Can't tell the difference between these two. Thinking of purchasing an 800 this year but not sure if I should wait or not. How has Nikon been in the past relative to the reliability of new releases? Will they likely add features or deals on lens/camera bundles anytime soon or such things not done on FX? I currently have a D90.

Thanks, Jim

Visit my Nikonians gallery.

Visit my Nikonians gallery.

You'll find some of the earlier discussions about the differences between D800 and D800E (and how perople are choosing between them) here, here and here.

Brian
Welsh Nikonian
Check out the Nikonians Team pages

D800e is about 5% sharper because the "lack" of AA filter.
And at the time I got it, it was much easier to get because people were jumping on D800 much more. Got my in 2 weeks including 1 week shipping.Ordered in the middle of April, received on the 1st of May.

Other than that there is no difference. One possible problem with D800 is the left focus problem D800e might not have because they might have tighter QC. Nikon announced that they only making 10% of D800 production as D800e.

>D800e is about 5% sharper because the "lack" of AA filter.

What's the basis for that "5%" figure?

Larry - a Bay Area Nikonian
My Nikonians gallery

www.tempered-light.com

>>D800e is about 5% sharper because the "lack" of
>AA filter.
>
>What's the basis for that "5%" figure?
>
>Larry - a Bay Area
>Nikonian
>My
>Nikonians gallery>

>www.tempered-light.com

Read many reports comparing both cameras. 5% is not an exact number but close enough for government work.

>>>D800e is about 5% sharper because the "lack" of AA filter.

>>What's the basis for that "5%" figure?

>Read many reports comparing both cameras. 5% is not an exact number but close enough for government work.

I guess I'm struggling to understand what "5% sharper" actually means. Could you post a link to one of those reports?

Larry - a Bay Area Nikonian
My Nikonians gallery

www.tempered-light.com

>Other than that there is no difference.

Yes there is: The D800E has a bit more probability of showing moire and false colors.

>One possible problem
>with D800 is the left focus problem D800e might not have
>because they might have tighter QC.

I have no experience with the E but I saw reports about the left AF issue with the D800E on other forums. Where does the info on tighter QC come from, or is it just your guess?

Tom
Bay Area Nikonian

http://www.tkphoto.me/

>
>>Other than that there is no difference.
>
>Yes there is: The D800E has a bit more probability of showing
>moire and false colors.
>
>>One possible problem
>>with D800 is the left focus problem D800e might not have
>>because they might have tighter QC.
>
>I have no experience with the E but I saw reports about the
>left AF issue with the D800E on other forums. Where does the
>info on tighter QC come from, or is it just your guess?
>

No one knows for sure so it would be my guess. I have not seen many reports from D800e unlike D800.
As far as moire and false colors I have shot close to 8000 shots since May and have not seen any moire yet. I shot many where people were wearing suits or patterned shirts and still nothing showed up.
Moire problem is highly exaggerated.
There are reviews there cameras produce moire like 5D3 just as bad as D800e. But if you are getting 99.999% moire free shots there is nothing to worry about.
Most of the negative stuff written on the NET goes through Internet Amplification anyway.

> I have not seen many reports from D800e unlike D800.


Guess what the reason for that might be - see your own earlier post:

> Nikon announced that they only making 10% of D800 production as D800e.

Tom
Bay Area Nikonian

http://www.tkphoto.me/

>D800e is about 5% sharper because the "lack" of AA
>filter.
>Other than that there is no difference. One possible problem
>with D800 is the left focus problem D800e might not have
>because they might have tighter QC. Nikon announced that they
>only making 10% of D800 production as D800e.
>

As to the QC. There is one production facility and only one part is different (different filter at AA location)so why would QC be different?

Visit my Nikonians gallery.

>>D800e is about 5% sharper because the "lack" of
>AA
>>filter.
>>Other than that there is no difference. One possible
>problem
>>with D800 is the left focus problem D800e might not have
>>because they might have tighter QC. Nikon announced that
>they
>>only making 10% of D800 production as D800e.
>>
>
>As to the QC. There is one production facility and only one
>part is different (different filter at AA location)so why
>would QC be different?

