D810, All Discussions, Questions

rmp

"Caspian Sea Gig" ? How much are you paying them? >-

Vipmediastar_JZ

+10 on my sigma 35 all across with the Dock and performs solid on the d800 and Df

Symphotic

First impressions:

The Really Right Stuff L-Plate for the D800 fits, but not well: there are three covers instead of one on the left hand side (facing the rear) and the top and bottom covers (MIC and HDMI) cannot be opened. So you will need to buy a new L-Plate once RRS figures this out. Also, Camera Raw 8.6 RC works on the NEF files, but not Lightroom.

I've been shooting for hours, trying things out and it is a nice camera. Maybe it was extravagant to replace a D800 with a D810, though. The images from both cameras are great.

donaldejose

"Maybe it was extravagant to replace a D800 with a D810, though." - I have thought so but the more I think about it the more it makes sense to obtain the advantages of a quieter shutter and cleaner high ISO (if the tests bear that out) for people who use their camera to shoot weddings or stage productions.

Symphotic

"Maybe it was extravagant to replace a D800 with a D810, though." - I have thought so but the more I think about it the more it makes sense to obtain the advantages of a quieter shutter and cleaner high ISO (if the tests bear that out) for people who use their camera to shoot weddings or stage productions.

UPDATE BELOW:

I don't do either type of shooting, but the shutter is significantly quieter. Rapid fire and large buffer of the continuous shutter are also impressive.

I am looking at the ISO now: I did a bunch of test shots and will do some more if I get a chance today. ISO 64 is very nice. It adds 60% to the exposure time. Not everybody needs ISO 64, but it's nice to have.

I just got prompted to download the Lightroom 5.6 update while I was typing this....(hold please)...

Ligthroom 5.6 works fine on D810 files. I just tried importing and editing one. No OS X Digital Raw update yet from Apple.

Back to work. I am shooting a new circuit board this morning...

UPDATE:

I just spoke with Really Right Stuff and they are fully aware of the problem with the D800 L-plate and have stated the D810 L-plate should be available for shipment in 4-5 weeks. I don't use the HDMI port, and I can use the D800 or V1 for video. If I have to use the D810 for video, I can pull the L-plate over for access to the MIC port, but that isn't the best solution.

Beso

@Sanook: I don't see any bitterness expressed in this thread.

I think it fair to question the wisdom of dumping your D800 for a D810. If you have the money and if one of the new features will make or brake your images and there is no workaround - then by all means go ahead.

But for most people it will make no practical difference if you have a D800 or a D810.

If someone offered to trade my used D800 for a new D810 I would do the trade as I think the D810 will turn out to be a better camera. But I´m afraid I would not see a difference in the final output.

It may be fair to question another's choices but in reality the only one whose opinion counts is the one who is making the investment and their personal judgment as to value.

henrik1963

@Beso: Agree 100%. Just to make it clear: It was not my intention to question "another´s choices" but to question "the wisdom" - in general - of dumping a D800 for a D810. That destination makes sense in Danish. If it does not in English I apologies if I have offended someone who is happy with their decision :-) My English is not always 100% fine tuned.

It may be a different opinion than @Sanooks - but it is given without any kind of bitterness :-)

donaldejose

I have a D800 and think I would not see a difference in 99% of the images I take at the viewing size I normally use. However, I do think that D800 shutter is loud and I would enjoy having a quieter shutter for the next 5 years I expect to be using the camera. I also would enjoy having cleaner higher ISOs and more fps on those few occasions when I need them. So I can see an change being worthwhile. improved image quality aside.

haroldp

I do not expect any notable differences in IQ in most circumstances,between my D800e and the D810 I will buy shortly.

Since a serious fraction of my recent and planned shooting are Birds In Flight, mostly Eagles and other hunting seabirds, the D810's combo of an increase in frame rate, slightly faster auto focus, and more buffer capacity, add up to a small but significant improvement in my odds of getting the shot(s) I will have driven 250 miles and frozen my assorted tender parts to get. If high ISO performance is improved to where I can up my shutter speeds or improve DOF, that will be a bonus, buy it is not necessary to this decision.

