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.

D800 - Raw Files around 76MB for FX

I knew the RAW files produced by the Nikon D800 would be huge but I wasn't expecting 76MB. That is mind bogglingly large.