Again, I am guessing because no one knows for sure.
But ALL cameras go though QC and since demand on D800 is higher my guess QC is lower. And judging by how many reports I read on D800 with problems I tend to believe I am correct.
By the end of this year if Canon does not announce at least one camera comparable to D800 I will be selling the rest of the Canon stuff and getting second D800e. That is how sure I am.

There is no evidence that the quality control is any different and the fact that they produce far more D800 is in no way evidence of less QC. I am quite sure that their QC procedures are the same.

Since there are ten times the number of non E's, of course, there will be ten times as many reports of D800s with focusing or any other problems than the D800E. But that says nothing about QC procedures or the percent of either that have any QC problems.

Let's admit that we don't know what we don't know.

Larry Miller, Annapolis, MD
D700/D800
http://www.pbase.com/lmmiller9
http://lmmillerphotography.smugmug.com/

Attachment #1, ( file)

Again about focus issues, eh? This is starting to get queer. Get a grip on this, move to other shores. Even if you get a camera with this issue, you can do practically everything with it - you just have to know your tool and take account of it, and one fine day, when every service center knows how to deal with it, it will be repaired without any issue.

However, regarding the difference between e and non-e: I really don't know with all these different sharpening possibilities, differently exposed images and what not, what practical difference it makes. Just very little, I guess, just a tat sharper, and only under the right conditions (mirror up/live view, tripod, right f-stop).

I want sharp images, I want detailed images, and the possibility of large, detailed prints, where you can move in front of them from right to left, above and below, and still see a sharp image. So when I, looking for a serious digital camera which would suit my demands as much as possible, when I then read for the first time this spring about the d800 and the e, the price was way more than I had intended to spend, and it took me 5 minutes to decide whether I should get one or not, and another two minutes to decide for the e: if I would go on the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostella, I would want to go right into the Cathedra to see the relics of Jacob the Elder, to get to the very center. I wouldn't stop 100 yards before, even if someone is sitting there and asking for an extra fee.

Lukas

Trying to be a keeper of the light

>There is no evidence that the quality control is any
>different and the fact that they produce far more D800 is in
>no way evidence of less QC. I am quite sure that their QC
>procedures are the same.

So if you are so quite sure you should have not written the last sentence.


>
>Since there are ten times the number of non E's, of course,
>there will be ten times as many reports of D800s with focusing
>or any other problems than the D800E. But that says nothing
>about QC procedures or the percent of either that have any QC
>problems.
>
>Let's admit that we don't know what we don't know.

What I do know is that my D800e does not have focusing problem.
And I got it in two weeks including shipping which is way faster than most people.

Could we stick to answering the original question, please - which was about the actual differences between the D800 and D800E.

We've had enough discussions about the AF problem, and I've seen no evidence to suggest the D800E is any more or less likely to suffer from this fault than the D800.

Thanks!

Brian
Welsh Nikonian
Check out the Nikonians Team pages

I agree. Most of this thread is pure speculation.

>D800e is about 5% sharper because the "lack" of AA filter.

I don't know about the 5% figure. I think Michael Reichmann and Thom Hogan might quibble with that number, but there's certainly a difference because of the absence of the AA filter's softening effect -- until you get to about f/8, even f/5.6, where the difference disappears.

Ever since the D800E came out I've wondered why somebody shooting landscape would opt for it, since you usually need at least f/8 in order to get enough depth of field, and at less than f/8, as soon as you include a brick building or a shingled roof you're likely to have moire problems. I keep reading about people who've shot hundreds of pictures with the E and haven't seen any moire, but they never seem to tell me WHAT they've been shooting. I do know that in medium format, which usually has no AA filter, moire often is a problem.

