Nikon announces the D800

This one has nice specs and the potential to be a great UW camera.

Here is the link to the official Nikon page. And some the main specs, in a nutshell:

- 36.3 megapixels CMOS full frame sensor (7360 x 4912 images!).

- 51-point AF system with 15 cross-type sensors, rated to -2EV (same AF system as the D4).

- ISO 100-6400 extendable to ISO 50-25,600 equiv.

- 1080p video at 30, 25 or 24 frames per second, up to 24Mbps.

- 3.2", 921,000 dot LCD with anti-fog layer.

- 100% viewfinder coverage.

- Street price US$2995.00

The D800E has identical specs, except it is $300 more expensive and comes with no AA filter (sharper images with more detail, but also more artifacts).

Which camera model are people leaning toward, for a camera used above and below water?

I am leaning toward the D800 with the AA filter, because I think moire patterns would be a problem with clothing and other fabrics.

I am leaning towards the one with the AA filter as well, most of my photography is of fish, and there are a lot of them with lines/stripes. I am starting to wonder about lenses though, which ones will be good enough for this resolution remains to be seen.

Here is a timelapse I shot (above water) in Cayman a couple of weeks ago with the D800, dive boats loading:

[vimeo]36240896[/vimeo]

The camera can process time-lapse in camera - straight to video.

Apologies for the sound - it needed something, just not that!

Alex

So who is going to start the complaints about too many pixels? :(

Looks great and the samples so far look very decent. It'll be interesting to see if the 36mp will make older lenses soft.

Nikon claims that it is smaller ... shape wise I think it is looking similar to a D300s anyone else sharing the same thought?

It is a very similar size to the D700 (which is a bit larger than the D300). The D800 is just very slightly taller than the D700. But with the larger screen, new angle on shutter release and incorporation of video (and move of AF controls) - housing design will mean all the controls will need to be new.

Alex

it was just an impression ... hopefully the successor of the D300s will be similarly built which perhaps can still fit in my Sea & Sea Housing

So who is going to start the complaints about too many pixels? :(

I'm not complaining, but we will have to see how is the ISO noise of this camera with its high pixel resolution.

I just pre-ordered one

So Alex, what is your take on the D800? Is it a nice toy? I figure it is a big step up from the D2Xs.

Elmer

In many ways it is rather like a successor to the D2X (and to a lesser extent, D3X - D3X owners must hate the D800 - more resolution, video, latest AF and smaller, much cheaper body). I liked the camera more than I wanted to - as I can't justify buying it at present.

I was going to write something more detailed later. I wasn't expecting the announcement today - so I'll have to gather my thoughts.

Alex

I called Aquatica today to find out the D800 will be able to fit in my D700 housing. The jury is still out but given the subtle changes to the body and buttons I'm not optimistic.

Anyone have any thoughts?

Adam

I called Aquatica today to find out the D800 will be able to fit in my D700 housing. The jury is still out but given the subtle changes to the body and buttons I'm not optimistic.

 

Anyone have any thoughts?

 

Adam

Yes, yes I do.

Cheers,

Cp

In many ways it is rather like a successor to the D2X (and to a lesser extent, D3X). I liked the camera more than I wanted to - as I can't justify buying it at present.

 

I was going to write something more detailed later. I wasn't expecting the announcement today - so I'll have to gather my thoughts.

 

Alex

I will wait......I really want to read your opinion. I am debating between : (D800) FX now x DX later (D400?)

Abs GHN

It really looks good! For the price of a camera you get two (a highres FF and a D7000 when using the DX crop)

Regarding lenses: It has about the same pixel density as the D7000 so the same lenses should do well (wideangle/corners may suffer but I think the UWP IQ bottleneck will always be the dome etc...)

Noise / Hi ISO: Read above... as long as it is as good as the D7000 it will be more than enough for me.

I would go with a no AA filter one... The higher the resolution the less likely the moire is going to happen (I think this is why they considered it an option).

I am trying to find things that I don´t like but it is really hard... This is the first FF I have ever considered buying...

I am trying to find things that I don´t like but it is really hard... This is the first FF I have ever consider buying...

+1

and a great camera for land photography when you are done with the diving.

Shame on Nikon they added all that video stuff; you either shoot photos or video, and I could not care less for the video part (I try to remain "focused" )

Well in deference to Pedro's disdain for video in DSLR, I've put the short shot on the D800 to the video forum:

http://wetpixel.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=45033

Thom Hogan's preliminary take on it:

http://bythom.com/d800intro.htm

The thing that made me sit up and take notice is his statement that it will do either DX crop or FX video in addition to being approximately 15mp in DX crop mode for still photos. He's thinking it might be quite good at 3200 ISO in DX crop mode.

Am I being dense or does this mean a Tokina 10-17mm would work well on this body in DX mode? Is there some technical reason why it would not look right in the viewfinder or meter correctly? Does this mean I *Don't* need a DX for U/W and a separate FX body for landscapes?

Sounds too good to be true...

JP

I am more excited about the 1.2x 25mp crop mode; sounds very interesting for lenses that have soft corner problems.

I would go with a no AA filter one... The higher the resolution the less likely the moire is going to happen (I think this is why they considered it an option).

I was leaning towards the 800E as well until I saw some examples of Moire on Nikon's own website. Not something I'd want to deal with, and I can imagine it occurring in the type of stuff I shoot

http://imaging.nikon.com/lineup/dslr/d800/features01.htm#a12

36MP is so much more than I need anyway. Still waiting to see some high ISO still samples, though video shot at night looks pretty clean