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D800, totally silly?

Jorgen Udvang

Subscriber Member
My pusher has a D800 with MB-D12, 11,000 clicks and mint condition, for $800. Is that totally silly or should I grab it?

They also have a D850 for $2,200, 35,000 clicks and no grip. I would probably have preferred that one, but the D800 I can actually afford without eating porridge for the next 12 months.

Opinions? Does the D800 stay its ground even after seven long years?

Oh, and I actually have cards for the D800, a couple of fast 64GB CF cards. An XZQ%&D card would add $150 to the price of the D850.
 

JohnBrew

Active member
I had an 800 and while I was blown away at the time, the 810 was what the 800 should have been.
OTOH, there was nothing basically wrong with the 800 as long as you didn’t have the left side oof problems.
 

Jorgen Udvang

Subscriber Member
I had an 800 and while I was blown away at the time, the 810 was what the 800 should have been.
OTOH, there was nothing basically wrong with the 800 as long as you didn’t have the left side oof problems.
I had the D810, and was very happy with it. Sold it to save some money. The D810 is still very popular, so they sell fast at higher prices. Also, this time around, it will not be my main camera (I think), since I'm keeping all my MFT gear.

I get a feeling that the D800 has become the Prügelknabe of the D8xx family. But at $800 with the grip and as new, I can't really go wrong, can I? Unless I try to sell it again that is...
 

Leigh

New member
I get a feeling that the D800 has become the Prügelknabe of the D8xx family. But at $800 with the grip and as new, I can't really go wrong, can I? Unless I try to sell it again that is...
Hi Jorgen,

I love the D800 (actually the D800E).
In fact, I own three of them, one for each eye. :loco: :facesmack:

What the heck is a Prügelknabe?

- Leigh
 

Jorgen Udvang

Subscriber Member
Hi Jorgen,

I love the D800 (actually the D800E).
In fact, I own three of them, one for each eye. :loco: :facesmack:

What the heck is a Prügelknabe?

- Leigh
Prügelknape, or whipping boy:
"A whipping boy was, supposedly, a boy educated alongside a prince (or boy monarch) in early modern Europe, who received corporal punishment for the prince's transgressions in his presence. The prince was not punished himself because his royal status exceeded that of his tutor; seeing a friend punished would provide an equivalent motivation not to repeat the offence."

And I bought the camera :)
 

Thorkil

Well-known member
Prügelknape, or whipping boy:
"A whipping boy was, supposedly, a boy educated alongside a prince (or boy monarch) in early modern Europe, who received corporal punishment for the prince's transgressions in his presence. The prince was not punished himself because his royal status exceeded that of his tutor; seeing a friend punished would provide an equivalent motivation not to repeat the offence."

And I bought the camera :)
Welcome back in Nikon land, Jørgen!
I was about to suggest the Df, but I guess its hard to get that at that price, and perhaps 16Mp is too small to crop and so..
 

jdphoto

Well-known member
I owned both the D800 and D850. The D800 imo, was the better camera for my style of shooting. Actually, it's probably the best DSLR I've ever owned. It has the best dynamic range of any camera, imo. The D850 offers more resolution, but only on paper as I never noticed a difference. 36 mp is absolutely the sweet spot for most Nikkor lenses and that's a great price too. Get it and if not satisfied, you could probably sell for your initial cost.
 

Jorgen Udvang

Subscriber Member
D800 with Nikkor 300mm f/4 AF @ f/5.6



The only lens that I have available is this 300mm AF non-D that I bought for $600 15 years ago. Perfect for street photography on a rainy day if you ask me :)
 

Jorgen Udvang

Subscriber Member
It was called the Land of Smiles. That was before our western culture entered and convinced people that they had to get an education, work in offices and make a career.

D800 with Nikkor 300mm f/4 AF @ f/5.6

 

Jorgen Udvang

Subscriber Member
Welcome back in Nikon land, Jørgen!
I was about to suggest the Df, but I guess its hard to get that at that price, and perhaps 16Mp is too small to crop and so..
I wanted a Df, but they sell for at least 50% more and are generally difficult to find here. Also, I have now gotten rid of the dilemma surrounding my good CF-cards; should I sell them for a dime a piece or not?
 

ptomsu

Workshop Member
Hi Jorgen,

from what I read throughout the thread I am not sure if you finally bought that D800. I owned the D800E years ago and was not happy at all - too many issues!

I got the D810 and was very happy with it but finally sold it as I completely went out of any DSLR stuff of any vendor some 3 years ago.

I would have got a Z6 kit for a good price if I would go FF Nikon again, there are some great offers here in Austria at least.

Anyway if you moved the D800 route I wish you much fun and happy shooting if this is the right stuff for you. For me it is definitely no longer.

Peter
 

Jorgen Udvang

Subscriber Member
Hi Jorgen,

from what I read throughout the thread I am not sure if you finally bought that D800. I owned the D800E years ago and was not happy at all - too many issues!

I got the D810 and was very happy with it but finally sold it as I completely went out of any DSLR stuff of any vendor some 3 years ago.

I would have got a Z6 kit for a good price if I would go FF Nikon again, there are some great offers here in Austria at least.

