Here the 20 pages technical guide:

http://www.nikonusa.com/en_US/o/Y6wrkA9OU_z04IreazIXl_22UII/PDF/D800_TechnicalGuide_En.pdf

This tech guide alone is worth the price of admission to Nikonians. Thank you! I have an 800E on order and this tech guide tells me more about moire and the D800E than I have seen anywhere else.
Gator Bob in Gainesville FL
D700 & SB800 * D800E on order
Nikkors: *14-24 * 28-300 * PC-E 85mm *50mm 1.8
Tamron 90mm Macro

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This is pretty interesting. Rather than a real "technical guide" it is almost more of a "Look, your going to have problems if you don't learn to do this" guide.

The emphasis on how to reduce blur tells us a lot about how we need to use this camera, and how the camera is different from our D700s. High resolution brings with it additional challenges.

I suspect they are saying "Please don't send your D800 back to us telling us that some of your pictures are blurred. They are going to be blurred unless you have done the following..."

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

>I suspect they are saying "Please don't send your D800
>back to us telling us that some of your pictures are blurred.
>They are going to be blurred unless you have done the
>following..."

Since my OTHER collection is handguns, I expect no problems using D800. With film and wide lens, I have satisfactory sharp photos shot handheld at 1/4 shutter speed.

Vladimir
Russian Nikonian in Switzerland

Thank you! I just noticed this was posted elsewhere and thanked that poster; but I think yours was first. Thanks again.

Rob Puller
My Nikonians gallery

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I posted this link and I checked before I posted and don't think this post was there before mine, at least I didn't see it when I posted mine. But mine has disappeared. Whatever.

John

There, you're done.

Jim

Somewhere on another forum, discussing video DSLR one person posted up that an old time press photographer, always used f8, because he only had one shot and it had to be good.

Also in the Nikon Video forum here, early on Ric Kasnoff and others, were comfortable with f8 being the nominal norm.

So according to this guide, all of my f22 landscape (vast detail as in Death Valley) stills could have been approved by using f8?

Oh my...

Thanks,

Rob

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Looks like the old addage "f/8 and be there" certainly applies to the D800E for landscape photography......

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Notes: Lens selections.

Below are some of the lenses you can use
for enhanced sharpness:
AF-S NIKKOR 14–24 mm f/2.8G ED
AF-S NIKKOR 24–70 mm f/2.8G ED
AF-S NIKKOR 70–200 mm f/2.8G ED VR II
AF-S NIKKOR 16–35 mm f/4G ED VR
AF-S NIKKOR 24–120 mm f/4G ED VR
AF-S NIKKOR 200–400 mm f/4G ED VR II
AF-S NIKKOR 24 mm f/1.4G ED
AF-S NIKKOR 35 mm f/1.4G
AF-S NIKKOR 85 mm f/1.4G
AF-S NIKKOR 200 mm f/2G ED VR II
AF-S NIKKOR 300 mm f/2.8G ED VR II
AF-S NIKKOR 400 mm f/2.8G ED VR
AF-S NIKKOR 500 mm f/4G ED VR
AF-S NIKKOR 600 mm f/4G ED VR
AF-S Micro NIKKOR 60 mm f/2.8G ED
AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor 105 mm f/2.8G IF-ED
••••••••••••••••


All G lenses, none of the primes with iris ring for video takes. Plus glaring absence of the 50mm, 1.4 is that prone to diffraction too much? Just curious?

Also, the apertures on any (CPU?) lens can be "de clicked" digitally using I believe 1/4 step increments in camera, which may be too cumbersome for cinema folks, but good enough for bi-format stills/video jobs.


Thanks,

Rob

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Interesting technical guide. A lot of it applies to photography using any advanced DSLR. Good to read.

This statement I don't understand:

The effects of diffraction are partly influenced
by the size of the pixels in the camera image sensor...

I suspect this is nothing more than an observation that 100% viewing of a 36 MP image (fixed FX area therefore smaller pixels) is a higher magnification than with lower MP cameras and therefore blur from any source, diffraction or other, will be more noticeable.

It is good that it says the effects of diffraction because certainly diffraction is a function of the lens configuration and not other components in the camera (sensor, film, or other included).

Peter

My gallery (a work in progress): http://peterstokes.net/Exhibit

Look at the illustration on filters , half way down . E and NON- E cameras

http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/nikon-d800/nikon-d800A.HTM#lpf

Hans K.

My Gallery

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Very interesting. But if I have to think about all this instead of the subject, maybe I better keep using D3X or film for higher resolution? It's a joke, but...