Russ Lewis
www.FineArtSnaps.com

>>D800e is about 5% sharper because the "lack" of
>AA filter.
>
>I don't know about the 5% figure. I think Michael Reichmann
>and Thom Hogan might quibble with that number, but there's
>certainly a difference because of the absence of the AA
>filter's softening effect -- until you get to about f/8, even
>f/5.6, where the difference disappears.
>
>Ever since the D800E came out I've wondered why somebody
>shooting landscape would opt for it, since you usually need at
>least f/8 in order to get enough depth of field, and at less
>than f/8, as soon as you include a brick building or a
>shingled roof you're likely to have moire problems. I keep
>reading about people who've shot hundreds of pictures with the
>E and haven't seen any moire, but they never seem to tell me
>WHAT they've been shooting. I do know that in medium format,
>which usually has no AA filter, moire often is a problem.

The difference is more pronounced if you compare both cameras with the same lens at the lens's sharpest aperture setting. In other words if the lens you are using at it's highest sharpness let's say F8 for non pro lens or F2.8-F5.6 for a pro lens that is where you will see the greatest difference.
Read this review carefully.
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikon-d800-d800e/27
In my eyes the difference is at the most 5%.
BTW, I trust this site more than any other sites because they are extremely careful while testing. Because of that reviews are often delayed.

As far as moire you have to understand that if you shot a building for example with a lot of shutters on the windows and railings and that building is the the only object in your picture and then you blow up this photo to a large poster size you might be concerned with moire. Or you might see moire on the dress with pattern, again, it has to be printed very large size. But if you shoot something with very little moire that you have go digging for it I would not be worry so much. Besides cameras like Canon 5D3 has moire in the similar situations because of the weak AA filter. In fact some people actually removed AA filter from 5D3 (losing the warranty) just to get sharper pictures.

Eugene, interestingly enough, though the D800 has an AA filter, it's pretty weak. I occasionally see moire in D800 sample shots on the web. Haven't seen any from my own D800 yet, but I don't shoot the kind of stuff that's prone to moire.

Russ Lewis
www.FineArtSnaps.com

>Eugene, interestingly enough, though the D800 has an AA
>filter, it's pretty weak. I occasionally see moire in D800
>sample shots on the web. Haven't seen any from my own D800
>yet, but I don't shoot the kind of stuff that's prone to
>moire.

Indeed it was moiré in D800 images that convinced me its AA was plenty weak enough to amount to vanishingly little difference between these two cameras, and caused me to finally stop turning down opportunities to buy D800, instead of remaining on any number of D800e waiting lists.

It's questionable, if offering two distinct models, why Nikon would position these so closely and put a weak AA in D800, but my guess is from an engineering point of view, they felt that the high resolution/small pixels meant that the wavelength of repeating patterns that night cause moiré was small enough to not be a major worry.

To my eye, the D800e seems to benefit some when shooting larger than f/5.6, and careful sharpening of D800 images very closely equalizes the difference. Because of the very high resolution, small radius sharpening can be applied to great effect without generating any artifacts. The detail is so remarkable from D800 I haven't looked back once at my decision to stop waiting for the E.

Larry - a Bay Area Nikonian
My Nikonians gallery

www.tempered-light.com

>Eugene, interestingly enough, though the D800 has an AA
>filter, it's pretty weak. I occasionally see moire in D800
>sample shots on the web. Haven't seen any from my own D800
>yet, but I don't shoot the kind of stuff that's prone to
>moire.

Exactly. Web is huge and you are bound to find someone who encounter moire once in a while. But people see moire in all kinds of cameras from many manufacturer with or without AA filter.
Judging by what people actually post about moire I have concluded that it makes no difference between D800 and D800e.
Even 5% sharpness makes no difference unless one prints a wall size pictures all the time.
I only got D800e because I figured out 5that I can get it faster and I was right. I was #4 at Roberts in April for D800e while they had over 100 orders for D800 and I got a call in a week.

