Nikon D800

[xavier]

Originally Posted by Ashleyj

The question you have to ask yourself is - are you happy with your current camera? If so then why do you feel the need to constantly upgrade?

Personally I am more than happy with my D90 and I can't see myself ever being in a position where I feel limited by it. At the moment the only reason I would buy a new body would be if I damaged or lost my current one.

It's the same with software, if the current version does all you want it to then why keep upgrading with the resultant cost in time and money.

I have a D40 myself and find good for what I want, but its been discontinued in favour for sume thig with more bells & whisteles

[James Blonde]

Thats the way of the world - it progresses and moves on. If it didn't, we'd still be living in caves! I doubt many people will buy a new camera every time the latest one comes out - if they do, they have more money than sense! However with a 36mp sensor, this sounds like a decent jump in capability from Nikon, and I'd say would encourage many people to upgrade from higher end <12mp cameras

I'm quite happy with my camera at the moment, but at some point my D90 will stop working, and I'll probably be looking at a step-change upgrade, rather than an equivalent upgrade (although the D7000 does muddy the waters somewhat!)

[MattUK]

Looks like it might be announced Oct 26th

[thefonz78]

Canon announced the new 1d with 18mp. d800 rumoured to have 36mp. It's unusual for a Nikon to have more mp than a canon cameras. Canon have always been all about mp and nikon iso performance. Mybe the d800 will have it all!

[BarryH1]

When I returned to serious hobby photography after years of dipping in and out, as a wildlfe and Bird photographer and wanted to go DSLR rather than digiscoping I went the Nikon route for ISO performance. I started with the D300 and was then lucky enough to be able to afford a D3s. Perfect Combo for me and will probably see me out unless I can resist temptation.

[amk1977]

I'm not sure how the it stacks up against the new Canon 1Dx yet, but the D3s is currently the ISO king, so I should imagine you are happy with the D3s Barry lol (yes I am jealous much!). I would like to upgrade from my D90, to a D7000 or full frame, as I do find the ISO limiting on it, especially for low light/natural light portraiture. At about ISO800 the noise begins to creep in. Not so much a problem in the past as I've mainly done monochrome images and the noise adds an almost film grain quality to the image. Since I've been moving into colour a bit more lately, I'd love something like a D3s which would give me much more freedom to get that shutter speed up when needed, without losing IQ.

As for the D800, it sounds awesome and if the 36mp sensor is indeed correct, then it certainly will prove popular with landscape and studio photographers, especially if its around the £2000. Even the D3x (£5k+) is "only" 24MP. I certainly hope they have overhauled the video capabilities to rival, if not supercede the 5D MKII.

I won't hold my breath to it being announced until next year though. After Fukushima and the flooding in Thailand, which left the Nikon factory under 2m of water, I shouldn't imagine they will be in a position to start rolling them out until production capabilities are back to normal.

[BarryH1]

I also hope any new replacements for D300/700 and D3 will still use the same or compatable battery sizes and for the former two the same Battery grip.

[amk1977]

I wouldn't hold out much hope, Barry. Invariably new models mean incompatibility and something else for Nikon to sell you. At most, Nikon seem gracious enough to make a battery grip spanning one model and its successor (as well as other models released at around the same time), before an entirely new grip/battery system is required. I highly suspect the D400/D800 will be using the newer EN-EL15, as featured in the D7000, which has eclipsed the older EN-EL3e found in the D80/ D90, D200/D300/D700.

As for the D4, the EN-EL4a featured in the D3, is a powerful battery at 2500Mah and may be sufficient for its new replacement. Still, those have been used in the D2x and D3x and if Nikon follows its pattern, this may very well be overhauled too, with the possibility of seeing something nearer the 3Ah mark and of course, a different shape to boot.

Grips and batteries aren't cheap, especially for the D3 series. Looking at the prices of a genuine Nikon EN-EL4a, I can totally appreciate why you hope the grip and batteries remain compatible!

[Dorsetman]

Firstly you are all saying about Nikon upgrading which can only be a good thing. Technology moves quickly and those at the front have to progress fastest. The point is as well as offering its loyal customers better products which Nikon always have lets not forget that there are more Canon owners and they want as many of them to buy as possible.

As for the spec of the D800, it seems to me with that many MP they are looking at the landscape photography market which is what the heavy enthusiast seems to be turning his hand to more. I agree with what they are doing and I use a similarly specced Pentax 645 for the same thing. I have used it in my studio also but still love my Hasselblad for the main studio body of work. That said I still maintain that most people will never use a camera to its maximum limits and that spending so much money on a camera is pointless. I therefore agree that the likes of the D90 or D7000 are more than enough for most and will give you amazing pictures. My advice is buy better glass!

[jet_kit]

It's taken a while Matt, but here it is.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/indepth/...kon-d800-d800e

The D800 comes in at US$3,000