Should you buy a D800E or D800?

photobod wrote:

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.

Sounds good.

I really dont know to answervthe question. I read a lot and no one convince me whats the best. I need to test both in several conditions and check the results.

I will buy D800E

OK after owning both for a while I'll tell you this (and it's pretty simple).


If you want to shoot video seriously at all get the D800.

If you want to shoot photos mainly get the D800E.

If you want to shoot photos and video and don't care too much about video... I'd go for the D800E.

D800E is better for photography for sure. Forget about Moiré it's VERY hard to get because of the resolution.

D800 is slightly more suitable for video so if you want to SERIOUSLY do video (i.e. you'll worry about Moiré in video) get this one. Though if you don't care about moiré in video and just want to mess about with it or use it occasionally, D800E is a better camera).

Stealthy Ninja wrote: D800E wouldn't be a good choice for weddings. Too many fabrics.

I take this back. D800E would be superb for wedding photography. There's so much resolution you'll be pushing it HARD to get moiré.

I'd stay away if you want to shoot photos and video for weddings though. Fabrics are notorious for moiré in video.

The potential for moire in video work iis the same with a D800E as a D800. When capturing video, only a portion of the pixels are used. The effect of an AA filter on a D800 will affect sharpness from one line of pixels to the next in the high resolution still frames, but not in the more widely sampled video resolution.

I've had the D800E for almost six months now. I've shot videos, done weddings, and lots of nature work. I've taken two pictures with moire. The first time, I was trying to produce moire so I would recognize when to expect it. I shot a very finely striped shirt from a distance in the studio and got monster moire. The second time I got moire was just a tad in a night photograph of a Manhattan skyscraper.

I did shots for a hotel ealier this year with a D300S. I got a bit of moire in the fabric of a sofa in their Great Room. After getting the D800E, I reshot the same spot and got no moire simply because the sensor resolution was much greater.

Greg Norrell wrote: The potential for moire in video work iis the same with a D800E as a D800. When capturing video, only a portion of the pixels are used. The effect of an AA filter on a D800 will affect sharpness from one line of pixels to the next in the high resolution still frames, but not in the more widely sampled video resolution.

I've had the D800E for almost six months now. I've shot videos, done weddings, and lots of nature work. I've taken two pictures with moire. The first time, I was trying to produce moire so I would recognize when to expect it. I shot a very finely striped shirt from a distance in the studio and got monster moire. The second time I got moire was just a tad in a night photograph of a Manhattan skyscraper.

I did shots for a hotel ealier this year with a D300S. I got a bit of moire in the fabric of a sofa in their Great Room. After getting the D800E, I reshot the same spot and got no moire simply because the sensor resolution was much greater.

Yes you're right actually.

The major problem in video (with both) is aliasing. An OLPF will help slightly with that perhaps.

But will you say that D800/E is for everyone, is it a tool for those who need high resolution? I own a D800 and I must say that the large files is something to worry about. Also, it's not a fast machine, so for high action situations I would not say it's the best tool.

studiotoffa wrote: But will you say that D800/E is for everyone, is it a tool for those who need high resolution? I own a D800 and I must say that the large files is something to worry about. Also, it's not a fast machine, so for high action situations I would not say it's the best tool.

It can capture action fine. The AF system is really good and 36MP gives you a lot of cropping room. The restrictive thing for action is the FPS and the strain the 40Mb files put on the buffer.

I'd actually recommend a D800e over the D800 to anyone who can afford it. As mentioned above moire is VERY hard to get and it won't make much if any difference with video as the OLPF is too weak on both cams to affect video. The D800e won't always make a better picture, but there are times it will. It's generally sharper between say f4-f8 where neither a shallow DOF nor diffraction are limiting the resolving power of a particular lens. This is dependent on the quality of the lens.

That said I've sold all my Nikon gear (well the d800e will be sold soon I'm sure, it's the last thing I have left to sell) and I have moved to Canon for the excellent 1Dx. So yeh the D800 is a sort of specialist can BUT it is also flexible. Thing is it is easier for me to match video with my other canon video cameras etc so a switch to Canon made sense. Also, I personally never really needed 36MP despite them being so much fun to work on.

I would wait to see how much the D800s will be and wait to get that if it's not much more. 

mpapke wrote: I would wait to see how much the D800s will be and wait to get that if it's not much more. 

Well that's a good point now that D800s rumours are flying about.  
Back 1 year and 4 months ago (last time I posted in this thread) it wasn't even a rumour.

Another Sony sensor for Nikon.....

Luis Felipe wrote: Another Sony sensor for Nikon.....

Nothing wrong with Sony sensors at all. They're sensors are some of the best if not the best in the world.

I don't even shoot Nikon anymore and I'll say the sensor tech in Nikon cams is better than Canon on the whole. 

Stealthy Ninja wrote:

Luis Felipe wrote: Another Sony sensor for Nikon.....

Nothing wrong with Sony sensors at all. They're sensors are some of the best if not the best in the world.

I don't even shoot Nikon anymore and I'll say the sensor tech in Nikon cams is better than Canon on the whole. 

Come back to Nikon.

D810....