Hi Tom:

According to an article published in NikonRumors, the orders for the D800 are “unprecedented:”

http://www.techradar.com/news/photography-video-capture/cameras/nikon-d800-orders-unprecedented--1068952

The following is a Hands-On Review:

http://www.techradar.com/news/photography-video-capture/cameras/hands-on-nikon-d800-review-1061286

Best regards,

Hektor

My Blog: Hektors Blog
My Photo Album: Hektors Photos

How many lenses do you need? - Just one more!

Indeed I have a friend who ordered both D800 & D800e from every store that would take pre-orders, including BH, Adorama, and Amazon. Funny thing it he shoots Canon and probably won't actually purchase any of these. I'd say that's unprecedented.

I have no doubt demand will be incredible and D800/e will be on backorder for a long time, but I'd be curious to learn what percentage of orders will actually be purchased.

Larry - a Bay Area Nikonian
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www.tempered-light.com

>Indeed I have a friend who ordered both D800 & D800e from
>every store that would take pre-orders, including BH, Adorama,
>and Amazon. Funny thing it he shoots Canon and probably won't
>actually purchase any of these. I'd say that's unprecedented.

He dropped a credit card on each and every order (since there is no other way to complete an online purchase)? Seems irrational. What's the point of doing that? Each store will charge his credit card as soon as the cameras ship - possible several stores simultaneously.

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Howard Carson, Managing Editor
Kickstartnews Inc. - http://www.kickstartnews.com

>>Indeed I have a friend who ordered both D800 & D800e
>from
>>every store that would take pre-orders, including BH,
>Adorama,
>>and Amazon. Funny thing it he shoots Canon and probably
>won't
>>actually purchase any of these. I'd say that's
>unprecedented.
>
>He dropped a credit card on each and every order (since there
>is no other way to complete an online purchase)? Seems
>irrational. What's the point of doing that? Each store will
>charge his credit card as soon as the cameras ship - possible
>several stores simultaneously.

Howard, they all accept returns, and anyway if demand is anything like it was for the 18-200 way back when, he'll make a mint selling them on ebay.

What's irrational is considering switching systems to move from 22MP to 36MP.

Larry - a Bay Area Nikonian
My Nikonians gallery

www.tempered-light.com

>Howard, they all accept returns, and anyway if demand is
>anything like it was for the 18-200 way back when, he'll make
>a mint selling them on ebay.

Oh great. Another entrepreneur.

>What's irrational is considering switching systems to move
>from 22MP to 36MP.

Right - a few of the Canon guys. Agreed. Seems nutty, especially considering that all of these new cameras are superb.

I was poking around in the DPReview Canon forums and a few other Canon forums too over the weekend. The hand-wringing and gnashing of teeth over the 22mp 5D MKIII vs. 36m Nikon D800 is hilarious. There are no appreciable differences between the two cameras. They are both incredible photography tools. People who think that technical measure-baiting will somehow reveal differences visible in the real world any more than a fraction of 1% of the time are deluding themselves.

So let's see now . . . if the D800 is $3100 + a $450 grip (Yikes!) - that would be, um, $3550. And if the 5D MKIII is $3300 + a $250 grip (better), that would be, um, $3550? Someone just threw a rock through my office window. The crayon-scrawled note wrapped around the rock reads, "BUT WHAT ABOUT THE MEGAPIXELS HOWARD YOU JERK?!?!?!"

I think I can hear some Canon guy getting angry at me somewhere in far distance because the D800 I have on order has more megapixels than his 5D MKIII on order. Or is that a Nikon guy getting angry at me because I discussed a 5D MKIII in the Nikonians D800 forum? Or are both of them getting angry at me because I refuse to agree to anything other than the fact that both cameras are terrific?

And how about that (current) $450 price for the MB-D12? Yowza!! After all the grief I've given other Nikonians over the years about purchasing third-party grips of questionable quality containing marginal electronics, I'll tell you right now that I'll never pay $450 for an SLR battery grip. Are they nuts? This is how Nikon is recovering from sales lost to natural disasters in 2011? One grip at a time?

