Discussion
Several have emailed me... so here we go.
It's a really tricky camera to use (IN FULL RES). You need rock solid tripod (or a pub bar), you need proper glass and you need to use mirror up (to avoid any camera shake). You also really need to be in the 'sweet spot' of any given lens. f8 is the place to start. (I'm about to ignore that rule below - but it really makes a difference)
Handheld 'snapping away', it's the wrong camera. A ff D3 or D700 is much better - but if you are prepared to get it right, the results are pretty impressive.
Just now in the pub (best tripod I know - keeps me upright) Resized and sharpened for web. It was 'bar dark' in there. 100 ISO - lens closed down for shallow DOF, 1/3 sec -1 stop EV to try and hold highlights. Clicky for 1150 wide. (It looks MUCH better, honest)
I focussed in live view - mirror up - on the word 'Super'
Below: 100% crop no processing at all. My D3 couldn't match that. D4 would probably struggle.
I'd NOT recommend it to anyone who isn't prepared to put in a fair amount of time to get it right (and owns a tripod made of granite).
I guess in low or medium res, it'd be a pussy cat (but then you'd buy a D700 wouldn't you).
P.S. It's been blowing a hoolie here, hence no landscapes... just the inside of a bar!
It's a really tricky camera to use (IN FULL RES). You need rock solid tripod (or a pub bar), you need proper glass and you need to use mirror up (to avoid any camera shake). You also really need to be in the 'sweet spot' of any given lens. f8 is the place to start. (I'm about to ignore that rule below - but it really makes a difference)
Handheld 'snapping away', it's the wrong camera. A ff D3 or D700 is much better - but if you are prepared to get it right, the results are pretty impressive.
Just now in the pub (best tripod I know - keeps me upright) Resized and sharpened for web. It was 'bar dark' in there. 100 ISO - lens closed down for shallow DOF, 1/3 sec -1 stop EV to try and hold highlights. Clicky for 1150 wide. (It looks MUCH better, honest)
I focussed in live view - mirror up - on the word 'Super'
Below: 100% crop no processing at all. My D3 couldn't match that. D4 would probably struggle.
I'd NOT recommend it to anyone who isn't prepared to put in a fair amount of time to get it right (and owns a tripod made of granite).
I guess in low or medium res, it'd be a pussy cat (but then you'd buy a D700 wouldn't you).
P.S. It's been blowing a hoolie here, hence no landscapes... just the inside of a bar!
Edited by GetCarter on Thursday 26th April 18:00
.Gad-Westy said:
So impressed with what I've seen of the D800. Oddly enough I'm almost 100% convinced that it really isn't the camera for me but I do really want to have a play with one.
Looking forward to seeing some luscious landscapery Steve.
Despite being of the Canon persuasion since more years ago than I care to recall .... I feel the same way.Looking forward to seeing some luscious landscapery Steve.
However it seems to me that unless one is considering competing with the medium format market or planning to shoot from afar and crop aggressively yet still display/print very large ... the remarkable capbility of the camera will be lost unfulfilled.
On the plus side if one suggests that this product could often satisfy needs that currently required top end DSLRs or MF but at a much smaller price ... then it clearly has a niche to fit into.
It's generating a lot of interest but as things roll out will it be competing across all upper end market segments or will it end up taking on the medium format crowd as Canon pitch to a different market and Sony, to take an example, pitch to alternative viewing technology (even if they end up using the same chip ...)
Thing is your not going to get a worse picture out of it than a D700 with the same technique.
And probably a more detailed one more often than not if you pay attention.
D800 has larger pixels than the 7D (just more of them) so Its not too dissimilar to shooting with a high pixel density cropper.
Interestingly it does seem to be showing up the mighty 14-24 and really showing up the 24pce
And probably a more detailed one more often than not if you pay attention.
D800 has larger pixels than the 7D (just more of them) so Its not too dissimilar to shooting with a high pixel density cropper.
