5Ds or possible alternatives?

[Orangutan]

OK, I get it ... So the AA filter removes this, at the price of 'sharpness', and if one wants absolute sharp with no interference -- one will shoot with the 5Ds R and make the adjustments in post instead of a filter.

Not quite: mild moire can be diminished in post (so I hear), but serious moire can't -- it simply ruins that part of the image. That's why it's important to "try before you buy" for sensors without AA filter. I haven't ever shot with one, so I'm speaking entirely second-hand, but avoiding moire involves choosing the composition of your frame such that moire either doesn't exist at all, or exhibits only mildly in "non-critical" areas. This mostly applies to people who have time and freedom to adjust their shots precisely: landscape, some commercial, studio, etc. Some subjects (e.g. human figure) are less susceptible to moire. Others (e.g. architecture, textiles) are more susceptible due to regular patterns. If you're an event shooter you probably want an AA filter.

 

[FEBS]

Macro - call it a tie (perhap edge to Nikon).

But don't forget the magical MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1-5x Macro

 

[LetTheRightLensIn]

OK, I get it ... So the AA filter removes this, at the price of 'sharpness', and if one wants absolute sharp with no interference -- one will shoot with the 5Ds R and make the adjustments in post instead of a filter.

OK ... now it makes sense -- thanks -- sorry if this got off-topic a bit.

It looks sharper but it suffers from aliasing and you get lots of fake details, crisp transitions that look like detail but are just aliasing noise. Some seem to prefer that digital, hyper-crunchy look and fake detail but....

The one mistake Nikon made with the D810 is removing the AA filter IMO. (Otherwise it's a pretty fantastic, all around body, decent fps in crop mode for action and decent MP and fanastic DR for landscapes, decent reach with RAW crop mode to not waste space and give a good buffer (and more fps). It doesn't use an old sensor or have silly cripplings like crop mode only working for JPGs etc. I do think they messed up by leaving off the AA filter, a shame. The UI is a little weird. The lenses are not quite as nice overall and they have no 70-300L or MPE65. It's a shame Nikon couldn't make an EF mount body! Then we'd get Canon lenses and not have to deal with all the milking and crippling nonsense of Canon bodies. Perhaps if the 5Ds fails to sell well Canon will be forced to wake up and act.)

 

[quod]

It looks sharper but it suffers from aliasing and you get lots of fake details, crisp transitions that look like detail but are just aliasing noise. Some seem to prefer that digital, hyper-crunchy look and fake detail but....

It depends on the sensor. My Fuji does not have aliasing noise despite not having an AA filter. The sharpness is organic and natural.

 

[RGF]

Macro - call it a tie (perhap edge to Nikon).

But don't forget the magical MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1-5x Macro

point taken. Canon wins, hand down, on selection lenses.