The excitement surrounding the announcement of the full frame Nikon D800 has been unprecedented.

One of the key topics of conversation about the new camera has been its class-leading effective pixel count of 36.3 million – perhaps proving that the pixel race is not over, and that numbers still really grab the headlines.

Could such a high pixel count be the D800′s undoing though? Until recently Nikon’s mantra had been that 12-million pixels is enough if the images are clean, and Nikon has a strong reputation for its cameras’ low-light performance and noise control. Could 36-million pixels be a step too far, too soon?

Features
Although it has a more densely populated sensor, the 36.3Mp D800 utilises many of the new features of the previously announced 16.2Mp D4 in a smaller body and at a cheaper price.

These include the same EXPEED 3 processor, the same Multi-Cam 3500 FX autofocus system, which offers 51 autofocus points and the same 91k-pixel metering system.

It’s also capable of focusing right down to -2 EV, which coupled with its ability to shoot at up to ISO 25,600 (at the Hi 2 setting), should make the Nikon D800 a promising camera for low-light shooting (read the 12 common errors of night photography – and how to fix them) if image noise is at an acceptable level.

Given its effective pixel count, it’s not really a surprise that the Nikon D800 has a lower maximum continuous shooting rate than the D700; but at 4fps (the D700 can manage 5fps) at full resolution with the standard battery and 5fps (D700 8fps) with a battery grip it’s no slouch.

As with the D4, the D800′s central 11 AF points are capable of functioning at f/8. This means that the AF system will still function when teleconverters are used to extend the reach of telephoto lenses.

This is great news for wildlife photographer who want to avoid the expense and burden of carrying a selection long and heavy optics (read more: DO or Di? Your lens markings explained). For instance, a 200-400mm f/4 fitted with a 2x teleconverter effectively becomes a 400-800mm f/8, and unlike with the Canon EOS 5D Mark III, the D800′s autofocus system will still function.

The Nikon D700 doesn’t feature a video mode, but the D800 brings full HD functionality. It can record 1080p video at 30, 25 and 24fps frame rates, along with 60 and 50fps rates at 720p for shooting slow-motion movies.

Both FX and DX crops are available in video mode, although the D800 lacks the D4′s useful 1920×1080 crop mode (see How to set up your DSLR for video recording).

In another upgrade over the D700, the D800 features dual memory card slots. Unlike the D4, the D800 makes use of existing memory card formats, namely Compact Flash and SD/SDHC/SDXC. The decision to include two formats might prove frustrating for some pros, who will now have to carry two different sets of cards.

The shutter has been tested to around 200,000 cycles, while the battery life has been reduced from the D700 to around 850 shots at CIPA standard. While the D700 was capable of around 1,000 shots, the new battery has been made to comply with a new Japanese electronics law, hence the reduction in shot output.

Since the measured battery life (850 shots) includes the use of flash, it’s likely that the battery has the potential to last even longer, depending on the situation.

It’s worth noting here that the D800, like the D700 has a built-in pop-up flash unit (GN 12m @ ISO 100) which is useful for providing fill-in light and triggering external lights wirelessly. The Canon 5D Mark III doesn’t have a flash built-in.

The Nikon D800 is available in two versions: a ‘standard’ body, plus a special edition, called the D800E. The latter has a modified filter over the sensor that has no anti-aliasing qualities and comes with an extra £300 premium as a result.

Removing the anti-aliasing filter allows for a potentially greater amount of detail to be resolved and comes at the price of increasing the chances of false colour or moiré patterning, which may require some extra post-capture processing.

Fortunately, this type of interference is relatively straightforward to remove in photo-editing software packages, such as Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 4. Nikon’s own Capture NX2 can also be used to reduce or remove the effect, and will come bundled with the D800E.

Altogether, Nikon claims to have included 36 new features or improvements to this full-frame SLR (read more: Full frame DSLR: do you really need one?), when compared to the Nikon D700.

