Used D800 or new D750?

[lisa_b4]

<p>I'm in the market for an upgrade to my D7000. I've been wanting to go full frame for awhile now, but really didn't want to spend $3,300 for a D800 and I was not especially impressed with the D600--especially with the grease spot issues (I know the D610 has mostly resolved this issue.)<br>

I'm shooting about 60% still 40% video, so I'm especially interested in HDSLR video capabilities. In that area, the D750 seems like a very strong contender. I have handled both the D750 and the D810 in our local store and find that both find my hands well. If money were no object, I'd probably just get a new D810. But, I also like the slightly smaller form factor of the D750.<br>

Now that the D810's are out, there are some pretty good deals on lightly used D800's, i.e there are a couple near me with low shutter counts for about $1,500. That seems to me to be a lot of camera for $1,500, but, I think the D750 may have better video specs and it has smaller file sizes as well.<br>

<br />So, $2,300 for a new D750, or $1,500 for a slightly used D800?</p>

[User_6502147]

<p>We all approach this slightly different. I'd wait till mid Jan and then get the D750. I did this with the D700 and saved myself $550 from the manuf asking price. Also, and this is may not be relevant to you, I like my D610 and doubt much that I could see whole lot of improvement in my photos by changing models at this time.</p>

<p>Les</p>

[elliot1]

<p>If a 1 year warranty is important to you, the D750 may be a better choice. Because you shoot a fair amount of video, the D750 again may be a better choice.</p>

<p>Keep in mind that some of the D800 bodies have a left side AF issue.</p>

[lornesunley]

<p>Well, the D800 is a terrific camera, so it may be well worth it to get a used one.</p>

[bebu_lamar]

<p>If I am the one who is buying I would pick the D800 but since you shoot 40% video I think the D750 is a better choice. </p>

[eric_arnold]

<p>for video i would either get a d750 or GH4.</p>

[mag_miksch]

<blockquote>

<p><em>for video i would either get a d750 or GH4.</em></p>

</blockquote>

<p><em><br /></em>or the sony A7s</p>

[Peter_in_PA]

<p>I'd also go GH4 or A7s for video, but if the OP already has lenses, it's a bad idea.</p>

[ShunCheung]

<p>The D800 is indeed an excellent camera. The D810 is a slight improvement in a lot of little areas. Therefore, I am a bit puzzled why the used price for the D800 has dropped by so much. In that sense, a used D800 in good condition @ $1500 will give you much better value for your money than a new D750 at $2300, although if you also want lenses, currently Nikon has a new body + lens(es) rebate.</p>

<p>Meanwhile, the Japanese yen is dropping very fast against the US$. Merely a few days ago, we were talking about 119 yen to the dollar. Yesterday, it was 121 yen and counting. Of course, Nikon is a lot more international now as both the D810 and D750 are now assembled in Thailand. In any case, if you are not in a hurry, it is a matter of time that we'll see some price drop and/or rebate related to the exchange rate. For example, Canon had some major permanent price cuts on lenses a few months ago: http://www.photo.net/canon-eos-digital-camera-forum/00cnTO</p>

<p>Concerning the D750, I have been testing one for photo.net. Its ergonomics are great. Despite that it is a small FX DSLR, the D750 has a deep grip that is very comfortable. I have asked people who are 6' tall to hold it, and they like it. My god daughter is 11 years old and a skinny 5' girl, and she also finds the grip comfortable. At $2300, the D750 is very good value for the money also, but it is hard to beat a $1500 used D800 in good condition.</p>

<p>Incidentally, if high ISO is important to you. I find essentially no improvement from the D800 to D810, but the D750 is about another stop better, after you down-sample those 36MP files to 24MP for a fair comparison.</p>

[ilkka_nissila]

<p>For video performance I would do a search of a comparative review of the cameras in sites that focus on video. I read one such review where the D750/D810 video quality is reported to be an improvement over previous Nikons such as D600 and D800 but I'm not an expert on video so I cannot assess the claims; I only use video for recording neuroscientific experiments at work. My video application is not especially critical of the image quality but I do require long recording times without interruption so I cannot use a DSLR for that.</p>

<p>The D810 is better than the D800 for some types of photography. I've found the D810 to have much more accurate AF with AF-S Nikkor f/1.4 primes than the D800, and require less fine tuning of each lens. Also in stage light and generally indoors, (twilight vs. candle light would be an extreme example) the colour of the light can sometimes change and in such cases the change in the colour of the light threw the autofocus off when using the D800 with some lenses such as the 35/1.4 Nikkor as well as the 200/2 II. If I fine tuned the f/1.4 AF-S Nikkors on the near range at 1-3m to give good results on typical indoor events at restaurants etc. the focus would be completely off at a distance of 20m. These problems are not present to a degree which I can detect in my D810 and I get consistent AF using these lenses wide open across distances, as well as across different colour temperatures of the light, so I've been very happy with the improvement in the D810 over the D800. It is not perfect but it is noticeably improved. A second major improvement in the D810 is the quietness; when photographing people chatting in a restaurant at an event they seem to not notice the sound of the D810 at all, whereas that wasn't the case with my previous cameras. At classical music concerts the quietness of the D810 is also an asset. But these are still photography concerns; for video you would not be using the phase detect AF and the mirror would stay up and shutter open during recording so there is less sound in either case. The D810 also supports EFCS which is a great feature to have for telephoto landscape photography, but perhaps not very important to most people (it seems a lot of people like to use mostly wide angles for landscape; I use both).</p>