For most of my other shooting I will probably continue to use my D800e, or old reliable D3x.

The D810 will likely be bolted on to my 400/2.8 VRII with tce20-eIII , and my other more general purpose lenses on other bodies.

.... H

Golf007sd

@haroldp: Please give us your feedback on how the group-area AF on the D810 help in your BIF and other fast moving subjects. Personally, it is this new AF system and new shutter operation that has peaked my interesest in this new body.

Enjoy the body.

kanuck

Lightroom 5.6 with support for Nikon D810 RAW Files was released today. Just a heads up to everyone out there. You are probably aware already I am sure as must of us read Nikon rumors regularly ^___^

henrik1963

Now that there is RAW support for D810 I would really like to see some comparisons between D800 and D810.

If someone have both cameras can you take the same shot at ISO 800, ISO 1600 and ISO 3200 convert to JPG and post 100% crops - please with sugar on top :-)

If there is a significant difference between the two that would cause my gear lust to come alive - again :-)

Symphotic

Now that there is RAW support for D810 I would really like to see some comparisons between D800 and D810.

If someone have both cameras can you take the same shot at ISO 800, ISO 1600 and ISO 3200 convert to JPG ...

If I have time I can try. From what I can tell so far is they both take excellent photos, but highest ISO performance is done with lower pixel densities. I'll try to compare the Df as well if I can get the Df into the lab.

haroldp

Resist the urge, henrik! Resist! Image quality is not the reason to upgrade to the 810. Any difference in quality that you experience in practical, every-day shooting will exist only in your mind. To me there are only a few reasons to upgrade:
1. The AF is more finely tuned and reliable.
2. The lower minimum ISO might be helpful in some cases, especially if you don't have/can't use filters with your lens.
3. You really need a faster FPS.
4. You do a ton of video.
5. You use liveview a *lot*

The IQ bump argument should be **completely** irrelevant to your thinking and to that of everyone else.

This sounds very sensible to me.

If I were shooting things that did not move fast, I would stay with my D800e for a long time.

Regards .... H

henrik1963

@PitchBlack: That has been my thinking so far.

I can track a speeding motorcycle with D800 and that is fast enough for me. Never had any problems with AF - even the Sigma 35 Art was bang on at 1.4.
Well the ISO 64 might be nice - can't remember I ever needed it - It may return cleaner images but ISO 100 is very clean on my D800.
I allways shoot single shot - not even CL :-)
I never shoot video and I hardly ever use Liveview.

But on my last trip I used ISO 800 to ISO 3200 a lot more than I used to - I always try to stay as close to ISO 100 as possible.

It is one thing to feel gear lust another to act on it - D810 is $4.700,- around here. I don't think I will get enough return on my investment. But I will still like to see if there is a difference in output.

I think I will end up directing my gear lust towards some lenses :-)

Symphotic

Resist the urge, ....The IQ bump argument should be **completely** irrelevant to your thinking and to that of everyone else.

I made some test shots when I first got my D810 to verify that the higher ISOs actually worked, but doing a controlled, side-by-side comparison is not so easy. Why not? Because the parameters of the cameras and images have to be the same. And what parameters do you compare? For example, should high ISO NR be on or off? You may ask for complete RAW files, but that isn't how anybody really shoots.

I think the videos of the two cameras firing in continuous mode will be more fun than ISO tests.

rogarr

Anyone know when the Film Maker's kit is shipping? Beginning to think I should have ordered the body separately.

tganiats

There seems to be some confusion with some people mixing D800 and D800e. I think the step from D800 to D810 is larger than the D800E and D810. Yes, the other differences between D800E and D810 are real and may or may not influence a decision. But the potential for sharper images as one upgrades from the D800 seems an advantage.

Am I over-stating the importance of removing the filters?

PB_PM

I think the removal of the AA filter is not as important as the marketing department of some photography companies would have us believe. Yes it is sharper, in some respects, but there are downsides that are well known. I personally picked the D800 over the D800E because I didn't want moiré to show up in my video files. Nikon might have improved software level reduction of moire, but I'd rather not have it there to fix in the first place.

