New Camera! Nikon D750, D800, or D810

[jill_bingham]

<p>Wee haa!!! Finally. Im wondering if I can get some feedback on my NEW Camera choice. So looking for the Nikon users. I am making the choice between the Nikon D810 and the D800 and the D750. Now keep in mind the 810 is $1000 more then the D750. The D800 is a camera that has somehow been kept on the shelf and is the same price as the D750.. Hmmm So whats the call Remember I have Nikon lens choice from older cameras. Ok Guys lets hear from you please. I could use the extra $1000 to take a trip to Hawaii..lol<br /><br /></p>

<p>PS Im so excited!</p>

 

[ShunCheung]

<p>You may find this article helpful: http://www.photo.net/equipment/nikon/D810-vs-D750/<br>

<br /> Currently, you may have a hard time finding a new D750 until a week or two later, as Nikon is correcting the flare/banding issue: http://www.photo.net/nikon-camera-forum/00d3cZ<br>

<br /> As far as I am concerned, that is a trivial issue and neither one of the two D750 I have used has any problems. I don't even bother to send mine back to Nikon for repair, as I am a bit concerned that my "perfect" D750 might not be as perfect afterwards.</p>

<p>Otherwise, I have used the D750, D800, and D810 extensively. All three are excellent cameras. If you are willing to buy used, used D800 are around $1500 or a bit more. I assume that is the same up in Canada. That is an excellent deal compared to new D750 or new D810.</p>

<p>If you must buy new, not sure how the price for any remaining (if any) new D800 compares to used D800 in excellent condition.</p>

[jill_bingham]

<p>Thank you Shun Cheung: I had heard of the D750 issue all assure me its minor and they will be back on the shelf soon. I have found a new D800 for $2500 the D750 is about the Same. Im just trying to decide if the D810 is worth the extra 1000. <br>

Thank you for the link I will take a look.</p>

 

[owen_omeara]

<p>Jill:<br>

I was troubling with the same types of issues and my family settled the issue by surprising me with a d810 on a significant birthday as a gift. I have no personal experience with the d750 but I am certain it is probably an excellent camera, how can I argue with Shun.</p>

<p>The d810 is simply outstanding. The 36mpx sensor is a Godsend to me in terms of resolution and it allows me to crop my images, which is a great help to me because of the way I compose. The focus with this camera is razor sharp and very fast and silent. On occasion I make very large prints so the extra mpx. are a great help there.</p>

<p>I have very good glass for this unit and I am very pleased with the results I have been getting. Shun's opinion on lenses selection between the cameras would no doubt be helpful.<br>

Keep us up to date on your choice.</p>

<p>-Cheers</p>

[Mike D]

<p>My opinion is purely subjective but I sold my D800 and bought the D810 and never looked back. It just has a bunch of minor improvements, when all added together, make the D810 just a wonderful camera to use. If cost is NOT an issue, go with the D810, otherwise I've been advised the D750 is a very good camera also.</p>

[ShunCheung]

<p>I would say you need to consider two main issues:</p>

<ul>

<li>24MP vs. 36MP. IMO, 24MP is a lot. Not many people can take full advantage of 36MP. I still own a D800E, but I added a D750 a couple of months ago mainly because I want a smaller FX body with fewer pixels.</li>

<li>The controls: The D800 and D810 have Nikon's pro style controls similar to what you find on the D700 and D300. I also prefer that type of control but it is not a major issue for me, as I can work either way. The D750 is similar to the D600/D610 and D7100, D7000, D90, D80 ...., more amateurish with scene modes, etc. Some people dislike that style, but you need to decide for yourself whether it is an issue or not.</li>

</ul>

<p>I really like the grip on the D750. As I pointed out in the review, I have asked various people to hold it, including a friend's 11-year-old daughter. She is a very skinny 5'-tall girl and she likes the grip. Some people who are over 6' and over 200 pounds also like that grip.</p>

<p>However, I have the impression that the D750 is not as well built as the D800 and D810. All should be fine under normal use, but if you tend to be rough on your cameras, I would consider the D800 or D810 for that reason.</p>

<p>The D810 has many little improvements over the D800, especially the shutter. However, it is hard to justify the huge price difference now. Many people prefer the AF on the D810, but I don't find it to be all that different from the AF on the D800. The Multi-CAM 3500 AF module on all three cameras is very good, but the design is a bit dated now, and I am looking forward to an improved AF system on the future D5.</p>

