Ming Thien, one of my favorite writers and photographers, posted a "mid-term report" about the D800. I think he is right on - worth a read for sure.
It's the top post at his blog today:
http://blog.mingthein.com/

Dennis

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An interesting read, especially his conclusions as to who should buy which camera.

I do agree about focus. WHen it's on, it's on; but sometimes it misses — by a little or a lot. I'm not sure why; it is not repeatable. Bottom line is the D800e does not quite as reliable as by D3s in this regard.

But I still love it.

Jon Kandel
A New York City Nikonian and Team Member
Please visit my website and critique the images!

It seems overly dramatic to me in many ways. I don't find either the D800 or D800e terribly difficult to use, and I seem to enjoy the camera much more than he does.

Rick Walker

My photos:
GeoVista Photography

Download from our library of Image Doctor podcasts here

I agree about the enjoyment. What's your take on focus?

Jon Kandel
A New York City Nikonian and Team Member
Please visit my website and critique the images!

The focus seems very similar to other higher-end Nikon bodies to me and maybe a little quicker to lock-on. I definitely haven't noticed any strangeness in this area.

Rick Walker

My photos:
GeoVista Photography

Download from our library of Image Doctor podcasts here

Interesting read, and I tend to agree with most of it.

Hand held, though is quite doable, if you keep the shutter speed up (which means abandoning ISO 100 a lot). I do find the focusing to be fine. The Dynamic Range is impressive.

But I agree, the D3s is a more forgiving camera, and certainly better at higher ISO in terms of noise control. When you don't need huge files, it may be a better choice.

Mick
http://www.mickklassphoto.com
or
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As I understand it, Ming Thein had a left-focus issue with his 800E. It was sent in for repairs around July and then returned to him. He seems to be satisfied with it, but I'm wondering if it was repaired to the same level of performance as a manufactured 800E that does not have left-focus issues.

In fact, based on reading other posts, I'm wondering if a rock solid repair for left-focus/related issues is in place at Nikon repair facilities.

Nick (Roxbury, Connecticut Nikonian)

I really like his photography. His Monet water lilies from Japan are very nice. I love his street stuff.

I didn't realize the D600 fixed the LiveView issue for studio photographers. Would like to know more. ""If you shoot manual exposure, live view mode always shows you a preview of the actual exposure. Guess what this means if you’ve got things set up for a studio strobe exposure with zero ambient: a black frame! You’ll have to toggle back and forth between P and M modes to focus, which wastes time and is unnecessary – especially since they fixed this on the D600. I hope it’s something that gets addressed in a future firmware update. Or, at least give us an option…

I don't get why people tout Power Aperture - it doesn't work whilst I am recording. It works before hitting record and after stopping recording. Did Nikon forget something here or I am continuing to miss something?

I didn't agree with his next blurb down, about dials and controls at all. Or his last bit, how can one not bond with this camera!!!!

Best regards, SteveK

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