The Nikon D800 Verdict

Our testing team put the Nikon D800 through its paces, which you can read about in the full Nikon D800 review over on our sister site, TechRadar. If you want some of the key points from the full test and the final verdict on the Nikon D800, here is what our head of testing had to say:

On Build & Handling
“In terms of size, shape and weight, the differences between the D800 and D700 are subtle. It’s 10% lighter than the D700 and the body has a more ‘contoured’ look and feel. Like the Nikon D4, the shutter release has been slightly repositioned for better ergonomics, while a number of the controls have been tweaked…

“Anyone familiar with Nikon SLRs, especially the D700, or D3 S/X professional series, will be at ease with the menu and operation of the camera. There are no major changes other than the addition of video recording options and the change to the D7000-style focus mode switch and button.

“While the AF system is advanced and there are lots of AF-point selection modes available when shooting continuously, the options are made very clear in the viewfinder and in the top-plate LCD, so it’s easy to select the one you want. However, it’s about time that the AF points were spread a bit further across the frame and not clustered within the DX crop area.”

On Performance
“Our tests reveal that the Nikon D800 is capable of resolving a huge amount of detail, in fact it’s not far behind the medium-format Pentax 645D, which has a 40Mp sensor that measures 44x33mm. This is an impressive feat, as although it’s full-frame, the D800′s sensor is considerably smaller at 35.9x24mm…

“Nikon isn’t new to producing DSLRs, and the D800 uses the company’s know-how to ensure that white balance and colour are good straight from the camera in most situations.”

On Noise and Dynamic Range
“We have compared the Nikon D800 against the Nikon D700, Nikon D4, Canon EOS 5D Mk III, Canon EOS 5D Mk II and Canon EOS 1Ds Mk III.

“JPEG images from the Nikon D800 have a signal to noise ratio that compares well against, but cannot quite match, that from the Nikon D4 and Canon EOS 5D Mark III. At lower sensitivities results compare closely to Nikon D700, however from a sensitivity of ISO 800 there is a definite improvement.

“TIFF images (after conversion from raw) show that the D800 handles noise well at lower sensitivities and the results compare well against the Nikon D4. Above ISO 3200 noise becomes more of an issue.

“The Nikon D800′s JPEG files have a high dynamic range only just beaten by the Nikon D4. Compared to the Nikon D700, the results show a big improvement across the sensitivity range. At ISO 3200 the Canon EOS 5D Mk III just over takes the dynamic range of the D800.

“The D800′s TIFF files (after conversion from raw) score some of the highest dynamic range results that we’ve seen from a DSLR, just beating the Nikon D4 and showing a huge improvement over the Nikon D700. At the lower end of the sensitivity scale, the D800 is the clear leader, but by ISO 800 the Canon EOS 5D Mark III takes the lead.”

Final Verdict

It’s great to find that the D800 isn’t just a triumph of numbers, and that the 35.3Mp sensor actually delivers on its promise – capturing bags of detail. The surprise bonus is that noise is actually pretty well controlled and the dynamic range is very impressive.

For those interested in stepping up to a full-frame camera, the D800 represents a good investment. You get pretty much all of the best features of the D4 in a more compact and lighter body, with a much higher pixel count for just shy of half of the price.

Many see the Canon EOS 5D Mark III as the D800′s natural competitor. While the average serious enthusiast is likely to think long and hard about switching manufacturer, professional photographers are less loyal and will go with whichever option works best for them.

The Nikon D800 will be very attractive to photographers who need a comparatively light camera that is capable of capturing a lot of detail and producing large prints.

As it is an especially good choice for those who shoot in normal or daylight conditions or at low sensitivities, we think the D800, or perhaps the D800E, will be a big hit with landscape and studio photographers.

Meanwhile the Canon EOS 5D Mark III is perhaps a bit of an all-rounder that will appeal to enthusiast photographers who want to shoot a range of subjects in lots of different conditions.