Anyway if you moved the D800 route I wish you much fun and happy shooting if this is the right stuff for you. For me it is definitely no longer.

Peter
I did buy the D800, and the price was exactly a third of what a Z6 body with adapter and an XQD card sells for here. As opposed to the Z6, the D800 will focus with old (cheap) pre-AF-S lenses, like the 300mm that I've used in the photos above and the 20+ year old 85mm f/1.8 that I also own.

If I feel the need to use mirrorless cameras or travel light, I have four MFT bodies and more lenses than I care to admit. But with the D800, I can use the same lenses as I use with the F80 that sees increasing use. The large Nikon bodies also have the advantage over most mirrorless bodies that I can fit a diopter lens to the viewfinder without reducing the functionality of the finder. This is becoming increasingly important to me as I get more farsighted than what can be adjusted with most viewfinders, Panasonic being one of the few exceptions. Older viewfinders, like the one of the F80 can also be adjusted more.

Most of the lenses that I'll buy for this camera (and the F80) will be from Nikon's excellent series of f/1.8 lenses, lenses that are compact, lightweight, of very high quality and very reasonably priced. The Nikkor 35mm f/1.8 in F-mount costs $527 and weighs 305g, while the corresponding lens in Z-mount costs $847 and weighs 370g.

Then there's battery life...

But hey... I'm not leaving mirrorless, I just want to have some variety and an optical viewfinder. I might even buy a Z6 one day, whenever some early adopter upgrades to the latest, greatest.
 

Thorkil

Well-known member
It was called the Land of Smiles. That was before our western culture entered and convinced people that they had to get an education, work in offices and make a career.
Yes its wastly overrated (western culture), and in a minute or 2 it is burning out the earth too (seen in the long perspective), and the smiles will become even less convincing..
 

Thorkil

Well-known member
D800 with Nikkor 300mm f/4 AF @ f/5.6



The only lens that I have available is this 300mm AF non-D that I bought for $600 15 years ago. Perfect for street photography on a rainy day if you ask me :)
...but that is really welldone (for an aging D800 too) !
 

Jorgen Udvang

Subscriber Member
...but that is really welldone (for an aging D800 too) !
It's the lens. That old 300mm renders in a particular way, and can make cloudy days look sunny without getting yellow. You can get them in nearly mint condition from Japan for under $300:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Excellent-...866801?hash=item42041d3df1:g:NKMAAOSwNT9dHYug

It isn't really sharp at f/4, can't be used with teleconverters and sounds like an early T-Ford when focusing, but it's a lovely lens.
 

Thorkil

Well-known member
It's the lens. That old 300mm renders in a particular way, and can make cloudy days look sunny without getting yellow. You can get them in nearly mint condition from Japan for under $300:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Excellent-...866801?hash=item42041d3df1:g:NKMAAOSwNT9dHYug

It isn't really sharp at f/4, can't be used with teleconverters and sounds like an early T-Ford when focusing, but it's a lovely lens.
it looks and sound tempting, even though I have stopped investing...it must be in family with the spatter design lens 180/2.8D which Jack recommended, I guess some years ago, which I won't sell either. When I regain the use of the Df, it could make fun having, and it certainly looks capable...but one has to stop down to 5.6 and 8 I can understand.
 

dave.gt

Well-known member
Totally silly?

Why on earth would it be?:):):) Unless the pictures you make are obsolete!:ROTFL:

And we all know you make great images!

Besides, my favorite camera of late is a mint D2x, thanks to fellow member bensonga!!! :) It is just like I used a decade and more ago for weddings and sports. I absolutely love that thing!:thumbup:

Btw, great image with that 300 lens!!!:) I should get one like that for birding...
 

Jorgen Udvang

Subscriber Member
Totally silly?

Why on earth would it be?:):):) Unless the pictures you make are obsolete!:ROTFL:

And we all know you make great images!

Besides, my favorite camera of late is a mint D2x, thanks to fellow member bensonga!!! :) It is just like I used a decade and more ago for weddings and sports. I absolutely love that thing!:thumbup:

Btw, great image with that 300 lens!!!:) I should get one like that for birding...
Be aware that the AF of that lens might be a bit sloooooow for birding. I did use it successfully for car racing photography for many years though, but race cars mostly move within a predictable pattern.

The D2X is indeed a fun camera. I have a D2Xs myself, and cosmetically it has held up remarkably well in spite of lots of use and abuse on race tracks.
 

Thor

New member
Bought my D800 new and still own it to this day. My 200 f2 and that body are practically never apart and can't imagine a better combo, not for the price anyway.
 

Jack

Sr. Administrator
Staff member
The D810 solved a few minor nits and had better AF than the D800 -- in those respects it is the better camera; whether or not it's worth the extra $300-$400 is really up to your pocketbook -- I'd say "probably, but not exclusively" -- I know, zero help :LOL: I actually preferred my D800 to my D800e as it rendered smoother images to my eye, and any micro softness was easily corrected with careful application of C1's sharpening sliders, so in that, it was my second favorite to my D810. Just confirm that your above D800 does not have the side af-boxes focusing issue --- or if it does, remind yourself to only use the center box with that body, as it's not going to be worth paying to have it fixed :bugeyes:
 
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