>The difference is more pronounced if you compare both cameras
>with the same lens at the lens's sharpest aperture setting. In
>other words if the lens you are using at it's highest
>sharpness let's say F8. . .

If the lens's sharpest aperture setting is f/8 there isn't going to be any difference. Diffraction will be the limiting factor, not the presence or absence of an AA filter.

Russ Lewis
www.FineArtSnaps.com

Long story shortly - if you have a lot of 1.4 - 2.8 lenses in everyday use, go for D800E, coz you will work to 5.6, including. From 6.7 and up diffraction is beginning to destroy image. If you prefer, for some reason, 4 and 5.6 lenses, go for D800. It is more forgiving camera, and you may use f8.0 freely. Diffraction in this case is visible at f11.0. The D800 is the body I am using with my 28-300 and 16-35, coz those 2 lenses at its best at f8.0. It is from my real experience, your one may vary a bit. Dimitri.

>Long story shortly - if you have a lot of 1.4 - 2.8 lenses in
>everyday use, go for D800E, coz you will work to 5.6,
>including. From 6.7 and up diffraction is beginning to destroy
>image. If you prefer, for some reason, 4 and 5.6 lenses, go
>for D800. It is more forgiving camera, and you may use f8.0
>freely. Diffraction in this case is visible at f11.0. The D800
>is the body I am using with my 28-300 and 16-35, coz those 2
>lenses at its best at f8.0. It is from my real experience,
>your one may vary a bit. Dimitri.


This is not true. I just wanted to mention this, so unsuspecting members here don't think that the D800E is not suitable at f/8. Diffraction can indeed be seen at a wider aperture on the D800E compared to the D800, but this simply means that there is a point where the D800E looses it's sharpness advantage over the D800. Diffraction does not cause the D800E to ever become less sharp than the D800.

Tom
Bay Area Nikonian

http://www.tkphoto.me/

For what it's worth, I have uploaded a few full resolution jpeg files (4, so far; I might add a few if my trashy internet connection allows me to) taken with the d800e. I added the lens and f-stop data, the pictures were all taken from a tripod, either mirror up or life view. You should be able to download the files in order to inspect them. Keep in mind that they are sharpened and processed.
These are the links:

http://i.minus.com/iktXHY43qfNrv.jpg
http://i.minus.com/i2tbPjle9XHQK.jpg
http://i.minus.com/ibcZd4A7ae4Kfz.jpg
http://i.minus.com/ibtfsHbiv3WVdI.jpg

Lukas


Trying to be a keeper of the light

>>Long story shortly - if you have a lot of 1.4 - 2.8
>lenses in
>>everyday use, go for D800E, coz you will work to 5.6,
>>including. From 6.7 and up diffraction is beginning to
>destroy
>>image. If you prefer, for some reason, 4 and 5.6 lenses,
>go
>>for D800. It is more forgiving camera, and you may use
>f8.0
>>freely. Diffraction in this case is visible at f11.0. The
>D800
>>is the body I am using with my 28-300 and 16-35, coz those
>2
>>lenses at its best at f8.0. It is from my real
>experience,
>>your one may vary a bit. Dimitri.
>
>
>This is not true. I just wanted to mention this, so
>unsuspecting members here don't think that the D800E is not
>suitable at f/8. Diffraction can indeed be seen at a wider
>aperture on the D800E compared to the D800, but this simply
>means that there is a point where the D800E looses it's
>sharpness advantage over the D800. Diffraction does not cause
>the D800E to ever become less sharp than the D800.
In practical life, it is not. Sony Nex 7 is killing all of Sony lenses (today, at least) by strong diffractions, but only Zeiss 24/1.8 is up to its sensor. Images taken with the rest of Sony lenses are soft and contrast loss to corners, center of the image is OK. So the D800E is at its best to apertures 5.6, mostly, and up to ones expectations with the best lenses ever possible, in some cases F6.7 is acceptable, but f5.6 is really border line. For D800 it is f8.0, and F 11.0 stops you. Please post something what IS your real experience, do not repeat someone else. So why do you think the D800E's sensor must behave differently than Sony Nex 7's one, against laws of nature, and my REAL experience, BTW? Diffraction is determined by sensor/lens resolution + effective F-stop, so, as better lens is as better is final image, if effective F-stop is inside sensor parameters. Just go over its parameters and you finish with image without detailing and contrast loss, especially to corners. Resume - one MUST use the best lenses on the D800E, to get the images up to one's expectations. The D800 is more forgiving, due to the law's of nature, again. Dimitri

