Should you buy a D800E or D800?

Hi I was chatting to Scotty about the D800E and if one needs it or not. This is basically my conclusion/thoughts on the matter:

Q: Am I going to see a big difference in stills with the D800E?
A: Not a lot.

AA filters just cut off the top end of what the sensor can resolve because sometimes up there you get extra information you don't need (moire)
So sharpening (artificially) brings back a lot of what you lost.

It's like this. A sensor can resolve say 100 units of information. But sometimes it gets like 105 units of information. The 5 extra is junk, misinterpreted information (moire etc.).

So they put an AA filter on (AKA OLPF - Optical Low Pass Filter) to cut it down to say 95 units (just using numbers as an example, it's actually something different and more complicated... probably involving maths... so I guess it is numbers... but ok yeh, but it's light really... ok whatever... let me keep going).

So with the OLPF you lose a bit of information, but you're not gonna get the junk information either so it's slightly softer. BUT then you sharpen and you artificially add a little more information using algorithms etc. So you'll get to say 98 units of information.
OF course the camera with 100+ units of information can be sharpened too, so you'll get even more details/information. The difference in the end is not that much. Noticable, but maybe not worth it (you need to pixel peep) better lenses make more of a difference and if you use crappy lenses that don't out resolve the sensor (or reach it's potential) then you'll not see any difference anyway.

You could argue this way. The D800E will give you a few more MP than the D800 (say 30MP on the D800 vs 36 on the D800E). BUT with those extra MP comes the possibility of having something go wrong with them (of course they have the same MP, but the D800E gives you a bit more information that's sharp. To get the same level of super sharpness you'd have to downsize the D800's 36MP to a bit smaller size, thus making up for the lack of extra information.

Make sense?

I say you get more MP with the D800E because you get more information resolving on the sensor. If you think say 24MP is more than enough, then the D800 will be perfect
If you need to print huge and need to squeeze everything you can out of the sensor (and you know how to combat moire if it comes up) then the D800E will be the way to go.


Q: If I shoot video and stills, which one should I get?
A: D800

IF YOU SHOOT VIDEO the choice is easy. Do NOT get the D800E. Moire is impossible (or really hard) to fix in video. People actually add a stronger OLPF to the the 5Dii when they want it for video as the OLPF on the 5Dii is pretty weak.


EDIT: After a month or so owning both the D800 and the D800E I'll say you can difinately see sharpness/detail increase in the D800e. If you want a primarily photo related camera BUY THE D800E.

If you want to do serious video (i.e. moiré will bother you) get the D800 for its (albeit light) AA filter.

Of course, make sure you can afford it too.

www.graysofwestminster.co.uk/newsitem.ph...=331&pg=1&mem=&arc=0

More reading material.

Good post Scotty.

One of each....

Superb info Adrian thank you that clarify's a few things in my mind.

photobod wrote: Superb info Adrian thank you that clarify's a few things in my mind.

Ordering one?

Scotty wrote:

photobod wrote: Superb info Adrian thank you that clarify's a few things in my mind.

Ordering one?

I am buying one around October time Scotty, it will be the D800.

photobod wrote:

Scotty wrote:

photobod wrote: Superb info Adrian thank you that clarify's a few things in my mind.

Ordering one?

I am buying one around October time Scotty, it will be the D800.

Very nice, why not the D800E?

D800E wouldn't be a good choice for weddings. Too many fabrics.

I have read up on them both and believe that in my world of weddings and portraiture the D800 will suit me fine, their isnt anything extra to the D800E that would justify the extra cost.

photobod wrote: I have read up on them both and believe that in my world of weddings and portraiture the D800 will suit me fine, their isnt anything extra to the D800E that would justify the extra cost.

Yes I agree with you. I think it's mainly for fashion photographers who can take their time getting the shot perfect (and who know how to combat moiré when it comes up) or landscape only photographers who want to squeeze every bit of detail out of the image. Oh and rich people who know no better).

I like to do landscapes and cityscapes, but I don't see the point of the slight increase in sharpness for me even. Plus when shooting man made objects like buildings, there's always the chance of moiré getting in.


HA HA How I've changed my mind since posting this. D800E is definitely better for cityscapes etc. I've tried pretty hard to get moiré in my cityscapes and I haven't seen it yet.

Stealthy Ninja wrote:

photobod wrote: I have read up on them both and believe that in my world of weddings and portraiture the D800 will suit me fine, their isnt anything extra to the D800E that would justify the extra cost.

Yes I agree with you. I think it's mainly for fashion photographers who can take their time getting the shot perfect (and who know how to combat moiré when it comes up) or landscape only photographers who want to squeeze every bit of detail out of the image. Oh and rich people who know no better).

I like to do landscapes and cityscapes, but I don't see the point of the slight increase in sharpness for me even. Plus when shooting man made objects like buildings, there's always the chance of moiré getting in.

I am trying out some different genres of photography such as macro, landscape, still enjoying my flowers and hope to find some more interesting subjects beside people this year, but I still feel the D800 will fulfill my needs, also buying an 85mm macro lens with it.

photobod wrote:

Stealthy Ninja wrote:

photobod wrote: I have read up on them both and believe that in my world of weddings and portraiture the D800 will suit me fine, their isnt anything extra to the D800E that would justify the extra cost.

Yes I agree with you. I think it's mainly for fashion photographers who can take their time getting the shot perfect (and who know how to combat moiré when it comes up) or landscape only photographers who want to squeeze every bit of detail out of the image. Oh and rich people who know no better).

I like to do landscapes and cityscapes, but I don't see the point of the slight increase in sharpness for me even. Plus when shooting man made objects like buildings, there's always the chance of moiré getting in.

I am trying out some different genres of photography such as macro, landscape, still enjoying my flowers and hope to find some more interesting subjects beside people this year, but I still feel the D800 will fulfill my needs, also buying an 85mm macro lens with it.

Yeh the D800 is more versatile. Especially if you want to do video.

Buy the 85 PC-E. It's a macro lens and will let you get more DOF if you want.

Stealthy Ninja wrote:

photobod wrote:

Stealthy Ninja wrote:

photobod wrote: I have read up on them both and believe that in my world of weddings and portraiture the D800 will suit me fine, their isnt anything extra to the D800E that would justify the extra cost.

Yes I agree with you. I think it's mainly for fashion photographers who can take their time getting the shot perfect (and who know how to combat moiré when it comes up) or landscape only photographers who want to squeeze every bit of detail out of the image. Oh and rich people who know no better).

I like to do landscapes and cityscapes, but I don't see the point of the slight increase in sharpness for me even. Plus when shooting man made objects like buildings, there's always the chance of moiré getting in.

I am trying out some different genres of photography such as macro, landscape, still enjoying my flowers and hope to find some more interesting subjects beside people this year, but I still feel the D800 will fulfill my needs, also buying an 85mm macro lens with it.

Yeh the D800 is more versatile. Especially if you want to do video.

Buy the 85 PC-E. It's a macro lens and will let you get more DOF if you want.

thanks for the tip on the lens Adrian and I may just give the video side of the D800 a coat of looking at.