Given the level of detail that the D800 can capture and its impressive dynamic range there may be a few studio and landscape photographers who will choose it instead of a bulkier, heavier, slower and more expensive medium format camera.

It’s clear that the D800 is an excellent and very capable camera. The metering, white balance and autofocus systems all deliver the goods and the image quality is superb at the lower sensitivity settings.

While we’d love to see a couple of niceties such as the rating option and more flexible HDR system found on the Canon 5D Mark III, we find Nikon’s AF point selection options clearer in continuous AF mode.

Although the D800 can’t quite match some of its competitors for signal to noise ratio at the lower sensitivity settings, it comes close and the much larger images have an impressive dynamic range.

Nikon has managed to produce a camera that delivers exactly what many enthusiast and pro photographers want.

We liked
Many images are suitable for making superb A2 pints straight from the camera or with a minimal amount of adjustment.

We disliked
Sport and action photographers will find that the large file size limits the continuous shooting rate and burst depth in comparison with the Canon 5D Mark III and Nikon D4.

The Nikon D800 Overall Score: 4.5/5

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Nikon has revised the D4 and D800 price tags up to £5289.99 and £2,599.99, respectively, the manufacturer has announced.

The Nikon announcement states: “Due to a local internal systems error,the incorrect RRPs on the D800, D800E and D4 products were communicated in the UK and Irish markets at the time of the announcement.”

The increase means the Nikon D4 price will be nearly £500 more expensive than the previously reported £4799.99 figure. The Nikon D800 price tag is now £200 higher than previously announced.

Nikon says it apologises for the mistake and that it will honour the original prices on all customer pre-orders placed before 24 March 2012.

Introduced in February, the Nikon D800 is the world’s highest resolution full-frame camera, and sees Nikon firmly targeting studio and medium format photographers.

Speaking to our sister website TechRadar, Paul Genge from Sony UK said, “[It] sounds like a good idea to me, the user of that type of camera only ever seeks higher resolution for stills.

“I think when it comes to the market and when people are using it, people will be impressed by the increased resolution, of course on a full-frame sensor you’ve got room to provide for it so, all credit to them, they’ve chosen to keep pushing the boundaries.”

Of course, it is widely believed that it is Sony that produces the sensors for the D800, Nikon confirmed to us that it was working in partnership with another manufacturer for the sensor.

“It’s a good thing,” Genge continued, “36 megapixels will be improved upon in years to come still. We were the world’s highest with 24 megapixels until this point, and we’ve held on to that since 2009.

“I think Nikon will do quite well with it, certainly their customer base can adopt it, use it and get the best of it, but we’ll have to see when it comes to market what their customer truly thinks of it.”

Genge added that the camera doesn’t compete with any of Sony’s products. “Alpha 900 is a very different camera altogether, it’s very conservative in its offering, it doesn’t have Live View and it doesn’t do video. It’s a different proposition altogether.”

Nikon will produce 30,000 units per month of its newly announced Nikon D800 in order to meet demand, according to a report.

A story on the Malaysian National News Agency, Bernama, claims that the manufacturer will produce the 30,000 Nikon D800 units at its Sendai factory in Japan.

The report also claims that Nikon hopes to produce 5,000 Nikon D4 units every month.

The report stems from several Asian journalists who visited the Sendai factory, where Nikon President Jiro Saito told them the company had spent US$100 million repairing the factory after the devastating earthquake of March last year.

Nikon’s Sendai factory employees around 1,600 workers and boasts the ability of producing one camera per minute during the plant’s daytime shift.

According to the report, a Nikon D800 can be produced in around four hours, while the D4 takes five.

Via TechRadar

Nikon ended the long wait, unveiling its new 36.3-megapixel FX-format professional Nikon D800, which it claims ‘delivers unprecedented levels of depth and detail’ and allows users to shoot broadcast quality video.