>Diffraction does not cause the D800E to ever become
>less sharp than the D800.

Thanks, Tom, that's how I understand it too - though of course I have neither camera myself

I rarely link to DPReview, but in this case they do have some decent test images to illustrate the diffraction performance of D800 and D800E. See them here.

The D800E does start to show the effects of diffraction earlier - in this case at f/8, but at that aperture and f/11 the its resolution is still a little higher than that of the D800. At f/16, the advantage has pretty much disappeared, but the D800E never looks WORSE than the D800.

Brian
Welsh Nikonian
Check out the Nikonians Team pages

Gentlemen, D800E does look worse that the D800, in some cases. You both have no, even small, experience with D800/e cameras, and have never seen the cameras, but will repeat each other, for the very simple reason - becouse I do say something different. Look at Thom's observation closely - you could understand what I mean.

Well, I do have the e, and truth be told, I mostly use my lenses at f5.6 and 8.
Still, what you seem to insist on is clear nonsense. You could use a self-made lens on the e, one made from an old bottle, or a pinhole, the images would not be worse than those of the d800 (see the review on luminous landscape, but that is common photographic knowledge). Step down to 11 or 22, and the images are no more distinguishable from d800 ones under identical conditions, but never get worse.
The lens or pinhole or zone plate is what forms the image, the receptor, whether sensor or film, allows a maximum sharpness due to its own characteristics with the sharpest lens - which may not always be the best, I reserve the right to shoot with poor or self-made lenses on my d800e for aesthetic reasons.
A larger piece of film or a larger/finer sensor may give more tonal values (some people say so) which may improve even pictures with sub-optimal lenses. In such cases, however, the d800 and the e should perform identical.
Moire is a separate matter - I see it everyday in my flat here on different layers of fly screen and bamboo jalousies, but never in my pictures.
Trying to be a keeper of the light

>Well, I do have the e, and truth be told, I mostly use my
>lenses at f5.6 and 8.
>Still, what you seem to insist on is clear nonsense. You could
>use a self-made lens on the e, one made from an old bottle, or
>a pinhole, the images would not be worse than those of the
>d800 (see the review on luminous landscape, but that is common
>photographic knowledge). Step down to 11 or 22, and the images
>are no more distinguishable from d800 ones under identical
>conditions, but never get worse.
>The lens or pinhole or zone plate is what forms the image, the
>receptor, whether sensor or film, allows a maximum sharpness
>due to its own characteristics with the sharpest lens - which
>may not always be the best, I reserve the right to shoot with
>poor or self-made lenses on my d800e for aesthetic reasons.
>A larger piece of film or a larger/finer sensor may give more
>tonal values (some people say so) which may improve even
>pictures with sub-optimal lenses. In such cases, however, the
>d800 and the e should perform identical.
>Moire is a separate matter - I see it everyday in my flat here
>on different layers of fly screen and bamboo jalousies, but
>never in my pictures.
>Trying to be a keeper of the light
Sorry but it seems you do not even try to read and understand my post. Do I say one can't use any lens on any camera? Do I ever say one can't use it for art/aesthetic reasons? If you wanna be keeper of the light you must be up to your opponent and learn all of his/her arguments. There is not even light shadow of your critics to my post what you call "nonsense". Nonsense is your post coze it is absolutely far from what I am insisting on - technical details of D800/E cameras.

edited to correct link

In fact, I have seen and handled both D800 and D800E - at a show and at my dealer - but having done no tests myself I have to go by what other respected photographers say.

