Nikon Announced D800 and D800E, 36MP FX-Format

<p>Anti-aliasing filters prevent aliasing (jagged edges) and moire (various bad things that happen when shooting certain types of patterns). They do so by causing a slight blur. If you compare a camera with and without an AA filter, looking at the pixels at 100%, the image without the AA filter will have those problems and appear a bit sharper.</p>

<p>A lot of people like to look at their images at 100% and obsess over sharpness, so services have appeared that remove AA filters from normal cameras. This may or may not be a good idea. But Nikon evidently thinks they can get in on that action. My personal recommendation: unless you know exactly what you're doing, don't get the E. If you take a really sharp shot of, say, sailcloth, it will have a pattern that will cause a moire effect with the E.</p>

<p>The 18-200 is a DX lens. The D800 is an FX camera. If you mount a DX lens on an FX camera, you have two options: leave the camera in FX mode and the corners will be black and edges will be darkened and blurred (usually not a good effect) or put the camera in DX mode (it will only use the center part of the frame, and produce a smaller image - on the D800 this is about a 15 MP image). So if you're attached to that lens you actually want a DX camera - look at the D7000. If you want to properly use the D800 you want FX lenses. E.g., the 18-200 would be replaced by a 28-300 (which is more expensive).</p>

<p>"1. Ever since the announcement of the D800 and D800E all I hear about is anti-aliasing. It seems to me that what is being implied is that before the D800E Nikon cameras did not produce sharp images due to the anti-aliasing feature. Is this anti-aliasing discussion is being blown out of proportion?"</p>

<p>No, it's just that in a pro setting (ideal studio, etc), and careful shooting, it's possible to get a tiny bit more detail from the D800 with the filter removed (or in this case changed). The D800e is a specialist product. It's exactly the same as any camera before.</p>

<p>"2. I currently have a AF-S Nikkor 18-200 1:3.5-5.6 G ED lens. Will this work on the D800?<br>

I shoot nautical and landscapes. I do not have the technical level that Shun and others have regarding Nikon cameras and want to make the right decision on which camera is best for my shooting needs."</p>

<p>More resolution will make any existing lens "better" (more specifically, it will make the entire optical system less bad), or in this case significantly better going if going from D700 to D800, if you believe in physics.</p>

<p>"The D800 is camera designed for the highest quality; its cost is not expensive considering what it offers. This means it is going to be sold to wealthy amateurs who have no need for it other than the bragging value of saying that I have a 36mp Camera. It is not going to make these misguided posers take any better photos."<br /><br />It will make the photos technically better (more contrast for same lens for example), but technically better has always been only one aspect to photography.</p>

<p>"Asking about using a DX 18-200 lens with D800 shows that you have not any need for this camera at all. A D800 demands the best lenses. "</p>

<p>This is entirely incorrect and betrays zero understanding of how optical systems work. A D800 with decent stock zooms will likely outperform a D700 or lower camera with typical primes.</p>

<p>The proper way to think about it is that both the lens and sensor are filters which degrade optical performance. An improvement in one (to be less bad) doesn't necessarily affect the filter/blur effect of the other, and thus always improves the system as a whole.</p>

<p>Members who have just received the first batch of D800 bodies have now confirmed that it is made in Japan: <a href="00aBES">http://www.photo.net/nikon-camera-forum/00aBES</a></p>