What’s more, Nikon claims the Nikon D800 is not a successor to its popular full frame DSLR, the Nikon D700, but instead offers a potential to rival medium format cameras.

The Nikon D800, price slated to be £2399.99, will be available from 12 April, its UK release date.

Chris George, editor of our sister magazine, N-Photo, was invited to have a hands-on with the new Nikon DSLR prior to the announcement of the Nikon D800 release date. Watch our video below to see his first impressions. Or continue to read more about the Nikon D800 specs as this story continues after the video.

The Nikon D800’s 36.3-megapixel FX-format (full-frame) CMOS sensor offers photographers what Nikon claims are unprecedented levels of detail and tonal range. To this end the new Nikon camera boasts 12-channel readout with 14-bit A/D conversion and high signal-to-noise ratio, along with an ISO range of 100–6400, which is extendable up to 25600 (equivalent) and down to 50 (equivalent).

What’s more, the camera’s intelligent noise reduction systems manage noise without sacrificing fine details, allowing superb flexibility under all lighting conditions: images are crisp and clean, even at higher ISO settings.

The Nikon D800 also comes equipped with the manufacturer’s next-generation EXPEED 3 image-processing engine, offering 16-bit image processing that Nikon says can deliver smooth gradations with abundant detail and tone all the way up the scale to pure white, even when shooting in JPEG.

Nikon also claims the D800 can meet professional demands for video, shooting full HD (1080p) movies in frame rates of 30p, 25p and 24p, with 60p, 50p and 25p options at 720p. Movie clips can be up to 29:59 minutes long. As with the recent Nikon D4, full HD recording is possible in both FX and DX based formats.

The D800 also features an external stereo microphone input for video and audio recording, as well as an audio out for external headphones so you can fine tune audio in isolation both before and during movie recording. A line input setting for PCM linear recorders is also provided.

For a great example of what the Nikon D800 is capable of in terms of video recording, the video below – Joy Ride, directed by Sandro – depicts a man travelling across Chicago on his motorcycle to attend the birth of his child. The short film was shot on a Nikon D800.

Joy Ride from Sandro on Vimeo.

Finally, the Nikon D800 offers an uncompressed HDMI output for those who need the purest video output for professional quality editing. The D800 lets users output the uncompressed live view to external recorders and monitors. As with the Nikon D4, this data is output at the designated image size and frame rate, and is clean of the information overlay that can be simultaneously displayed on the camera’s TFT monitor.

Also on board the D800 is an Advanced Scene Recognition System with a new 91,000-pixel RGB sensor that analyses scenes. This detailed scene analysis is also utilised to support more accurate autofocus, auto exposure and i-TTL flash exposure results in a diverse range of compositional and lighting situations.

The Nikon D800 also implements Nikon’s Multi-CAM 3500FX AF system — with individually selectable or configurable 9-, 21- and 51-point coverage settings.

On the new Nikon DSLR the autofocus sensor module and algorithms have been re-engineered to improve low light acquisition sensitivity capabilities down to -2 EV (ISO 100, 20°C/68°F). The overall performance is similar to the Nikon D4, the company says.

Nikon is also promising fast start-up times of just 0.12 seconds on the D800, while release time lag is minimized to approx. 0.042 seconds, with continuous approx. 4 fps capability in FX-format and crop modes, pushed to approx. 6 fps capability in DX-format Crop mode with the optional Multi-Power Battery Pack MB-D12.

The D800’s glass prism optical viewfinder offers approximately 100% frame coverage and 0.7x magnification (50mm f/1.4 lens at infinity, -1.0m-1). Nikon is also launching a special edition of the D800 – the Nikon D800E, which comes with a modified optical filter.

Nikon claims the D800’s shutter unit has been tested to well over 200,000 cycles of release. For more details on this new Nikon DSLR, check out the Nikon D800 hands-on review on our sister website, TechRadar.