Nikon D800

wow I look forward to it, wonder how much it will cost though !!!!!

From what I collect, D800 will replace D700 as the DX little sister of the D4, and there should also be something like a D400 replacing the D300s, the FX little sister.
Rumours about the D800 speak about around u$s3000, but there's nothing sure yet, I'm sure those rumours are based on the D700 price nd speculation on previous Nikon pricing.

Have a look at www.D800.org I have tried posting a link twice but it's having none of it.
There is some info on there and some pics of the Sony factory in Thailand, I only hope they are testing waterproof housings.

Tidied up and added the link to your post, Gareth.

If it will truly have a 36mp sensor, then it is going directly after the medium format market, and is not a minor upgrade. This will put it directly in the way of $10,000 - $30,000 medium format buyers. This is a whole different camera.

If the noise issue with so many pixels on an FX size sensor is controlled then this will signal another D4 model coming out shortly also. With this sensor, if it does in fact have 36mp, Nikon has broken the barrier separating medium format, and it's larger sensor size. The price difference is huge.

As Chris points out the D800 is more of a studio camera which means that it is not for most us. In the meantime I am still waiting for a natural replacement for my D300, especially when money is always an issue. Having said that, I made a very quick and rough calculation on the back of a real paper envelope and my return on invest from my camera was just a bit higher than if I had left my money in the bank In any case, one does not want to be the first in line to get new gear anyway, they always have teething problems at the beginning. best Lawrence

Finally the spam bot caught up with me; I was doing so well today!!!

The D4 (NOT the D800) is a natural replacement for Press work..... however for those of us not awash with money the D400 is going to be the one many of us will look at. (or stick with the D700)

At the moment here are about 8 D4's and two D800's in the UK all running beta firmware The release firmware is expected for the end of March and it is likely to be Q4 before you see these cameras loose in the shops.

AFAIK these are the cameras that were going to be released late last year until several natural disasters in Japan than the countries where Nikon do production screwed up the schedule

However these new cameras put Nikon firmly ahead in the Nikanon race.... so in 2013/14 (assuming the world is still here) we can expect something spectacular from Canon....

With the official announcement of the D800, and the D800E releases coming in the next month, they will be awesome, and a serious threat to the medium format market in huge ways with prices of $2999US, and $3300US. That size megapixel count in medium format starts at $17,000, and the 4fps would be considered another breakthrough for medium format.

First with a 36.2meg sensor shooting at 4 fps in full resolution, and the elimination of the moire filter in the D800E model, which is aimed directly at the medium format folks, these are huge breakthroughs in a 35mm size sensor. I expect the noise to be well controlled up to 1600 ISO as it is now, but no photos have been provided yet to confirm this, only manufacturer reports. It is hard to call this full frame anymore because it has not just broken into the medium format sensor size quality arena, it has provided improvements without being that sensor size.

This frame rate pretty much matches that of the D700 at full resolution so it does not limit shooting to only studio work. This was a highly respectable frame rate with professional film shooters not that long ago, and is still OK for anything if you think about your shooting. When shooting at a reduced DX size resolution at 15.4megs (the D700 is 5megs at this size), it has a fps of 6.

The elimination of the moire filter in the D800E model is aimed at studio medium format use, which don't have moire filters, and thus are higher resolution. The resolution of this camera will be higher than any other 35mm sensor size camera theoretically. The moire filter that all 35mm sensor size cameras, or lower have reduce resolution by having one more thing in front of the sensor. The D800E eliminates this moire filter, but includes moire reduction upgrades to the Nikon capture NX software included. This will give someone the medium format quality, and file size at a huge price reduction, $17,000+, as opposed to $3300. The lenses it fits already are studio quality.

This upgrade by Nikon is huge, and I want the D800E. I can find plenty of uses for it, like giving me a reason to upgrade my computer. The D800 itself is a big upgrade to the D700, and includes a pop-up flash not found on the D700.

I haven't even touched on the video upgrades that pretty much match the new D4's video capabilities, way above the D700, and aimed at cinema use.

Well, I visited yesterday the most wellknown photohouse here at Hamburg, which asked the people for prepayment to be within the first getting the D800. And I saw there summarised the technical corner points again:

36 Mpix - how big will the RAWs be?
max 6.400 ISO native - how many of my favourite motives shouldn´t be taken by this camera?

And this for 2.899 Euros - thank you very much ...

