At what size print does the difference in megapixels start to become noticeable?

How many would opt for the D4 over the D800?



Thanks again

very.big.

I don't print my images often so can't really comment on that, but I use both cameras and can say that for me the D4 makes my life easier so far as knowing I'm a little more likely to get the shot.

The D800 is awesome, but I find I have to work harder to nail the shot, but respect and understand it and it seriously delivers. I think I'm still learning to get it under control though.

Everything about the D4 just fills you with confidence and I guess with the pro line cameras they are intentionally built with that purpose in mind. Sometimes it's like the D4 is one step ahead of me and it really is a joy to use.

If I had to choose one I'd go for the D4.

ct8282 wrote:
I don't print my images often so can't really comment on that, but I use both cameras and can say that for me the D4 makes my life easier so far as knowing I'm a little more likely to get the shot.

The D800 is awesome, but I find I have to work harder to nail the shot, but respect and understand it and it seriously delivers. I think I'm still learning to get it under control though.

Everything about the D4 just fills you with confidence and I guess with the pro line cameras they are intentionally built with that purpose in mind. Sometimes it's like the D4 is one step ahead of me and it really is a joy to use.

If I had to choose one I'd go for the D4.

what he said

Not quite in the same boat but (D3s and D800 here) but I would most likely pick the D4 over the D800. I tend to grab the D3s as it is...

For printing, im going to take a wild guess and say 18"+ is when you might start to notice very small changes if you're really pixel (dot) peeping on large prints. If I was strictly a landscape photographer, I'd probably go the D800 route. But I'm not, and the D4 handles everything you can throw at it, and then some.

With D3 - A3 can be printed at 300 DPi or so.. from what I saw, A2 isnt problem, but it depends what you shoot. If you keep it at base ISO, it can be printed pretty crazy big, cause its per-pixel clean.

Tho obviously, upon close inspection if you would compare A2 prints from D3 and D800 you would see difference.

Its bit complicated matter, cause it doesnt depend only on camera but on print resolution/quality too.

Advantage of D800 is, that you can squeeze that resolution to smaller print too and if you do resizing right and print in high resolution (350 DPi) it will be visible. If you look close enough.


I would say that D800 for landscape is pretty good choice, if you intent to print big. If you want to shoot "almost everything", then D4 or D3s or even old D3 is enough.

12 mpix isnt much of limit, when its per-pixel sharp and clean picture. I prefer low res with high per pixel sharpness/lowest possible noise over high resolution and noise.

Ok thanks

i went with a d4..16mp is plenty for most things, and i like the faster all around performance, handling and speed of the camera for what i do...plus the better low light performance...

I just recently printed a bunch of 18x24's (3x4 crop) that were shot with D3. 3s, 700 and 800... If I didn't know which cameras I used I wouldn't be able to tell the difference. The 12mp files were upscaled in Perfect Resize.

ACNYPhoto wrote:
I just recently printed a bunch of 18x24's (3x4 crop) that were shot with D3. 3s, 700 and 800... If I didn't know which cameras I used I wouldn't be able to tell the difference. The 12mp files were upscaled in Perfect Resize.

I have said the same before but most people just wanna hear what they wanna hear.

I have both cameras and find myself using the D800 more. The D4 does well for infants and fast paced prints, but with the D800 I augment the details a lot more in post as well so it gives me more room to retouch. If you don't post-process much, then the differences are not noticable at all.

I wish I had both, but the D800 allows such extreme cropping, retaining so much detail.

I don't need the full 36mp, but it sure is nice to pick the few mp I really like best out of a lot of frames and have them still looking razor sharp.

If they were the same weight and price, I would choose the D4.
But I can crop my D800 (Landscape orientation) image to 1/3 and print it Portrait 17x25.
With the same glass, only then would you tell the difference.

I have the D4 and D800E. Both are great cameras but the D4 is much more versatile and built better. Unless you are printing more than 24x36, the D4 is fine. The low light capability is much better on the D4 - not just 1 stop unless you are downsampling the D800 - then you are losing the resolution advantage. Also, because of the toggle switch on the D4, focusing is much easier and faster than the D800. And the build quality is so much better on the D4. So if you only buy one camera, I would strongly recommend the D4.

I am staring at a print 16x28" and amazed about the IQ if the print: it is an image of D3, that I took with me as a backup for D4. Please see this
http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1163636

D800 every day of the week unless you are a "spray and pray" sports shooter.

the D4 was made for sports, for everything else the D800 is the superior camera.

As for the iso, there isnt as much difference as you think, the D4 (and the d3 before it) loose massive amounts of detail at high iso to keep that low noise look.

apply good NR to a D800 file and it will look as good as a D4 file but with more visible retained detail.

Obviously you only have a D800 and not a D4. The D4 is the flagship for a reason, not just for sports. Shoot one for some time and you will see that the D4 is the daily camera and the D809 is for those special, mega-print shots.

They are both wonderful but the reasons I am leaning towards the D4 are:

1) Its bigger but it feels great in hands. Ergonomics of D4 is fantastic. D800 does not feel as comfortable in my hands.

2) While the D800 has better dynamic range at base ISO, D4 has better dynamic range otherwise.

3) I find D4's 1 button 100% view very helpful

4) Better ISO performance of the D4.

5) I find that I get more in-focus shots with my D4 than the D800. It is a more forgiving camera.

6) 17MP just feels right. 36MP is great for cropping but you have to remember that if your technique is not right then heavily cropping your photo will highlight your problem. Not-so-accurate-focus or high noise will become more apparent in a heavily cropped photo.

The two negatives working against D4 are its size (portability) and the price.

^1 button 100% view on my D800 works fine...and staying at 100% and having it pop to faces as I scroll through a series is pretty amazing too!