Hamish Gill
Tech Support (and Marketing)
I've decided to do a bit of a diary of owning the Nikon D800. I'm not really capable of doing any in depth review, nor do I see the point when there are so many out there. What I am going to do instead is loosely document my thoughts toward the camera as the days and weeks go by.
D800 by Hamish_Gill, on Flickr
My hand was a touch forced when it came to buying this camera, I previously owned a D3 which served me well for some 3-4 years. Unfortunately it recently died after I got caught out in a heavy down pour. The repair agent said "uneconomical to repair" and I had it insured for £3000, not enough money to replace it with a D4! I was initially a little disappointed (and angry at my self for not adjusting my insurance). My gut reaction was to take a punt on a used D3s, but after chatting with a few people it seemed buying new tech would be a better idea... For one, I would have a new camera with a new warranty.
So I started reading the reviews on the D800. My initial reaction when it was first released were of scepticism about the requirement for 36mp - I'm a Nikon user don't forget, we have had nothing but 12mp in pro bodies for years (excluding of course the outrageously expensive D3x). Big pixels, better low light, cleaner photos is like some sort of mantra to some Nikon users. The D800 flys in the face of this, with not only more pixels than any other Nikon, but more pixels than any other DSLR. This thing is MF territory ... but at what cost? low light performance will surely suffer?? Well, time will tell, I will be reporting back on that one in due course ...
If the likes of KR are to be believed its as good as the D4 (questionable!!!). I suspect the reality is closer to what Kai of digital rev has to say, its as good if not better than the d700
Here is the Digital Rev / Kai review ... it helped me get my head around things a bit in the build up the this purchase
[video=youtube;MT6ilCd7CS4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MT6ilCd7CS4 [/video]
Anyway, speculation, I have one here so I don't need to speculate, I can play and report back ... I'm just trying to give you some insight into my thought process leading up to this purchase - I wasn't entierlyconvinced it was right for me!
The other "issue" is file size which leads me to my first observation...
I took a couple of pictures with it before writing this, put them on my computer and opened LR4.
My computer is a Laptop, i5 m460 2.53ghz with 4gb ram ... basically its a bit crap. It doesn't like D800 files much, they take an age to load! No probs, we are looking at MBPing out the office soon ... but for now I'm going to struggle to handle these files comfortably! Some experimentation with compressed NEFs is on the cards!
Other than file size and the unknown high iso results, once you get your head around this camera all of a sudden it starts to make a lot of sense! Same, focusing system of D4, same metering system of D4, more than twice the rez of D4... slower than D4 maybe, but I'm no sports photog ... The only time I can see 4fps being an issue for what I do is when I like to take photos of people chucking confetti at the B&G at a wedding ... I cant think of another situation in 5 years of being a "pro" I have needed more.
Maybe the D4 is more resilient... well my D3 died in a bit of rain... and had to go back to Nikon twice in its life after inexplicable on the job deaths! I just need to look after my kit better!
So to my current thoughts, I've taken a photo of both D700 and D800
D800 (again for ref)
D800 by Hamish_Gill, on Flickr
D700
D700 by Hamish_Gill, on Flickr
Quite similar... but they do feel different! the D800 is definitely lighter! As Kai points out the thumb grip is smaller on the D800, but other than the the D800 feels better, ergonomically speaking. The Screen on the back of the D800 is also bigger and although on paper the same rez, is clearer looking!
I have a few instant observations on the controls...
I prefer the AF selector on the D800, I always have to look at it on the D700 as its a three way switch and I often switch between AF-s and AF-c. With the two way switch with the button in the middle once its on af, you just press the centre button to flick between the AF modes ... There is no chance of flicking to manual focus at a frustrating moment.
The biggest improvement I have noticed so far is something I have wanted in a camera since I realised the benefits of auto iso ... Not detection of lens and auto lower shutter speed limit that most are banging on about (which is nice I agree) ... but only really relevant if you shoot zooms with big ranges in my opinion.
But the ability to flick between auto and manual iso by rotating the jog dial under your fore finger. So, thumb selects iso, and forefinger selects between auto and manual iso. I cant tell you how much of a big deal that is to me and my shooting methods!
