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Archive 2012 · Canon users who switched to Nikon D800E

  
 
retrofocus
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p.2 #1 · p.2 #1 · Canon users who switched to Nikon D800E


Psychic1 wrote:
I'll PM Monito and ask him to critique the poll.


OMG.....why not asking Canon directly instead? The answer will be the same or very similar.



Nov 10, 2012 at 03:13 PM
Dragonfire
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p.2 #2 · p.2 #2 · Canon users who switched to Nikon D800E


retrofocus wrote:
OMG.....why not asking Canon directly instead? The answer will be the same or very similar.


PM sent, standby



Nov 10, 2012 at 03:17 PM
AFC168
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p.2 #3 · p.2 #3 · Canon users who switched to Nikon D800E


This is exactly right! I'm very interested in hearing from people / Canon shooters who bought a D800E because of the sensor and MP and have a couple of lenses for landscape / non-moving items, but still shoot Canon for everything else.

With regard to the "need" part of it, the ideal would be to buy a top of the line MF but $30k is out of the question. I like my 5D III, from viewing some images made with the D800E, assuming everything is perfect, the D800E is fantastic and much better.

In reality, things aren't perfect and that's why I'm interested in the feedback from Canon users who bought a D800E ...

Thanks for all the opinions!


retrofocus wrote:
I don't think so - I understood the OP's question more in a way that many Canon shooters just keep their existing gear but get a D800(E) system additionally with maybe 1-2 lenses for landscape work mostly. Those shooters will certainly not invest in a new Canon camera at this point.




Nov 10, 2012 at 03:31 PM
snapsy
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p.2 #4 · p.2 #4 · Canon users who switched to Nikon D800E


I shoot both. The D800 delivers the goods in terms of resolution and dynamic range. It falls short in ergnomics, grip comfort, and Live View clarity/frame rate. Handling 36MP images is a pain, even on very fast systems w/SSDs. Also, I've found many lenses fall short in getting good (or sometimes even acceptable) corner performance @ 36MP; what I thought were great lenses @ 12/21MP turn out to be only good lenses @ 36MP.


Nov 10, 2012 at 04:02 PM
retrofocus
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p.2 #5 · p.2 #5 · Canon users who switched to Nikon D800E


snapsy wrote:
I shoot both. The D800 delivers the goods in terms of resolution and dynamic range. It falls short in ergnomics, grip comfort, and Live View clarity/frame rate. Handling 36MP images is a pain, even on very fast systems w/SSDs. Also, I've found many lenses fall short in getting good (or sometimes even acceptable) corner performance @ 36MP; what I thought were great lenses @ 12/21MP turn out to be only good lenses @ 36MP.



Very interesting, thanks for sharing! Can you please tell me a bit more about the drawbacks with LiveView? I am interested since I often use LiveView together with my T/S lens.
I am not so concerned in regard to the handling of the 36 MP files since I have an Intel™ i7-2600K CPU with 8 parallel processors each 3.4 GHz and 16 GB RAM and fast SSDs, too.



Nov 10, 2012 at 04:13 PM
Monito
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p.2 #6 · p.2 #6 · Canon users who switched to Nikon D800E


retrofocus wrote:
why not asking Canon directly instead? The answer will be the same or very similar.


Nonsense.



Nov 10, 2012 at 04:29 PM
Dragonfire
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p.2 #7 · p.2 #7 · Canon users who switched to Nikon D800E


Monito wrote:
Nonsense.





Nov 10, 2012 at 04:30 PM
snapsy
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p.2 #8 · p.2 #8 · Canon users who switched to Nikon D800E


retrofocus wrote:
Very interesting, thanks for sharing! Can you please tell me a bit more about the drawbacks with LiveView? I am interested since I often use LiveView together with my T/S lens.
I am not so concerned in regard to the handling of the 36 MP files since I have an Intel™ i7-2600K CPU with 8 parallel processors each 3.4 GHz and 16 GB RAM and fast SSDs, too.


Sure, I did a few videos about it:





Nov 10, 2012 at 04:43 PM
mttran
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p.2 #9 · p.2 #9 · Canon users who switched to Nikon D800E


pookipichu wrote:
In no way is this intended to sound disrespectful, but if you do not own or use the D800E, it may not be fair for you to state there is a "tiny marginal improvement" over the 5D2. From my experience, there is a noticeable and substantial improvement in sensor quality in the D800 over the 5D2, which I also own and still use. Additionally, as a side note, for working photographers in fashion, many clients demand higher megapixels (36MP+). In those instances, "need" is definitely appropriate.



