Have you considered joining the dark side?...

[brwphotoinc]

I too am testing the d800. As a very happy 5d II & III owner, along with a Pentax 645D system, the D800 is more than intriguing to me. 

Looking to dump the 645D as its processing time is unbelievably pathetic. 6+ seconds to see a preview... Clients get annoyed really quickly.

I did do a 3 camera test with the pentax 645D, 5D III, & D800. Nothing super fancy. Just checking sharpness at 100%.

They ranked in the order as listed above. Unfortunately. I really wanted to dump the 645D. The D 800 was soft. So soft I mounted the camera on a tripod, used mirror lock up, etc. the shots were at 160thof a second at f9. Clearly no need to use MU AT 160. But I had to rule it out.  I took the samples to my local shop, knowing my 20 year pro career, they were baffled as user error was not going to be an issue .  As they have seen strong results from the D800, they believe this is a "bad camera" as we swapped multiple lenses and copies of those lenses at the store. Same result. Soft!!!  Perfect.  On a camera you can not get your hands on, I need another copy to test. Ugh!!!

The 645D was sharp as sharp could be.  Reason enough to put up with its dog slow performance. Don't get me wrong the 5D III rocks.  I love it. It will remain in my bag. Hopefully making room for a 30+ MP camera from canon soon.

[scrappydog]

hate to say but a bad workman blames his tools.....

Who said he is a bad workman?  Who are you to judge?  I want dynamic range.  I can't always be given magic hour light, and when I do not get it, I need to work around the limited dynamic range of my Canon.  Usually in post.  This bugs me.  I don't claim to be a good workman, but I want similar KEY functionality that the other guy has for the same price point.  I consider dynamic range to be one of those key functions.  So, yeah, I have dabbled in the thought of getting a D800E for my landscape shots.

[areservear]

I'd just like to quote something Nobuyoshi Araki, one of Japan's greatest contemporary photographers, said about Daido Moriyama, another photographer considered one of the greatest in Japan. Just some food for thought.


“The photographer has been a slave to the camera for a long time. Good camera, good lens, Leica, etc – these were the masters of the photographers. But in a way, Daido Moriyama is a photographer who started to make the camera his slave. Photography is not about the camera.Of course we need the camera. If you want to write a romantic love letter, we need some tool to write it with.

But anything – a pencil or ballpoint pen – is fine.”

-Nobuyoshi Araki

[7enderbender]

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately about dumping all my Canon gear and joining the Nikon camp but after crunching all the numbers its simply isn't worth it for me. I have a 5dii, a collection of lenses and speedlites that i've amassed over the years and to sell it all and start again just seems crazy.

I know a lot of people on here are hurt to have to admit that Nikon has a "better" camera in the D800 but really, what would you do with that camera that you can't already do with your 5dii or iii?

What brought me back down from my i'm jumping to Nikon high was the fact that i have all the gear i need right now to cover (pretty much) every situation i encounter on my photographic endeavours.

I will be upgrading to a 5diii in the future (simply for the AF) when the price is right but for now, just because cameras like the D800 or 5Diii exist doesn't mean that my 5dii stops taking photos...

... now where's my 35mm 1.4L ii? 

Potato - pot-ah-to. Both systems have advantages and disadvantages. After picking one system and learning how to deal with certain issues I wouldn't make a switch in either direction. Either company will always come out with something that looks desirable (like the D800e, or the new Canon speedlites). Usually the other competitor will follow soon after.

I can only see going to something entirely different, like the Leica rangefinders or medium format - if I win the lottery that is.

Canon or Nikon is only worth considering if you have to start over anyway - like when I moved from film (Canon FD) to digital.

[yulia]

i am soooo tempted to get d800! I used to have nikon but then 2 years ago i switched from d700 to mark ii and was SO happy - AF, controls, colors - everything was better on Mark ii!  i don't mind switching gears once in a while...i love how much detail you can get on d800...I mostly photograph kids and newborns (wouldn't it be great to see EVERY little detail on those little feet?), using natural light most of the time... So i need good AF, kids run run run....As i understand AF is better on Mark III....Colors are better in canon but it is fixable.....Should i think about switching? i can't decide!!


would you get d800E for portraits and people or just d800?

[briansquibb]

i am soooo tempted to get d800! I used to have nikon but then 2 years ago i switched from d700 to mark ii and was SO happy - AF, controls, colors - everything was better on Mark ii!  i don't mind switching gears once in a while...i love how much detail you can get on d800...I mostly photograph kids and newborns (wouldn't it be great to see EVERY little detail on those little feet?), using natural light most of the time... So i need good AF, kids run run run....As i understand AF is better on Mark III....Colors are better in canon but it is fixable.....Should i think about switching? i can't decide!!


would you get d800E for portraits and people or just d800?

Ask the same question on NR and you will get a different answer  - oh hang on a moment, most of NR are trolling on here already 

[FunkyCamera]

Never. Nikon isn't a pro camera company any more, and no professional takes them seriously.