<p>The D750 has a smaller body which I do not especially like (I have long fingers and for me the grip is too narrow and deep and it just doesn't sit well with me) but most other people that I've spoken about it do like it. The body does feel robust and is very light weight. The D750 doesn't have the quietness of the D810 in still photography use which makes it less suited to what I like to photograph even though it has more sensitive AF in low light (which would be a clear asset to me as the winter in the North is quite dark!). Otherwise it seems like a great camera and has a good price. I don't see any reason why you'd want to go with the older D800 instead of the D750. The D750 seems to be very well liked by most photographers who have tested it.</p>

[lisa_b4]

<p>Well, I wound up buying a mint D800 with only 4,000 clicks for $1,500. I think that I may eventually wind up getting a D750, but for now waiting 6 months or so for the D750 price to drop and any problems to surface seems prudent. I'm looking forward to playing around with the D800--quite a step up from my D7000!</p>

[ShunCheung]

<p>With used D800 in good condition at such a low price, I think that is the obvious choice. Yesterday, I was at my local camera store; they had several used D800 at $1799 and D800E at 2099. I have used a couple of D810. To me, while there are a lot of little improvements that are very nice to have, the introduction of the D810 alone should not depress the D800's value by that much. I think part of the effect is the rapid drop of the Japanese yen against the US$, making gray-market D800 and D810 very cheap.</p>

<p>Good luck Lisa.</p>

[Albins images]

<p>A D800 for $1500 is fantastic!<br />I bought the camera at almost introduction price in 2012.. Do I regret that? Not for the camera itself. It is a lovely tool to work with and I am still very happy with it.<br /><br />I wonder when I will be in a position again to choose between models .. an extra body would be nice..<br /><br />Good luck with yours, Lisa!</p>

[pcassity]

<p>Have the 800 and bought the 750 with the 50mm f1.4 lens this weekend. Love the size! Wanted something smaller for traveling. Got really tired of lugging the 800 and the 24-70 while hiking. Love the 750's bracketing features too.</p>

[lisa_b4]

<p>Shun, I think you're right that the exchange rate is playing a role in the used price of D800's. Frankly, I'm shocked that you can get so much camera for so little money! I think the combination of the release of the D810 and the D750 have put a fair number of used D800's on the market and thus prices are low. FWIW, one of the people who had a used D800 with less than 10k clicks for sale on Seattle's Craigslist said that he just got a great Black Friday deal on a new D810 where he only paid $2,300. I looked for Black Friday deals myself, and didn't see anything even close to that number.</p>

[ShunCheung]

<blockquote>

<p>one of the people who had a used D800 with less than 10k clicks for sale on Seattle's Craigslist said that he just got a great Black Friday deal on a new D810 where he only paid $2,300. I looked for Black Friday deals myself, and didn't see anything even close to that number.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>$2300 happens to be the official price for the D750, so there is a chance that the model number is a typographical error. Otherwise, $2300 for a new D810 now in late 2014 must be gray market.</p>

[lisa_b4]

<p>I've seen a few websites now suggesting that you should not use larger than a 16gb card in a D800 because the image files are so large that this will really slow the camera down when reviewing photos. What do others think about that advice? I've been shooting 32gb SDHC cards in my D7000, and would like to continue to use those--but I want to buy the same size CF card so I can use both slots in the D800.</p>

[ShunCheung]

<p>36MP image files are huge. I would highly recommend using large-capcilty cards on the D800 and D810 to eliminate the possibility of running out of card space. You know, that would happen at the most critical time of your shoot and suddenly your camera stops working .... That is not fun.</p>

<p>Additionally, juggling many cards will increase the chance of losing them. It is much safer for cards to be inside the camera.</p>

[ilkka_nissila]

<p>I use both 32GB and 64GB cards on my D810 (previously D800) and I have matching pairs of cards for CF and SD so I can use the other slot as backup if needed. Usually I just write on a single card if it is a non-critical subject and use the second card for when I run out of space in the first. I find using large capacity cards makes life easier; less frequent card changes and fewer cards are needed. I haven't noticed significant delays in reviewing images with these cameras.</p>

[lornesunley]

<p>I use 32 GB and 64 GB cards in my D800 and find the 64 GB cards more convenient.<br>

Just make sure you have a spare card or two :-)</p>

[aaron l]

<p>I hope you bought a few new hard disks to store your D800 shots. My last weekend's shoot produced 400 shots which ate up 16GB, shooting RAW+14bit+lossless compressed.<br>

I'm blown away by my D800 every time I use it but the one niggle is the focus - give me more cross points, Nikon. I'll happily pay more. It's just not as accurate as I want/need with D lenses.</p>