[d_ponce]

<p>Jill - I'm not sure if the D810 is "worth" the extra $ compared to your other choices, but I can say that it is an incredible camera! I bought the D810 a few months back as a 2nd body to my D3s. But after I had it for a little while, I realized that this was going to be my go-to camera, and not the other way around! Prior, I had not thought anything could 'replace' my D3s. Huge files were my biggest concern prior to buying the D810 -- since I did not intend to make huge prints, I did not see the need for the file size (75mb for one raw image) -- but since it was advertised as having the ability to shoot 'small' raw, I decided to spring for it. It did not take long before I dismissed the 'small' file and just shot as I normally do - straight raw, usually with a small jpg copy -- and even they are huge! If you do decide on the D810, you will not be disappointed! </p>

[rodeo_joe1]

<p>A genuinely new and boxed D800 for the price of a D750 seems like a good bargain. Check the warranty offered and history before jumping though. Ask about the shutter count and check it before buying if possible. An ex-demo model might have a few hundred clicks on it, but that's nothing. Worse would be really old stock that has an uncorrected AF issue.</p>

<p>Putting aside the idea of getting a great bargain, you do need to think what your real needs are, and which camera will best suit them Jill. Good advice in that respect from Shun, who's lucky enough to have got his hands on all 3 of those cameras. Also consider how much you have to spare for lenses. The D800/D810 only deliver on their promise of 36 Mp resolution if fitted with top quality glass. So you need to be brutally honest with yourself about how good your current lens collection is.</p>

[jill_bingham]

<p>Wow great Feedback everyone! . Im leaning towards the 810. I might just interject that I specialize in Portraits and boudoir in my studio. I have some good glass and some well how should I say not as good but all full frame. Although there is always room for more good glass.<br>

Ill add the outcome in a few days when I actually go out get it. </p>

<p> </p>

[Two23]

<p>I shoot portraits (paid) and landscapes (unpaid.) Save yourself a big wad of cash and get a used D800E for around $1,500. The D810 biggest advance was video. If you don't do much of that, the D800E becomes a no-brainer. There is no difference at all image quality wise. When you're buying camera gear for business, the idea is to put as little $$ into it as you can but still do the job. Remember that cameras QUICKLY drop in value, and you are getting nothing for the extra spent here. Put what you saved back into your business with advertising or paying down debt. There is no difference in image quality, you will NOT earn more $$ by having a D810 rather than D800E. That's the bottom line. In about a year & half, the D810 will be selling for $1,500 and you can get one then if needed. Make the rapid depreciation work FOR you instead of against you.</p>

<p>Kent in SD</p>

 

[d_ponce]

<p>Of course the great thing about Nikon is that their 'good glass' has been good for quite awhile. I'm still using a few lenses purchased in the mid 90s all-film-days (105mm 2.8; 20mm 2.8) on my 2 DSLRs -- all I can say is, the images are amazing. The tack-sharp details are almost too much (there are some things that are best not known about - especially when photographing people :-). Now that Rodeo mentions it, I will try out a 'less expensive' Nikkor zoom lens on the D810 and see what he is referring to; I haven't used the lens in years after I got the 2.8 version of the similar focal length, due to its light limitations; had not thought about the possibility of seeing a difference in quality as well -- but now he has me curious -- and it may be a good time to consider selling it if I won't be using it. Thx!<br>

Good luck with your new 'toy', Jill -- I know you are going to love it! </p>

[ed_ghiglieri]

<p>I needed a backup body to my d800, just ordered the d810. So the d800 becomes the backup now.</p>

[luke_kaven]

<p>The newer bodies (D750/D810) appear to have mitigated high ISO "thermal" noise (seen as a bluish-magenta cast at high gain settings) quite a bit over the D800/E. </p>

<p>That fact is significant if you shoot frequently at ISO6400 or over. If you work in the dark a lot, you would like to have the updated sensor. If most of your work is done at ISO 1600 or below, then the D800E performs on a par with the D810. In fact, as a studio/landscape camera, I'd say a used D800E in GWO is the bargain right now.</p>

[Andrew Garrard]

<p>Belatedly... Tomorrow, I'll be trading in my D800e for a D810 - it being the last day when there's a £300 trade-in discount in the UK, which significantly helps. I'll also be trading in my D700, since as a back-up for my D800e, it's pretty much never used (the D800e was just too good at the things I expected the D700 still to be good at, like low-light shooting, and the minor handling changes like the swapped +/- buttons made switching painful). So effectively I'm paying somewhat less than $1000 for the difference, nearer $600.<br />

