Nikon DSLR D800 Features

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Nikon D800 Features

Nikon’s upcoming D800 announcement is a game changer for modern digital photography. The D800 features a new 36MP sensor. At a $3899 price tag, it will put serious pressure on the medium format camera industry. Nikon has already demonstrated superiority with high ISO in their D3, D700, and D3s. Now the D800 will demonstrate superiority with high resolution imagery. One can only imagine what the D4 will bring to the table.

Unfortunately the D800 won’t improve much on the D700’s ISO capability. In fact, I suspect it will be slightly worse. But what can you expect when you cram all those pixels on one 35mm sensor. I’m sure the processed JPEGs will look clean with the new Expeed processing. Also, the D800 will be able to shoot at ISO 50 and unlike the D700, the base ISO will be 100 instead of 200. Overall the D800 sensor will be less sensitive than the D700s.

It also improves on the D700 viewfinder coverage. Unlike the D3, the D700 had a 95% viewfinder coverage. This left out the outer edges when looking into the viewfinder. Composition is more precise with a 100% viewfinder, and the viewable difference is noticeable.

The D700’s autofocus system was state of the art in 2008, with a 51 point autofocus system. So why do we need an improved autofocus? The D800 will improve the autofocus capability in low light situations along with better accuracy. The D800 will feature an 86 thousand split control autofocus, metering, white-balance system.

The screen will be larger than Nikon’s popular 3” LCD display. Additionally, it will be brighter with adjustments to control brightness. I suspect this will work well for macro and landscape use using live view to ensure precise focusing.

View Finder: 95% coverage (of full FX frame, not the tiny DX frame), 0.72x with 50mm lens. (D3 is 0.7x and 100% coverage.) . 18mm eyepoint. Inferior finder for DX lenses; the D800 doesn’t crop the finder as does the D3.

Electronic Level: Yes, electronic virtual horizon, just like D3X.

AF: 51 points. CAM3500FX sensor array (same as D3X). Fine-tuning, if you have slight errors with certain lenses.

Shutter: 1/8,000 ~ 30 sec, bulb. Carbon fiber and Kevlar, tested to 150,000 cycles.

Flash Sync: 1/250.

Frame Rate: 3 FPS. 5 FPS in DX mode.

Built-in Flash: GN 39/12 (Feet/meters at ISO 100). Controls wireless flash.

Sensor: 24MP CMOS, same as D3X. 14-bit linear ADC, 16-bit data pipelines, as the D3X. 12-channel parallel readout.

Sensor Size: FX (23.9 x 36mm) and cropped DX, just like D3X. No professional 5:4 mode.

Live View: two modes.

Resolution: 24MP in FX, 10MP in DX.

FX (24 x 36mm): 6,048 x 4,032 (L), 4,544 x 3,024 (M) and 3,024 x 2,016 (S).

DX (16 x 24mm): 3,968 x 2,640 (L), 2,976 x 1,976 (M), 1,984 x 1,320 (S).

ISO: 50 ~ 6,400. Nikon really only want you using ISO 100 ~ 1,600, so lower ISOs are read as gibberish like “Lo-1″ and higher ISOs are coded as garbage like “HI+2.”

File Formats: JPG, TIF, NEF. NEF in 12- or 14-bit with no, lossy or lossless compression.

Rear LCD: Exquisite 3,” 920,000 pixels. HDMI HD output, but it uses a screwy, non-standard mini HDMI connector.

Storage: Single CF card. Too bad; I love the in-camera backup of the D3′s dual card slots.

Data Communication: USB. Optional WT-4 wireless and ethernet.

Optional Macho-Man Grip: MB-D10, same as D700.

Power: EN-EL3e, standard; same as D700, D200, D300, etc.

Size: 5.8 x 4.8 x 3.0″ (147 x 123 x 77mm).

Weight: 35.1 oz. (995g) without battery, card, strap, monitor cover or lens.

Clearly the D800 is an impressive release from Nikon. With new mega pixel capability, 1080p/30fps FX video, and new autofocus system, it is pushing into new boundaries unforeseen before, all this at a reasonable price tag.

Nikon has exceptional quality and reliability. The new D800 will be rated and tested at a 200,000 shutter count. This exceeds its predecessor, the D700, which was 150K.Source: driverdownload.com