Camera Labs

I think the 70-200/2.8 VRII is good for 1.4x TC max on a 12MP DX body. On a 16MP DX-body I'd suggest to abstain from a TC at all. The same should be true on a D800.
I'm not saying the 70-200/2.8 VRII is a weak lens. On the contrary! It is just not ideally suited for TCs on bodies with pixel densities of a D7000 or a D800 imho.

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Thomas (beware: Nikon-fanboy and moderator!) My Lens Reviews, My Pictures, My Photography Blog
D800+assorted lenses

I appreciate all of the great input. I am trying the combo with my d300s in hopes of replacing my overly-cumbersome prime lenses. I know there won't be the level of performance that I am used to, but was hoping to have a hand-holdable solution superior to the Sigma 150-500 OS.

If it really is bad, I'll trade the TC for credit against the Wimberly that I will need for a 500 f4 that I've been eyeing. (Though I will wait to see how that works on the d800 as well. I suspect that current generation lenses will be showing their upper limits.)

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Nikon D700/D300s/Nikon 70-200 VRII/Nikon 85mm 1.4/Nikon 50mm 1.4/Nikon 28-105mm MACRO/Nikon 300mm 2.8/Sigma 150-500mm OS/Nikon SB600/Studio lighting/Canon S5 IS

I have been taking pictures with a Nikon since 1986. Then it was an FE and F3. I got an inspection contract on an existing bridge, and the contract required that I provide photographs of many parts of this four lane 6300' long structure.

I bought the F3 and a Nikkor 55mm 1:2.8 Micro. So, now I was a professional photographer that had to wait a few days to find out if what I had shot was useful, or if I had to go back and re-shoot.

Fast forward over thirty years of shooting that F3 all over the world, and using only Kodachrome 25 or Fuji 50, always have to wait on processing to see what I had.

In 2009 I wondered it digital camera's had progressed to the point of approaching the resolution of Kodachrome 25, so I bought a Nikon D90. The answer was no. Last year I sold it and bought a D7000. Still no. Now it is being sold.

I have ordered a D800E. Just maybe I'll get to see colors and resolution to rival Fuji 50. That would be answered prayer.

Good luck with that. I feel like you're comparing apples to digital oranges.



So far I'm diggin the high iso performance. It definitely looks $2000 better than the d7000 especially in the high ISO area.

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Hi dhale,

Fantastic. I hope that you find time outside normal working hours to share your experience with the D800E. No AA filter would be a problem for some and a blessing for others (I think I'd fall in the latter camp) and a comparison between IQ from Kodachrome 25 and the D800E will be a fascinating read.

Bob.

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OM-D E-M5 + ED 12-50mm, H-PS14042E, H-F007014E, L-RS014150E, M.ZUIKO DIGITAL 45mm 1:1.8.
Gitzo GT1541T, Arca-Swiss Z1 DP ball-head.
Astrophotography: TEC 140 'scope, FLI ML16803 camera, ASA DDM60 Pro mount.

Mr. Anderson,

I really wish there could be a direct comparison of digital to film. I do not have the equipment to do that. I like to print each at 20" x 30" and compare. If I scan the film slide and compare that, it obviously is not a direct comparison.

I shot some stuff at Yellowstone NP last summer with the D7000 and Nikkor 70-200mm 1:2.8 VR II. It is amazing how good that stuff looks. Even at 100% crop images out of the D7000 look really good.

I have been planning this move to FX for three years. So, I have bought all FX lenses except two. I am selling them now, but I may keep the Nikkor 10-24mm DX. I really like that lens.

Thank you for the comments.

Hi dhale,

I didn't express myself too well. I was just picking up on your comment about Kodachrome 25 and hoping that the D800E will be your "answered prayer".

Bob.

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OM-D E-M5 + ED 12-50mm, H-PS14042E, H-F007014E, L-RS014150E, M.ZUIKO DIGITAL 45mm 1:1.8.
Gitzo GT1541T, Arca-Swiss Z1 DP ball-head.
Astrophotography: TEC 140 'scope, FLI ML16803 camera, ASA DDM60 Pro mount.

About date of delivery: Currently NikonRumors quotes "According to Yodobashi camera (Japan) the Nikon D800 will start shipping on March 22nd, the D800E on April 12, 2012"
That doesn't bode well for delivery in Europe as the transport should add a few days in all countries.
In the UK Amazon is listing delivery date (for the D800) as March 26th. That seems to look OK.
FYI: 22nd of March is a Thursday, 26th a Monday.
Let's keep our fingers crossed that there's no delay.

