D800 vs D4

The release of the D800 and D4 may, for the lucky few with plenty of cash in the bank, produce a bit of a dilemma. Which one should they buy and why? In the past the D700 D3 choice was simple - 90% of the time you should have chosen the D700. It was cheaper, lighter, had a built in flash for triggering Nikon's CLS (creative lighting system), and had the same sensor.

This time around Nikon have clearly differentiated the two models. The D4 is more robust than the D800, has a higher framerate, and has some very cool wireless tricks. The D800 has plenty of pixel power and a built in flash.

Below Matt from Art of the image gives his take.

Personally, if you're choosing between these two beasts I would recommend the D800 unless you will find the size of the RAW files unwieldy or you need high frame rates and/or wireless trickery.

D800 Technical Guide

The basic manual for the Nikon D800 and D800E is now freely available for download from Nikon USA.
The manual includes the usual basic samples and basic shooting suggestions for things such as portraits and static subjects. Interestingly it also includes advice such as don't stop the aperture down too far. While this piece of advice is accurate (as small apertures can lead to issues through diffraction) I haven't seen it included in manuals before (although the manuals I have read before are for lower level Nikon Cameras).

You can have a read of the manual by clicking here.

Rob Van Petten and the Nikon D800 Video

Nikon D800 In the Studio with Rob Van Petten from Rob Van Petten on Vimeo.
The Job of a fashion photographer is usually to sell apparel or personal care or jewellery or accessories BUT you're selling an item.
So, to sell an item, you have to engage an audience.
You usually flip a page in a magazine and you come upon a fashion photograph and that has to last a long time. You have to capture the audience's attention so to do that you create a scenario.
You have the suggestion of something going on. some action outside of the frame or some play of pressure on the model or the actor or the actress and you could create the sensation of other activities, and you just happen to catch one slice of it.
So there is motion involved and there is action and there is mood.
When a fashion photograph totally works it's because of the mood created by the lighting merges with the moment of the action and that creates a believable moment. The motion releases emotion that the audience can relate to. That makes a successful photograph.
The D800 really applies in beauty shooting and that is where there has been a challenge from medium format cameras. In a studio where people expect to have cosmetic details or close-ups on hair or faces in personal care shots. That's where sometimes there's a question of whether or not a dSLR is going to be a high enough quality camera. This camera (the Nikon D800) will definitely satisfy those expectations.
What's different about being a fashion photographer is that it's more about your own fantasies.
You shoot tests and you shoot your own concepts and you work up ideas on your own and then people begin to buy that style from you.
Your inspirations become part of their planning and vision for the future.
You are sort of a trend forecaster for a company.
You really lead your clients to a new vision of what their company can offer for the next season.

I think most photographers want to be identified as a brand.
You develop a look that's really from your own fantasy and your own heart.
It's your own personal style.
Mine just happened to be this light driven, high-tech, very saturated colour, near future style.
That became my identity.
I shoot that on my own and much of that gets bought as concepts for advertising work and fashion work

D800 Announced and available for pre-order

After a long wait the successor to the D700 (in name at least) has introduced itself. When it arrives in the hands of photographers in  late March (or early April for the D800e) the camera will boast 36MP living up to its tagline "I am the big picture".

Interestingly the D800 is competing in a different area to that which the D700 targetted at its release. While the D700 shone in low light situations and was the first affordable full frame dSLR the D800 has added broadcast quality video to the equation while blowing the megapixel count of existing Nikon dSLRs out of the water.

The enhanced MP count has been a cause for concern for some people who have been paying attention to the rumour mill. The overall feeling is that the increase in MP will come at the cost of image quality through increased noise and the ability of the camera's sensor to out resolve lenses that are placed in front of it. There is also concern over the size of the RAW files that such a sensor would be likely to generate.

While we will need to await testing to determine whether or not these issues have materialised it is my belief that the concerns around noise have been blown out of proportion. While the D800 will have a higher pixel density leading to more opportunities for noise to break through if the same image were captured on the D800 and a D700 and both images were produced at 12MP it is likely that the D800 would produce the better file. Always remember that Noise Nazis are Pixel Peepers. Their concerns occur at the smallest visible level of the file. What we should care about with noise is the smallest visible level of the print.

Joy Ride from Sandro on Vimeo.

D800 - Official Pictures Leaked?

NikonRumours is reporting that this Brazilian website has leaked some official images and information about the Nikon D800. The rumoured release date is the 7th of February which means we're less than 24 hours away from knowing if this information is correct. There is no news on when the camera will be released for sale to the public but there is some speculations that the pricetag will be around $3000-$3300 (US).

The translation from the Brazilian Website reads as follows - I have made some adjustments to smooth out google's translation:

Tomorrow (February 7th) Nikon announces tomorrow the D800; a new DSLR camera with 36.3 megapixels of resolution with full-frame sensor. The new model succeeds the Nikon D700 and is a younger sister to the high-end Nikon D3X.

The new Nikon D800, with magnesium alloy body, has a 36.3 megapixel CMOS sensor (7360 x 4912 resolution) in FX format (35.9 x 24 mm) - the largest developed by Japanese company to date. It records images in JPEG and RAW. The manufacturer claims that the D800 has ISO settings ranging from 100-6400, with optional use of ISO 50 (Lo-1) and up to 25,600 (Hi-2).

The D800 will have full HD 1080p at 30/24 frames per second and 720p HD at 60 frames per second (both H.264/MPEG-4 AVC format with compression up to 29:59 B-Frame).

The D800 also has a 3.2 inch LCD screen (921,000 pixels) with brightness control, HDMI, Auto HDR, USB 3.0, shooting up to 4 frames per second (6 frames per second with battery module required). Nikon says the shutter cycle life is 200,000 cycles. The camera has a double compartment for dual memory cards (Compact Flash and SD) and can record images in RAW and JPEG files on separate cards, as well as video and photos (that's pretty cool, huh?)

The manufacturer has not reported the price of the D800 yet.