Just got my D800 - Image heavy to show off high ISO and crops etc.

[Lance B]

Just picked up my D800 today.

There have been some reported AF issues with the outer left or right AF sensors, especially with large aperture lenses like f1.4 and the like, but it seems as though the AF works perfectly so far. Even used it on my 85mm f1.4G and every shot was spot on focus using either a left or a right or a middle focus point. Happy with this.

There does seem to be a very slight green tinge to the rear LCD, but I am actually thinking this is an auto WB issue as the photos did need a tad bit of WB correction. I will have to investigate this further. Maybe a firmware upgrade to fix this very minor issue (if it is indeed an issue).

First thing I noticed was that you can feel that it is much lighter than the D700, yet with the same solid feel like the D700. Happy with this.

Shutter noise is more subdued than the D700, more like the D7000 but with extra damping. Happy with this.

AF does seem faster and more precise as I didn't have any misfocus issues that could be attributed to the camera. This is great news especially under the adverse conditions. Very happy with this so far.

Here are a few shots. I normally use Capture One Pro to convert my RAW images, but as they do not have the RAW file for the D800, I decided to convert them to TIFF through NX2 (I don't like NX2 workflow) so please bear with me as these are quick conversions to show the capabilities of the camera.

These were taken at Sydney's Taronga Zoo on possibly the worst day of the year as it has been pelting down with rain most of the day and been very gloomy and dull. Still, it doesn't put off someone with a new toy to test.

Many were taken at ISO6400, noise reduction has been used on some images (Noiseware Professional) some were taken with the 300 f2.8 VRII (first pic with 2x TCIII), some with the 85mm f1.4G and some with the 70-200 f2.8 VRII, but EXIF is included for your information. Most are shown for their high ISO results and crops of them for closer scrutiny.

Model NIKON D800 + 300mm f2.8 VRII + 2x TCIII
Focal Length 600 mm
Exposure Time 1/200 sec
Aperture f/6.3
ISO Equivalent 6400


Model NIKON D800
Focal Length 300 mm
Exposure Time 1/200 sec
Aperture f/8
ISO Equivalent 6400


Model NIKON D800
Focal Length 300 mm
Exposure Time 1/320 sec
Aperture f/8
ISO Equivalent 4000


Model NIKON D800
Focal Length 300 mm
Exposure Time 1/320 sec
Aperture f/3.5
ISO Equivalent 720


Model NIKON D800
Focal Length 300 mm
Exposure Time 1/320 sec
Aperture f/4.5
ISO Equivalent 800


Model NIKON D800
Focal Length 85 mm
Exposure Time 1/320 sec
Aperture f/4.5
ISO Equivalent 4500


Model NIKON D800
Focal Length 130 mm
Exposure Time 1/250 sec
Aperture f/5
ISO Equivalent 6400


Model NIKON D800
Focal Length 130 mm
Exposure Time 1/250 sec
Aperture f/5
ISO Equivalent 6400


Model NIKON D800
Focal Length 122 mm
Exposure Time 1/250 sec
Aperture f/5
ISO Equivalent 6400


Model NIKON D800
Focal Length 112 mm
Exposure Time 1/200 sec
Aperture f/5
ISO Equivalent 6400


Model NIKON D800
Focal Length 300 mm
Exposure Time 1/320 sec
Aperture f/5
ISO Equivalent 1600


CROP OF ABOVE


Model NIKON D800
Focal Length 300 mm
Exposure Time 1/320 sec
Aperture f/5
ISO Equivalent 6400


Model NIKON D800
Focal Length 300 mm
Exposure Time 1/320 sec
Aperture f/4
ISO Equivalent 900


HEAVY CROP OF ABOVE


Model NIKON D800
Focal Length 300 mm
Exposure Time 1/320 sec
Aperture f/5.6
ISO Equivalent 5000


CROP OF ABOVE

[rirakuma]

Very nice set ! My fav is the colourful ducks? Some of the earlier images looks a tad cold and over exposed, were you using auto WB?

[Chris G]

Incredible detail that the D800 is producing

There does seem to be a very slight green tinge to the rear LCD, but I am actually thinking this is an auto WB issue as the photos did need a tad bit of WB correction. I will have to investigate this further. Maybe a firmware upgrade to fix this very minor issue (if it is indeed an issue).

