbackphoto.com/public/1204D800_0439.NEF
The link may expire in some days.
This is a cropped version:
Sorry for the large copyright mark. But this is a link to my Field Report gallery with also higher resolution versions. Download the Raw and try yourself.
http://jirvana.outbackphoto.com/public/1204D800_0439.NEF
The link may expire in some days.
This is a cropped version:
Sorry for the large copyright mark. But this is a link to my Field Report gallery with also higher resolution versions. Download the Raw and try yourself.
Guy Mancuso
Administrator, Instructor
Thanks Uwe and I can shoot a infinity shot to load up as well on the 85. I'll look for one today. I think I have one from the marina scene