<br />

Things that matter to me about the D810 compared with the D800e:</p>

<ul>

<li>Autofocus reliability is allegedly improved. Even with fine tuning, I do not trust my D800e to hit focus with some of my lenses. This may be an AF sensor calibration thing. Obviously there's also the tuning that is <i>supposed</i> to have happened, which improves tracking quality, but it appears to be more than that. I'm shooting a friend's wedding (against my warnings) next month, and I want to trust the autofocus more than I currently do.</li>

<li>It's quieter. Enough so that I'm much less concerned about disturbing people, both at the aforementioned wedding and at the tiddlywinks tournaments I regularly attend. It might even not scare wildlife.</li>

<li>Live view is fixed. It doesn't block up at maximum magnification (it reads the whole sensor) and you don't get a pause as the camera locks up until the data is written to a card. This means I can consider a slowish Eye-Fi card in addition to my current fast SD cards without adding to the time the camera is unresponsive.</li>

<li>Split live view. I've been asking for this since I got my D700. (Well, actually I asked for independent quadrants of the live view display that could be magnified and positioned independently, even if the frame rate dropped... but I'll take this.) This ought to make a massive difference to tilt-shift use, because you can sensibly check two points on the intended focal plane. If they're aligned the right way, obviously.</li>

<li>ISO 64. I use all the dynamic range I can get - I'm normally doing candids, and if the lighting is unfriendly, I'm not averse to doing significant fixing in post.</li>

<li>Thermal noise improvements. As Luke mentions, you can get a blue tint out of part of the image on a D800. One of the last images of one of my cats, who died about a year ago, has this purple cast. (Black cat in a dim room - ISO was on the high side.) I'm not happy.</li>

<li>Highlight metering. No, it's not the ETTR that I'd really have liked, but it's another tool.</li>

<li>EFCS. (Maybe also a D750 feature, soon if not already.) I don't do much tripod shooting, but I'll take what I can get for stability.</li>

<li>Faster frame rate, bigger buffer. I've not often needed my D800 to go fast (I've rarely put it into 1.2x crop mode, even), but I have hit its buffer occasionally, despite using fast cards.</li>

<li>Yes, video. 60fps is nice. The aperture control working properly (for internal recording) is nice. I've never done the external recording, but mixing that with the </li>

<li>The grip around the fingers <i>is</i> nicer. I've tried the D750, and it feels squashed to me. The D810 grip is just the D800's, with a bit more of a hook.</li>

<li>The LCD is supposed to be better-behaved. Not that I ever really minded the one on the D800.</li>

<li>The viewfinder is supposedly a little better. I'll take what I can get.</li>

<li>Supposedly there's a slight acuity improvement from the lack of low-pass filter. I doubt I'll notice. I'm sure I would if I were coming from a plain D800.</li>

<li>JPEGs processing is supposed to be improved. I usually use the raw files, but no harm in having a fast turn-around on higher quality sometimes. Also, flat picture mode, if it matters (probably more for video).</li>

</ul>

 

<p>Against that...</p>

<ul>

<li>The metering mode selector has moved to my least-favourite place on the camera, the top left cluster. I believe nobody in Nikon's usability lab ever shoots a big lens hand-held, because they keep putting important controls where I can't reach them. Thank goodness ISO became accessible recently (via REC), and at least the metering mode can be overridden (a bit) with the programmable buttons. I still preferred the old location, though.</li>

<li>The dynamic range seems to have <a href="http://www.dxomark.com/Cameras/Compare/Side-by-side/Nikon-D810-versus-Nikon-D800E___963_814">taken a slight hit</a> in the ISO 200-1600 range, which I use a lot. I'm hoping the extra at ISO 64 balances this out. It's not terribly significant. Thom Hogan also reports a slight reduction in colour differentiation, as though the filters changed.</li>

<li>I'm not 100% convinced by the chunkier thumb grip. Thom Hogan likes it; I'm worried it'll get in my way when using the rear dial. I've had a play and think I can live with it.</li>

<li>What's up with the separate "info" and "i" buttons?</li>

<li>No flash socket protector? Really?</li>

<li>Small raw seems to be a non-upgrade, since the implementation is pretty pointless (to me).</li>

