I've seen discussions asserting that there may be no "D400" follow-on to the D300, D300s, etc., as the crop features make D800 use practical with existing aps-c lenses with little loss in (pixel count) resolution. Although the expected price differential would seem to make this economically less practical for many. I've seen various discussions of testing or use of a number of ff lenses with the D800, but few, if any, of common aps-c lenses.
There have been plenty of discussions of lens quality performance issues, need for serious tripods, improved technique, etc. So, are common aps-c lenses really a practical option with the D800, lenses like the Tokina 12-24, Sigma 10-20 or even the "kit" lenses?
The D800 used in DX mode all the time is not practical because the DX frame lines use a much smaller area of the view finder making things hard to see within the frames while giving you lots of vision of things outside the frame. Make sense?
Two points I've learned while shooting the D800 the last couple weeks:
1) Shooting in DX crop mode sucks because you have to shoot through this tiny box in the middle of the otherwise glorious viewfinder. The viewfinder of the D7000 is something like 20% bigger than that box. If I'm shooting my 17-55DX or 50-135DX I MUCH prefer to shoot my D7000 than my D800.
2) All that talk about needing "serious tripods, improved technique, etc" on the D800 is nonsense. A sharp capture is a sharp capture, a bad capture is a bad capture. If you want to pixel peep, either outcome will be more clearly defined on the D800 than on most of its competitors.
Steve Perry wrote:
I can think of four reasons right off hand where a d400 would beat out a d800 in crop mode.
1. Price. D400 I'll probably be $1000 - 1200 cheaper.
2. Speed. D400 will probably be 7-9 fps.
3. And as mentioned the view finder will be better.
4. It's probably going to be 24mp not 16.
Agreed, all around. If you want a fast handling, pro build DX body, I don't think the D800 will be very satisfying. At minimum, it's going to make you want to replace your DX lenses.
;- )
I still think there will be a DX sensor in the D800 body -- probably the Sony 24mp from the NEX-7, tweaked to Nikon's specs. Patience, grasshopper.
As to lenses and support -- of course, with identical technique and support, lenses will perform just as well on the D800 as they did on the D3/D700. The issue is whether you will get the full benefit of the higher res sensor. I don't think it's especially controversial to say that to get the most out of the D800, you have to pay more attention to lens quality and support. I notice the same thing with the 24mp NEX-7.
It may be helpful to think of it this way: with these high-res bodies, there isn't a *penalty* for mediocre technique and lenses; there is, however, a *reward* for excellent technique and lenses.
D800 doesn't have that much on the D7000 for crop- leaving out ISO. roughly the same pixels, D7000 has a faster frame rate. So their better be a pro DX inbound. slight improvements in ISO is expected but pro level frame rate at minimum- 8 (D300 gripped/D2H) and around 21-24 MP's has to be definite. i'll truly have to alter my shooting styles for wildlife if i have to go with a full frame 36MP cam with slow FPS, or FF at 12 MP's and a correct FPS rate, i want non of ethier. i'll wind up going to a 1.3x crop canon DSLR- yikes.
I have never used a crop camera as I don’t do wildlife.
But as has been mentioned the D800 would not be a good choice for use as a crop camera, because of the size of the photo in the view finder. I think the crop feature is there for people who have a lot of DX lens. If I were using DX lens I would probably have a D7000 or D300s and save a lot of money.
One thing I get tired of hearing is how lens aren’t going to be good enough for the D800. Yes some lens will not be able to use the full resolution out of the 36 megapixel sensor. But said lens will still be better performing than they were at 12 megapixels as you will have better DR and much more detail.
I have had my D800 since March 22 nd ( I was lucky ) and so far from my four lens one manual focus two AFD and one AFS-G they all perform better than they did on my D3. Every one keeps saying you can’t tell the difference unless you enlarge to huge sizes, well I have had my wife and several other people look at 8X10 prints from both the D3 and D800 shot with the same lens, same subject, and same exposure and asking people which is best at normal viewing distance and very close up and 100% of the people pick the D800 photo as the best, there is a difference.
ps I see absolutely no problem hand holding the D800, you might want a little faster shutter speed but it is no big deal.
Sorry I got off subject here.
Dennis
I have never used a crop camera as I don’t do wildlife.
But as has been mentioned the D800 would not be a good choice for use as a crop camera, because of the size of the photo in the view finder. I think the crop feature is there for people who have a lot of DX lens. If I were using DX lens I would probably have a D7000 or D300s and save a lot of money.
One thing I get tired of hearing is how lens aren’t going to be good enough for the D800. Yes some lens will not be able to use the full resolution out of the 36 megapixel sensor. But said lens will still be better performing than they were at 12 megapixels as you will have better DR and much more detail.
I have had my D800 since March 22 nd ( I was lucky ) and so far from my four lens one manual focus two AFD and one AFS-G they all perform better than they did on my D3. Every one keeps saying you can’t tell the difference unless you enlarge to huge sizes, well I have had my wife and several other people look at 8X10 prints from both the D3 and D800 shot with the same lens, same subject, and same exposure and asking people which is best at normal viewing distance and very close up and 100% of the people pick the D800 photo as the best, there is a difference.
ps I see absolutely no problem hand holding the D800, you might want a little faster shutter speed but it is no big deal.
Sorry I got off subject here.
Dennis
runamuck wrote:
How did I miss Nikon bringing out the D400?
You didn't as it's not out yet nor has it even been announced yet by Nikon.
It seems to me at any rate that the comments in reference to the D400 are based mostly upon speculation as to what the D400 will bring the table and in most cases this speculation is based upon a current user's experience with a camera such as the D7000 or is perhaps also based upon the most current rumors of Nikon possibly using a Sony 24 megapixel sensor and the known characteristics of that sensor (or a very similar one at least) as it's currently being used in a few Sony models such as the Nex-7.
That being said, most of what has been discussed here in regards to the D400 (if one comes out with specs close to as rumored) vs the D800 in crop mode will probably hold pretty true I should think personally.
