Should I buy a Nikon D800 now in Aug 2017

Context : I like taking pictures, I am relatively new to photography. I have a D7100, I have couple of nikon f2.8 full frame lenses that I use on the DX. I have been thinking of upgrading to Full frame for a while now. I mostly shoot my family pictures, mostly for personal and vacation shoots. I sometimes print the pictures to put them up the wall.

Question : Considering the context, now that D850 is released and D810 would also start selling for relatively lesser price(used). Should I go for Used D800, I see used D800 selling for $ 880 to 1K range. with 25K to 35K clicks on it?.

Thank you for your input!. Much appreciated.

Bob

Hi Bob - as long as the body is in excellent condition, there is nothing wrong with the D800. It is a good camera. Some say there's a huge difference between the D800 and the D810; others say no. I have a D800e and chose not to upgrade to the D810.

Should you wait for a D810 rather than get a D800 now? It's up to you how long you want to wait, but that waiting game does have its drawbacks. For example, if you wait long enough for D810 prices to come down, it's possible that D850 prices will come down soon after that, and IMHO, the difference between a D850 and D810 is MUCH bigger than the difference between a D810 and a D800.

-Keith

I expect to see an increase in used D800 and D800E bodies soon (within a month or two and then another about 1/2 year down the road) when those who didn't upgrade to the D810 now make the jump to the D850; prices will continue to drop. There will also be more used D810 bodies available, with their prices moving downward as well.

Some say there's a huge difference between the D800 and the D810; others say no.

I'm in between - IMHO the D810 feels more refined. Entirely subjective impression though.

the difference between a D850 and D810 is MUCH bigger than the difference between a D810 and a D800.

Certainly.

s long as the body is in excellent condition, there is nothing wrong with the D800

Yup, and it'll take some time for D810 prices to come down to D800 level (D800E seem to hold on a bit better than D800).

I think going to FX from a DX sensor will make a remarkable difference in the feel of the photos you take, most of the young photographers I mentor at this program find that to be the case as well. The jump from 24 to 36MP also really opens up the tones a fair bit and lets the colors, the whole image breathe a lot more.

Given the prices of used D800's, I would say heck yes, do it!

I went from a D800e to a D810. The changes are small, but there are a lot of them. It's faster, it doesn't lock up when you shoot in live view and the live view is full res, you have highlight metering, ISO 64 is measurable, I maintain that split live view has its uses (although I've not used it as much as I planned), etc. My impression is that a lot of those, like me, who thought it was a minimal upgrade but jumped with trepidation have generally been happy with it. But the D800 is a very, very capable camera, especially if you're not in a huge hurry with it. Don't forget you get an extra FPS and roughly D750 resolution in 1.2x crop, too!

> The jump from 24 to 36MP also really opens up the tones a fair bit and lets the colors, the whole image breathe a lot more.

That one you might have to explain to me, though! The D800 (and D810) sensor has remarkable dynamic range, which made much more difference to my shooting compared with the D700 than the resolution does. But I don't believe that's because it's a 36MP sensor.

Hi Bob - as long as the body is in excellent condition, there is nothing wrong with the D800. It is a good camera. Some say there's a huge difference between the D800 and the D810; others say no. I have a D800e and chose not to upgrade to the D810.

 

Should you wait for a D810 rather than get a D800 now? It's up to you how long you want to wait, but that waiting game does have its drawbacks. For example, if you wait long enough for D810 prices to come down, it's possible that D850 prices will come down soon after that, and IMHO, the difference between a D850 and D810 is MUCH bigger than the difference between a D810 and a D800.

 

-Keith

I think going to FX from a DX sensor will make a remarkable difference in the feel of the photos you take, most of the young photographers I mentor at this program find that to be the case as well. The jump from 24 to 36MP also really opens up the tones a fair bit and lets the colors, the whole image breathe a lot more.

 

Given the prices of used D800's, I would say heck yes, do it!

Thank you! the experience you have shared from the folks you mentor is very helpful. Hope to see similar difference.

Hi Bob - as long as the body is in excellent condition, there is nothing wrong with the D800. It is a good camera. Some say there's a huge difference between the D800 and the D810; others say no. I have a D800e and chose not to upgrade to the D810.