Yes, experience always counts



Nov 10, 2012 at 04:52 PM
burningheart
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p.2 #10 · p.2 #10 · Canon users who switched to Nikon D800E


snapsy wrote:
Sure, I did a few videos about it:





Well done with the videos.

One thing I started doing when contrast was low (as in picture of the Canon body) or in low light I would bump up the ISO to a higher value and although it added more noise I could see the object better to focus, then drop the ISO back down before shooting the shot. It didn't improve the missing lines but it improved the lighting in the Live View. It wasn't ideal but it worked for me.

Edited on Nov 10, 2012 at 05:30 PM · View previous versions



Nov 10, 2012 at 05:13 PM
retrofocus
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p.2 #11 · p.2 #11 · Canon users who switched to Nikon D800E


snapsy wrote:
Sure, I did a few videos about it:




Thanks, great videos which reveal the issue very well! Yes, the artifacts with the D800 LV are cumbersome compared to Canon's LV system. MF is easier with the Canon system due to the clearer LV streaming image.



Nov 10, 2012 at 05:20 PM
splathrop
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p.2 #12 · p.2 #12 · Canon users who switched to Nikon D800E


Also, I've found many lenses fall short in getting good (or sometimes even acceptable) corner performance @ 36MP; what I thought were great lenses @ 12/21MP turn out to be only good lenses @ 36MP.

Would be much obliged if you could list, or at least characterize, the disappointing lenses. Zooms? Nikon Primes? Zeiss Primes?

I'm considering a choice between the 5D III or the D800. My current thinking is that the extra resolution delivered by the D800 may outweigh the better focus on the 5D III. But only if you nail focus on the D800, which sounds like it might be harder, both with autofocus and with live view, than with the 5D III.

I have almost made up my mind that for my work the extra dynamic range from the D800 will be of limited advantage—because so many of my shots don't fill the histogram on my 5D II, natural light being what it is. (Also not sure how much that last owes to instinctively avoiding high dynamic range scenes.) And I have Canon glass, so I may be rationalizing convenience and cost over image quality objectivity.

Any feedback appreciated.



Nov 10, 2012 at 05:24 PM
snapsy
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p.2 #13 · p.2 #13 · Canon users who switched to Nikon D800E


splathrop wrote:
Would be much obliged if you could list, or at least characterize, the disappointing lenses. Zooms? Nikon Primes? Zeiss Primes?

The biggest surprise was my Zeiss 50mm MP, a lens which I considered exceptional in every regard. On my D800 I found the extreme edges mushy @ infinity up through f/5.6 and only become good at f/8. For maximum acuity I prefer to shoot my landscapes @ f/5.6 on the D800, so shooting at f/8 to get good corners is a bit of a compromise.

Luckily the 14-24mm holds up very well at 36MP, at least at 14mm which is where I shoot the lens almost all the time. However I found that infinity focus on the lens is extremely tricky due to a combination of focus shift and some not so accurate CDAF characteristics of the D800. I have a long thread about my findings here.

I was also pleasantly surprised by the 24mm f/1.4G, a lens I had previously been disappointed with for its wide-open performance on even 12MP bodies. Stopped down to f/4 and f/5.6 the lens performs exceptionally well throughout the frame on the D800.

I like to shoot landscapes between 70-200mm as well but I haven't spent much time evaluating those focal lengths on my D800 yet. My favorite combo for that right now is the 5D + 70-200 f/4 non-is, mostly because I have shot that combo so much and know exactly how to get what I want from it.

An interesting thing I've found with all the lens review sites is that what they call "edge performance" may not be what most would consider the edge of the frame. For me the edge is the extreme edge, whereas many of the sites define it as somewhere around 10% from the edge. The difference is pretty critical if you shoot landscapes and want detail all the way to the edge without having to crop 5-10% off due to lens slop.

splathrop wrote:
I'm considering a choice between the 5D III or the D800. My current thinking is that the extra resolution delivered by the D800 may outweigh the better focus on the 5D III. But only if you nail focus on the D800, which sounds like it might be harder, both with autofocus and with live view, than with the 5D III.