I did read Thom Hogan's D800 review, and think it matches the DPReview tests - i.e. the slightly better resolution of the D800E is less obvious at apertures smaller than f/5.6. As far as I can tell, he does not say that the D800E is WORSE than the D800 at smaller apertures; his actual words are: "I'm not convinced there's enough gain to warrant the difference if you're shooting at f/5.6 or above all the time."

Another source that seems to concur with what Tom (Curious) was saying is Shun Cheung at Photo.net, who concludes that: "Therefore, one can also observe the greatest amount of differences between the D800 and D800E when the lens is set to f4. The image captured by the D800E provides a tiny bit more detail, but the difference is very subtle. By f8, the images are visibly less sharp than at f4 and the difference between the D800 and D800E narrows. By f11, both are on the poor side and the tiny differences are all but gone."

Please don't think this is about proving you or anyone else wrong - the idea is to give our members enough information so that they can make an informed decision between D800 and D800E.

Brian
Welsh Nikonian
Check out the Nikonians Team pages

Looks like you did soft your rethorics. Yes, our members should get real info from real working pros. I am posting only things what is absolutely clear for me, at least. But is not beeng the very last instance, I know for sure that the arguments like "Tom is right coz Brian supporting him coz Tom is supporting Brian, and you Dimitri must read blah-blah..." are not valid at all. Give me unbeatable arguments that I am wrong with my recommendations of using lenses on kinds of D800/E. There is no such the arguments, and you guys perfectly know I am correct. Fast 1.4 to 2.8 lenses at its best on D800E, and slow lenses for D800. THX. Dimitri.

>There is no such the arguments, and you guys perfectly know I am correct.

No, but I did not post here to have an argument with Dimitry. There is no point to argue, we all know he won't change his mind, which is of course his right. I posted to clarify the issue for our other Nikonian members who are following here. We have enough good information now in this thread, along with links and articles from other respected photographers like Thom Hogan, that our members can reach their own informed conclusion. So I think we can put this issue to rest now.

Tom
Bay Area Nikonian

http://www.tkphoto.me/

So.
In summary, the D800e loses the filter for greater sharpness for use in landscape shots for example, but is no sharper above 5.6 where landscape shots will typically be used?
The D800 will be marginally softer below 5.6 which will be more flattering for portrait shots which are typically shot wide open, or close to it?
Sounds like a good pro D800 arguement. It gains in portraits and loses nothing in landscapes. As a generalisation obviously.

confused.com

I am using D800E with 24, 35, 85 f1.4 new lenses, and 14-24, 70-200, 300 F2.8, also new. In very rare cases I may close them to f6.7, without visible degradations to some magn., of course. If I need f11.0, I can use 16-35, 28-300, or my Leica 180/3.4 APO on my D800 with very little softening to corners, but, honestly, I like it more at f8.0, that is why I prefer such the lenses on D800. Hope it helps. Dimitri.

>>Long story shortly - if you have a lot of 1.4 - 2.8
>lenses in
>>everyday use, go for D800E, coz you will work to 5.6,
>>including. From 6.7 and up diffraction is beginning to
>destroy
>>image. If you prefer, for some reason, 4 and 5.6 lenses,
>go
>>for D800. It is more forgiving camera, and you may use
>f8.0
>>freely. Diffraction in this case is visible at f11.0. The
>D800
>>is the body I am using with my 28-300 and 16-35, coz those
>2
>>lenses at its best at f8.0. It is from my real
>experience,
>>your one may vary a bit. Dimitri.
>
>
>This is not true. I just wanted to mention this, so
>unsuspecting members here don't think that the D800E is not
>suitable at f/8. Diffraction can indeed be seen at a wider
>aperture on the D800E compared to the D800, but this simply
>means that there is a point where the D800E looses it's
>sharpness advantage over the D800. Diffraction does not cause
>the D800E to ever become less sharp than the D800.


