Is $500 more worthwhile?

[FutureFocus]

I had my heart and mind set on getting a D800E. Then late last month, the plug was pulled on the $200 instant rebate for that model which reverted more or less to full list price which one can get about anywhere. The rebate for the D-800 however was extended through April 27th Go figure, why was that?

So now there's roughly about a $500 price differential. Is the 800E really worth it?

I've often read through the threads on various forums for the past month or two to try to learn, gauge sentiment and follow the issues. There have been those who migrated from a 800 to an 800E due to added sharpness which is the chief attraction for myself. However others chose the 800 and couldn't justify the extra bucks for the E. Maybe it depends on the quality of ones eyesight or your shooting technique.

There also seems to be more support for the 800's video quality. I have no way of verifying that. To my knowledge no local store carries them in stock, so I will buy one of the two sight unseen mail-order.

One poster suggested to take the $500 savings and use latter towards a lens purchase which makes sense. This will be my first FX body. Just picked up a 24-120 f4 a month ago. Most lens worth buying are a grand or two, so the 24-120 will have to do for now.

Being a regular B&H customer, maybe a manager could be persuaded to knock the 200 off but I'm not counting on it.

So bottom-line, does the lack of a AA filter & somewhat enhanced sharpness merit the difference? Is it really noticeable to the average shooter?

I'm torn, if the instant rebate was still on for the E, I'd go for it.

Is the E less liable or prone to issues or is it still the luck of the draw?

What considerations, factors and differences should be carefully weighed in order to make decision I'm happy with?

Please advise.

Thanks

 

[TonyW]

I cannot really comment on the qualities of one vs the other, however as I am considering a move to FX your post is interesting and FWIW currently my opinions are:

• Both cameras are superb there is no doubt particularly when coupled with good glass and just as important good technique in shooting the quality achievable is fantastic.
• If you are largely shooting for web and smaller prints than A3 I doubt that you will gain any real benefit. In fact it is debatable in this case if you really need 36MP accept for cropability?
• If you do not own high end glass then the benefits of either body are lessened
• Commercial studio photographers would probably benefit most from the D800E
• Landscape photographers downsizing from MF or LF may also feel happier with D800E
• The risk of introducing moire is slightly increased by the D800E under certain conditions. In most cases this can be minimised or eliminated with pp if not anticipated or seen at the time of exposure
• The difference in definition between the two cameras seems to be relatively small at least in those comparisons I have seen. I would think that the differences could be minimised by good sharpening techniques in pp

Check out the many images posted by D800 users on this forum examples that come to mind Randy, colincarter, trenchmonkey, gnagel - apologies to others who I have missed :biggrin:

I am sure you would be delighted with either camera and in the case of the D800 the money saved would perhaps go to a further investment in first class glass

EDIT:

I had my heart and mind set on getting a D800E

This may be the most telling statement as if you do go the D800 route will you be totally satisfied you have made the right decision and not yearn for what might have been :wink:

 

[geowu]

Hi FF,

I was in the same dilemma a few months ago. But to be able to provide any sort of responsible recommendation it will help to know what kind of shooter you are (i.e. novice, intermediate, enthusiast, professional) and what kind of photography where image quality matters to you most (i.e. weddings, portraits, commercial product photography, landscape, general family and travel, etc).

Geo

 

[Randy]

I don't see why it matters what you shoot or who you are
The D800 is an amazing camera and I have not seen anything the E can do that the non E can't so IMO no way it's worth 500 more

 

[cbbr]

I don't see why it matters what you shoot or who you are
The D800 is an amazing camera and I have not seen anything the E can do that the non E can't so IMO no way it's worth 500 more

This may be the first time that you have not helped someone spend more money. :biggrin:

 

[Thorsten]

Unless you look with a microscope, these are the same cameras. When these were released, if Nikon would not have told anybody about the "E" and secretly mixed some of those (without the "E" letter) in with regular D800 bodies, I'm sure nobody would have noticed.

 

[Randy]

This may be the first time that you have not helped someone spend more money. :biggrin:

:smile:

But if he buys a d800 that cnts

 

[Darrell C]

:smile:

But if he buys a d800 that cnts

Oh how true the words.

 

[Randy]

I bet no one would be surprised to find out I secretly work for Nikon and get a commission for every cafe sale.....jkof but its good for a chuckle

 

[nuclearjock]

I bet no one would be surprised to find out I secretly work for Nikon and get a commission for every cafe sale.....jkof but its good for a chuckle

Isn't that what KR does?? :smile:

 

[FutureFocus]

I had written a several paragraph response and before posting I lost my internet connection so it was lost. To sum up I'm somewhere between an enthusiast & a intermediate who shoots scenery, fall foliage, covered bridges, waterfalls, running water, lighthouses, artsy and vibrant objects, the occasional landscape and a portrait once in a great while, I'd like to get into bird & animal photography.

Do any of you have a view on the quality of the video?