 

Should you wait for a D810 rather than get a D800 now? It's up to you how long you want to wait, but that waiting game does have its drawbacks. For example, if you wait long enough for D810 prices to come down, it's possible that D850 prices will come down soon after that, and IMHO, the difference between a D850 and D810 is MUCH bigger than the difference between a D810 and a D800.

 

-Keith

Thank you Keith, particularly with 25K clicks and an excellent condition body why not?, your input sure helps reinforce the same.

I think going to FX from a DX sensor will make a remarkable difference in the feel of the photos you take, most of the young photographers I mentor at this program find that to be the case as well. The jump from 24 to 36MP also really opens up the tones a fair bit and lets the colors, the whole image breathe a lot more.

 

Given the prices of used D800's, I would say heck yes, do it!

thank you!.

For family and vacation images, I think the D7100 can already do an excellent job. Any D800, D810 and certainly the D850 will be way an overkill.

Agree :)

That one you might have to explain to me, though! The D800 (and D810) sensor has remarkable dynamic range, which made much more difference to my shooting compared with the D700 than the resolution does. But I don't believe that's because it's a 36MP sensor.

When I went from the D700 to the D800 the difference in color inter-tonality meaning the rendering of subtle colors, micro tonality in terms of edge detail was like looking at a 35mm slide next to a 6x7 medium format slide, it was huge. So even the difference between my D750 and D810 show a fair difference in this regard although it might take a more trained eye to see that difference.

So I think in the OP's case, going from a 24MP DX sensor to a 36MP FX sensor will feel entirely different, a real significant improvement in how the whole image feels in terms of realism and it's color nuance.

I bought my D800 not too long before the first "cryptic" D850 announcements.

I have no regretted waiting-at the time used 810s were still well over $2K, and I don't know how long it will take them to come down to what are now D800 levels.

When I've tested lenses at the local shop, I've usually tested them on a D810 as that's what they have handy. Looking at the images from the 810 vs. my 800 on lenses that I've bought, I see some difference but not enough to make me regret buying a D800.

I too suspect that the D850 will show a significant difference, but then I also spent 1/3 its price and probably more importantly-I've actually had it since the end of July.

As the OP, I do mostly family and vacation pictures.

Last year I bought a used D700 because the price was good, and I wanted to go to full frame.

For one, so some older lenses will work the way they are supposed to, and also the increased ISO range

(compared with the D200).

I suspect that the D700 is good enough for what I need it to do, for some years now.

If I have problems with it, though, and the D800 prices are reasonably, I might go for the D800.

Got my first D800 in 2012, shortly after its introduction

Before that I had been using two D3's, but at times (I shoot a fair bit of fashion and catwalk)

I really wished for more pixels for better detail rendering or extra room for cropping

Didn't encounter the widely on the internet reported and discussed left AF point 'issue', don't think

it really ever existed up to the degree internet hysteria made it

(Originally it was only reported on a number of early series bodies, only encountered when shooting with a wide angle

lens used fully open, Nikon did offer a service repair under the guarantuee for the bodies affected, and that was it)

Did have had my D800's AF recalibrated, but had that done on a different occasion with one of my D3's as well,

after I dropped each camera, although on separate occasions, from a couple of feet high on a respectively concrete,

and a tiled floor while shooting catwalk

Fortunately they basically landed bottom plate first, so no external damage, but the impact was hard enough to

mess up the AF system inside the bodies

Did consider the D810 after its introduction, in many respect a more refined camera then the D800

But looking at what was important for me (AF, high ISO, IQ), the improvements were too incremental to justify the

extra expense upgrading to a D810 would mean, let alone getting a new one next to my then 2 years old D800

(MRSP, which the shops where I live followed, at the introduction was more then double the price for a low

milage D800 at that time)

The real deal breaker for me was the AF of the D810.