Like most I was impressed with the 5DM3's new AF system, esp compared to the 5DM2, at least for static shooting which is what I do most. I compared the static AF of the D800 and 5DM3 and actually found them both to be exceptional. I have a thread about it here.

splathrop wrote:
I have almost made up my mind that for my work the extra dynamic range from the D800 will be of limited advantage—because so many of my shots don't fill the histogram on my 5D II, natural light being what it is. (Also not sure how much that last owes to instinctively avoiding high dynamic range scenes.) And I have Canon glass, so I may be rationalizing convenience and cost over image quality objectivity.

If you don't have a specific need for the D800's extra resolution or DR then I highly recommend the 5DM3 over the D800 if you already have Canon lenses and/or your preferred method of shooting is Live View, particularly if you shoot at night.



Nov 10, 2012 at 05:48 PM
stevezzzz
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p.2 #14 · p.2 #14 · Canon users who switched to Nikon D800E


AFC168 wrote:
This is exactly right! I'm very interested in hearing from people / Canon shooters who bought a D800E because of the sensor and MP and have a couple of lenses for landscape / non-moving items, but still shoot Canon for everything else.

With regard to the "need" part of it, the ideal would be to buy a top of the line MF but $30k is out of the question. I like my 5D III, from viewing some images made with the D800E, assuming everything is perfect, the D800E is fantastic and much better.

In reality, things aren't perfect and that's
...Show more

This is potentially a very interesting thread, but it starts with a flawed set of polling questions. My situation isn't exactly covered, so I thought I'd weigh in with my experiences. I hope no one minds that I'll be talking about the D800 and not the D800E. My acquaintances who've shot both tell me there's not much to choose between them.

First, some background. I started my DSLR collection with a Canon 5D when it first came out, and in the intervening years acquired an assortment of Canon glass and upgraded to the 5D2 and 5D3. My primary body is now the 1Dx. Wasn't really interested in Nikon gear until I was exposed to the D800 at a symposium in May. At the time I was still waiting for the 1DX with no clear idea when it would arrive. I bought a D800 in mid-May and began using it regularly (all the while cursing under my breath at how different the handling and menu systems are from Canon's: not worse, just different). When the 1Dx finally arrived I started using it, too, and sold the 5D3.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with the 5D3: in the right hands it produces superb images and the AF system is first rate. Burst mode at 6fps is fast enough for almost everything. I shot the lights out with it for the few months I had it.

The D800's sensor is stellar: its resolution and dynamic range are addictive. It takes care and technique (and superb glass) to get the best out of it, but in its sweet spot the results are spectacular. In fact, though, I think the 5D3 is a better all-around photographic tool: it does all things well, if none as quite best-in-class.

...which leads us to the 1Dx. It is, to put it simply, the finest all-around camera body I've ever used (and I've used the earlier 1D bodies, just never owned one before). It's the best camera I've ever shot for sports and low-light situations. It delivers fantastic IQ in a wide range of applications. It's built like a tank. It handles superbly. And Nikon doesn't have anything to match the 17mm TSE, a lens I use quite a lot for hand-held, walking-around city/travel photography in addition to architecture. The only thing the 1Dx doesn't do is ultra-high-resolution landscape and studio photography.

Which is why I still own and use the D800, too. That said, if Canon comes out with a new, ultra-high-res-sensor FF body, with specs and performance to match or better the D800, I'll probably plump for it and sell off the Nikon gear, to save my sanity: switching back and forth from one system to the other is crazy-making.

Hope this helps.



Nov 10, 2012 at 06:36 PM
spdntrxi
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p.2 #15 · p.2 #15 · Canon users who switched to Nikon D800E


Psychic1 wrote:
PM sent, standby


you would be the last person I pick to correctly word a poll.



Nov 10, 2012 at 07:39 PM
splathrop
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p.2 #16 · p.2 #16 · Canon users who switched to Nikon D800E


snapsy, much obliged. Excellent feedback. Alas, I do have a reason for the extra resolution—if I can focus well enough to take advantage of it. I make and sell prints > 40-inches wide. That's why it's a dilemma, but your info helps, especially because that Zeiss 50mm MP is one of my go-to lenses. Wonder if the problem at f/5.6 is corrected if you move your hyperfocal target a little farther out? Were you able to discern the soft corners at f/5.6 using D800 live view, or did you have wait to put the image on the computer?