Interestingly it does seem to be showing up the mighty 14-24 and really showing up the 24pce
ian in lancs said:
glad the D810 has come out! Ive just got my hands on a mint, 8000 shot, D800 for £1200! Actually, a D800, 2 SB900's and a 300mm f4 all for £2k. Would have been rude not to!
Hope the weekend is kind! Tryout in the Lakes.,
Great price... good work that man. If you are just kicking about taking snaps, I suggest leaving it in medium res, and swapping to high res for 'proper' shots. Also, when in high res, one has to get one's brain into gear to get that it's easy to crop and still have a very detailed image, so if your lens is feeling too wide, don't worry (as much as you would).Hope the weekend is kind! Tryout in the Lakes.,
Have fun
(Can't believe I've had mine nearly 2 and 1/2 years!)
Agree - to an extent - with Steve.
Haven't had a lot of time to use mine recently (also now two years old), but just off for my first holiday in over a year - to Dorset Coast and looking forward to dusting off the D800 for some nice landscapes and portraits. (17-35 f/2.8 and 85 f1.4 are probably all I'm taking)
I shall be defaulting quite a bit to f/4 and I will also manage some hand-holding and I don't tend to dial down to lower resolution but will happily shoot RAW and be reasonably vicious in cropping. It's stitching and bracketing that's fun (but my three year old MacBook can cope (8Gb, SSD) with ease!)
What I do manage to do more is think hard about taking less shots, and getting a higher percentage of "acceptable" (to me) results when compared to my previous digital Nikons.
But, agreed, for the best stuff: ancient, heavy Manfrotto and a big heavy ballhead!
Haven't had a lot of time to use mine recently (also now two years old), but just off for my first holiday in over a year - to Dorset Coast and looking forward to dusting off the D800 for some nice landscapes and portraits. (17-35 f/2.8 and 85 f1.4 are probably all I'm taking)
I shall be defaulting quite a bit to f/4 and I will also manage some hand-holding and I don't tend to dial down to lower resolution but will happily shoot RAW and be reasonably vicious in cropping. It's stitching and bracketing that's fun (but my three year old MacBook can cope (8Gb, SSD) with ease!)
What I do manage to do more is think hard about taking less shots, and getting a higher percentage of "acceptable" (to me) results when compared to my previous digital Nikons.
But, agreed, for the best stuff: ancient, heavy Manfrotto and a big heavy ballhead!
ian in lancs said:
glad the D810 has come out! Ive just got my hands on a mint, 8000 shot, D800 for £1200! Actually, a D800, 2 SB900's and a 300mm f4 all for £2k. Would have been rude not to!
Hope the weekend is kind! Tryout in the Lakes.,
Great price.Hope the weekend is kind! Tryout in the Lakes.,
Will be interested in your thoughts on how good the 300mm f/4 delivers with it. I've been two years thinking about what to replace my 70-200 with (200mm cropped on DX with occasional TC14 or 20) as 105mm is as far as I go...
Rogue86 said:
What tripods are you guys using? My old Manfrotto isn't quite sturdy enough!
055C rusty, secondhand, £80, then I flogged the action head that came with it and bought RRS head and L Bracket etc that cost about three times the price!But the 'frotto is Man enough for (previously D2X + 70-200mm) D800 + 105mm + SB800 + TC14, for example...
A carbon 055 would be my ideal, I think.
Fell out of love very quickly with my D800, although tbf its not really meant for automotive shooters I suspect! Compared to D3, the focus is too slow, and often off, buffer fills fast, frame rate poor, and I find the colours a bit too blue. Plus, I need MASSIVE diskspace for the bloody files 
Cropping helps a bit, but alters effective focal length. A great camera for a landscape shooter, who probably doesn't encounter any of the issues I mention - so ideal for GC! Still deciding whether or not to keep it for those odd jobs which require huge files....
Cropping helps a bit, but alters effective focal length. A great camera for a landscape shooter, who probably doesn't encounter any of the issues I mention - so ideal for GC! Still deciding whether or not to keep it for those odd jobs which require huge files....Gassing Station | Photography & Video | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff