I am sure this has been asked and discussed to no end, and if so please point me to the discussion.

All I know of the difference is the claim that the D800e is 'Optimized' for shooting NEF format.
(Don't we all use NEF format most of the time?)
I certainly do!

So can someone spell out the difference between these two cameras for me?
Or at least as much as is known about the subject at this point in time.
Thank you,
Perry

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>All I know of the difference is the claim that the D800e is
>'Optimized' for shooting NEF format.

That's a dramatic oversimplification. Basically the E has an anti-aliasing filter which cancels its own effect, as opposed to the D800 which has a traditional anti-aliasing filter.

The anti-aliasing filter's job is to blur details which occur at about the frequency of the sensor's pixel pitch, which is to say, the smallest level of detail the sensor is capable of recording. The purpose of the filter is to prevent unnatural moiré patterns from occurring in fine-grained repeating patterns like fabric or window screens.

As you might imagine, images from the E should be sharper out of camera, with a risk of moiré. It's debatable whether the additional detail recorded by the E is even real, or if the D800's files can't recover to a similar level of sharpness through post-processing.

My take, if you're shooting things with fabrics or architecture, get the D800. If you're shooting things like landscapes, then you might consider the E.

Here's the ongoing thread discussing these issues:

"To E or not to E" (clever)
http://www.nikonians.org/forums/dcboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=226&topic_id=36031&mesg_id=36031&page=2


Larry - a Bay Area Nikonian
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I'd say get the E for Architecture, I currently use a Medium Format Digital Back for my Architecture shoots, It has no AA Filter and I rarely have a problem with Moire.

I think the real limiting factor here may be the Glass, the samples on the nikon site of the E are a bit underwhelming to my eye when compared to the files from my 22pm back shot through Rollei (schnieder) glass.

Believe me I would much rather use a Nikon DSLR for that stuff IF it was as good as the MFDB file or even very close...when viewed at 100% the samples are much softer and lack the detail of the MFDB files at 22MP.

Now I normally would not even compare the two but Nikon brought it up ! I will most likely rent a D800E when they come out and do a proper test...Here's hoping !

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Thank you both guys and that helps me make my choice.
I now have the D800e on pre-order from B&H.
Sometime in mid April (at present) is B&H's best guess for arrival.
Perry

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Hi,

I understand the D800 has anti-aliasing capabilities and the D800E does not. Most of the posts I've read from people imply that the D800E is so much sharper without anti-aliasing. Am I correct in saying that the D800E is the first Nikon without anti-aliasing? If so are they also implying that images from prior Nikon cameras have soft focusing? I find it hard to believe that to be true! How much different can the sharpness be between a D800 & D800E?

I'm not very technical regarding this subject and want to understand what is the difference before I purchase this camera. Until this camera was announced by Nikon I read very little about anti-aliasing . . . what is true vs. splitting hairs by some so called experts?


Also I currently have AF-S Nikkor 18-200mm 1:3.5-5.6 G ED lens - will it work on a D800?

Thanks for your help.

Jim

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>Hi,
>
>I understand the D800 has anti-aliasing capabilities and the
>D800E does not. Most of the posts I've read from people imply
>that the D800E is so much sharper without anti-aliasing.

The anti-aliasing filter is a piece of glass over the sensor that "blurs" the image slightly.

>Am I
>correct in saying that the D800E is the first Nikon without
>anti-aliasing?

As far as I am aware, yes.


>If so are they also implying that images from
>prior Nikon cameras have soft focusing?

They are implying that the images from previous cameras would have been sharper without the filter. That is true of any camera with an imaging sensor.


>I find it hard to
>believe that to be true! How much different can the sharpness
>be between a D800 & D800E?
If you print a 16x20, you'll probably need a magnifier to see the difference. If you print a 32x40 and stand REAL close, you can see it.. maybe.


>what is true vs. splitting
>hairs by some so called experts?

What is true is that Nikon cameras have put images on the cover of probably ever major magazine I can think of with the anti-aliasing filter in place. That's good enough for me.

>Also I currently have AF-S Nikkor 18-200mm 1:3.5-5.6 G ED lens
>- will it work on a D800?

Yep.

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

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Scott Kelby, a dedicated Nikon user, covered this topic very nicely in his blog. I won't tell you which way he went... you will have to read it and find out!

Here's the link: http://scottkelby.com/2012/24632/

Cheers,
Frederic in Montréal

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