Shutterstock Photographer Forum :: View topic

sasilsolutions · Joined: 25 Nov 2010 Posts: 10 Location: Bangkok, Thailand

I was under the impression that D800 is the biggest launch ever for Nikon since 2008..all my photos in my port are taken with D80. But I have saved up for top Nikkor lens as usual. Do you think for stock photographer, it is a good idea to go for Nikon D800 when it can out. What do you think the advantages and disadvantages of this piece of kit would have for stock photography?

Let me know your thoughts.

hhltdave5 · Posted: Sun Feb 12, 2012 10:04 am

The main difference is that the D80 is not a full frame camera where the D800 is. Moving up from a DX to a FX camera results in the need to buy the FX lenses as well. If you put a DX lens on the D800 you get the cropped effect and the MP goes down to about 15mp.

It is a very big leap from the D80 to the D800 so I would not just think about it as something to use strictly or mainly for stock. You can get amazing stock images with cameras such as the D70, D200 and other DX cameras.

If you want to move up to the full frame D800 at about $3,000.00 and add some of the top quality FX lenses you are looking at about an additional $4,000.00 for two lenses such as the 70-200 VR II and the 24-70mm f/2.8.

So would the D800 be a great camera to move up to? So far the reviews say yes not only for the still but for the video that also is part of that camera. The question is do you want to spend the money for the quality set up?

martyhaas · Joined: 25 Apr 2007 Posts: 148

The full frame is a huge difference, to be sure, but I don't know if it's accurate to say that the size of the sensor is the biggest difference. The D800 is several generations newer than the D80. There have been quite a few improvements during that time, including the ability to shoot at a higher ISO with minimal noise.

I'm shooting with a D700 right now and debating whether I want to upgrade to the D800. It's a catch-22. If I don't sell my D700 until the D800 is out, then I'll lose hundreds on the resale value. But if I sell now in anticipation of the D800, I may find that Nikon has really compromised on the pixel quality to cram 36MP into the sensor.

If I had a D80 and the money, I would definitely make the move. But at .35 a download, I wouldn't expect to recoup my cost for a long, long time.

hansenn · Joined: 10 Feb 2009 Posts: 818 Location: netherlands

it depends on what your purpose is. If you shoot stock to buy the best gear for shooting better stock to buy more gear for shooting even better stock for ....etc etc.

then it will be a story with no end.

If you just like to have a top camera, even without shooting stock, so just for fun, and if you have the money for it, then buy one. I,m sure you will enjoy it very much.

But i see you are in doubt. Because you shoot stock, you see it as an investment. And investments have to be earned back in a given time.

With a small port it will take years and years when you will even earn that amount of money. I dont know the price there, but here the body cost €2900,-. And for that money you can eat and drink a whole year in thailand, right?

I personally am waiting for a pentax ff. It,s expected to come out this year. And I,m expecting the price to be around €1200. If they dont come out with a ff, then i will choose for a Nikon or Canon. But not in that price range of the D800. I like photography, I,m addicted to it, but till a certain (price)level. I know more nice things to spend my money for.

good luck with your choice!

rinder99 · Posted: Mon Mar 19, 2012 7:25 pm

Something to consider.

I just spent a week in Hawaii with the undisputed expert on the planet on Optics who works for the government On top secret Jobs he can't even tell his wife. Hubble and the keck observatory to name just 2.Many Phds in Physics,astronomy and so forth. We were talking about the new Nikon D800 36 MP Camera, he found a site that has all the optics specs that aren't usually Published. He got out his calculator and said that camera with the current Lineup Of top glass from nikon will be useless and go Backwards past F8.If your talking Optimum Resolution.
He referred to the Nyquist-Shannon Theorem

And supports my and others Theory that past 18MP, All the DSLR makers other than Leica don't have the optics necessary to resolve that detail.Zeiss and mamiya, Med format are slightly better.Perceived sharpness is quite different Than actual detail and resolving Power.

sfmthd · Joined: 18 Oct 2009 Posts: 297

i dunno - experts disagree, perhaps, but lots of lenses in my collection provide more detail on the d800e than they did on the d700 or the d4.

the notion that you need to use some crazy zeiss lenses on the thing is totally untrue, and shooting at f/5.6 or f/8 is just fine with me. even at smaller apertures tremendous detail is available - is it absolutely the maximum amount of detail theoretically possible? no. is it more than you'd get at 18mp? yes.

here's a few overall frames and some 100% crops with only modest sharpening.

24mm pc-e (not the sharpest lens nikon makes)

tiny area at 100%

60mm f/2.8g micro

again a 100% crop - this example showing the diagonal 'stairstepping' which is the only fault i've found so far in the d800e.

and the cheap little voigtlander 40mm f/2.

the pic is nothing special - just a quick shot handheld on a morning walk. but take a look at the detail at 100% from the far left edge of the frame...

individual bricks in a building many hundreds of feet distant - not achievable with any of my prior nikon dslrs, that's for sure!

rinder99 · Posted: Mon May 14, 2012 1:43 pm

Excellent examples.Thanks for posting. nice to see stuff not shot by the company.

sfmthd · Joined: 18 Oct 2009 Posts: 297

rinder99 · Posted: Fri May 18, 2012 7:26 pm

Im gonna get an 800 next week.

pwkirk · Joined: 22 Feb 2008 Posts: 773

rbstevens · Joined: 16 Jul 2006 Posts: 614 Location: rbstevens.com

Mine was delivered today from B&H. I ordered it on Feb. 7th.

Randy

rinder99 · Posted: Mon May 21, 2012 8:45 pm

pwkirk · Joined: 22 Feb 2008 Posts: 773

rbstevens · Joined: 16 Jul 2006 Posts: 614 Location: rbstevens.com

fraiseap · Posted: Thu May 24, 2012 10:06 am

NPS?

National Park Service?

Nigerian Prisons Service?

Naval Postgraduate School?

Non-penetrative Sex?