Vladimir
Russian Nikonian in Switzerland

I pre-ordered a D800 and I have to say that the technical manual has made me a bit nervous about this camera. I have never seen so much emphasis on blur. Fortunately there was a little discussion about using the camera hand held, because I shoot about 70% of my shots hand held. The manual gives the impression that you will get a blurred shot if you don't use a tripod and focus using magnified live view at F8 with just the right lens. It was good to see references to high ISO and low noise in the technical manual, because it looks like we will need to be shooting at higher shutter speeds with this camera. I've been using a D300 since 2007 and rarely gotten a shot that looked blurred. I hope this camera is not limited to the studio or a tripod for landscapes.

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The lens list is making me nervous... I ordered the D800E for landscape just to find out that my 17-35 AND my 45 PC-E are both not on the list...

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I am rather curious about that list of lenses. They are all newer lenses, some with VR and some without (the very fast ones). The paragraph introducing the list talks about "sharpness", rather than "blur" although they are obviously related. Sharpness, however, may be independent of motion. I think the bottom line is that this camera takes everything to a next level at which lenses, computers, technique, knowledge of how your camera works, etc., all need to be at a matching level to get the best out of the camera.

I still think this entire "technical manual" (which it really isn't) is all about "please don't send your camera back to us because you are getting lousy results."


"With cameras like the D800E, which are suited to visually
complex subjects, it is important to get as much sharpness
from the lens as possible. Contrast at the periphery of the image can generally be increased by choosing an aperture two
or three stops from the maximum, although results will vary
from lens to lens. Below are some of the lenses you can use
for enhanced sharpness:"

AF-S NIKKOR 14–24 mm f/2.8G ED
AF-S NIKKOR 24–70 mm f/2.8G ED
AF-S NIKKOR 70–200 mm f/2.8G ED VR II
AF-S NIKKOR 16–35 mm f/4G ED VR
AF-S NIKKOR 24–120 mm f/4G ED VR
AF-S NIKKOR 200–400 mm f/4G ED VR II
AF-S NIKKOR 24 mm f/1.4G ED
AF-S NIKKOR 35 mm f/1.4G
AF-S NIKKOR 85 mm f/1.4G
AF-S NIKKOR 200 mm f/2G ED VR II
AF-S NIKKOR 300 mm f/2.8G ED VR II
AF-S NIKKOR 400 mm f/2.8G ED VR
AF-S NIKKOR 500 mm f/4G ED VR
AF-S NIKKOR 600 mm f/4G ED VR
AF-S Micro NIKKOR 60 mm f/2.8G ED
AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor 105 mm f/2.8G IF-E

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

>The lens list is making me nervous... I ordered the D800E
>for landscape just to find out that my 17-35 AND my 45 PC-E
>are both not on the list...


Well I only own 1 lens on the list. With that being said I have some very good lens that work great on my D7K. I think Nikon is trying to get ahead of the curve after all of the stuff they went through with the D7000.

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>my 17-35 AND my 45 PC-E are both not on the list...

Both are I expect both to be great for D800. Obviously probably better than 24-120/4 from the list (which is definitely usable).

Vladimir
Russian Nikonian in Switzerland

>Both are great for D800. Obviously better than 24-120/4 from
>the list (which is definitely usable).

It's dangerous to appear so definite until the lenses have actually been used on a production D800/D800E.

Brian
Welsh Nikonian
Check out the Nikonians Team pages

OK I have edited my posting. At least I am sure about AF-S 17-35/2.8D, Tessar MAY have telecentricity problem with smaller photosites. But I am afraid the main purpose of the list is to sell more latest and greatest to us (as if we were not saving every penny for NAS). Where are extremely sharp 105/2 DC and 135/2 DС?

Vladimir
Russian Nikonian in Switzerland

>OK I have edited my posting. At least I am sure about AF-S
>17-35/2.8D, Tessar MAY have telecentricity problem with
>smaller photosites. But I am afraid the main purpose of the
>list is to sell more latest and greatest to us (as if we were
>not saving every penny for NAS). Where are extremely sharp
>105/2 DC and 135/2 DС?
**********************************************************************

I agree with you there!
Just where are these DC lens?
I own both, and there cannot be a sharper lens than either of these two.
Perry

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I think this will be an issue if you view or print close to 100%. I don't think it will be noticeable for smaller prints or if only minor cropping is needed.
I could be wrong but I don't think the issue would be different in a 16 MP crop sensor.

Jay Newmark
A Chicago Nikonian

Did you notice this statement?

>>When recording movies, the D800E off ers similar resolution
>>to the D800. Choose the camera that best suits your style.

I do stills, but have been debating whether I might do more movies with this camera and if so whether the D800E might be a poor choice since post processing is not readily available.

