Posted by Joe Rogers on February 7, 2012 at 11:19 AM
Wow! Nikon announced on it's site today the new 36.3mp D800. Rumored(and rumor,only) to retail for around $3000. Is this the game changer Nikon owners have been waiting for?
Joe Rogers
Posted by Todd Caudle on February 7, 2012 at 11:34 AM
Posted by Todd Caudle on February 7, 2012 at 1:14 PM
And this news comes as Canon announces straight focal length 24mm f2.8 and 28mm f2.8 non-L lenses for an astonishing $849 and $799, respectively. Ridiculousness on stilts.
Posted by Joe Rogers on February 7, 2012 at 1:25 PM
If I am correct this translates to about a 75mb raw file? New computers anyone?
Joe Rogers
Posted by Jimmy Gekas on February 7, 2012 at 1:41 PM
That definitely looks nice. I am interested in the E version...the one without the filter...and very curious to see how the files look in comparisoin to the upcoming Canon 5D3, or whatever they are calling it. The new Canon will most likely be announced in March. 36MP at $3k is pretty sweet. It would take a lot to convince me to make the switch from Canon, but this is a good start.
Posted by George Hager on February 7, 2012 at 2:55 PM
This is soooooo sweet. I feel like I have finally been rewarded for staying with Nikon all these years. I really don't expect a great deal of difference between the 5DmkII and the D800, but It sure will be nice to go from a 12 meg (D700) camera to 36megs. Now, if Nikon can just match a couple of Canon's lenses (70-200mm f4 and 17mm t&s), you can just plunk me in the ground and plant flowers over me.
Posted by Don Grall on February 7, 2012 at 3:20 PM
At only 4 fps in FX mode (I'm assuming FX means full frame resolution) there is a definite trade-off for the higher resolution
As a Nikon shooter and being a landscape junkie, I've been waiting for this one for awhile. Put my preorder in last night with Amazon. Cant wait to put on my 2.8s and get going.
Posted by Dan Gerth on February 7, 2012 at 5:35 PM
Sometimes stuff happens. I had my D7000 stolen, and now they announce the D800. I pre-ordered a D800E this morning. I'm a little anxious about the high MP count, but I do mostly tripod shooting. I'm not concerned about it only shooting at 4 fps, rocks don't move that fast. Seriously, I'm excited to have a chance to work with one of these. It looks sweet on paper, and the examples I've seen are very good.
Posted by Bill Pelzmann on February 7, 2012 at 7:06 PM
I'm glad to see the Nikon users happy. The samples sure look good.
I hope Canon does something similar in the not too distant future. Switching is NOT an option.
Posted by Todd Caudle on February 7, 2012 at 10:27 PM
...rocks don't move that fast...
Famous last words...
Posted by Dan Gerth on February 8, 2012 at 9:39 AM
horizontally, of course. I try to stay out from underneath them
Posted by Tom Stermitz on February 8, 2012 at 11:54 AM
Diglloyd had a number of interesting observations regarding lens quality and technical skills necessary to actually use all those megapixels. In short, even top, manual-focus prime lenses often fail to deliver focus across the image, and you need to use medium-format techniques for focusing and stabilizing. That said, a good picture doesn't depend on pixel-peeping. All those pixels are really just sampling the image projected by the lens, and you can easily down-sample the image to a more reasonable size where pixel-level flaws are not visible.
To put the D800 in perspective, 36M is no higher in resolution than the latest APS-C size cameras like the D7000, K5 or Nex-7. Easy to stitch, if you need to. Aside from high-frame rates for sports top DSLRs most advanced feature is the focusing engine, which operates much faster, more accurately and in darker light than my K5. (For me, the biggest disadvantage is size and weight.)
Regarding upgrading your computer, Other World Computing sells 8G of ram for about $50, which is too cheap not to put in your lap-top. 24G is around $320, but with the new Nikon you will use every ounce (?) of 24G.
Posted by Paul DeCesare on February 10, 2012 at 12:18 PM
I truly hope the 5D MK3, whenever it surfaces, is no more than 24mp and given Canon's track record of not going overboard there (1Dx is 18mp and they cut the G11 from the G10's 14mp down to 10), I think they will play it smart. I'm not sure I understand Nikon's move here, have they not woken up and realized that the megapixel war is over? That D800 has 36.3 million cells that are only 4.6um in size. Thanks but no thanks. At 21mp I printed a 30"x46" canvas wrap for a customer that print-quality-wise came out fantastic (using a pro lab of course). So what are we shooting with 36mp, billboards? Honestly, if your craft requires you to print mega-sized prints, then splurge on the 60mp PhaseOne back for a medium format. I'm leary of this 36mp sensor, how good will low-light be? And the odd part is that Nikon has always shot a cleaner image than Canon, by at least a full stop (yes, I shoot a 5D2 but it's the truth, Nikon full frame images are superior), so would they compromise here with this D800 to gain marketshare? They must have some seriously good software compensating for the tiny sensor cells. Being processors are so much faster in camers these days, that's not far-fetched I suppose.
Now, having pontificated about all THAT, there is one excellent thing about this camera: it raises the bar for all manufacturers to provide more for less, and we all win!
Posted by Bill Pelzmann on February 10, 2012 at 12:57 PM
....have they not woken up and realized that the megapixel war is over?
Well Paul, from the super enthusiastic reception for the D800, it appears far from over, at least for landscape photographers.
Based on the rumor mill, Canon may satisfy everyone with a low megapixel, high iso, moderate fps, 5DII update, AND a high megapixel D800 niche equivalent. I hope that is true, then everyone can choose what they "need" from either system.
I'm just looking forward to seeing a side-by-side comparison, at low ISO, of these two options, the 1Dx, AND a 40+mp MF digital back. It should be a fun year.
Posted by Kane Engelbert on February 11, 2012 at 4:46 PM
Keeping up with the rumors of this camera for about a year, and finally seeing those rumored specs come to fruition, I was expecting the Nikons D800 to run about $4,000. Man that's a lot of camera for $3,000. Nikon is saying the D800 ISO will be in the neighborhood of the D700. Hard to believe but If that's true, then I'll have a lot of thinking to do.
Discussion
16 repliesJoe Rogers
Joe Rogers
I hope Canon does something similar in the not too distant future. Switching is NOT an option.
Famous last words...
To put the D800 in perspective, 36M is no higher in resolution than the latest APS-C size cameras like the D7000, K5 or Nex-7. Easy to stitch, if you need to. Aside from high-frame rates for sports top DSLRs most advanced feature is the focusing engine, which operates much faster, more accurately and in darker light than my K5. (For me, the biggest disadvantage is size and weight.)
Regarding upgrading your computer, Other World Computing sells 8G of ram for about $50, which is too cheap not to put in your lap-top. 24G is around $320, but with the new Nikon you will use every ounce (?) of 24G.
Now, having pontificated about all THAT, there is one excellent thing about this camera: it raises the bar for all manufacturers to provide more for less, and we all win!
Well Paul, from the super enthusiastic reception for the D800, it appears far from over, at least for landscape photographers.
Based on the rumor mill, Canon may satisfy everyone with a low megapixel, high iso, moderate fps, 5DII update, AND a high megapixel D800 niche equivalent. I hope that is true, then everyone can choose what they "need" from either system.
I'm just looking forward to seeing a side-by-side comparison, at low ISO, of these two options, the 1Dx, AND a 40+mp MF digital back. It should be a fun year.