Tom,

100% correct!!!!!!

Jim

I have the D800E and have been using it for nearly 4 months.

My D800E is an early one and does have the AF issue. There does not appear to be any QC difference between the two. I'll send it for service when I get some down time later and the repair is worked out. For now it's a minimal issue and does not cost me anything.

The D800E is spectacularly sharp. It's far better than the D700, D300, and D7000 models on which I have compared images.

I have not compared image quality with a D800 image and the same lens. Even among D800 owners, the D800E is slightly sharper when viewed at high magnification. This has potential to give you just a little more detail.

I have experienced moire on one image out of about 8000 - on part of a bird feather. I've used it for events, lots of bird photos, sports, landscapes, wildlife, and macro. Even my event photos have not shown any moire.

The D800 is also very sharp - just very slightly softer than the D800E but still very good. I don't think anyone would argue that the removal of the AA filter increases sharpness slightly, but for most people it won't make that much difference. If you want maximum sharpness - get the D800E.

The issue of moire is more of a potential issue for video. While there are removal tools for stills, removing moire from video is really painful. If you plan to shoot video, get the D800.

The whole issue of diffraction is overstated. Sure there may be a small amount of diffraction if you are stopped down to high levels. But diffraction is an issue on all cameras and only comes into play in a major way at f/16 and beyond. Even then, your camera and lens must have the ability to show the difference caused by diffraction. So because fo the resolution of the D800/D800E you might see diffraction where you never saw it before. And you might see softness in a lens or lens/teleconverter combination where you never saw it before. But the actual amount of diffraction impact is about one stop difference from earlier cameras.

If you used f/13 for your D3, you would probably have diffraction show up at f/11 on your D800. But DOF and your focus point are likely much more important. The D800 will render the sharpest part of your image more sharply than a D3, and even one stop of diffraction will not cause the D3 to be sharper. Now if you stop both of these cameras down to f/32, you will have diffraction impacts on both.

Sharpening routines are a little different on both. You can sharpen the D800 image a little more and add a little contrast and the D800 looks close to the D800E. In the test files I have seen, there is a small difference in the detail that you don't/can't sharpen.

A big difference you will see moving from a D90 to a D800 is the depth of field with FX. By using a crop sensor of a DX camera, you get the appearance of more DOF. The FX cameras allow you to use a longer lens and better isolate your subject with a soft background.

I would not hold your breath for deals any time soon. The D600 is rumored to be the low price FX camera and will probably be announced soon.

I have no reservations about the D800 or the D800E. There are well known pros using both cameras. Normally the nature and landscape photographers choose the D800E while the more varied photography and inclusion of video suggests the D800. You truly cannot go wrong.


Eric Bowles
Nikonians Team
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Workshops - Smokies Oct 2012

Nikonians membership — my most important photographic investment, after the camera

Thanks. I greatly appreciate your insightful and comprehensive breakdown. It was very helpful.

Jim

Visit my Nikonians gallery.

Visit my Nikonians gallery.

I have both a D800 and a D800e. Neither has the AF issue, both are very early copies (thanks Norman Camera). The ‘e’ is ever so slightly sharper, has a tiny bit better dynamic range (shadow detail is slightly better, so maybe this is related to ISO performance?) When printing you cannot tell the difference, it’s only going to be something (IMHO) that you’ll need/use if you’re cropping or printing billboard sized prints. I’d take the time to post side by side shots; but there are plenty of comparisons already on the internet, illustrating the subtleties. I don’t lose any sleep shooting one body versus the other.

I’ve been totally thrilled with the performance of the D800. On the flip side, you really can’t have sloppy techniques with these cameras and expect the full ‘wow factor’ results.

D800 versus D800e: I look at it this way; if it’s something that’s going to burn in the back of your mind once putting-up $3k for a body, spend the added $300, forget it and enjoy the results! Or save the $300 and know that the difference is not likely a factor to most people.



Rick Teremi