All they do is put more and more pixels in, trying to compete with Nokia, and they can't even do that properly. lol

Like every single professional in the world I am sticking with Canon, where you have image quality instead of megapixels and L glass instead of 2nd rate recycled glass coke bottles. lol

[Mt Spokane Photography]

I ordered a Nikon D800 from a local Dealer this morning.  I have a ton of Canon Cameras and Gear, so I'll be replacing some lenses with Nikkor, but keeping my favorite ones to use with my 7D.  I had sold my 5D MK II to finance something new, and tried a 5D MK III.  Its a great camera, but I din't use most of the new features and returned it.  I'm going to try landscape photography with the new Nikkor 14-24mm lens I ordered with it.  My 7D will still be for product photoraphy and focal length limited use, and, of course, I could not part with my 35mmL, 100mmL, 135mmL or 100-400mmL.  My other lenses, flash, TC's, etc will go on the block.

Well, the D800 idea went bust.
 
It was a nice camera, and to start I bought some decent glass, 24-70mm f/2.8G, 80-200mm f/2.8D, 50mm f/1.8D, 200-400mm f/4 AIS.
 
The camera was excellent, and the DR at low ISO was amazing.  However, when I went to print a large image from the 24-70mm, I found a lot of CA near the edges, so much that it could not all be removed in post.  It was ugly.  Naturally, I assumed a defective lens, but checked the reviews and found others commenting about the very high CA.  I also found the AF had more accuracy variation than my Canon lenses, and it was neigh impossible to get the sharpest possible images unless I was in bright light at extreme shutter speeds, or on a tripod.  Since I do low light photography, a super high shutter speed is not possible.
 
So, I sold the lenses, and the body went to a new owner yesterday.  I think that someone who uses it in a studio or is very deliberate and has good light will love the camera, but for low light usage, its no better than my 1D MK IV and maybe no better than my 5D MK II.  I also found that time to post process the huge images was excessive.  Sure, I could downsize them to 21mp or 16 mp, but then I end up with a 5D MK III equivalent and still am unhappy with lens performance.
 
I ordered a refurb 5D MK II thru the Canon CLP program yesterday for $1400 and I'll wait and see what the trusted reviews say about the 1D X before I buy another new body.  I used my 5D MK II for 4 years before selling it to buy a new one, and its a great camera, particularly at the $1400 price.
 
 

[Kernuak]

I considered it before the 7D was released, mainly because Nikon had a definite advantage at the time for autofocus in the type of bodies I was interested in. The 7D narrowed that gap and I pre-oredered it, then got a 300 f/2.8, so it would now be too expensive (although I only lost around £60 on the100-400 I just sold, before the eBay and Paypal fees and would probably make a good profit on my 300 f/2,8). The 5D MkIII is closer to my requirements than the D800 though, as I also shoot quite a bit of low light stuff and the better AF over both the MkII and the 7D would come in handy.

[RLPhoto]

Never. Nikon isn't a pro camera company any more, and no professional takes them seriously.

All they do is put more and more pixels in, trying to compete with Nokia, and they can't even do that properly. lol

Like every single professional in the world I am sticking with Canon, where you have image quality instead of megapixels and L glass instead of 2nd rate recycled glass coke bottles. lol

Well I wouldn't go that far to say nikon isnt a pro company. They have a system just a good as canon, and better in some aspects.

My first SLR was a minolta and my first DSLR was a canon. Go figure.

Canon just has those unique primes that keep me here. Otherwise, I'd probably switch.

[Tayvin]

The 645D was sharp as sharp could be.

How could Pentax make a MF camera without tethering?!  They would've sold SO many copies, otherwise!

Anywho - this whole conversation is funny 

[gary samples]

ford or Chevy you get a good fast one

 then it's all about the driver !!!

[drjlo]

I mostly photograph kids and newborns (wouldn't it be great to see EVERY little detail on those little feet?), using natural light most of the time... So i need good AF, kids run run run....As i understand AF is better on Mark III....Colors are better in canon but it is fixable.....Should i think about switching? i can't decide!!

would you get d800E for portraits and people or just d800?

If you shoot mostly kids and newborns, I just don't see why on earth you would use D800/E over 5D III.  You already see "every little detail on those little feet" with 5D III (or II).  If your kids are running, then 5D III's advantage in FPS is huge over D800. 

If you shoot landscape with lots of shadow details or need huge prints, willing to use sturdy tripods and immaculate technique, then by all means, get the D800E.  I would..

[briansquibb]

i am soooo tempted to get d800! I used to have nikon but then 2 years ago i switched from d700 to mark ii and was SO happy - AF, controls, colors - everything was better on Mark ii!  i don't mind switching gears once in a while...i love how much detail you can get on d800...I mostly photograph kids and newborns (wouldn't it be great to see EVERY little detail on those little feet?), using natural light most of the time... So i need good AF, kids run run run....As i understand AF is better on Mark III....Colors are better in canon but it is fixable.....Should i think about switching? i can't decide!!


would you get d800E for portraits and people or just d800?

1DS3 is the obvious solution - still IMO has the best rendition of skin colours

[RuneL]

I ordered a Nikon D800 from a local Dealer this morning.  I have a ton of Canon Cameras and Gear, so I'll be replacing some lenses with Nikkor, but keeping my favorite ones to use with my 7D.  I had sold my 5D MK II to finance something new, and tried a 5D MK III.  Its a great camera, but I din't use most of the new features and returned it.  I'm going to try landscape photography with the new Nikkor 14-24mm lens I ordered with it.  My 7D will still be for product photoraphy and focal length limited use, and, of course, I could not part with my 35mmL, 100mmL, 135mmL or 100-400mmL.  My other lenses, flash, TC's, etc will go on the block.

7D for products, why.gifnefjpeg?