The D800 has Landed!

I was hoping it would take a few more months for a replacement...since I still have to sell my D700 and Nikon lenses to support my Leica habit.

The price of a brand new D800 is intriguing...and I think the biggest factor in what will push D700 prices down. As of a couple weeks ago, my D700 was still worth most of what I paid for it (bought second-hand). I don't even want to speculate on what percentage I'll see that drop over the next few months.
 
I don't know why all the carping: it looks, at first glance and assuming all the promising features are up to scratch, to be an amazingly good camera. I'm sure it will be very useful for those who will make use of it's particular set of features. I'm not one of those people, so I shaln't be buying one, but I'm glad it will become available to those who can make good use of it.

...Mike
 
Ronald_H said:
Btw, I know that the heavy noise reduction shows, but the subject is deliriously happy with this shot. Drummers are notoriously hard to photograph. I'm sure she is going to hug and kiss me next time we meet. She is pretty and half my age :D How much more reason for hysterically high ISO performance do you need? ;)
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I stand corrected,

Chicks dig high ISOs.
 
mfunnell said:
I don't know why all the carping: it looks, at first glance and assuming all the promising features are up to scratch, to be an amazingly good camera. I'm sure it will be very useful for those who will make use of it's particular set of features. I'm not one of those people, so I shan't be buying one, but I'm glad it will become available to those who can make good use of it.

...Mike
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There will always be doubters and cynics out there whenever a new camera is announced to spew their abhorrence for such a product, even though most will never have one, let alone see one, myself included. And they think that if they will not like it then it must be a terrible camera.

I am no expert, but from what I can tell, it looks like a fantastic camera, and can not wait for some amazing pictures to be made with it.

Andy
 
Chris Bail said:
I was hoping it would take a few more months for a replacement...since I still have to sell my D700 and Nikon lenses to support my Leica habit.

The price of a brand new D800 is intriguing...and I think the biggest factor in what will push D700 prices down. As of a couple weeks ago, my D700 was still worth most of what I paid for it (bought second-hand). I don't even want to speculate on what percentage I'll see that drop over the next few months.
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Who cares what a D700 is now worth? Is your choice of a camera limited by what you think it will be worth when it's updated? People don't seem to mind with M8's and 9's. These are all digital cameras and as such, will, like computers always by superceded by something with an updated feature set as technology progresses.
In a recent post by Roger it was quite rightly pointed out that if the article produced the goods beforehand then it's still going to be doing so after it's been replaced with something newer.
A digital camera, like a computer has to be treated as a consumable item as far as I'm concerned. It makes no difference who makes it as it's always going to get updated on a cyclic basis.
NIKON seem to balance technology with usability and reliability that fits my DIGITAL requirement hence the reason I buy their products and not Canon, Leica etc.
One can sit on the fence waiting for the next whizz bang whatever and there are countless 'i'm going to wait for the M10 posts' that crop up but all the while you sit there, photo opportunities pass you by.
If you need the feature set of the 800 then buy one. If you just simply would like one and can afford it then buy one.
Make no mistake though that in perhaps 3 years time there will be posts somewhere on the net questioning how much an 800 is now worth because NIKON have just released an amazing 900.
 
Nobby, I'll be happy if this finally pushes D3 and D700 prices down. Either camera would be fine for the journalism I do. I'd love a FF camera in nikon.
 
Personally I don't think it will that much. The D3 and D700 will always be amazing cameras whatever comes along afterward.
For my requirement it's not about pixel count it's about low noise, mid apertures and as high a shutter speed as possible. I like the video feature but it would be a bonus rather than a necessaity for me.
Until I've seen some real results from an 800 I'm not going to judge it. Even then, it would be better to use one for a few days and then compare.
I still like the D3s's abilities for 2 stops usable above a 700.
 
Nikon has just wisely added a D800 technical guide PDF to their D800 website on how to get the sharpest images from this incredible camera. It touches on many of the things I used to do when testing Leica M and Nikkor lenses to make certain their focus was accurate as well as confirming their incredible sharpness. This will be a lens testers delight as we now have resolution in a digital sensor that far surpasses a film scanner or even most film resolution. Likewise, the limiting factor in sharpness other than shooting technique will be the lens. I for one however, will only use this high resolution feature to make certain the AF system is properly tweaked using the custom micro focus adjustment for each AF lens. Once lenses are properly calibrated, I'd down sample resolution to a reasonable 15-20 MPs.
 
Quite a bit to get excited about with the D800 if it all pans out in actual use. The price appears to be reasonable too, well relatively so. Personally, my D700 is still giving me all that I need and is low on the shutter count so it won't be for sale anytime soon. I just picked up a low mileage D300 for my telephoto needs and as a back up. I'll just use these two up before getting anything new. By that time the D900 will likely be out.

If you really need what the D800 has to offer for you business or just want it and can afford it, go for it. I suspect a few of us D700 users may well pass on the D800 for the moment. for much the same reasons as i have. It is always good to see advances in cameras regardless of whether you need them or not.

Bob
 
Nikon Bob said:
I suspect a few of us D700 users may well pass on the D800 for the moment. for much the same reasons as i have. It is always good to see advances in cameras regardless of whether you need them or not.

Bob
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Well said. I enjoy my D700 and really have no need of anything on the 800 that warrants an upgrade. Nice camera, but I don't even use all the features on my 700 yet.
 
To me, other than improved AF that really needed upgrading from the D700 for tracking smaller darker subjects like birds in flight against a bright detailed background, the higher MPs mean I can now crop to DX and still have a decent resolution.
 
awilder said:
To me, other than improved AF that really needed upgrading from the D700 for tracking smaller darker subjects like birds in flight against a bright detailed background, the higher MPs mean I can now crop to DX and still have a decent resolution.
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That thought had of being able to crop to DX and still have decent resolution also crossed my mind. Getting a used D300 with grip to work with my telephoto lenses solved that issue for me. It also gave me a back up camera, back up battery charger and spare batteries too.

I don't do a lot of BIFs so the improved AF tracking was not a plus for me but I can see the point though. I do some aircraft photos and the D700 is just fine for that the target being much larger.

Bob
 
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