D810, All Discussions, Questions

framer

I'm in but I'm still using a D3s. I was thinking of a D3x but put it off, put it off, put it off and now for the same money the D810. I see the value in the new stuff. It should make a good 2nd body. I'll wait a few more months to see if any problems develop. I will need it come September.

pictureframer

JJ_SO

Cool down, @PitchBlack /:) There are more shots of "Miss Aniela" with some flaws in. And some of the trees on the sample gallery, hmm, may have a different message to transport than only "sharpness". Also, be fair: 105 is no 200 and your eye shot was more frontal than hers. But I agree, she's not top notch in aspects of sharpness, her thing is more emotional story telling. Eh even used a 58/1.4. At f/5.6, ISO 1600 and flash.

I told you once, if you'd try a D800E, you'd see a contrast improvement and a tad more sharpness. I expect the same from that body again, but I'm prepared for another learning process as the D800 already was. Some of the shots had a shutter count below 800 and who knows, how many photographers got the samples of preproduction for only a couple of shots? I esteem your judgement, but here I'm only relying on mine - and I won't judge before I have my hands on it.

I wonder why always Nikon France gets those cameras? I'm sure there are some folks in UK, US and wherever else who know how to handle such a thing.

donaldejose

PitchBlack: I too was not at all impressed by the eye lash sharpness (or softness) of that particular shot. It was certainly a disappointment to me and surely won't sell the body. I just don't think it is typical of the ability of the sensor. Remember, they are using Nikon glass, not the sharpest glass on the market. If the D810 was not sharper than the D800 using the Sigma 50mm f1.4 Art lens I would be shocked. I expect it to be both sharper and offer more dynamic range. We will see when DxOMark tests one. It should rank higher than the score of 96 given to the D800E.

Vipmediastar_JZ

maybe that lens needs fine tuning?
IF it is the 70-200 2.8 like mine at 2.8 and 200 its not the best and after I made some fine tunig the results improved.
When I sent my files to nikon they said it was under the acceptable tolerances. Now you have a macro lens so you already win on that aspect.
for reference

DXO says
D800E 70-200 2.8 v2 G score 31 (best at 135mm)
D800E 200mm 2 v2 G score 44
D800E 105mm 2.8 if-ed G score 36

So if it was the zoom vs your prime than it explains it.

donaldejose

Still, they surely should have used a better example!

heartyfisher

I really doubt that he D810 will be "significantly" sharper than the D800E. technically the D800E is equivalent to having no AA. so removing the AA entirely should have next to no difference. I suspect the reason they made the 800E sensor that way is probably due to the need to be able to use the exact same body. ie the "Cancelling AA" filter needed to be there otherwise there would be too many other micro adjustment needed to position the sensor at exactly the right distance. its like viewing something through a thick glass(AA and cancelling-AA) and without the thick glass (noAA)

JJ_SO

I looked at the EXIF of that file and it was shot at 200mm @ f2.8. It was almost certainly shot with the 70-200/2.8.

No, it was 200/2 VRII, shot at 1/125 and ISO 80.

:-??

You had a flashlight? And Miss Aniela appears to use no flash, if I look at the iris of her eye. Second best light is not helping if Nikon wants to show their new "best HR" and "versatile".

But as we saw on the samples to the 58/1.4, they tend to leave some space and try to challenge their customers to become better than the samples

donaldejose

Heartyfisher: If I am correct, and I admit I may not be, the improved sharpness will not just come from the missing AA filter alone. Nikon has improved the mirror and shutter mechanism to induce less vibration and has improved the AF to be more precise with fast glass. Then you have an added clarity adjustment in Picture Controls which should translate into a sharper image when used. So I am suggesting a number of factors will all contribute to better sharpness. The test will be how it performs with a lens like the Zeiss Otus or the Sigma 50mm f1.4. I am predicting the D810 will provide the greatest dynamic range, the greatest megapixels and the greatest sharpness you can currently obtain in a DSLR. For those who need the greatest speed and the most robust build, the D4 will still be the best. Let the testing begin!

bigeater

I bet that beauty shot isn't sharp because they used a non-Nikon flash. I find that when I need really sharp photos the only thing that works is a couple of Speedlights triggered with CLS and a shutter speed of 1/250th or 1/320th.

Ade

The shot isn't super-sharp because making a super-sharp picture wasn't one of the photographer's priorities.

CreativeLive fans already know that Natalia ("Miss Aniela") and her partner Matthew are fantastic photographers. You can see BTS of their D810 sessions on YouTube:

framer

@framer: you might consider a refurbed D800. You can save about $1000 and use that to buy a really great lens.

I wish I could get really great glass for a grand... Maybe OK glass,but not great.

framer

Golf007sd

bigeater

It's weird to me that Nikon has for years accompanied new camera introductions with god-awful photos. There's always something off about them, whether it's bad exposure, awkward composition, mediocre lighting, and now apparently mild blur is something they tolerate. It speaks to a corporate mindset that doesn't understand photography's balance between artistic liberation and technical perfection.