How much user control and functionality does it offer? As a videographer that interests me however my goal is to get great still quality.

 

[Chris Kelleher]

Unless you look with a microscope, these are the same cameras. When these were released, if Nikon would not have told anybody about the "E" and secretly mixed some of those (without the "E" letter) in with regular D800 bodies, I'm sure nobody would have noticed.

I agree... I went back and forth on this as well, but I think sticking with the D800 and putting the extra $$ toward some nice lenses is the way to go.

 

[uscmatt99]

I haven't used either camera, but looked extensively at some controlled comparisons when shopping around. I think that if you use great glass at optimum apertures of f/4-f/5.6 on a tripod with MLU and remote-release, you can see a definite difference in large prints and at 100% on a monitor. There is more fine-detail contrast. I haven't seen too much color artifact compared to other cameras without an AA filter like the Ricoh GXR, Leica M9 and M-240. Otherwise I seriously doubt that blinded observers could see a difference between the two, especially with the variables of focus inconsistency, subject movement, etc.

For what it's worth, I use a D600 and even though it has an AA filter, it is rather weak and the pixel level detail is outstanding, at the cost of some aliasing chroma and luminance artifacts with my better lenses. The live-view is much easier to focus manually with if you do that sort of thing, compared to the D800. And you can use the cheap IR remote from behind or in front of the camera as it has sensors on both sides.

 

[Winkle]

Isn't that what KR does?? :smile:

He's been schilling the 5DIII more for Canon though lately.

 

[geowu]

I had written a several paragraph response and before posting I lost my internet connection so it was lost. To sum up I'm somewhere between an enthusiast & a intermediate who shoots scenery, fall foliage, covered bridges, waterfalls, running water, lighthouses, artsy and vibrant objects, the occasional landscape and a portrait once in a great while, I'd like to get into bird & animal photography.

Do any of you have a view on the quality of the video?

How much user control and functionality does it offer? As a videographer that interests me however my goal is to get great still quality.

Hi FF - thanks for the added info. As you see, to some there is no or very little perceptable difference btwn the D800&E, and that's true...mostly. I am convinced there is a difference but only for a "narrowly defined" type of images. If you don't know what that is, then most likely it doesn't matter to your type of photography, and you'll be happy with a D800. That's not meant to be an insult to your capabilities or artistic photographic vision. It took me several years to determine/shape my vision for landscape work. After some experience i learned what i was looking for could best be accomplished with cameras that don't have an AA filter. Lately, I've been working with a professional printer to create large (20x30) gallery quality prints for my portfolio of landscapes. I'm using a D800, the printer uses an E and we've been comparing printed outputs. I love my camera for just about everything, but for landscapes that feature distant manmade structures (eg city skylines, bridges, etc) the added detail an E produce can make an image pop...even at normal viewing distances, but especially on large prints. As people say, you can sharpen a D800 to match the E, and that's what I have been doing. Judicious sharpening works well as long as the areas sharpened lay within an exceptable dynamic range. But venturing beyond that range, sharpening can potentially introduce noticeable noise in those areas. An E can reduce the time spent in my workflow sharpening those difficult areas with much less risk of noise, plus it responds fantastically to sharpening in the normal DR areas.

I shoot RAW only. But I'm told that some clients require JPG and that the D800E delivers significantly and noticeably better JPG images straight out of camera. I can't personally attest to this since I haven't compared the two for JPG output, however there are reviews out there that seem to confirm this.

Oh, I don't shoot video either but I attended a couple of professional gatherings for wedding photograhers. For stills, I'm told the moire issue is mostly blown out of proportion, if it shows up it can be fixed in post. BUT if it shows up in video there is nothing that can be done. Apparently moire rears its head more readily in video than stills. Since there is no do overs for weddings, and their reputation is on the line for each job, the few I spoke to (I know this isn't very scientific) chose to err on side of caution and use the D800 over the E.

I could go on for pages on this subject, but I have to cut it short. For your type of photography and at your level, I think you'll be very happy with the D800 (as will most people).

Hope this helps,
geo

 

[FutureFocus]

I just wanted to thank all of the contributors who helped me decide to purchase a D-800 which arrives tomorrow.

Your responses were very valuable.

 

[Tony Ad]

I just wanted to thank all of the contributors who helped me decide to purchase a D-800 which arrives tomorrow.

Your responses were very valuable.

Congrats on your new toy!:smile:

 

[Jonathan F/2]

I've had both. Couldn't tell the difference between them in real world use. Quality glass is makes the biggest difference.

 

[GuaroGuaro]

I should have gone with the E. I'm almost sure every DSLR will ship without the AA filter from now on.

 

[Chris Kelleher]

I've had both. Couldn't tell the difference between them in real world use. Quality glass is makes the biggest difference.

Yes, I would have to agree, you'll want to try and stay with Nikon's list of lenses for "enhanced sharpness" listed in the D800 technical guide. Unfortunately most of them cost as much as the D800, if not more