Nov 10, 2012 at 08:27 PM
Jeff Donald
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p.2 #17 · p.2 #17 · Canon users who switched to Nikon D800E


“The single most important component of a camera is the twelve inches behind it.” – Ansel Adams

"There is nothing worse than a sharp image of a fuzzy concept." - Ansel Adams

“A lot of photographers think that if they buy a better camera they’ll be able to take better photographs. A better camera won’t do a thing for you if you don’t have anything in your head or in your heart.” - Arnold Newman

I don't mean to sound rude or condescending, but you need to figure out a few things before you believe that you're being limited by your equipment.



Nov 10, 2012 at 09:24 PM
stanj
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p.2 #18 · p.2 #18 · Canon users who switched to Nikon D800E


Loved the D800E on assignment, and the pictures that I shot 1DX vs. D800E the D800E won for DR and detail for sure. Ergonomics and the rest I did not particularly care for, tho.


Nov 10, 2012 at 10:07 PM
burningheart
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p.2 #19 · p.2 #19 · Canon users who switched to Nikon D800E


I agree with the dynamic range and detail comments and the Ergonomics take a lot getting used to. I have been shooting it side by side with my 5D MKII.

The lenses I have been most pleased with for Landscape shooting are Nikon 14-24, 28 (1.4), Zeiss ZF 18, 25 (2.0), 35 (1.4) and a Lietaxed Leica R 70-180 APO.

Recently I was doing a lot of daytime long exposure and night photography out in the wilderness and experienced a couple of difficulties with longer exposures (30 seconds plus).

As mentioned above Live View not having low contrast I found bumping the ISO gave me the ability to see better in low light or low contrast. The 5D MKII had no problems in that same light or contrast. I also found in extremely low light (nighttime) that the Live View on the D800E would stop being useful long before the 5D MKII.

When using a Heliopan 82mm Neutral Density (ND) 3.0 Filter(10 stop) for blurring water/waterfalls, movements in the wind for some reason but not always a red flare would show up in the final image, the same filter mounted on the 5D MKII on the same lens never gives a flare. Ironically if I used an 8 stop vari-nd there is no flare on the D800E. I am still investigating the cause.

I use some ZF lenses not ZF.2 and use the Non CPU settings in the menu system, one thing I found different from the D700 is the Meter Coupling Lever snaps back slower than it did on the D700 did. It caused problems on some of the lens with NON-CPU and the meter would jump all over when I set the aperture and the shutter speed would be way off. What I found was the lens must be at minimum aperture when mounting the lens. Then the Non CPU option continued to work fine when I later reset the aperture on the lens.

The extra detail is great but focus and composition must be dead on.

The colors rendered are different, I prefer the blues and greens of the 5D MKII.

The AF when I use it (very rare) has been perfect and I have not seen the left AF issue.

The one thing I didn't have to do was get new lenses for the D800E. I have a few Nikon lenses but most of my Alt lens I have purchased over time were in an F mount. The D800E was an upgrade from my D700.

I still use my Canon more than the Nikon in a recent course 70% of my shots submitted for assignments were taken with the 5D MKII even though I was using both equally. I found on some shots the extra detail took away from the final result. Long exposure on a waterfall, the foreground detail over shadowed the soft blur of the falls. The exact same shot with the 5D MKII and same lens looked better.



Nov 10, 2012 at 11:32 PM
Tom Dix
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p.2 #20 · p.2 #20 · Canon users who switched to Nikon D800E


I love the pontificators and the better than thou crowd. Terrific advice. Never shot the camera, however, that will not stop the dribble. Ansel Adams quotes. Feel like I'm back in art school. Tres chic.

I have been able to use the D800 and D800E. Really like the e. it has outstanding DR and wonderful resolution for 35 format dig. The E wil be able to produce some outstanding scapes. For me I like the 1dx and 1ds3. Just me and also love the tse 24 and 90 for scape stuff. I have a history with Nikon from FM to F5. They have some solid gear. I believe you will get solid results with the E and Nikkor or Zeiss optics.

I don't know if you know this but 1. It's important to use the camera as you intend. And. 2. A better camera does NOT make you a better photographer. I just learned that in this thead!! Wacky! 2 decades of upgrading. I'm wasting time and money. I would have made a ton more green in my biz if I only knew?!?!

Warning!!! Serious sarcasm in this post mixed with actual experience with camera in question.

The best whatever you chose.



Nov 11, 2012 at 12:31 AM
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