D800 DX Crop Mode

[tony_gorell]

<p>I understand that when a DX lens is mounted on a D800, the camera changed to DX crop mode. My question is: Can be overridden? Why do I want to know this? I've mounted my three DX lenses on an old F4 film body. The 35mm f1.8DX will of course vignette. However, both DX zooms do not vignette at the longer lengths. So I would like the option of using them full frame if possible for these lengths. I do understand the limitations, but would like to uses this option occasionally.</p>

[nsfbr]

<p>Yes. You just disable the auto detection. Kind of a weird thing to see the Tokina 11-16 on it in FX mode. </p>

<p>I suspect, image quality outside the DX crop zone will be pretty poor, at least in the horizontal extremes and corners. </p>

[ShunCheung]

On any Nikon FX body, you can set it to always capture the full FX frame, always capture the DX crop, or auto detect DX.

Some of them also have the 1.2x crop and 5:4 crop options.

 

However, even though a lens does not vignet, you are not supposed to use the area out of the DX frame on a DX lens.

Outside the DX frame, image quality can be poor to very poor. That will show up clearly on the 36MP D800. Verify the

image quality and make sure that you are happy with it before depending on it.

[jim_young10]

I have tried using a TC to magnify the DX lenses on D800 without cropping. It worked out ok so far with 17-55.

[Peter_in_PA]

<p>If you buy a D800 and have to sink to using DX lenses at their points where they cover the frame... is it because you didn't have any money left over for FX lenses that are worthy of the camera? If so... might you have been better off sticking with DX?</p>

<p>jus' sayin'...</p>

[tony_gorell]

<p>Hi Peter,<br>

I do want to move to a D800 (preferably) or D600 shortly. I have a number of FX lenses that will work fine (AF-S 70-200mm f2.8G VR2, AF-S 85mm 1.8G, 300mm 2.8, TC14 and TC-20, 16mm Fisheye), and some older models which may be marginal. The AF-S 17-55mm f2.8G DX has been a very good lens on my D90 and D7000, and will continue to be used on the D7000, with the longer lenses generally used on the FX model. As you can see, the 70-200 and 85 are current models, and have been bought with the intention of moving to FX. However, I wanted to know if the 17-55 was usable on the FX body (D800) over at least part of its range. Shun's answer, and some information I got from Thom Hogan's site confirm that this is possible. Of course, an FX normal range zoom will follow ASAP.<br>

Yes, it is partly a matter of money, but the 17-55 will generally be used on the D7000. I have the choice of buying the FX lens now and the D800 body later, or the D800 body now and the more suitable lens later. I will not lack anything by continuing to use the 17-55 on the D7000, but will gain the benefits (to me) of the larger sensor of the FX body with lenses that do work fully on it.<br>

The question was basically if the DX lenses could be used on the D800 in full FX mode, or if the D800 will automatically switch to DX mode with no ability to override it. I have had that answered fully, and it is another step in my decision making process.<br>

Thank you to all.</p>

[ShunCheung]

<p>Tony, you can set the D800 to capture the entire FX frame and mount a 10.5mm DX fisheye on it. Since that is not a zoom lens, you will always get a lot of dark areas around the edges of the frame. Nikon does not prevent you from doing that.</p>

<p>The problem is that the 17-55mm/f2.8 DX has somewhat poor quality into the corners even on the DX frame at 17mm. When you zoom to say 28mm when pretty much all the vignetting is gone on the FX frame, that poor quality will appear around the edges outside of the DX area; the closer to the FX edges and corners, the poorer the quality is. That part of the image will look smeared.</p>

<p>We had a similar debate a year and half ago: <a href="00YF1N">http://www.photo.net/nikon-camera-forum/00YF1N</a><br>

In fact, I have a pixel-level crop comparing the 12-24mm DX at 18mm vs. the 14-24mm also at 18mm on the full D700 frame: <a href="http://static.photo.net/attachments/bboard/00Y/00YGOB-334539584.jpg">http://static.photo.net/attachments/bboard/00Y/00YGOB-334539584.jpg</a> The smearing should be very obvious on the far top left corner from the 12-24mm image sample.</p>

<p>Whether that is "acceptable quality" is entirely up to you (and each individual) to decide, but I would imagine that most people who spend $3000 on a 36MP FX body would like to get better results.</p>

<p> </p>

[tony_gorell]

<p>Shun, Thanks for that. I will test all my lenses when I do get the camera. Until I do get a new FX lens to cover the wide-normal range, I'll probably just use my existing DX lenses on the D7000.</p>

[beartooth1]

<p>I'm about to make this same call - was wondering if anybody has shot the 17-55 f2.8 DX on the D800 and has any images I could look at - prior to post production. Also info on the quality since the resolution drops to 1/2. Thanks in advance.</p>

[fhmillard]

<p>my 17-55 works fine on my d800 in auto dx crop, but my tokina</p>

<h1>AT-X 124 AF PRO DX, older model shows up as fx, and does not crop properly, any ideas?</h1>

[Peter_in_PA]

<p>Frank,</p>

<p>third-party lenses need to be switched to DX mode manually. The automatic switching does not work for them.</p>

[ShunCheung]

<p>Right, third-party lenses do not always implement the Nikon protocol correctly. I recall that in the early days of FX (2007, Nikon D3), Sigma's DX type lenses would not trigger the auto DX crop on the body while Sigma full-frame lenses would. But as Peter points out, you can set the capture area manually on the body so that it always captures FX or always DX.</p>

[andylynn]

<p>On mine I have it set up so that holding Fn and turning a wheel cycles through crop modes. It becomes a sort of "digital zoom" and I can quickly go through raw file sizes. But anyway - sure, you <em>could</em> use the 17-55 lens on a D800, and if you were really interested in, say, having a normal range zoom while shooting smaller raw files, I guess you could get it to make sense. But even some modestly priced FX lens like a 24-85 VR (which they can't give away on eBay after all those cheap D600 kits were sold) or a used Tamron 28-75 2.8 is going to do a much better job when you're using the full frame. I experimented with my 35/1.8 DX on my D800 but considering how much better a 50/1.8 does the 35mm lens was pointless and I ended up eBaying it.</p>

[pat_heslop_harrison]

Has anybody posted full FX pictures on a D4/800 on the Web? I

sometimes like square pictures and was wondering if FX would

be useful there on a DX body where I have a focal length

needed.

[andylynn]

Full frame Nikon samples are all over the place. What were you looking for in particular?