<li>If I've not imagined reading this, shutter response is slightly worse due to the quieter mechanism.</li>

</ul>

 

<p>I happen to care a bit about a lot of the minor upgrades. (Making my tilt-shift lenses more useful is significant, for example.) I'd expect most people to find fewer of them relevant, although I may be justifying my own Nikon Acquisition Syndrome. There have, however, been multiple reports of D800 owners upgrading to a D810 and feeling that they did get a significant improvement - although they might be justifying NAS too, of course. The D750 looks lovely, but I really don't like the grip, I <i>really</i> don't like the rear multicontroller, and I don't really like the AF points being nearer the middle of the frame (even if they work better in the dark). Plus I'd have to ditch a lot of CF cards, I really do use the resolution and occasionally DX crop, and with a grip the D810 can hit 7 fps in DX crop, vs the 6.5fps the D750 hits. (The D810 can do 6fps in a 25MP 1.2x crop without a grip, which is close enough to negate the D750's speed advantage, for me, especially with the bigger buffer.)<br />

<br />

I <i>do</i> - from my D800e - already have some "decent" lenses. If all I had were a 28-200 and a first-gen 24-120, I'd not go near the D8x0. Also, the weight doesn't matter much to me. The D750 is probably the better "day camera", being more portable and having the flip-screen.<br />

<br />

One more thought: If you're doing boudoir, you might hit moiré more than I do (which is almost but not quite never) from fabric weave. The plain D800 isn't entirely free of it, but it's better than the D800e, and might save you a bit of post-processing. Plain D800s appear to be cheaper used, from what I've seen - if you don't need the absolute resolution limit, you may prefer that to the D810, D800e or D750's (low-pass) filter-less sensors. If you don't need the minor improvements of the D810 - and the D800 is, in my experience, a lovely camera - that might be worth considering. Sometimes the best isn't the best...<br />

<br />

Good luck. They're all great cameras.</p>

 

[Andrew Garrard]

<p>Incidentally... the low-light advantage of the D750 does give me slight pause, but it's pretty minor until you get to ISO 51200, by which point I'm into "giving up, should have used a D4s" (not that I have one) range anyway. Give or take the D4/Df sensor's weird ISO 1600 spike, of course. It's a shame the D3s isn't cheaper, and the A7s doesn't have an F-mount (if you believe the high-ISO scores, anyway).<br />

<br />

On the other hand, the 1/4000s shutter on the D750 puts me right off. Even trying to avoid the widest aperture on my lenses to improve sharpness (unless I really need the subject isolation), I've run up against 1/8000 often enough to notice - sunny 16 at f/2 is 1/6400 at ISO 100. The D810's ISO 64 will help, like an integrated ND filter - on my D700 (where I more often shot wide open and where the minimum ISO is 200) hitting 1/8000 wasn't unusual. On the D750, I'd be nervous.<br />

<br />

Not that either of these make much difference to studio shooting if you have any lighting control (although the 1/200 vs 1/250 flash sync might). Another advantage of the D810 over the D800 is the improved battery life - but again, in a studio, that may not be a big deal. I kind of prefer the D810's fuller control panel, too, but the importance of that may depend on how much you change settings. (Yup, I've persuaded myself I really wouldn't rather have a D750, despite the low-light advantage. Maybe I should buy a used Df...)<br />

<br />

I hope that helps.</p>

[Two23]

<p><<That fact is significant if you shoot frequently at ISO6400 or over. If you work in the dark a lot, you would like to have the updated sensor. If most of your work is done at ISO 1600 or below, then the D800E performs on a par with the D810. >></p>

<p>Actually, DxO rates the D800E a bit better when it comes to higher ISO, and also better than the D750. None of these cameras have a real advantage over the other:<br>

DxO rating: http://www.dxomark.com/Cameras/Compare/Side-by-side/Nikon-D750-versus-Nikon-D810-versus-Nikon-D800E___975_963_814</p>

<p>None of the tiny differences mentioned above matter for studio use, of course. They will all work the same. You will make just as much money with one as you will another.</p>

<p>Kent in SD</p>

[jill_bingham]

<p>Wow I loved the info and learned a ton. I think it will be the 810 as I am going to get a discount of $600. If that goes belly up Ill go for the 800. </p>

 

[ShunCheung]

<p>Not sure about Canada, in the US, Nikon USA has had a $300 rebate for the D810 since December. A $600 discount for a fairly new model sounds a bit too good to be true. Hope you get a legit deal.</p>