While with good light indeed improved speedwise and eg with the Group AFoption, the low light AF performance.

offcicially rated at -2EV, in real life worked well only up to -1EV, after which it would hunt much more then acceptable

The 'old' D800 however will effectively work as low as -3EV, which for me as a regular catwalk and event shooter

really can make or break a shoot

So instead got a 2nd, although 2nd hand, D800 with 120K clicks, at a as a consequence quite low price

In that period a relatively low clicks D800 would go for Eur 1400 to 1500, while my heavy used one cost me

Eur 950 including a battery (of course) and a third party grip

Basically is my back up D800, or at times my 2nd high pixel DSLR, but despite the 120K clicks never has given me

any problems and works flawlessly in the two years since I got it

After the recent introduction of the D850 I have indeed seen the prices for 2nd hand. low click, D800's drop,

although where I live not as low as the price you quote (was around Eur 1500, now Eur 1200).

Similarly the 2nd hand prices for D810 have also dropped, amazingly enough (again, where I live)

relatively more then those of D800's (2nd hand D810 were around Eur 2500 to 2800, I now see

low click D810 on offer for Eur 1800)

Have handled the D850 at an introduction event, was allowed to put AF D and manual lenses on the originally fitted with an

AFS lens demo body and even able to shoot a number of shots in an ISO range of 500 to 12800 on a SD card I had with me

It really is a major step up from the D810, let alone a D800. Much better AF, 1 stop better high ISO up ISO 12800,

coming from a D800 huge buffer and faster -full frame - fps

Probably will sell my high milage D800 and upgrade to one in a couple of months, after the current exitement has

subdued and it bcomes more widely available, hopefully at a somewhat lower price

Coming from a D7100 (I have one too, it's my grab and go 'litte' camera for the occasions I don't want to

haul the big and heavy - and expensive - FX bodies along all day, but still want better Q then my phone)

with a D800 you will indeed see a huge step up, obviously in IQ but also high ISO (at least one stop), AF and

buffer (at least 15 RAW)

So if the D800 you intend to buy is in good condition, doesn't have a bent lens mount, has a properly working AF

(like the AF on any camera, that may have gotten misaligned, even if not as a consequence of the left AF point,

as far as that really was an issue), the price you mention is quite attractive and seems a pretty good deal

I too suspect that the D850 will show a significant difference, but then I also spent 1/3 its price and probably more importantly-I've actually had it since the end of July.

Thank you for sharing your experience.

Got my first D800 in 2012, shortly after its introduction

Before that I had been using two D3's, but at times (I shoot a fair bit of fashion and catwalk)

I really wished for more pixels for better detail rendering or extra room for cropping

Didn't encounter the widely on the internet reported and discussed left AF point 'issue', don't think

it really ever existed up to the degree internet hysteria made it

(Originally it was only reported on a number of early series bodies, only encountered when shooting with a wide angle

lens used fully open, Nikon did offer a service repair under the guarantuee for the bodies affected, and that was it)

 

Did have had my D800's AF recalibrated, but had that done on a different occasion with one of my D3's as well,

after I dropped each camera, although on separate occasions, from a couple of feet high on a respectively concrete,

and a tiled floor while shooting catwalk

Fortunately they basically landed bottom plate first, so no external damage, but the impact was hard enough to

mess up the AF system inside the bodies

 

Did consider the D810 after its introduction, in many respect a more refined camera then the D800

But looking at what was important for me (AF, high ISO, IQ), the improvements were too incremental to justify the

extra expense upgrading to a D810 would mean, let alone getting a new one next to my then 2 years old D800

(MRSP, which the shops where I live followed, at the introduction was more then double the price for a low

milage D800 at that time)

 

The real deal breaker for me was the AF of the D810.

While with good light indeed improved speedwise and eg with the Group AFoption, the low light AF performance.

offcicially rated at -2EV, in real life worked well only up to -1EV, after which it would hunt much more then acceptable

The 'old' D800 however will effectively work as low as -3EV, which for me as a regular catwalk and event shooter

really can make or break a shoot

 

So instead got a 2nd, although 2nd hand, D800 with 120K clicks, at a as a consequence quite low price

In that period a relatively low clicks D800 would go for Eur 1400 to 1500, while my heavy used one cost me

Eur 950 including a battery (of course) and a third party grip

Basically is my back up D800, or at times my 2nd high pixel DSLR, but despite the 120K clicks never has given me

any problems and works flawlessly in the two years since I got it

 

After the recent introduction of the D850 I have indeed seen the prices for 2nd hand. low click, D800's drop,

although where I live not as low as the price you quote (was around Eur 1500, now Eur 1200).

Similarly the 2nd hand prices for D810 have also dropped, amazingly enough (again, where I live)

relatively more then those of D800's (2nd hand D810 were around Eur 2500 to 2800, I now see

low click D810 on offer for Eur 1800)

 

Have handled the D850 at an introduction event, was allowed to put AF D and manual lenses on the originally fitted with an

AFS lens demo body and even able to shoot a number of shots in an ISO range of 500 to 12800 on a SD card I had with me

It really is a major step up from the D810, let alone a D800. Much better AF, 1 stop better high ISO up ISO 12800,

coming from a D800 huge buffer and faster -full frame - fps

Probably will sell my high milage D800 and upgrade to one in a couple of months, after the current exitement has

subdued and it bcomes more widely available, hopefully at a somewhat lower price

 

Coming from a D7100 (I have one too, it's my grab and go 'litte' camera for the occasions I don't want to

haul the big and heavy - and expensive - FX bodies along all day, but still want better Q then my phone)

with a D800 you will indeed see a huge step up, obviously in IQ but also high ISO (at least one stop), AF and

buffer (at least 15 RAW)

 

So if the D800 you intend to buy is in good condition, doesn't have a bent lens mount, has a properly working AF

(like the AF on any camera, that may have gotten misaligned, even if not as a consequence of the left AF point,

as far as that really was an issue), the price you mention is quite attractive and seems a pretty good deal

Hello Paul, Totally appreciate your time and inputs. I am sure it would help many others reading this post.

I expect to see an increase in used D800 and D800E bodies soon (within a month or two and then another about 1/2 year down the road) when those who didn't upgrade to the D810 now make the jump to the D850; prices will continue to drop. There will also be more used D810 bodies available, with their prices moving downward as well.

 

I'm in between - IMHO the D810 feels more refined. Entirely subjective impression though.

 

Certainly.

 

Yup, and it'll take some time for D810 prices to come down to D800 level (D800E seem to hold on a bit better than D800).

Thank you!

I just upgraded to FX with a D800. Low frame count and good condition, I got to rent it first to get to know it and shoot a wedding with it. It is excellent. Does the 810 have some upgrades? Certainly but I doubt I will miss any of those. The 850 will be great I am sure but the 800 is doing all I ask of it very smoothly and without getting in my way. I think you will be very happy with it. I've noticed that just because there is a newer camera body out there doesn't mean the previous one is no longer any good. I actually get a lot of use from my D200's at some events.

Rick H.

First, my background. I've owned & used the D7100, now have D800E. I mostly shoot outdoors, and travel a fair amount. As for buying something right now, I would not. Most people will hang on to what they already have and sell after they receive something new. Prices on D800/D800E cameras will likely be at low ebb in early February. I expect the drop off to start in late November. Now on to the camera. I generally use the D800E when I photo alone. To get the most out of it I use a tripod, which slows things down considerably. That much resolution quickly shows blur. The camera and its lenses are pretty heavy though. For the past two years I've been using a Nikon D5300 with Sigma 17-50mm f2.8 for family outings. It's much quicker to use, less bulk, and lighter to carry. When I go off by myself and am not hiking at high altitude, I generally will use the D800E. There is no difference in image quality between D800E and D810, and I think the autofocus is the same too. Most likely I will totally skip the D810 (unless one comes to me REALLY cheap!) and buy a D850 when used prices drop below $2,000.

Kent in SD

For family and vacation images, I think the D7100 can already do an excellent job. Any D800, D810 and certainly the D850 will be way an overkill.

Agree

I rather pay $1000 for a slightly used D800 than $1250 for a new D7500 - especially given the fact that the OP already has the FX lenses for the new acquisition. Will the D800 be better than the D7100? Given that the D7100 in particular isn't exactly a speed demon, there's not going to be much of a loss or gain in performance and the main differences will be down to whatever advantage the OP sees in having FX over DX and that are important enough to him to consider this upgrade.

What's the overkill? 36MP instead of 24MP - either can be considered too much for the OP's applications. Shooting children at play or sports may tax the AF of either camera - so even a D500 or D850 may result in more keepers due to the improved AF performance.

Simply forget what year we are living in. - Dig out old reviews, consider a camera desirable or not for your needs, compared to what you have now and make up your mind and grab it for an appropriate price.

25-35K clicks don't mean much. - How long will it take you to kill such a shutter at your current pace? - I guess "eternally"?

36MP might be a bit overkill but if your hardware gets along with them: Why not?

I'm not saying "stop thinking, just buy" I suggest making an educated guess if you'll be able to enjoy whatever you are planning to buy. There is no global right or wrong.

So I think in the OP's case, going from a 24MP DX sensor to a 36MP FX sensor will feel entirely different, a real significant improvement in how the whole image feels in terms of realism and it's color nuance.

Mmm the 24mp DX and 36mp FX have about the same cite size and density, so i am not really convinced by just the FX sensor making the difference. I think de differences will be more due to the processing of the "image" . Offcourse the newer technology will hve a vissible impact though ...

Many recognizable and good comments above! I'm now in the last days of a 3+ weeks trip through Malaysia (peninsular and Sarawak) with my D800 (2012) around my neck.

Still love the thing. Its robustness to start with. Many a walk through the jungle, mainly with 70-200/4.0 attached. Lot's of ISO 800 and up to 6400 images .. will have to see how that went on PC screen. AF sometimes finicky.. not its strongest point.

At a good price, certainly recommended!

I agree that the D8x0 series have a lot more tonal differentiation than the D700 (a route I took too), and I found that much more significant than the resolution change - I just considered the dynamic range to be coincidental to, rather than a consequence of, the resolution change (and the D7100 already beats the D700 at low ISO - the D700 was in the pre-D7000 era before Nikon started having fairly ISO-less sensors). I'm struggling a bit to find "micro-tonality" defined in terms of anything other than music, but if you're relating it to microcontrast, it's true that the D8x0 series have weak-to-no low-pass filters, whereas the D700's low-pass filter is exceptionally strong, so you do see much more apparent per-pixel sharpness (lens permitting), and a bit more than, say, a D750.

I'm not sure I've noticed a colour fidelity difference between medium format and smaller format films (they're effectively cut from the same substrate in most cases, as far as I know). There's a sharpness difference, although equivalence comes into play when we're considering apertures and lens aberrations. I've seen a lot of soft 35mm shots (especially compared with DSLR output), but I've seen soft images on larger film too. By modern standards, even an official print I've seen of Clearing Winter Storm looked a bit off compared with what I'd hope to get from my D810 - although that went through an enlarger rather than being a contact print. You can certainly argue that at the same ISO, medium format film has a smaller grain relative to the exposure area, whatever effect that has on the image.

Anyway, not trying to be obtuse, just trying to understand the effect you're describing. I would expect the D800 to give better images than a D7100, but I wouldn't expect night and day. (Well, there's an extra stop of sensor area, so night might make more of a difference!)

They don't. The DX crop of a D800 is about 16MP; the DX crop of a D850 is nearer 20MP (like a D500). Linearly there's not that much difference, but it's there - and Nikon have sold a 1.2x teleconverter for the 800mm, so someone notices!

The D810 is possibly worse at AF in low light than the D800 (people have reported this) - on the other hand, I had real difficulty with AF accuracy with the D800, where the D810 is, while not perfect, a bit better. I have higher hopes for the D850. There's always live view.

Is the D800 overkill for friends and family? Only the OP can decide whether the money is worth it. It's a lot of camera (and don't forget it's quite a bit heavier than a D7100) but it won't magically make you a good photographer (at least, it didn't to me). What more expensive cameras do is let you take a better shot under worse circumstances: in the right lighting, with the right magnification and the right subject, your phone will do just fine; with limited lighting or background, a large print (or zoom in) and a moving target, a D800 is very good. At least if you're buying used, you may not lose that much if you trade in again!

Good luck if you jump. If you don't, I wouldn't feel you've missed out on photographic perfection.