D800 vs D800E - Real World Use

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Bill
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I've spent the past two evenings stuck with what to do, I am getting refunded for my current D800, and with the release of the D810 I'm feeling a bit worried that the prices might plummet. When the D750 comes out, provided it is what the rumours are saying then I'm intending to make the move over to that.

I've spent the evening looking at both the D800 and D800E, there are so many reviews out there stating that the differences are barely noticeable unless you're staring at each pixel.

My deliberation is that I've found a D800E for pretty much the same price as the D800 is at most other places. I spend 90%+ of my time shooting motorsports (I do like the D800 for this job) but I also do portraits occasionally. I'm concerned that the D800E might cause moiré problems somewhere along the lines.

How bothered should I be realistically? Some of the reviews really overly dramatise it, others play it down. I'd like to hear from people who have owned both cameras, or mainly the D800E.

Cheers guys!
 
I've owned both and this is simple.. normally

Do you print larger than A3? If not... or don't really print at all, then you'll not notice a difference between either camera unless you look at your images at 100% in photoshop all the time.



The difference IS barely noticeable unless you really print big.

I've never noticed moiré from the D800E despite doing lots of studio portrait work.

However......

IF they're the same price though, then of course, I'd get the D800E. Why wouldn't you? :) I'm surprised you're even asking the question. If you spend 90% of your time shooting motorsport, then moiré isn't very likely to be a problem is it?


There are other things to think about though if you ask me.

As the D800 is a really poor choice for motorsport, and you are getting a refund.. why not just wait for the D750? Surely you can wait a week or so. Nikon are rumoured to be launching it at Photokina.. so that's any time now.

Why buy another D800 just to sell it at a loss to buy another camera?

You're mental if you do that. Sounds like the D750 is actually the camera you need, so just wait for it.
 
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I love my D800e but for action better choices are out there.
Very, very interested in the D750 coming out - doesn't mean the 800 will go, just may end up staying inside for the Studio .. for where it excels..
 
There are other things to think about though if you ask me.

As the D800 is a really poor choice for motorsport, and you are getting a refund.. why not just wait for the D750? Surely you can wait a week or so. Nikon are rumoured to be launching it at Photokina.. so that's any time now.

Why buy another D800 just to sell it at a loss to buy another camera?

You're mental if you do that. Sounds like the D750 is actually the camera you need, so just wait for it.

People say the D800 is a really poor choice for motorsport, but I would disagree. If you're machine gunning the whole time, fair enough but the way I've been using it for the past couple of months it suited me fine. For on-track stuff, the amount you can crop is very handy, the quality is insanely good aswell, and since the AF system is decent, it does a good job imo. Having fast cards helps, but I already have those, I've not hit the buffer once during my ownership.

Off-track (pits/driver shots) it excels too.

For the money, with FF, I have no complaints whatsoever. Sure, if I could afford a D4S I would have it.

The reason I want to buy another? I have an event at the beginning of Sept (before Photokina) and I need a camera for that, since I don't have one at all currently. Whilst the D750 will most definitely be announced at Photokina, it doesn't mean the UK will have it on their shelves and the grey import companies will have the huge reductions right away.

I'm intending to keep the D800/E for a good few months at least, and nothing really ticks my boxes quite like this does at the moment. Sure, if the D750 was out, I'd get it.
 
No direct comparison between the 800 and 800E. I have the 800E and use it for motorsport to great effect.

The D750 may be a month or two away - just because it's being announced in the next couple of weeks doesn't mean it will be available until Oct or possibly November, ready for the Christmas markets.
 
In pure specs, it goes D800>D800e>D810.
I haven't seen problematic moire from any of them, but I'm not shooting mesh fabrics and the like.

Of the three, I would only consider the D810 suitable for motor sports, and even then only in good light. I wouldn't consider it particularly suitable for faster action.

If you don't print large then my suggestion would be a used D3s... You'll be better off with that and suitable lenses/TC's than you would be cropping into a D8xx image.

D750 will probably be a nice compromise, but for sports/low light I would expect to still prefer the D3s.
 
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In pure specs, it goes D800>D800e>D810.
I haven't seen problematic moire from any of them, but I'm not shooting mesh fabrics and the like.

Of the three, I would only consider the D810 suitable for motor sports, and even then only in good light. I wouldn't consider it particularly suitable for faster action.

If you don't print large then my suggestion would be a used D3s... You'll be better off with that and suitable lenses/TC's than you would be cropping into a D8xx image.

D750 will probably be a nice compromise, but for sports/low light I would expect to still prefer the D3s.

Can I ask why? I'd like a real explanation without FPS coming into discussion, since it's not an issue for me.

I've shot the D800 with great success, admittedly at smaller circuits where I've not really needed an awful lot more than the 200mm I use (admittedly 300 would be good, but we'll save that for another time.

I'm genuinely curious though.
 
The main reason I consider the D810 "suitable" out of the three is because they've "fixed" the AF tracking of the previous models. And because it focuses faster and more accurately overall IME.

As far as choosing a D3s over a D8xx when you're not wanting to print/display large is primarily due to the low light/high ISO performance. Yes, a D8xx can have equal ISO performance up to a point, but only if down-sampled (i.e. printed at the same size as the D3s image). If you have to do that, then what's the point?
Also because you can get away with slower SS's (or faster subjects) with the D3s than you can w/ a D8xx. You can hide a lot of the D8xx recorded blur by downsampling, but again, what's the point?
And because I completely disagree with the "cropability" idea of the D8xx. If you're going to do that you might as well be using a D7000... because you've lost/degraded the benefit of being able to downsample (D8xx owners hate it when I say that).

Everything is a compromise... the D8xx series really only makes sense when you are using the FF image at larger sizes. There are some minor benefits for other uses in some situations, but I personally don't think they justify the cost/hassles.


and, yeah... I would prefer the higher frame rate for action work.
 
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You will find the D810 suffers more Moire my friend shot a wedding with me as a 2nd shooter with his new D810 and it was clear to see in the fabrics of the couples cloths.
 
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