<p>BTW, my experience is that high-ISO capability is similar between the D800 and D810, but that is a non issue for studio work.</p>

[luke_kaven]

<blockquote>

<p>BTW, my experience is that high-ISO capability is similar between the D800 and D810, but that is a non issue for studio work.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>In pixel-level response, I'd agree. But I think there is more of a difference in dark-current noise that you can see in a dark frame. The D750/810 produce relatively clean dark frames in contrast with the D800/E. This is to me the only problem the D800/E ever had with very low light conditions, and it required significant labor to fix (e.g., doing a manual dark frame subtraction).</p>

[d_ponce]

<p>Jill, I'm with Shun on the deal -- be sure you are getting a camera with a USA Nikon warrantee -- and that it is not a grey market camera, or warranted in the US by the store. Had that happen one time many years ago -- amazing the flat-out lies that some retailers will tell you. If you are shopping online, it will state "USA" on a reputable site. You will receive a small yellow (white copy underneath) form with your camera's serial number on it -- without that, you have been sold a grey market camera -- there is no guarantee that you will get the quality of a similar USA-model D810 -- and that would be a costly mistake. Good luck!</p>

[ShunCheung]

<p>I believe Jill is from Canada, but the advice is essentially the same. Instead of Nikon USA, please verify that it is a Nikon Canada model (or the discount is indeed really deep).</p>

[Andrew Garrard]

<blockquote>Actually, DxO rates the D800E a bit better when it comes to higher ISO, and also better than the D750. None of these cameras have a real advantage over the other:

DxO rating: (link)</blockquote>

 

<p>Kent, could you please elaborate on that? The SNR figures show a small advantage for the D800E over the D810 at high ISO, but the D750 matches the D800E. The D800E does better in the ISO 100-800 range. The same is true for tonal range (and Thom Hogan noted that colour discrimination seemed to have got slightly worse, as though the filters changed - it looks like the D750 is the same). In dynamic range - which tends to be what I most care about - the D800E matches or is worse than the D810 from ISO 3200 up, and ties the D750 from ISO 100-1600. The D750 has a small advantage from ISO 3200 up to ISO 12800, and a jump over the D810 at ISO 51200. The D810 obviously has an advantage at ISO 64. The D800 is known to have a slightly different set of raw clamping than a D810 - it throws away some very dark information which is still there on the D810 - which might make it look slightly less noisy than it actually is. The only thing I can see which suggests the D800e is better than the D810 "at high ISO" is the sports score, which has the (interpolated) point at which the image quality drops below an arbitrary point slightly higher than the D810's - and that's partly because it's still being contributed to by the ISO 1600 advantage of the D800E, and they're even by ISO 3200.<br />

<br />

As Luke says, the purple blooming (whether thermal or otherwise) that I've seen on the D800 is a genuine but rare problem, and I doubt it shows up in DxO's tests; if it's better on the D810 (I now have mine but haven't used it yet) then that's a big deal for me. But probably not in the studio.</p>

 

<blockquote>None of the tiny differences mentioned above matter for studio use, of course. They will all work the same. You will make just as much money with one as you will another.</blockquote>

 

<p>To me, the extra dynamic range at ISO 64 might, just, matter if you want to do a lot of post-processing. But if you have a lot of lighting control, that may not be an issue. Even there, there's not much in it. Jill, enjoy your D810, and don't over-think it. :-)</p>

[jill_bingham]

<p>Im lucky you are all so helpful! I am sure there is no issue with the camera and its the real thing. It is a employee discount. A family member is getting it for me . It is nice they let them do that. I believe the 800 available is not the 800E . I had not heard of the rebate I wonder if that is included in the price discount . </p>

 

[jill_bingham]

<p>By the way Wow You all are really into the tec specs. I have learned so much form this question. Thank you : Andrew Garrard, Shun Cheung, D Ponce, Ed Ghiglier, Luke Kaven , Kent Staubus, Owen O'Meara, Michael Dougherty, Rodeo Joe.. </p>

[Andrew Garrard]

<p>Jill, glad to help. It's nice to be useful when geeking out (and hides the fact that I can't take a good photo for toffee). :-) As for the D800 vs D800e, you might actually prefer the plain D800 of the two, for your use - it'll put slightly less sharpness into the pores of your models, and be slightly less prone to moiré on clothing. But it'll be a very minor difference.</p>