Is the D800 a stop better than the D700?

Keith

Keith

The best camera is one that still works!
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I have to confess to watching the ISO wars very carefully because of where my predominat shooting actually occurs ... in galleries where you can barely see your hand in front of your face with many exposures shot at F2, ISO 6400 and down to 1/8 second (or less) ... frequently!

I have to say my D700 has been absolutely brilliant in all respects in this environment but if the D800 offers another stop of speed and reputedly has a better viewfinder then I may take the plunge when the price settles a little.

Are there any real world D800 users out there yet who can honestly say the camera is significantly better in the areas I've mentioned than it's sibling the D700?
 
From what I can tell Keith the d800 has its advantages in overall resolution and dynamic range over the d700, but noise performance seems to be on the same level or within 1/2 a stop difference. Of course once you reduce those big files down to a 12mp equivalent, they will probably look a bit cleaner.

It's worth noting that the d3s is now a bit cheaper on the used market - you can almost get one for the same amount of money as a new d800, and the d3s is still the low light king (and most likely a whole lot nicer to use being THE pro body from nikon.)

for example:
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Nikon-D3S-Body-Only-Digital-SLR-Camera-/200752181508?pt=AU_Digital_Cameras&hash=item2ebdc33104#ht_510wt_1360
 
gavinlg said:
From what I can tell Keith the d800 has its advantages in overall resolution and dynamic range over the d700, but noise performance seems to be on the same level or within 1/2 a stop difference. Of course once you reduce those big files down to a 12mp equivalent, they will probably look a bit cleaner.

It's worth noting that the d3s is now a bit cheaper on the used market - you can almost get one for the same amount of money as a new d800, and the d3s is still the low light king (and most likely a whole lot nicer to use being THE pro body from nikon.)

for example:
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Nikon-D3S-Body-Only-Digital-SLR-Camera-/200752181508?pt=AU_Digital_Cameras&hash=item2ebdc33104#ht_510wt_1360
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Thanks Gav ... I was thinking about the D3s as a used option because there isn't a huge difference in noise between the D700 and D800 from what I can see. Absolute resolution is less important to me than a cleaner image at 6400 or 12800 ISO.
 
Keith said:
Thanks Gav ... I was thinking about the D3s as a used option because there isn't a huge difference in noise between the D700 and D800 from what I can see. Absolute resolution is less important to me than a cleaner image at 6400 or 12800 ISO.
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Nikon US has some examples from the d3s at 12800iso on their product page that almost seem too good to be true...
 
gavinlg said:
Nikon US has some examples from the d3s at 12800iso on their product page that almost seem too good to be true...
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The other obvious advantage for me would be the ability to use a 24-70 f2.8 G Nikkor instead of the 35mm f2 prime I currently use. Since I got my 24-120 f4 I've realised how useful a zoom can be in the appropriate conditions and 24-70 in a gallery would be excellent at f2.8 and 12800 ISO.
 
Keith said:
The other obvious advantage for me would be the ability to use a 24-70 f2.8 G Nikkor instead of the 35mm f2 prime I currently use. Since I got my 24-120 f4 I've realised how useful a zoom can be in the appropriate conditions and 24-70 in a gallery would be excellent at f2.8 and 12800 ISO.
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Yeah there's definitely a place for good zooms and that 24-70mm nikkor is a cracker.

How about the nikkor 35 1.4G? It's probably cheaper overall than upgrading the camera, won't devalue much, and you'll be gaining a stop in ISO performance. Might even be easier to manual focus...
 
Sparrow said:
Compulsive upgrade syndrome? ... does it really exist? :D
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If you're using a camera even part time at a professional level I think it does. An extra stop of usable ISO would make my life that little bit easier by allowing me to use a slower zoom. I seem to spend a lot of time walking backwards and forwards when framing shots with my 35mm prime! :p

The D700 was a quantum leap from the M8 ... I still have nightmares about the noise in the files from that camera at ISO 640. :D
 
Keith said:
If you're using a camera even part time at a professional level I think it does. An extra stop of usable ISO would make my life that little bit easier by allowing me to use a slower zoom. I seem to spend a lot of time walking backwards and forwards when framing shots with my 35mm prime! :p

The D700 was a quantum leap from the M8 ... I still have nightmares about the noise in the files from that camera at ISO 640. :D
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I was joking, but then when I checked on google and find the syndrome really exists :eek:

.. yep, I realise it's a help to you in this case ... I just wonder sometimes how much the manufacturer's accounts dept manipulate the speed of the treadmill
 
I've shot D700, D3S and D800. If I was you, for your particular needs, I'd go D3S.
Off topic - what I find curious about D800 is that I have involuntarily started shooting lots of movies. Go figure.
 