You can actually fix this as its the LCD from adjusting the screen hue to alittle less green..

[Mary Anne]

Congrats on the new camera Lance.. Those beautiful ducks for me
The detail is great, that poor old Lion has lovely eyes..

[Lance B]

Very nice set ! My fav is the colourful ducks? Some of the earlier images looks a tad cold and over exposed, were you using auto WB?

Thank you very much, rirakuma!

I was using auto WB, yes.

[Lance B]

Incredible detail that the D800 is producing

Thank you very much, Chris.

You can actually fix this as its the LCD from adjusting the screen hue to alittle less green..

Yes, I will have to have a play around with it. However, it might be an auto WB issue, where the auto WB is off a tad and therefore the playback images are also off a tad as the images when opened on my computer were a little off. However, it could be the way I processed then through Capture NX2 straight to TIFF without adjustment and then opened then in Capture One for correct adjustment. I think I just need a little time to come to grips with it all. :-)

[Lance B]

Congrats on the new camera Lance.. Those beautiful ducks for me
The detail is great, that poor old Lion has lovely eyes..

Thank you very much, Mary Anne. :-)

Still on a steep learning curve on how to post process them for best results.

[Dylan & Marianne]

that looks a very sharp set of images - interestingly there seems to be as much noise visible at the iso900 as the iso6400 images?
still, that's impressive for the pixels they crammed on to the sensor
now why exactly did I go canon all those years ago lol - look forward to seeing some more!

[Tommo1965]

Hi Lance
Great images , certainly shows that the D800 is a great body....has it lived up to your expectation of a FX and DX body all in one ?...hows the DR compared to the D700 ....Im glad you have yours and I believe you give a unbiased view of things

in the last image can any of the highlights of the white feather be bought back from the raw file ...or are they blown beyond reclaiming..I know in the D300 s there would be no detail left to exploit in that area ... not saying it bad ...just a test..would be great for wedding Togs to have such a high DR in the battle between white dresses and black suits

Im looking forward to more posts from you and your notes on the D800

cheers
Steve

EDIT
crikey Ive just realised that Im looking at a ISO 5000 images...and I still want more detail what's the world coming too..LOL...

[Xebadir]

Really good test set Lance. Mine must've arrived in the same shipment as its on the way via Courier at the moment . Very impressed with the high ISO performance, and really like the range within the shots. Very much looking forward to putting mine through its paces at the farm on the weekend and seeing how it stacks up. Was pleasantly surprised to hear your comment about weight as a little lighter will make a noticeable difference, but its great that doesn't lose its feel .

[Lance B]

that looks a very sharp set of images

Thank you very much, Dylan.

Still need to learn best post processing technique for the D800 images. I was so blown away with the results that I wanted to get them out there for everyone to see so a quick post process was all that I had time to do and it still took me 4 hours as i had to go through a convoluted process to be able to convert them they way I like. The only RAW converter is Nikon's Capture NX2 which i don't like using, so I had to convert to TIFF through NX2 without adjustments and then open the 16bit TIFFS in Capture One Pro, process them there and then into Photoshop for any noise reduction and final adjustments like sharpening etc.

- interestingly there seems to be as much noise visible at the iso900 as the iso6400 images?

A couple of things, possibly. There was no noise reduction applied to the ISO900 image and it was underexposed quite a bit due to me wanting to preserve the highlights (still not sure how for to push highlights) and as the background is dark and as such it will show noise more readily especially when underexposed (as I am sure you realise) Also, don't forget that the crop is a heavy crop of an underexposed image no noise reduction applied.

still, that's impressive for the pixels they crammed on to the sensor
now why exactly did I go canon all those years ago lol - look forward to seeing some more!

Thank you again for your nice comments ang thoughts.

[Lance B]

Hi Lance
Great images , certainly shows that the D800 is a great body

Thank you very much, Steve!

....has it lived up to your expectation of a FX and DX body all in one ?

I think it will as the crops seem to be at least as good as the D7000 at the same size, if not better. However, it is early days.

...hows the DR compared to the D700

I can't really say at this stage. See below.