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Thomas (beware: Nikon-fanboy and moderator!) My Lens Reviews, My Pictures, My Photography Blog
D800+assorted lenses

And another word from the wise (Thom Hogan) re moire:
"Shooting in and around cities and shooting people that aren't nude makes you susceptible to moire. Moreover, you're not likely to see it at capture time: you'd need to be constantly zooming the playback on the LCD to see it, and 36mp is a pretty big mess of pixels to try to examine closely on the 3.2" LCD. Simply put: removing moire is way harder than adding perceived acuity through sharpening. Way."
That fits nicely with what I think...

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Thomas (beware: Nikon-fanboy and moderator!) My Lens Reviews, My Pictures, My Photography Blog
D800+assorted lenses

Here's to Camera Labs, my favorite photo site! I went through the Camera Labs links today and bought a Nikon 50MM 1.8 lens, Nikon 77mm ND and Polarizing filter set, 52-77mm adapter to mount the filters on the 50mm lens, all at Adorama ~$325. This purchase pretty much closes the door on the 5D2 and Fuji x Pro 1....for now. If you get a minute, have a look at the learning center on the adorama site. The D4 review includes noteworthy example images to say the very least.

I decided the D700 had the IQ edge over the 5D2 here at Camera Labs some time ago so for me, Nikon it is. I've been hunting for a good deal on a D700. Craigs list prices are hanging around $2K for bodies with 8 to 20K clicks in the LA area- somewhat higher on ebay. Unless I find a D700 15Kclicks/$1,500 by early May, I'm in for the D800.
I spent some time on the D800/e site with the 800 vs 800e stone walk way shot blown up side by side in two firefox windows. For me, the increase in fidelity (mostly edges of things) of the e is not worth the risk of moiré.

The hunt for a full frame is revealing some 5D2 price decay. Near new examples under 10K clicks for ~$1,800 are pretty much a daily thing on craigs list. d800 killer on the way?

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I wish you luck: Either finding a cheap D700 or getting yourself a brand-spanking new D800, MrCliff!
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I've found an interesting tidbit about mirror-up mode in the 20 page D800 Technical Guide from Nikon:
Mirror-up seems to have a new twist: You can set
Exposure-Delay Mode from off to 1...3 seconds. The system will then delay the exposure after you pressed the release-button a 2nd time so that the system (camera+lens+tripod) has more time to settle. Which is irrelevant if you use a remote release.
And everything will be w/o blur...
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P.S.: the current family of bodies can only have exposure delay OFF or ON at 1 second (fixed).

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Thomas (beware: Nikon-fanboy and moderator!) My Lens Reviews, My Pictures, My Photography Blog
D800+assorted lenses

Other nice findings in that guide:
"Resolution can be improved by disabling high ISO noise reduction (page 11), particularly at low ISO sensitivities." And I thought the camera would do this automatically
And here's one that took me a bit longer to digest. It is about tweaking the minimum shutter speed in the improved Auto ISO sensitivity control, that now can automatically adapt the min shutter speed depending on focal length of lens (p. 12):
"choose whether the camera gives priority to shutter speed (Slower) or ISO sensitivity (Faster) when Auto is selected."
Hmm: I would have expected that giving shutter speed a priority in effect means that the shutter times will tend to be faster (and thus ISO higher) in this setting

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Thomas (beware: Nikon-fanboy and moderator!) My Lens Reviews, My Pictures, My Photography Blog
D800+assorted lenses

Any insite as to how the user stores settings and then quickly recalls them? I use and adjust the U1 and U2 user config selector on the P90 often. Wonder how to do the equivalent with the D800.

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Photo Taker for ~30 years.
Books: The Art of Photography- Barnbaum, Photographically Speaking- duChemin.
@Clifford Rourke on Twitter, Clifford Rourke on Google Plus

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In your profile signature, click on BBCode ( linked under options ) and read up!
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Afaik the manual is only available in Japanese up to now, unfortunately.
So we would not know for some time, unless a reader does the translation...
Anybody?

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Thomas (beware: Nikon-fanboy and moderator!) My Lens Reviews, My Pictures, My Photography Blog
D800+assorted lenses

Thomas, where did you see it? This is what I read and it seemed to me that he was actually preferring just a regular D800: