d800 is not for me

<p><strong>"d4 body with d800 sensor option would be nice"</strong><br>

<strong></strong> <br>

<strong></strong>Don't worry, with D3x already out of production, the D4x will arrive soon .</p>

<p>.....I may just have to get my paws on one, just to weed out my collection of macro's.<br>

(______________ ) < Space reserved for my complaints if I get the occasion.</p>

<p>if there was to be a d4x that would fill the bill. but reading nikon rumors, which has a pretty good batting average, the d4/d800 is the starting lineup for foreseeable future.</p>

<p>I understand the issue to some degree. Though I don't like the oversized bodies (Dx). I do like having a good grip on the camera.<br>

Hey John (jon?) - why did you black out the Fujifilm on your S5?<br>

Now if Fuji would come out with a real S6 and have it full frame I would be interested.</p>

<p>?</p>

<p>As some others pointed out, it's a matter of taste, of personal preferance. Personally, I love heavy, but small cameras, with a medium weight fixed focal length lens in front of it and another one in my pocket. No need for a lighter camera, as I don't carry twenty zooms...</p>

<p>Btw, I don't feel comfortable with todays ergonomically shaped bodies either, as they aren't made for my pianist's hands. I feel better with the simple design of many old manual cameras, like screw-mount Leicas. I do even prefer the awkward handling of a simple folder, as awkward finger movements seem natural for me, while the ergonomic grips don't. Can't really explain that.</p>

<p>I like a heavier camera for the stability it provides with handheld shots. I have a battery grip on my D7000 and will do the same for the D800, if and when it ever arrives. I don't pack into the mountains with gear these days, but I used to lug three or four Nikons, 2 Hasseblads and a 4x5, tent, sleeping bag and food for a couple of days. Have we become a bunch of wimps? Where are the real location photographers? Today my day pack of gear is under 30 pounds and my next birthday is my 70th.</p>

". . . the dinky d700 felt weighless in my hands and i couldn't hold it steady."

 

You might want to cut down on the coffee. I admit I have trouble holding a tiny Sony TX-10 steady, but it's no problem to hold a Leica M steady (even though it's smaller and lighter than a D700).

<p>machael fatali still backpacks with his 8x10. best landscape work produced today. if you go to zion you have to see his gallery. hell i use to take an 8x20 with an 8x10 rear assembly backpacking. that was fun</p>

<p><a href="../photodb/user?user_id=2344388">Matt Laur</a>: Wish I could give your comment a thumbs up!</p>

<p>can i have your D800 then? (something to be said for he-men...heeheehee :)</p>

<p>David , can we see some of your " hand held" work ? The ones you took with the Hasselblad which you said is rock steady ?<br>

I am interested to see some.<br>

In my experience. hand held images would be way less sharp than those on a tripod.<br>

I suppose with Yosemite at your back door, you dont have to walk far to get a great shot hence you wanting a heavy camera. Right ?</p>

<p> </p>

<p>i'm not good at moving items to the net from files. the hasselblad that is handheld is the one in kings canyon of the bending earth.<br>

<a href="http://www5.snapfish.com/snapfish/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=5808276027/a=5650067027_5650067027/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/">http://www5.snapfish.com/snapfish/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=5808276027/a=5650067027_5650067027/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/</a></p>

<blockquote>

<p>the auto industry for the last 30 years or so have gone from designing cars for men to designing cars for women.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>News flash. It's 2012. Women have disposable income and make important household purchasing decisions. Plus those cars are far more efficient and still crank out a lot of power.</p>

 

<blockquote>

<p>it seems as if nikon and the rest of the camera makers have changed their designs to make cameras for small handed people who can't lift a feather.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Every technology-based product has been miniaturized: computers, cell phones, disk drives.</p>

 

<blockquote>

<p>i am sure there are other men out there who have the same complaint that i have trying to handle these tiny toys in their large hands.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>So you'd like to connect with men who have a size obsession?</p>

 

<blockquote>

<p>the dinky d700 felt weighless in my hands and i couldn't hold it steady.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>In all honesty, how many other folks have this same problem? Maybe it's only you. But if you'd rather blame Nikon than work on your own technique, I do have a solution for you. Buy a six-pound aluminum tripod and a large ball head. Clamp the assembly to your D800. Voilà, your effeminate little DSLR now weighs ten pounds, and you won't have to feel like a girlie man when you whip it out.</p>

<p>Davei, I agree. You should not purchase a D800; it is much too small. And the rest of you reading this list should not purchase one either. Obviously there is not a lens made that is good enough to bring out its full potential, and to reach its potential it must be mounted on a sturdy tripod or better yet, set in concrete.</p>

<p>Be sure to relay this to all your friends. You would not want them to spend all that money and be disappointed.</p>

<p>Soon unsold D800 cameras will line the shelves and fill the warehouses of camera sellers everywhere. Nikon will see the error of its ways and be forced to liquidate the line for pennies on the dollar.</p>

<p>...And I will finally be able to purchase my first DSLR at a reasonable price. Wimp that I am, I will not be shamed by being seen with such a petite camera. If my poor lenses cannot bring out the best in the camera, I will just have to settle for "second best", and since I do not own a tripod, I will have to live with the motion blur (although Adobe may have a fix for that).</p>

<p>Well, a fellow can dream, can't he? <GRIN></p>

<p>David,</p>

<p>You do get used to it. I have an F4s, and converted it down to the basic F4 with the smaller battery back. It still weighs a good amount more than the D7000 I bought. I like the larger radius of the grip too. With the F4, I find I hold the camera by the grip alone, when not shooting. but, with the D7000, the grip is smaller and the camera lighter, so I tend to hold it under the camera/lens center of balance, and not on the grip. It doesn't feel as solid to me. That being said, I have gotten more used to it, as time goes. I can use a smaller camera bag or get more in a larger one. Would I prefer a larger body ? Yes. but not at THOSE costs ! So, I just tell myself, " It's the lens that matters, not what the body behind it weighs. "</p>

 

<p>Wow, this has totally become a competition.</p>

<p>David, things are still designed for men ... even cars. I point you towards the 2013 Ford Taurus SHO coming out next month. Seriously, look it up ... it's like a cross between a BMW 7-series and an M5. I won't bore everyone with specs, but if you like big, fast, cushy cars and you don't have $100,000+ to spend, it's the car for you.</p>

<p>I would do things to that car that would make my girlfriend weep with jealousy.</p>

<p>But the SHO package is an option on top of a regular Ford Taurus. The Taurus is an excellent car (I drive a 2005 now), but it's not nearly as sexy or as flat-out bonkers as the SHO. Other companies like Subaru make 300+ bhp AWD cars, but they aren't as cushy and relaxing to drive as the Taurus.</p>

<p>The point is that, if you're not Andre the Giant or some other He-Man, people make cameras for you. Whether it's adding a battery grip and a Camera Armour skin (they still make those, right?), or using some sort of oddball third-party attachment system, you can make the camera bigger. Unless you can afford a D3/D4 there will be very little that feels right out of the box, but if you're willing to spend a little extra/tick off some options boxes, you can make it what you want.</p>

<p>Within reason, of course.</p>

"the auto industry for the last 30 years or so have gone from designing cars for men to designing cars for women."

 

The base-model 2012 Camaros and Mustangs have roughly twice as much horsepower as the high-performance models did in 1982 (not to mention much better handling). Even a base-model four-door sedan now (e.g. Honda Accord LX) has more horsepower than early 80s "muscle cars."

<p>Maybe just get the battery grip and fill it with testosterone for added weight.</p>

<p>Wow, 100 g saved! I <strong>must</strong> get this camera! (Can I offer some popcorn to tide over this crazy discussion?)</p>

<p>Oh, and Dave: even women dream of (and actually buy!) cars you consider 'male' models. Go figure.</p>

<p>Despite all the negative comments I will be getting one. I look forward to seeing what the new sensor can do for my photos - not that I will be fretting over sharpness too much, just the prospect of nice tones and colour.</p>

<p>My idea for OP is to buy a 8x10 LF camera load the backpack with 20 film holders plus a huge 30lbs tripod, now that's a manly rig.</p>

<blockquote>

<p>Hey John (jon?) - why did you black out the Fujifilm on your S5?<br>

Now if Fuji would come out with a real S6 and have it full frame I would be interested.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>James P. Jones,</p>

<p>As you can see from the photo below, I only blacked out the camera name on one of my bodies. I use that particular body to take macro/close-up shots in the field.</p>

<p>When I take the macro/close-up shots, there are times when I need to use the built-in flash. I put some Velcro on the front of the pentaprism to allow me to position a large piece of diffusing material in front of the flash.</p>

<p>I too wish that Fuji would release a full frame with the image quality of the S5. However, since it seems that an S6 is not in the future, other than the Nikon D3x, the Nikon D800 may be the next best thing.</p>

<p> </div>

<p>I like the weight of my D700; I like my F5 and Pentax 645 too, but I prefer them with lithium batteries in. I'm glad the D800 isn't much lighter than the D700, but in my mind the D800 is directly competing with the 5D2 for the landscape photography market (and I'm sure there are a lot more 5D2s being used for landscapes than 1Ds3 or D3x cameras). Some people save the weight for other things; if all else fails, a monopod. For me, the D700 actually doesn't balance too badly hand-held on a 200 f/2, and I'm not sure I'd want to hand-hold anything much bigger than that (Shun assures me that a 300 f/2.8 is tricky; I certainly can't hand-hold my 500 f/4 because of the weight distribution, although it's fine on a tripod - my 150-500 is much easier, of course). I support almost everything by the lens anyway, so other than a bit of a feeling of "aw bless, it's dinky" whenever I touch a D40, D5100 or even D7000, it's rare for the camera weight to make much difference to me. I may revisit that when I start using my super-rotator more, but I doubt the D800 will be so light that it puts me off. If it is, there's always the battery pack. Perhaps the exception is that an SB-600 tends to make the D700 a bit top-heavy, whereas my F5 feels a bit more solid, but it's rare that I have the flash on the camera anyway.<br />

<br />

I always wondered who was buying the D3x-alike cameras, though. Now I know!<br />

<br />

A while ago, I observed how much lighter a friend's field 5x4 was than my F5, even before I put something like a 14-24 on it. A Mamiya 6 is *much* lighter. It's a little sobering.</p>

<p>wonder what happened to the OP after he posted ? :)</p>