D800: Another challenger from Nikon

It wasn't long ago (Just a few weeks now) that Nikon introduced us to their new flagship camera, the Nikon D4. We have yet to see real world users put this camera to the test as far as photography and video are concerned but it shouldn't be too long since we're now in February, the release date of the Nikon D4.

The D800 is set to replace the wonderful (But without video) D700. You can check out the press release HERE for all the glorious information.

First opinions on this camera as far as photography is concerned:

Nikon decided to go with 36.3 megapixels which is going to give you some seriously amazing dynamic range. However, that also means you're going to need a whole lot of extra storage space in the form of CF/SD cards (Why they didn't go with CF dual slots I don't know) and you'll need a few extra HDD's to store it all.

It's not as sensitive as the Nikon D4 is going to be (ISO 100-6400) but at a price HALF that of the Nikon D4, it doesn't matter. At ISO 6400 you're still going to be able to get some really good shots in low light situations.

There will be no Ethernet port available on the D800, which is too bad. Without it you will not be able to take advantage of the new optional WT-5 wireless transmitter that would allow you to remotely view and adjust settings via your Ipad or Iphone (And many other devices I'm sure).

The D800 will come in 2 flavors, the Nikon D800 and D800E. The E version of this camera will come WITHOUT a low pass filter. The low pass filter deals with moire and anti-aliasing. For some photographers, removing this filter will allow for sharper images. How much sharper? I'm not sure but we'll see some comparisons sometime in March.

The video: It should shoot just as nicely as the the Nikon D4, minus the ISO sensitivity. However, I don't see much of a difference with the exception of the crop factors (Available on the Nikon D4). Nikon certainly went out of their way to please many of the cinematographers this time around. I know that many photographers don't care for these 'video options' as they make the prices go up for functions they won't use. And be WARNED: If you plan on using this for video DO NOT get the D800E as it will be full of moire and anti-aliasing...not pretty.

For those planning on time-lapse shooting, those extra megapixels should be a lot of fun. Again, you will have to make sure you have the storage to do it, but I can't wait to see what people can do. As for the built-in time-lapse function, the one that stitches all your pictures together and produces a movie all inside your camera...that's not something I'm overly excited about. Being able to import your photos, adjust everything, pan and zoom effects (At a minimum) are all still part of the process of a good time-lapse.

For half the price of the Nikon D4 it might be worth getting 2 Nikon D800's if you're shooting video mainly. Unlike the Nikon D4 you won't be getting continuous shutter at 10fps but instead you'll get 4 or 5 fps (Those files are going double the size of your average files).

Now, these are all just opinions of course. We need real users in the world out there to tell us how they are getting along with the newest cameras coming from Nikon. They are certainly giving Canon a run for it's money this year. The Canon 1Dx still isn't out but already I'm wishing that it had some of the options that both the Nikon D4 and Nikon D800 have. Let's wait and see...

Joy Ride from Sandro on Vimeo.

A film by Sandro shot with the Nikon D800.

Director: Sandro
Editor: Alaster Jordan / Whitehouse
Music: Yessian
Production: Cap Gun

View the Behind the Scenes Video shot by the Nikon Crew: http://vimeo.com/36306101