A new D810A

[I @ M]

An email hit the inbox about the D810A.

Specifically for astro photography, it seems to have a low pass filter designed to transmit the sort of wavelengths that astro photographers want and a 4 to 900 second shutter mode.

https://mynikonlife.com.au/gear/digi...as/d810/#d810a

[ricktas]

An email hit the inbox about the D810A.

Specifically for astro photography, it seems to have a low pass filter designed to transmit the sort of wavelengths that astro photographers want and a 4 to 900 second shutter mode.

https://mynikonlife.com.au/gear/digi...as/d810/#d810a

Makes you wonder if we will start to see D810A for Astro followed by D810P for portraits. D810L for landscapes. D810M for macro..etc. I get what they are doing this for, but I wonder if we are heading to a new era (again) in camera model variants. To bad if you like to do Astro and Portraits

[mpb]

To bad if you like to do Astro and Portraits

Then you would buy the D810AP model .

[basketballfreak6]

was chatting to a Nikon friend about this, we both agreed it seems like a silly move putting it in a high end pro body like the D810, since it's kinda useless for everyday use but you are still having to drop the money for a D810

imho what they should've done was do it in a body like D6xx series, that way people more likely to pick it up since it's cheaper but also people that only looked at the D8xx series because of functionality may also look to buy a D6xx body now for astro

to me personally for astro all you need is a good sensor and wide angle/big aperture lens, don't really need all the bells and whistles on top

[ricktas]

Then you would buy the D810AP model .

I want the D810-PASM - portraits - astro - stuff - macro

[mpb]

Like the D800E (ie E stands for everything)

[nimrodisease]

Interestingly, the ISO range is not great compared to the D810. ISO 200 to 12800 according to this page: http://www.nikon.com/news/2015/0210_dslr_01.htm

Compared to the D810 which has ISO 64 to 12800.

[phild]

Waste of time IMO, at a projected price of >$3K you're well in the price range of a dedicated cooled astro camera, I don't believe that resolution is the issue, noise performance and dynamic range are of most importance for astro use, resolution is secondary to those attributes.

[MissionMan]

I'm surprised they would go for something niche like this. I'm not sure if the numbers would be there but maybe they are trying to fill a gap in the market with a camera variant that isn't much different from their current model.

[bconolly]

I agree MissionMan - gee the big guys just really seem to be either:
a) Floundering and just doing minor iterations of cameras or quite niche products cause they're lost as to how to "pivot"; or
b) (Being optimistic) They're working on something that'll disrupt the market dramatically!

Brenden

[MissionMan]

The other option is that there is something to be benefitted from the developments they are producing for Astronomy which they want to introduce into a low risk camera without tarnishing the name of the D810 itself. I don't know enough about whether the filter could be applied to other areas of photography so I'm picking at straws here.

[arthurking83]

Waste of time IMO, at a projected price of >$3K you're well in the price range of a dedicated cooled astro camera....

I'm going to argue this one to the contrary.

Maybe for a few amateur's interested in a high res camera, who have the financial resources, there may be little interest in this camera.

But there are also lots of institutional bodies around the globe that may seen an interest in this kind of camera, where otherwise they may have to acquire a D810 and then get it modded.

If there are 10.000 institutions around the world that have an astronomy curriculum of some type, and only 10% of those institutions felt the need for a H-alpha sensitive camera with hi res .. why not?

What's $4k to most institutions of this genre!

While the market may be small, I think the price reflects this sort of market.

@ John. I reckon the ISO is set in this way because most astro images are unlikely to be captured at really low ISO values.
They probably tweaked the firmware in some way to give really clean ISO200 images.

I agree tho with some of the sentiments that this camera(in it's specific guise) is a bit limited, and I would have thought that a more general purpose wavelength camera woudl have appealed to a wider 'scientific' community base(as opposed to an astronomy specific market).

A better alternative could have been a broad spectrum camera that can still capture the H-alpha wavelength, but other wavelengths as well.

That is everything from UV to as high as the sensor is capable.
Let the user filter the wavelength they specifically need.

That sort of camera would then appeal to Astro people, as well as forensic departments, and all manner of scientific groups .. as well as broadband wavelength geeks! (kind'a like me I s'pose).

It's major failing tho is the inability to allow proper unprocessed raw raw files. This is what the wider astro community probably really wants(needs!) more than the ability to capture in the H-alpha wavelength.
They most likely have the appropriate filters to do this by now anyhow!