So yeah, that's my thoughts so far... I shall be updating this thread as I go!
D800 by Hamish_Gill, on Flickr
My hand was a touch forced when it came to buying this camera, I previously owned a D3 which served me well for some 3-4 years. Unfortunately it recently died after I got caught out in a heavy down pour. The repair agent said "uneconomical to repair" and I had it insured for £3000, not enough money to replace it with a D4! I was initially a little disappointed (and angry at my self for not adjusting my insurance). My gut reaction was to take a punt on a used D3s, but after chatting with a few people it seemed buying new tech would be a better idea... For one, I would have a new camera with a new warranty.
So I started reading the reviews on the D800. My initial reaction when it was first released were of scepticism about the requirement for 36mp - I'm a Nikon user don't forget, we have had nothing but 12mp in pro bodies for years (excluding of course the outrageously expensive D3x). Big pixels, better low light, cleaner photos is like some sort of mantra to some Nikon users. The D800 flys in the face of this, with not only more pixels than any other Nikon, but more pixels than any other DSLR. This thing is MF territory ... but at what cost? low light performance will surely suffer?? Well, time will tell, I will be reporting back on that one in due course ...
If the likes of KR are to be believed its as good as the D4 (questionable!!!). I suspect the reality is closer to what Kai of digital rev has to say, its as good if not better than the d700
Here is the Digital Rev / Kai review ... it helped me get my head around things a bit in the build up the this purchase
[video=youtube;MT6ilCd7CS4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MT6ilCd7CS4 [/video]
Anyway, speculation, I have one here so I don't need to speculate, I can play and report back ... I'm just trying to give you some insight into my thought process leading up to this purchase - I wasn't entierlyconvinced it was right for me!
The other "issue" is file size which leads me to my first observation...
I took a couple of pictures with it before writing this, put them on my computer and opened LR4.
My computer is a Laptop, i5 m460 2.53ghz with 4gb ram ... basically its a bit crap. It doesn't like D800 files much, they take an age to load! No probs, we are looking at MBPing out the office soon ... but for now I'm going to struggle to handle these files comfortably! Some experimentation with compressed NEFs is on the cards!
Other than file size and the unknown high iso results, once you get your head around this camera all of a sudden it starts to make a lot of sense! Same, focusing system of D4, same metering system of D4, more than twice the rez of D4... slower than D4 maybe, but I'm no sports photog ... The only time I can see 4fps being an issue for what I do is when I like to take photos of people chucking confetti at the B&G at a wedding ... I cant think of another situation in 5 years of being a "pro" I have needed more.
Maybe the D4 is more resilient... well my D3 died in a bit of rain... and had to go back to Nikon twice in its life after inexplicable on the job deaths! I just need to look after my kit better!
So to my current thoughts, I've taken a photo of both D700 and D800
D800 (again for ref)
D800 by Hamish_Gill, on Flickr
D700
D700 by Hamish_Gill, on Flickr
Quite similar... but they do feel different! the D800 is definitely lighter! As Kai points out the thumb grip is smaller on the D800, but other than the the D800 feels better, ergonomically speaking. The Screen on the back of the D800 is also bigger and although on paper the same rez, is clearer looking!
I have a few instant observations on the controls...
I prefer the AF selector on the D800, I always have to look at it on the D700 as its a three way switch and I often switch between AF-s and AF-c. With the two way switch with the button in the middle once its on af, you just press the centre button to flick between the AF modes ... There is no chance of flicking to manual focus at a frustrating moment.
The biggest improvement I have noticed so far is something I have wanted in a camera since I realised the benefits of auto iso ... Not detection of lens and auto lower shutter speed limit that most are banging on about (which is nice I agree) ... but only really relevant if you shoot zooms with big ranges in my opinion.
But the ability to flick between auto and manual iso by rotating the jog dial under your fore finger. So, thumb selects iso, and forefinger selects between auto and manual iso. I cant tell you how much of a big deal that is to me and my shooting methods!
So yeah, that's my thoughts so far... I shall be updating this thread as I go!
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