JonMcGuffin

@tganiats - DXO seems to think there is a big difference between the D800e & D800 bodies. Extreme pixel peepers would agree. Practically speaking, the differences have proven to be minimal time after time. Just because there may be a scientifically measurable difference doesn't mean that it actually matters. When the weatherman says it's 80F outside, does it really matter that it is in fact 79.2F or 80.7F? It changes nothing...

@pitchblack - I hope more people listen to what you're saying because it's now also been shown that the IQ differences between the D810 and D800/e are also very negligible.

I'll add (coming from a D700 and hopeful to buy a D810 in the next couple of months) that I find the greatest benefits of the D810 is that it appears to truly be a more refined body from top to bottom. The more dampened shutter will be VERY much appreciated by myself, not to mention the feeling that the entire shutter mechanism is probably better built and able to keep camera shake/movement to a minimum. This may be the best IQ improvement the camera has to offer right there. I like the idea of the faster frame rate, the bigger buffer, & all the small little things that they've improved. It's just really looks like the ultimate D700 replacement in my opinion.

Symphotic

Shutter sounds:

PB_PM

The D810 and Df are slightly quieter, more like a DX body in terms of noise levels. A good improvement for sure.

Rx4Photo

I was on the D800 to D810 upgrade train for a couple of days but jumped off and the train has since left the station. Aside from it costing another $1000 to $1400 after the sell or depending on what I'd get for a trade of my D800 I can't justify it. Some of my cleanest, sharpest photos of people show so much detail in skin that I wind up smoothing it out anyway and landscape photos are sharper than what we typically find in any "outdoor wildlife/landscape photographer" magazine anyway.
Whenever there's a chance I'll thumb thru fashion and style magazines to foster creative ideas. Oddly enough some of the best images are purposefully shot and published slightly out of focus for whatever reasons the editors chose. Most images appear deeply budgeted and extremely artistic and can stand on their own. This supports the thought that in a lot of cases sharpness can be overrated.

Symphotic

The D810 and Df are slightly quieter, more like a DX body in terms of noise levels. A good improvement for sure.

I set the audio recording to a fixed level, but still I think the audio doesn't do justice to the sense of quietness of the D810.

I shot circuit boards with the D810 yesterday and I can't see an IQ difference in the photos I took previously with the D800. The D800 continues to take excellent photos. But shooting circuit boards in a well lit lab is not very demanding on IQ. I don't have time to make an ISO comparison. Maybe later.

JonMcGuffin

I was on the D800 to D810 upgrade train for a couple of days but jumped off and the train has since left the station. Aside from it costing another $1000 to $1400 after the sell or depending on what I'd get for a trade of my D800 I can't justify it. Some of my cleanest, sharpest photos of people show so much detail in skin that I wind up smoothing it out anyway and landscape photos are sharper than what we typically find in any "outdoor wildlife/landscape photographer" magazine anyway.
Whenever there's a chance I'll thumb thru fashion and style magazines to foster creative ideas. Oddly enough some of the best images are purposefully shot and published slightly out of focus for whatever reasons the editors chose. Most images appear deeply budgeted and extremely artistic and can stand on their own. This supports the thought that in a lot of cases sharpness can be overrated.

I think this is very observant of you and I've seen much the same thing. Clearly the camera body is nowhere even really near what it takes to generate an image that is either "great" or sells.

However, I throw this out to you. Let's assume your upgrade cost is actually $1,500. Assume you'd hold this body for 4 years and resell it. How much more will you be able to get for a D810 in 4 years versus a D800? I'm going to guess maybe $400 more? That makes your true "extra cost $1,100 over 4 years or about $275/year.

For $275/year you get all the benefits of the D810 for 4 years including a fresh 'new' camera with 0 shutter count. That's $20+/- a month. How passionate and important is your photography to you? Worth that? I'm just asking, not suggestion. Obviously everybody answers this differently. This may also be a kind of of worse case scenario and it could pan out better for you than this.

I'm just sayin'.......