Photobug

Last week I made the comment that since they went to the D810 instead of D800S there must be more than a few improvements. I sure did not expect all these improvements. Also it was great to see the price for the D810 the same as the D800E. Very nice. Perhaps the Marketing department at Nikon is listening to their buyers.

JJ_SO

The shot isn't super-sharp because making a super-sharp picture wasn't one of the photographer's priorities.

CreativeLive fans already know that Natalia ("Miss Aniela") and her partner Matthew are fantastic photographers. ...

Right in the beginning she calls herself a "fine art and fashion" photographer, "origin from fine art"... Before discussing, what her idea of fine art is and what others think of that buzzword, I admit it's a different world to me and I better keep my mouth shut. And she's UK photographer, voilà, so I was wrong. Thanks for your research, @Ade. Still, in that BTS I don't see what I'd call fantastic photographer which is sort of personal taste and maybe I've consumed a bit too much of those Phase One BTS 8-| And of course, she's working in midst of enough people to shoot a film. Her shots were more stills to an imaginary movie. I din't like it too much, but the "Dreampark" movie from the main blog I found excellent to see.

To me, this kind of scenery needs more resolution and a bigger sensor than this camera has to offer, also better studio flashes than I've seen. Clearly an amount of details for a bigger 80MP sensor, although "in the old days" that quality would have been fantatsic getting out of 135 SLR or even MF. But then, both settings were risky: Living animals and enough water. Don't want to imagine a dropped high voltage flash in the water tank.

Next thing, at some point they talked about no photoshop involved (which is another difference to PitchBlacks work).

It's so easy to get distracted by small details. I've seen (and may be wrong again) a Manfrotto Quick release with the small plates. And a tripod with center column mostly high up. If I wasn't able to get a sharp shot out of those combination, she can be able, though.

Side note: I spend some time to edit my origin post - the forum software doesn't need much time to delete a lot of work...

Golf007sd

I would like to believe that: we can all agree that every photographer has their own unique style of shooting. I Personal, I find the image in question to be very pleasing...in its entirety. +1 on JJ_SO comment that "your eye shot was more frontal than hers."

Please let us not turn this topic into a lens tit-for-tat. Let us focus on this new bodies features and what it has to offer the end user over all. From what I have been seeing, the D810 is everything the D800/D800e is and more. Much like what the D4s has to offer over my D4.

Cheers....

framer

@framer: three of my four favorite lenses were all under $1000. That shot above was shot with a 105/2.8 macro, which is under a grand. Also, both of my Sigma art lenses were under a grand. My 85/1.4g was over... And well the 200-400 was way over.

I see one nikkor under a grand, I got the 105 DC and love it and was bought used under a grand. I still need to get my hands on a Sigma art lens to try.

framer

Fritz

Having never owned a D800, I'm on the list for an 810.

Vipmediastar_JZ

What do you guys think of sRaw on the D810? Would you use it?
If I had it for media coverage maybe the SD card for sRAW and the CF for RAW if the agency wanted the photos asap otherwise I would just do JPG for the SD.

DPR

Speaking of raw - Raw Size S is a new reduced-resolution 12-bit uncompressed raw mode which outputs at 9MP. This resolution is perfectly adequate for many scenarios, and working photographers might prefer the lower resolution option when shooting (say) current events where smaller file sizes are more practical when it comes to transmitting images. Nikon users have been asking for this feature for a long time.

scoobysmak

I could see a D810 in my future but my current D700 is still kicking fine. I am with another poster, I wish I could have gotten 6fps FX with the grip but honestly I am being greedy to say the least. Even though I have a camera that does shoot over 5fps I don't think I have used it but maybe once. To give a stop better ISO, bump up the speed 1fps in FX mode and keep the same price as a D800E is great and they did more than just that.

I would also agree that most of the upgrades should significantly help in the video department, not my cup of tea but understand to be competitive its required.

JJ_SO

Eyes are overrated noses are the future of fine-art!

But this might become a nightmare for make-up artists. At least, the nose looks a bit painted...

I'd love to see your pictures with this camera, really. As well as your comments.

proudgeek

I take back everything. The image is actually super sharp, it's just that if you look closely at the original the focus is on the nose and not the eye. My bad.

I would have taken your word for it.

donaldejose

Guess the D810 wins, by a nose!

JJ_SO

Has anybody seen a RAW file of the D810 anywhere? Just an ordinary losless 14bit NEF?

After Apple abandoned Aperture I'm considering getting a D800E instead of D810. In terms of sharpness, there won't be much diff. Although I welcome the changes in LV and the new shutter, I suspect Nikon will create another RAW version - hopefully I'm very wrong!

JJ_SO

Never.