....Im glad you have yours and I believe you give a unbiased view of things

Thank you, I do try to be unbiased.

in the last image can any of the highlights of the white feather be bought back from the raw file ...or are they blown beyond reclaiming..I know in the D300 s there would be no detail left to exploit in that area ... not saying it bad ...just a test..would be great for wedding Togs to have such a high DR in the battle between white dresses and black suits

The tests show that it is supposed to have 14 stops of DR in RAW, but not quite the headroom in the highlights as the D700 and this is why I have been trying to preserve the highlights as best as possible. However, I took a whole heap of shots of the spoonbill both exposing to preserve the highlights and some trying to expose correctly for the eyes and this last shot was exposed to correctly get the eyes. This meant that the highlights did blow out a little and some of it is not recoverable, in this instance. The main thing to remember is that the conditions there were horrendous to say the least as there was no light and therefore necessitated the use of high ISO, ISO5000 on this image, which restricts the DR at that ISO to about 9 stops instead of the 14 at base ISO. This means that I had only the DR of a normal jpeg at base ISO to work with, so not completely indicative of how good it can be. In good conditions working at ao around base ISO, the 14 stops of DR should be achievable and should mean that weddings are a breeze, when compared to the D700.

Im looking forward to more posts from you and your notes on the D800

Thanks. I will try to get some high DR base ISO shots for comparison, when the bloody sun comes back out!!

cheers
Steve

EDIT
crikey Ive just realised that Im looking at a ISO 5000 images...and I still want more detail what's the world coming too..LOL...

After writing all of the above, I just saw your edit. So, realised it without me having to explain. I'll leave it in for others to see anyway.

Cheers,
Lance

[Lance B]

Really good test set Lance. Mine must've arrived in the same shipment as its on the way via Courier at the moment . Very impressed with the high ISO performance, and really like the range within the shots. Very much looking forward to putting mine through its paces at the farm on the weekend and seeing how it stacks up. Was pleasantly surprised to hear your comment about weight as a little lighter will make a noticeable difference, but its great that doesn't lose its feel .

Thank your for your lovely commens and thoughts. Look forward to your results and thoughts on your when it arrives.

[Chris G]

Yes, I will have to have a play around with it. However, it might be an auto WB issue, where the auto WB is off a tad and therefore the playback images are also off a tad as the images when opened on my computer were a little off. However, it could be the way I processed then through Capture NX2 straight to TIFF without adjustment and then opened then in Capture One for correct adjustment. I think I just need a little time to come to grips with it all. :-)

Its becomes abit of a concern if the images them self are also coming out with a green tinge due to the AWB and not just showing on the LCD as to which many have reported. It was thought the AWB was out abit but I think there was something from Nikon about it and thus this is how the hue adjustment came about.

Would have to ask / compare with Rirakuma to see if he has noticed anything of the sort with his D800. Does seem to be a hit or miss with the very slight green tinge.

[Lance B]

Its becomes abit of a concern if the images them self are also coming out with a green tinge due to the AWB and not just showing on the LCD as to which many have reported. It was thought the AWB was out abit but I think there was something from Nikon about it and thus this is how the hue adjustment came about.

Would have to ask / compare with Rirakuma to see if he has noticed anything of the sort with his D800. Does seem to be a hit or miss with the very slight green tinge.

I really don't know if it is me, the screen or the AWB at this stage. I need to do some more checking. The problem is, you read about these teething issues and then we all start punching at shadows, so to speak. I will report back if I get a definitive answer.

[Wayne]

Thanks for the trouble Lance.

Great examples, and glad you got it finally. Following our discussions about it last week, I think I'm placing an order.

[Lance B]

Thanks for the trouble Lance.

Great examples, and glad you got it finally. Following our discussions about it last week, I think I'm placing an order.

Thank you very much, Wayne.

I see the D800 has tempted you, too.

[Bennymiata]

The high ISO images look a lot better than I was expecting.
The detail is fantastic.

Seems to be a very nice camera Lance, and you obviously know how to use it too!

[Lance B]

The high ISO images look a lot better than I was expecting.
The detail is fantastic.

Seems to be a very nice camera Lance, and you obviously know how to use it too!

Thank you for your very kind comments!

[geoffsta]

and it still took me 4 hours

Not a good advertisement for the D800. If it was that good, a quick sharpen, noise reduction, maybe the crop, then saved as a JPG, and they should have been all done.
All which can be done in NX2 I think.