Nikon releases D800 today
 

The camera has been rumored to be around for a bit but today is the official release.

The camera seems pretty impressive as they recorded the whole video commercial on the camera. It was filmed over 6 nights in Chicago and they had unprecedented clearance to shoot all over downtown. For you motorcycle fans, they hired Mark Miller Isle of Man TT rider, to be the main subject. In an interview he did he said he was doing 140mph at 2 am coming across the bridge.

Here is the link...it's worth checking out.

http://nikonrumors.com/2012/02/07/jo...o-is-out.aspx/

Here is a hands on preview report from dpreview

http://www.dpreview.com/news/2012/02...n_d800_preview

Two more reviews from pro photographers that were on the demo team.


http://weblog.robvanpetten.com/archi...ind-the-scenes
http://cliffmautner.typepad.com/

redacted

It is interesting that Nikon has gone hyper-pixel and Canon has backed off to 18MP, at least before a 5DIII comes out. After hearing near unanimous "stop the silly MP war", I was kind of surprised.



Ken is, ummm, well, let's just say "not respected", and leave it at that, by many if not most serious shooters

Really, if he knows this by being one of the pre-release testers then why is he ordering one? Or if he wasn't, how does he know? It may or may not be turn out to be fantastic, but KR's blatherings don't mean much.

"My D800 is already on order...The D800 is the best DSLR ever made by Nikon by a long margin..." :rolleyes:

You beat me by less than a minute. :D

I would however make a small correction: Ken Rockwell is well respected - as a Class-A d-bag.

How can it be the BEST camera ever if they just released the D4 at a higher price point and is the flag ship?

Not supporting KR, but those two cameras are not meant for the same thing. The D4 has a higher fps than the D800, for instance, and therefore a D4 would be much more useful for a sports photographer. On the other hand, someone who works in a studio all day probably doesn't value that quality very much.

From what I have read the D800 is a slightly scaled down version (barely) for half the cost. All the bells and whistles, too.^

If anybody wonders why this is the case, consider the following sweeping statement from KR's D800 "review":

"The best lens to use on full-frame is Nikon's newest 28-300mm VR. As you can see at my review, it's just about as sharp as all of Nikon's previous reference lenses, and covers the entire range in a twist of the wrist."

Aargb...

Cheers,
T.

The D4 and D800 are very different beasts. Both are pro cameras with plenty of "bells and whistles" but aimed at different needs and audiences.

Cheers,
T.

D800, for the money still packs a lot of punch and for my money (speaking as a past, but still shooting, professional) I'd put my money on a '800.

I fully agree: the D800 is pretty fantastic value and clearly the one that appeals to a wide audience. I'd compare the D800 to a very good Swiss Army knife while the D4 is a finely honed scalpel.

I seem to be upgrading my bodies in about a five-year cycle. I got a D70 in 2004 (that was brand new then), and D300 (used) in 2009. So now I am hoping that I can get a used D800 for about $2000 or less in 2014...

Cheers,
T.

Clearly the reviews to date and the images released to date are by reviewers on Nikon's payroll. If they write a crappy review, they don't get their hands on the next camera or new lens first.

That said, I have been using a Nikon D300 since it came out in late 2007. For the last two years I have been waiting for a replacement with only the D700 or D3's available. For the last two years I have also been hearing rumors for the D800, D4, and D400 (not yet announced).

I preordered the D800E the night it came out and can't wait until I have this thing in my hands. I chose it over the D4 because of price and size. I obviously do not know if or what the D400 will have and certainly encourage those Nikon fans not excited with the D4 or D800 to wait.