Nikon D800 official release, 36MP..

[Steve U]

Just received an email to pre-order this in Australia, very impressive specs.
How is Canon going to respond.
http://camerapro.net.au/nikon-d800-a...er-p-4933.html

Open link and click on specifications, not bad.
Come on Canon, where is your 5DX???

[Rocco]

Ruh Roh! Nikon made a bad decision. Look at and zoom around on their full res sample images. Looks pretty okay for the ISO 100 images.. But look at the ISO 640 and even the ISO 320.. Reminds me a bit of my 7D in lower light. Should you REALLY have to put up with that on a $3,000 camera? Here's hoping the next 5D stays around 22mp.

http://imaging.nikon.com/lineup/dslr/d800/sample01.htm

[ham]

My first thoughts:

HOLY EFF, 36MP!

My second thoughts:

Surely anyone with a real need for that kind of resolution will be looking at medium-format?

[Dr Croubie]

My first thought...
"A 51-point AF system for improved subject acquisition and focus performance under dim lighting. In addition, 11 focus points (five at center with an addition three to each side) are fully functional when lenses with a maximum aperture of f/8 are used."

Take that, 1DX.

Also:
Continuous shooting at 4 (FX-format/5 : 4 image area) or 5 (DX-format/1.2x image area) fps*
*When powered by a Rechargeable Li-ion Battery EN-EL15
When the MB-D12 is mounted on the D800, high-speed continuous shooting at approximately 6 fps* using the DX-format image area is possible.

So given you need to add a battery grip to increase the fps like other nikons, and it does dx-cropping to get to 6fps, it's not much faster than a 5D2 for the most part.

• CompactFlash and SD dual memory card slots
• Support for SuperSpeed USB (USB 3.0)

Nice, but I just bought a nice usb3.0 card reader for $20, so don't care.

[neuroanatomist]

15 MP and 6 FPS APS-C mode - definitely adequate for birds/wildlife, then coupled with multiple cross-type AF points at f/8, a wash with the 7D? A lot more resolution than the 5DII, ISO range equal to the 5DII, remains to be seen if ISO noise and DR follow the Nikon pattern of being better than Canon, but if ISO 3200 has the same noise at 36 MP as the 5DII at 21 MP, it's a win for Nikon.

I wasn't particularly interested in a 1D IV, because the APS-H sensor is not the sort of compromise between FF and APS-C that I am looking for. OTOH, a high-res FF sensor coupled with good AF and a decent frame rate - that's my ideal compromise between the two. To me, it seems that the D800 would successfully replace both my 5DII and 7D, and do it for less money.

@Rocco - you may be falling into the common trap of looking at images at 100% for comparison. That's why lots of people complain that their new 7D sucks because it's so much noisier than their old 40D. An 18 MP image from the 7D does look noisier than the 40D's 10 MP image when both are viewed at 100% - you're viewing a much smaller area of the 7D's image. To compare fairly, downsample the higher res image - the 18 MP image, downsampled to 10 MP, looks cleaner than the 40D. So...what does a 36 MP D800 image downsampled to 21 MP look like?

Those were my subsequent thoughts. My first thought? Honestly...a bit of remorse that my thousands of dollars worth of Canon lenses won't work with the D800.

[Sean Setters]

Neuro, go back to bed. The remorse will get lost in that wonderful morning sleep.

What I'm most disappointed in most is that the newly announced 24-70mm f/2.8 L II doesn't have IS. Canon = FAIL.

[Steve U]

Those were my subsequent thoughts. My first thought? Honestly...a bit of remorse that my thousands of dollars worth of Canon lenses won't work with the D800.

Potential fire sale, L glass must be sold???? LOL.
If the D800E is as good as some people think, do you think Canon might have a rethink about the 5DMK3 or 5DX, if it is significantly behind or below in spec to this offering from Nikon? Would they have time to make changes?
Will people start wishing for an upgrade of the 5DMK3, before it is even released?
Any thoughts?

[HDNitehawk]

I think we just got a preview of the 5D III (or whatever number they use as the next generation)
To match this, Canon will have a 36mp, 6fps camera with the AF system of the 1D IV. We should see the release in the next month. That is my prediction.

[neuroanatomist]

I sure hope so, Rick. It would save me a lot of money on a 1D X!

[HDNitehawk]

I sure hope so, Rick. It would save me a lot of money on a 1D X!

If Canon planned on waiting for the 5D III release for after the 1D X, this will force Canon to rethink that plan. If they do not answer soon it will be a major marketing win for Nikon.

Provided Canon has an answer for this, and I think they do, it appears to be what they were posturing for with the 1D X replacing the 1D IV. (and the 1D X appearing to not fully replace the 1Ds III)