The price rise by Nikon I personally doubt was due to an internal error. The rise coincided quite neatly with the release of DXOMarks lab testing of the D800, which gave the camera the highest score ever achieved. My guess is that on the strength of those numbers, Nikon decided they could squeeze a few more quid out of their customers. Annoying? Definitely! They even make you pay a couple hundred quid more for the D800E, which has the low pass filter removed. Pay more for less - the power of marketing
I agree with Oldboy though. 36MP is well into the realms of medium format resolutions, and although you aren't going to achieve the same depths of field that a Hassleblad, Mamiya or Leaf sensor is capable of delivering, the results are by all accounts still pretty spectacular.
£2600 is a lot of money to lay out for any camera body but, like Oldboy says, try finding a brand new medium format camera for that kind of cash. Add another 0 to that £2600 and you might lol.
Even with the price hike, the D800 still offers incredible value for what it is. Aside from the thumping great resolving powers it has, the low light ISO capabilities are almost identical to that of the D4. The dynamic range of the D800 is also well above the D4 up until ISO400 at 14.4EV. For photographers that shoot landscapes and studio portraits and those that print HUGE copies of their work, the D800 really does look something quite special. For sports and Paparazzi the D4 is going to be the weapon of choice. The FPS and buffering on that camera is just insane.
Not that any of the above will affect me any time soon. Unless that big golden finger in the sky points at me with a huge cheque from Camelot, I'll be rocking the D90 for a while to come yet.