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Howard Carson, Managing Editor
Kickstartnews Inc. - http://www.kickstartnews.com

>Right - a few of the Canon guys. Agreed. Seems nutty,
>especially considering that all of these new cameras are
>superb.

"superb" still comes with caveats.

>I was poking around in the DPReview Canon forums and a few
>other Canon forums too over the weekend. The hand-wringing and
>gnashing of teeth over the 22mp 5D MKIII vs. 36m Nikon D800 is
>hilarious. There are no appreciable differences between the
>two cameras. They are both incredible photography tools.
>People who think that technical measure-baiting will somehow
>reveal differences visible in the real world any more than a
>fraction of 1% of the time are deluding themselves.

For some of us, it will make a significant difference every single time the camera is fired.

>So let's see now . . . if the D800 is $3100 + a $450 grip
>(Yikes!) - that would be, um, $3550. And if the 5D MKIII is
>$3300 + a $250 grip (better), that would be, um, $3550?

Honestly, the price is the LEAST of my concerns.

>I think I can hear some Canon guy getting angry at me
>somewhere in far distance because the D800 I have on order has
>more megapixels than his 5D MKIII on order. Or is that a Nikon
>guy getting angry at me because I discussed a 5D MKIII in the
>Nikonians D800 forum? Or are both of them getting angry at me
>because I refuse to agree to anything other than the fact that
>both cameras are terrific?

Again, "terrific" comes with caveats. The -2EV focusing which will play a role in about 25% of my photography. The clean HDMI video out which alone will drive more sales of the D800 than any of it's still features. To some, these are not only substantive differences, they are buy/don't buy type features.

People have been groveling at Canon's feet for over 3 years for clean video out on their DSLRs. Canon has refused. Then they released the C300 for $20k. Now Nikon has answered that pent up demand in a $3k camera.



>And how about that (current) $450 price for the MB-D12?
>Yowza!! After all the grief I've given other Nikonians over
>the years about purchasing third-party grips of questionable
>quality containing marginal electronics, I'll tell you right
>now that I'll never pay $450 for an SLR battery grip.
>Are they nuts? This is how Nikon is recovering from sales lost
>to natural disasters in 2011? One grip at a time?

Meh. People have a hard time paying $450 for a grip that can double the shooting time, but will gladly $550 for an on-camera speedlight (SB-910)? Half of my studio strobes don't cost that much.

------
Webpage: http://www.ptfphoto.com

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Howard,
I have D800/D800E pre-orders with Roberts Imaging and they don't require credit card information when placing the order. They simply send an email when your number is up and then you contact them with your payment method.
Dave Jolley

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>Howard,
>I have D800/D800E pre-orders with Roberts Imaging and they
>don't require credit card information when placing the order.
>They simply send an email when your number is up and then you
>contact them with your payment method.

No doubt I could be over-formalizing the process based on what other major retailers seem to be doing and based on what my own experience has been. Since everything is be distributed to customers based on a first-come/first-served basis (according to Nikon USA and Nikon Canada), and on an allotment basis (no deposit, no camera) according to the retailers I've contacted (Henry's, Vistek and Downtown Camera in Toronto; B&H, Adorama and Sammy's in the U.S.; Jacob's and Calumet in the UK) I think Roberts is making a bit of a mistake.

Then again, maybe Roberts feels it can carve some market share away from the heavyweights by allowing sales/pre-orders without deposits? Items received by Roberts but not claimed within some brief time period can go on the shelf for the 30 seconds it will take a walk-in (or the next person on the pre-order list) to grab the camera. Still, I think that sort of merchandising approach is more appropriate in times when retail economics aren't under such pressure. Roberts has been around for a long time. The owners must know their business by now.

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Howard Carson, Managing Editor
Kickstartnews Inc. - http://www.kickstartnews.com

The article was linked at NikonRumors. It was published at TechRadar.

>The following is a Hands-On Review:
>
>http://www.techradar.com/news/photography-video-capture/cameras/hands-on-nikon-d800-review-1061286

It's not really a review. It's just a hands-on description of the hardware. These non-reviews just confirm that Nikon wasn't telling lies in its marketing literature for the product. These non-reviews also attract traffic to the web pages on which they appear, which in turn drives ad clicks. The information in the hands-on hardware description is almost identical to about fifty identical 'reviews' on other sites competing just as hard for traffic.

ADDED . . . there won't be any proper/real reviews until photographers have had D800 bodies in their hands for at least a couple of weeks. Since the cameras aren't even landing for another 10 days or so, in-depth reviews are unlikely to appear before they land.

PopPhoto, DPReview and few other reviewers might have final production units in review right now if Nikon was actually able to nail its pre-production run for that purpose. We'll soon find out. Until the first public shipment lands, all review information on production units is embargoed by Nikon and its regional distributors. That's the way it works.

ADDED (again): A so-called review of a camera with which the reviewer is not allowed to make photos is not a review. It's marketing.

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Howard Carson, Managing Editor
Kickstartnews Inc. - http://www.kickstartnews.com

The Nikon MB-D12 Multi Power Battery Pack for D800 Camera... IE the Grip is available for pre-order.

I wonder how "unprecedented" the demand will be for this grip @ 449.95!


3rd party anyone?!

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What is in the technology, materials or craftsmanship that would justify the cost increase by $230 of the Nikon MB-D12 over Nikon MB-D11? Don't they both use the same battery? They appear to both "look" quite similar too.

I don't even think that the MB-12 increases shooting speed, correct? I'm one who has a vertical grip for every D-SLR I have ever owned and I find this one hard to swallow. I'd much rather pony up $500 for an on camera speed-light than for a grip which adds almost nothing that a spare battery cannot accommodate. Yes, I like the vertical shooting trigger and the larger size. But really $450?

>What is in the technology, materials or craftsmanship that
>would justify the cost increase by $230 of the Nikon MB-D12
>over Nikon MB-D11?

Probably nothing. But why does it have to be justified?

>I don't even think that the MB-12 increases shooting speed,
>correct?

Extra 2fps for DX use.

>I'm one who has a vertical grip for every D-SLR I
>have ever owned and I find this one hard to swallow.

I tend to buy my cameras with the grip already built in. But I do have grips on my D200, D7000, and Canon T2i.


>I'd much
>rather pony up $500 for an on camera speed-light than for a
>grip which adds almost nothing that a spare battery cannot
>accommodate. Yes, I like the vertical shooting trigger and
>the larger size. But really $450?

I'd rather pony up the money for a grip, since I could count on 1 hand the number of times I've used a speedlight. And since I have to place remote cameras in spots I may not be able to get to during a shoot.

$450 is a lot of money. But the choice is yours. Buy it, or don't. Only you can decide that. I'm buying it and not worrying about it. Buying the D800 means I don't have to buy a 400/2.8. So that puts me about $9550 to the good. Your economics scenario may be different.

------
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Yes, hearing some huge numbers - 4500 B&H, 500 Gray's of Westminister, 60 at my local dealer and that was about a month ago. Coupled with the talk of a large first wave available from Sendai it's going to be interesting seeing how all this shakes out!

Best regards, SteveK

'A camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera.' -- Dorothea Lange
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My Nikonians Blog

Thanks for the review link, first one I've seen

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I'm wondering if many of the unprecidented pre-orders is down to pixel envy! I heard a lot of talk at the Focus show and so did friends who went. The gist of most was about the pixel count. That indicates to me that some buyers may have a lack of understanding and that they may learn that it's not just size that matters! Many will order I'm sure who will be newbies to FX or even dSLR and even some will be Canon converts. That said the number of D700's going for excellent prices on e-bay is enormous, so those are existing FX users upgrading.

My thoughts go back to the D7000 when it was launched and for the months afterwards. Continuous threads about soft and out of focus images, back focus etc. etc. including quite a few from me

I do wonder if this camera for many is going to be a learning curve of epic proportions and a step too far, expecially for the new to dSLR users and even some existing upgraders too. I hope not, but as Nikon have released a technical manual, then it looks like they are prepared for this learning curve and the complaints unfounded or otherwise they will receive.

Just my take on it.

Richard

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Canon Rumors are that the shipping date has been moved up to the 16th of March for the D800
so I can use it at the indoor Equestrian Event this Saturday.

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headline reads unprecedented but article reads better than expected.
Boy, talk about literary license.

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