Nikon D800 - First Impressions

I've been playing with the new Nikon D800 that I hired from the Camera Rental Centre in Melbourne over Easter. To put it through its paces I also picked up the Nikon 14-24mm f2.8 lens. The other lenses I used were my own Nikon 50mm f1.8 and an old manual Nikon 300mm f4. My objectives were to see if the high resolution of the 36mb sensor would make a difference to the quality of my Barkly Street project images. These are my observations from the perspective of a photographer whose current camera is a somewhat antiquated D200 - this is not a product review.

Although I take most of my images with a tripod, it was a pleasant surprise to see how light the Nikon D800 body is. Despite a couple of gotchas in the new layout, including the reversal of the main command dial for dialing in shutter speed, most of the menus and the function buttons were familiar to me from the D200. I found the Nikon D800 Technical Guide was a great help in using the new features, as well the Users Manual for learning about the new features such as time-lapse movies. Another good source of information is the DigitalRev video review.

Resolution and Exposure 

I spent the twilight hour at Southbank in Melbourne testing out the cameras exposure and resolution capability. I used the Nikon 14-24mm 2.8 lens and took a number of bracketed exposures. Here is a bracketed exposure shot that I post processed using Photomatix's fusion feature. For this shot I was able to get way with three bracketed exposures, whereas on my D200 I would probably have used up to six exposures.

16:9 Crop

100% Crop

Lens: AF-S NIKKOR 14-24 mm f/1.8G ED; Exposure mode: Manual; Shutter speed: Bracketed; Aperture: f/8; White balance: Auto 1; ISO sensitivity: 100; This photo was shot in 14-bit NEF (RAW) and processed using Adobe Lightroom 3.6, Photoshop 5.6, Photomatix 4.6.

High ISO and Auto ISO

I don't do a lot of night or street photography, but I thought I'd test out the D800's ISO capability after I took the Southbank image. I set the shutter speed to 1/60s, aperture to f2.8 ISO to auto. As it turned out, I felt that the Auto ISO was making my images over exposed by a 1/3 of a stop, so I dialed in some exposure compensation. 

I generally prefer to work with setting the ISO manually, as I do with shutter and f stop. Although it's not a new feature, I can see how Auto ISO is a great help for fast changing light changes while minimising noise even at high settings. I captured this street performer imploring his reluctant audience to shell out for his show. As you can see from the 100% crop, there is some noise @6400 but it's not so much of a problem at full frame image and it's good enough for me.

Full Frame

100% Crop

Lens: AF NIKKOR 50 mm f/1.8 D; Exposure mode: Manual; Shutter speed: 1/60; Aperture: f/2.8; White balance: Auto 1; ISO sensitivity: 6400 (Auto); Picture control: Neutral; This photo was shot using large JPEG with no post processing.

Live View and Virtual Horizon

On my last day with the camera I visited the State Library of Victoria to see if I could recreate a photo similar to the library shot in the technical guide. Unfortunately the library does not allow tripods over 50cm so I was forced to use a Gorilla Pod that only supported 3kg. By the time I added a ball head, D800 and 14-24mm lens I must have been up around the 7kg mark. 

After the shoot, I took a time-lapse movie of the library and the wobble was obvious. However I was still happy with the results and once again used bracketed exposures to capture the high dynamic range. I took advantage of the nine brackets now available for use with HDR photography, even though I could have got away with a smaller number. As far as I can see with HDR, the more bracketed exposures you can take the better the resolution. With the D200's limited bracketing capabilities, I had to use the command dial to dial in the range I was looking for. Risking both camera shake and incorrect exposure from thee manual process.

In the past I've struggled to focus ultra wide lenses with while taking architectural shots. With live view this is no longer a problem. Being able to zoom in on limitless focus points with a wide angle lens is a real game changer for me. One of the best new features of live view is the Virtual Horizon allowing me dispense with a bubble level that was never entirely accurate. 

Full Frame

100% Crop

Lens: AF-S NIKKOR 14–24 mm f/2.8G ED; Exposure mode: Manual; Shutter speed: Bracketed; Aperture: f/8; White balance: Auto 1; ISO sensitivity: 100; This photo was shot in 14-bit NEF (RAW) and processed using Adobe Lightroom 3.6, Photoshop 5.5, Photomatix 4.6.

Time-Lapse Photography

I was also interested to test out the capability of the camera for creating time-lapse movies. In the past I've frigged around with freeware to create poor quality time-lapse movies from individual frames. With the D800 you can use either the Interval Timer feature for later post-processing, or to produce a .MOV file straight out of the camera using the Time-Lapse photography feature. The latter is the option I chose to create three time-lapse movies over the weekend. The feature is so simple to use that I expect to use it at many of the locations I shoot at to add to the documentary record.

Niggles

The only niggles I had with the camera was the current lack of support in post-processing software. All NEF files need to be converted to DNG before post-processing in either Lightroom, or Photoshop. And some utilities that I commonly use, including Autopano Pro and Exposure Fusion seem to reject even these. I also suspect that in the long term I will need to upgrade to a 64 bit OS to take advantage of new tools and the high resolution of the camera. Other than the post-processing niggles, there was nothing about the capture process that I could whinge about. Albeit my starting point, the D200, meant that my expectations are not as high as users of other more high-end equipment such as the D700, or D3.

It's still all about the light dummy

Is the high resolution really that much more noticeable? Yes and no. Discernible differences on screen between an image captured using the D200 compared with the D800 are not immediately obvious until you go to 100%. For the type of work I do, which includes exhibitions and books, the high resolution is definitely a leap forward in quality and possibility. The ability to crop down to show details also opens up new possibilities in presenting my work.

What is also compelling about the D800, is the additional functionality for capturing the work I do. Principally the features associated with live view, including the ability to precisely focus ultra-wide angle lenses and the use of the Virtual Horizon. The D800 also opens up new possibilities for me in low light street photography and time-lapse for the Barkly Street project that I hadn't considered before.

During my lost weekend with the D800, I must admit to suffering some choice anxiety and technical overload on an number of occasions. Sometimes it felt as if are just too many capture features and post-processing options. I had to remind myself that despite all the high tech features, photography is still all about the light dummy. If you concentrate on getting the exposure right, the D800 will do the rest and some. 

Before I buy I still need to make a choice (more anxiety) between the D800 and the D800e - but that's another story.