Hi,

I was reading some thoughts on other forums about the frame rate of the D800, and many old school sports photographers pointed out that the FPS for the D1 and F4 were about the same as the D800, and they managed to get some pretty great sports shots.

Most that are pointing to the D800 as a studio/landscape/portrait camera are thinking FPS, but I think what may happen is that it will force the photographers to pick their shots more carefully, rather than blast away at 9 to 11 FPS. "Spray and Pray"

Something that was also pointed out was that the 36MP image will allow for some interesting cropping opportunities.

The main problem with PJ use, and one that is not likely to go away soon, is the time it will take to work with the large files. It is tough enough to work quickly with the 12MP files coming out of my D700 and D3, it will take 3 times as long to get them onto the computer, and a lot more CPU and RAM to render them for the D800. That does not bode well for working on tight deadlines, regardless of how pretty the picture will be.

I think a lot of Photojournalists will be sticking with their D700 or D3s', or snapping them up on the used market. I have already seen the price of low shutter count used D700 and D3's drop on eBay as people sell for their down payment on D4 and D800's.

Victor

"I think a lot of photojournalists will be sticking with their D700 or D3s', or snapping them up on the used market."

Of course, there´s no reason for someone, who has to calculate his costs, to throw a running D3( or a D700 out.

****************************

"I have already seen the price of low shutter count used D700 and D3's drop on eBay as people sell for their down payment on D4 and D800's."

I wouldn´t conclude from some bad running auctions there to dropping market prices. The prices of frequently asked Nikon-equipment remained at least stabil, so You shouldn´t cherish the hope to get one of these bodies donated.

Peter,

I'm not talking about auctions. I'm talking about "Buy it Now" prices having dropped by a few hundred $ on the D3.

I completely agree with you regarding there being nothing wrong with the D3 or D700. That is why I have bought both used in the past few months.

The people that seem to be dumping them are not heavy use pros, but light users with an affinity for the latest, greatest thing.

Their loss is my gain.

Victor

agree completely! As some one said to me when we discussed upgrading: Has your current camera suddenly got worse? has it's spec decreased? Are the pictures it produces no longer technically acceptable? Of course not.

Well, the D3 is of course still a great camera. But someone using a D3 benefits a lot more, changing to the D4, than someone using a D3s. And this not only caused by the fact, that it lost the position of the last generation. That´s why some people lower the prices to get it sold anyway, but there are also people asking the same price, which I paid for a used D3 a year ago.

Looking to the D800 and the D4, I´d say, that they´re not a replacement for the D700 and the D3s, not pointing out the prices of course. There a lot other very reasonable points to take one of the "old" models instead of the new ones. Some of them I counted in my previous post yet.

What I see now, are some hobbyists giving their D700 up to get a D800. But of course there´s no snatch, because these guys are looking for someone, who pays them the new camera.

Additional comes the fact, that the prices at the shops doesn´t drop yet - here at Germany beginning at a little less than 1.900 Euros. So the asked prices are between 1.300 Euros for a cam with 60.000 shots and a few years and 1.790 for a cam with 7.000 shots and three months. A new one with full warranty still remains to be cheaper, if You can encount pre-tax deduction.

Newest rumors say, that the price of the D700 will be reduced around 500 USD with the appearance of the D800

Do not overlook the D800E. That is the breakthrough camera in all this upgrade. By removing the moire filter (the same as medium format digital sensors are built) it will give you a sharper picture than was possible in either the D3, or D700, and could very easily put you ahead of the crowd when pictures are compared for purchase, and publication.

With two people shooting the same event, the sharpest picture wins out in the same conditions shooting the same scenes. This is a big factor to keep in mind. Sharpness has always been, and will continue to be a determining factor in picture choice. Removing the moire filter gives you a tighter cropping ability with higher original sharpness.

If I try to open 36Mpx pictures in my computer... I can be about a week waiting for Lightroom open the picture.

I'm very happy with my D300 fast focus and speed of shoots, and I'm very happy with the 16Mpx pictures from my D7000 and the posibilites of cropping the pictures. I don't need 36Mpx for photojournalism.

The D800 is NOT ment for photo Journalisum... The D4 on the other hand is designed specifically for Photo Jounralisum with 16MP for exactly the reasons you give.

"With two people shooting the same event, the sharpest picture wins out in the same conditions shooting the same scenes."

Cann´t support that - here at Germany it´s common, that the first picture coming in wins the lottery. And editors aren´t amused, to get rocks thrown into their mail-box.