This comment is rather out of the blue and unexplained. Has anyone seen anything else from Nikon? I would have thought the "E" might be a problem with patterns in view in video mode.

Comments welcomed on pictures: Http://captivephotons.com

Indeed, I didn't pay notice to that statement - but it is strange. Could it be related to the concern many gave words to the last days that moire is very hard to handle in video?
Is Nikon saying: moire is not a problem in video? Could it be that the software in the camera takes care for that?

I take it to mean - given that 1080p HD video is basically a 2MP image - that 36MP is downsampled so far that you're not going to notice any difference between D800 & D800E at that resolution.

Larry - a Bay Area Nikonian
My Nikonians gallery

www.tempered-light.com

A photographer who is using good technique today, and know the strengths and weaknesses of his lenses and uses them accordingly (no matter what those lenses are) will be just fine with the D800. Yes it will require top notch technique to make full use of 36MP and to see a noticeable improvement over 12MP (and why else would anybody upgrade to 36MP if not to improve his results).

Nikon published this guide as a precaution against casual users who will shoot this new camera with something like the 24-120/3.5-5.6 lens wide open and hand-held at 1/20s and then look at the image corner at 100% crop at his monitor, and then complain, post threads, return the camera or send it to Nikon service for adjustment.

As for the lens list, these are just examples of lenses that will work well with the D800. And I also detect a bit of marketing here - why not encourage a D800 buyer to also buy some new Nikon lenses? Once the camera is out, this list will be very easy to disprove by shooting some $50 lens (like the Nikon 50mm f/1.8 AI) which at f/8 will without any doubt provide stunning resolution even for 36MP. Or if you want to "splurge" invest in the Nikon 50mm f/1.8G which at $220 will out-resolve this and future even higher MP bodies.

Tom
Bay Area Nikonian

http://www.tkphoto.me/

Well said Tom. I think you are "spot on".

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OH NO. None of my lenses is on the list..... I cannot use a D800 and get a good result

I'm sure the guide will help lot's of users to get the best out of their new camera.
Anyone having problems with blur shooting hand held should check out Joe McNallys Da grip
http://www.joemcnally.com/blog/2008/03/10/da-grip/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDsx3-FWfwk

While I only have one lens on that list (105/2.8G AFS VR Micro), I find that the advice in the guide is essentially the same as I used when first learning photography with a film camera.

I also believe my top lenses will still do good on the camera:

17-35/2.8 AFS
28-70/2.8 AFS
80-200/2.8 AFS
200/4 AF micro
300/4 AFS
105/2.8G AFS VR micro

As to the rest of my lenses, stop them down to f8 and I believe I will get great images with them.

Shoot nature with respect and don't trample it or startle its inhabitants.

Jumping in on this chat, am somewhat concerned. Have a D800 on order, upgrading from D300 (want to transition to FX), with principal lens the 24-120/F4. Most pictures taken are hand held. Do I need to employ live view to get non-blurry images, or can a technique using auto ISO, using a "good" aperture setting result, and good hand hold technique result in good/sharp images? Or am I just overanalyzing this? Thanks

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OK, here is my take on this. I also have the 24-120 F4 and I'm also concerned that I may not get as sharp images from the D800 as I do on my D700. But I think it's how you determine what sharp is and what media you are outputting to. Most of my shots end up on the internet and a few get burnt to a disc at hi-res for future printing. I'm not too worried about the internet shots, I'm sure I'll get nice crisp looking images from the D800 after downsizing. As for the hi-res printable images, I'll have to be more careful when taking these.
On my D700 I can get away with shooting hand held images at 1/100 second at 100mm without the VR on, but I doubt I'll get away with it on the D800. I think with good hand holding technique and a higher shutter speed than I'd normally use will be the ticket with the D800.
I shoot a lot of models with off camera speedlights at focal lengths between 24mm and 150mm (my 24-120 F4 is my go to lens for this) and I don't think I'll have to change much here. I normally shoot at 1/200 second for indoor/studio work and rarely go below 1/100 second for outdoor shoots, depending on ambient light. I have no intentions of using a tripod for the model shoots, they are moving just as much as I am (shake wise) and the flash "should" help freeze any minor movement.
I will start off shooting the D800 like a DX camera, where shutter speed should be at least 1.5 x the focal length or higher. I very rarely use a tripod and I'd like to keep it that way! But when I do use the tripod, I normally use a shutter release cable and exposure delay mode and I'm sure this will work just as well on the D800.

The way I see it is, I have the D800 on pre-order and I do intend taking delivery of it. So I will learn how to use it properly and how to get the best out of it.

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