Keith said:
I have to confess to watching the ISO wars very carefully because of where my predominat shooting actually occurs ... in galleries where you can barely see your hand in front of your face with many exposures shot at F2, ISO 6400 and down to 1/8 second (or less) ... frequently!

I have to say my D700 has been absolutely brilliant in all respects in this environment but if the D800 offers another stop of speed and reputedly has a better viewfinder then I may take the plunge when the price settles a little.

Are there any real world D800 users out there yet who can honestly say the camera is significantly better in the areas I've mentioned than it's sibling the D700?
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Keith,

Take a deep breath and repeat after me...

"I am being influenced by GAS.
I am over-analyzing.
the D700 is just fine for my work"

There, you'll feel better. :)
 
PKR said:
I'm not sure the 24-120 (I own one) will deliver the results you desire on a d800. I know Nikon has the lens on the prefered list for the d800, but I think it's a poor performer and will not meet the required resolution at all focal lengths with the resolution performance cited for the d800's sensor.
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24-120 f/4 is an excellent lens! As a matter of fact it's the only zoom I own and use. It works fantastically on D800.
You must be thinking of the older version of 24-120, which indeed was a dog.
 
PKR said:
There were 3 versions of the lens. The second was the worst. The latest is improved over the first. Mine is not sharp through the entire range. Many test reports I've read confirm my findings. Maybe there was a bad run QC and it's improved?

I don't know. Have you compaired the 24-120 at 105 with a 105 microG? I'm looking for sensor performance. If I can't get it I go to a different (MF) camera.
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I've only used the previous bad version once. Haven't really compared it to a prime, but primes in my experience almost always beat zooms, especially 105, which is an excellent lens.
I'm not really much of a tester. I use the lens for what it's intended for, shoot as normal and if I like the results I like the lens. I used to be "allergic" to zooms, but took this one on one of the trips as a lightweight alternative to multiple primes and the results changed my attitude towards zooms. As a matter of fact, I liked it better than 24-70 f/2.8 (I know, but 24-70 never blew me away, so I preferred compactness, price and the more versatile focal range of 24-120).
 
The Nikon 24-120 f4G VRII lens is fine on my D700 for a general purpose zoom for my uses and expectations. You have to be careful as to which version you are referring to. Might very well be different on a D800. I don't really think it is fair to compare a general purpose zoom at 105 to the 105 microG. I would be surprised if the dedicated micro would not walk away the hands down winner by a good stretch. Sorry to go OT. I would like to hear real world experience with the D800 also.

Bob
 
There are no big surprises with D800 really (other than that I started shooting a lot of video, as said above). Going in 100% could be scary when compared to D700 due to amount of detail, but scale it down to 12mp and it looks great in comparison.
File size was the biggest "surprise" for me, 48mb NEFs and you need above average machine to process them on. And you certainly need the best cards you can get on the market, otherwise forget about burst mode (not that I use it, but a couple of shots on my 30mb/s cards and the camera goes into write mode for 20 secs).
I haven't uploaded any results yet, otherwise I'd share. All in all I can say that D700 remains a top notch camera and I wouldn't have seconds thoughts to continue using it, if it wasn't for the unexpected fascination with video that D800 has caused.
 
Phantomas said:
24-120 f/4 is an excellent lens! As a matter of fact it's the only zoom I own and use. It works fantastically on D800.
You must be thinking of the older version of 24-120, which indeed was a dog.
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Mine's only a few months old and I bought it for shooting a billboard that I photograph every time they change it ... for the same bunch I shoot gallery openings for! It has the exact focal length range needed and it didn't cost an arm and a leg.

An opening I did last week allowed me to use it because the light was more reasonable than usual and I was impresed at the versatility in a work situation over a prime. However I was a little shocked at the pincushion distortion at the long end ... is this normal? Easily corrected in post but it surprised me none the less!

I would really like to be able to use a 24-70 f2.8 because that would be absolutely perfect range wise but the one stop drop in speed could cause me some problems hence my curiosity about the D800. Usable 12800 would be heaven in my work and from what I read about the D3s it's very usable at this setting!
 
PKR

I see what you were getting at now. Never worried about rentals just have a camera and lenses I need that do a decent job for what I want strictly as a hobby. Renting that kind of gear here in the boonies on short notice would be an interesting experience that I am not sure I would want to try. Nothing has changed, your needs are different than mine still.

Bob
 
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