Nikon D800

Nikon D800

Type	Digital single-lens reflex
Sensor	35.9 x 24mm Full Frame FX format CMOS, 4.88µm pixel size
Maximum resolution	7,360 × 4,912 (36.3 effective megapixels)
Lens	Interchangeable, Nikon F-mount
Flash	Manual pop-up with button release Guide number 12/39 (ISO 100, m/ft)
Shutter	Electronically controlled vertical-travel focal-plane shutter
Shutter speed range	1/8000 to 30 sec, bulb, X-sync at 1/250 sec.
Exposure metering	TTL 3D Color Matrix Metering III with a 91,000-pixel RGB sensor
Metering modes	Matrix metering, center-weighted metering, spot metering
Focus areas	Multi-CAM 3500FX 51-point AF
Focus modes	Instant single-servo (AF-S); continuous-servo (AF-C); auto AF-S/AF-C selection (AF-A); manual (M)
Continuous shooting	4 frames per second; 5 per second in DX and 1.2× crop modes; 6 per second with battery grip in DX and 1.2× crop modes
Viewfinder	Optical pentaprism, 100% coverage, approx. 0.70× magnification
ASA/ISO range	100–6400;, extended mode to 50–12800, HI2 mode 25600
Flash bracketing	-3 to +3 EV in increments of 1/3, 1/2, 2/3, or 1 EV
Rear LCD monitor	3.2 inch, VGA resolution (921,600 pixels)
Storage	CompactFlash (Type I, UDMA compliant) and Secure Digital (UHS-I compliant; SDHC, SDXC compatible and with Eye-Fi WLAN support)
Battery	Nikon EN-EL15 rechargeable lithium-ion battery
Weight	900 g (32 oz), body only
Made in	Japan

The Nikon D800 is a 36.3 megapixel professional grade full-frame digital single-lens reflex camera produced by Nikon. It was officially announced on February 7, 2012 and went on sale in late March 2012 for the suggested retail price of $2999.95 in the U.S., £2399 in the UK, and €2892 in the Eurozone. Shortly after the camera went on sale, Nikon's UK subsidiary increased the price of the D800 in that market by £200 to £2599, saying that the original price was due to an "internal systems error". However, Nikon honored the original price for all pre-orders placed before March 24, and added that no price changes would be made in other markets. It was given a Gold Award by Digital Photography Review.

Features

• 36.3 effective megapixel full-frame (35.9 mm × 24 mm) sensor with ISO 100–6400 (ISO 50–25600 boost)
• Nikon Expeed 3 image processor
• 91,000 pixel RGB metering sensor with Advanced Scene Recognition System
• Advanced Multi-CAM3500FX autofocus sensor (51-point, 15 cross-type, 11 points sensitive at maximum apertures as small as f/8)
• H.264/MPEG-4 AVC Expeed video processor. 1080p Full HD movie mode at 24/25/30 fps, 720p at 24/25/30/50/60 fps, HDMI HD video out with support of uncompressed video output, stereo monitor headphone out, and stereo input (3.5-mm diameter) with manual sound level control.
• 4 frames per second in continuous FX mode or 5:4 crop mode. 5 frames per second in continuous 1.2× crop mode or DX (APS-C) mode. With the optional MB-D12 battery grip, fitted with either the EN-EL18 battery pack of the D4 or AA batteries, continuous shooting at 6 frames per second in 1.2× crop or DX mode is supported.
• Buffer size for 17 RAW or 56 JPEG with maximum quality.
• Built-in High dynamic range imaging (HDR) mode (2 frames up to 3EV apart)
• 'Active D-Lighting' with 6 settings and bracketing (adjusts metering and D-Lighting curve)
• Pop-up flash that doubles as a wireless flash controller
• USB 3.0 connectivity
• Image sensor cleaning
• Shutter rated at 200,000 actuations
• Live View with either phase detect or improved contrast detect Auto Focus
• Dual card slots, one CompactFlash UDMA and one SD, SDHC, SDXC, UHS-I and Eye-Fi (WLAN) compatible card slot (mirror, overflow, back-up, RAW on 1/JPEG on 2, Stills on 1/Movies on 2, copy)
• Weather sealing comparable to D700, but considered less robust than D4

Image quality

The Nikon D800 achieved a new 'king' result in the DxO Labs/DxOMark sensor rating by toppling the D4 by 4 points, even though the D800 is cheaper, being about half the D4 price (better quality-to-price ratio).

Based on DxOMark the newest Nikon D800E has no significant difference with Nikon D800 in image quality, although in overall performance gets one point higher sets at 96 and 95, respectively.

D800E

The D800E is a specialized version which uses a new optical anti-aliasing filter with no low pass filter effect (no blurring) to obtain the sharpest images possible. Nikon claims that possible aliasing effects (moiré) can be lessened by software-processing in camera or external programs like Nikon´s Capture NX2. The D800E version will be available in mid April 2012 for a suggested retail price of $3,299.95 in the U.S. and €3171 in the Eurozone. The UK price was initially announced as £2689, but at the same time that Nikon UK announced its price error on the D800, it also increased the price of the D800E to £2899. All pre-orders made prior to March 24 will still be filled at the originally announced price.

Reviewers have pointed out that whilst increased moire is difficult to resolve in post-processing, it is relatively easy to combat while photo-taking (such as by changing the angle, aperture or position). Furthermore, moire is rarely found in photos (besides man-made, repeated patterns such as in architecture). Hence, most recommend the D800E, as the slight increase in moire brings about a noticeable improvement in optical resolution.

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Nikon D800 or Taken with Nikon D800 or Taken with Nikon D800E

External links

• Nikon D800 — Nikon global website
• Nikon D800/D800E Manual
• Review by Thom Hogan
• D800 resources at Estiasis
• Review at Camera Labs
• Review collection for the D800 at Photospots
• Google Image: Nikon D800 sample, review and user images, >20MPix JPEG or Raw (NEF)
• Google Image: Nikon D800E sample, review and user images, >20MPix JPEG or Raw (NEF)