The Nikon D800 is a 36.3-
megapixel
In digital imaging, a pixel (abbreviated px), pel, or picture element is the smallest addressable element in a raster image, or the smallest point in an all points addressable display device.
In most digital display devices, pixels are the smal ...
professional-grade
full-frame digital single-lens reflex camera
A digital single-lens reflex camera (digital SLR or DSLR) is a digital camera that combines the optics and the mechanisms of a single-lens reflex camera with a digital imaging sensor.
The reflex design scheme is the primary difference between ...
produced by
Nikon Corporation
(, ; ), also known just as Nikon, is a Japanese multinational corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, specializing in optics and imaging products. The companies held by Nikon form the Nikon Group.
Nikon's products include cameras, camera ...
. It was given a Gold Award by
Digital Photography Review
''Digital Photography Review'', also known as ''DPReview,'' is a website about digital cameras and digital photography, established in November 1998. The website provides comprehensive reviews of digital cameras, lenses and accessories, buying g ...
.
It was officially announced on February 7, 2012 and went on sale in late March 2012 for the
suggested retail price
The list price, also known as the manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP), or the recommended retail price (RRP), or the suggested retail price (SRP) of a product is the price at which its manufacturer notionally recommends that a retailer ...
of
$2999.95 in the
U.S.
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
,
£2399 in the
UK, and
€
The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists ...
2892 in the
Eurozone
The euro area, commonly called eurozone (EZ), is a currency union of 19 member states of the European Union (EU) that have adopted the euro (€) as their primary currency and sole legal tender, and have thus fully implemented EMU policies ...
.
Shortly after the camera went on sale, Nikon's UK subsidiary increased the price of the D800 in that market by £200 to £2599, saying that the original price was due to an "internal systems error". However, Nikon honored the original price for all pre-orders placed before March 24, and added that no price changes would be made in other markets.
The successor is the
Nikon D810
The Nikon D810 is a 36.3-megapixel professional-grade full-frame digital single-lens reflex camera produced by Nikon. The camera was officially announced in June 2014, and became available in July 2014.
Compared to the former D800/D800E it off ...
– announced June 26, 2014.
Features
*36.8 (36.3 effective)
megapixel
In digital imaging, a pixel (abbreviated px), pel, or picture element is the smallest addressable element in a raster image, or the smallest point in an all points addressable display device.
In most digital display devices, pixels are the smal ...
full-frame (35.9 mm × 24 mm) sensor with ISO 100–6400 (ISO 50–25600 boost)
*
Nikon Expeed 3 image processor
*91,000 pixel RGB metering sensor with Advanced Scene Recognition System
*Advanced Multi-CAM3500FX
autofocus
An autofocus (or AF) optical system uses a sensor, a control system and a motor to focus on an automatically or manually selected point or area. An electronic rangefinder has a display instead of the motor; the adjustment of the optical system ...
sensor (51-point, 15 cross-type, 11 points sensitive at maximum apertures as small as 8)
*
H.264/MPEG-4 AVC Expeed video processor
The Nikon Expeed image/video processors (often styled ''EXPEED'') are media processors for Nikon's digital cameras. They perform a large number of tasks: Bayer filtering, demosaicing, image sensor corrections/dark-frame subtraction, image noise ...
.
1080p
1080p (1920×1080 progressively displayed pixels; also known as Full HD or FHD, and BT.709) is a set of HDTV high-definition video modes characterized by 1,920 pixels displayed across the screen horizontally and 1,080 pixels down the screen vert ...
Full HD movie mode at
24/
25/
30 fps,
720p
720p (1280×720 px; also called HD ready, standard HD or just HD) is a progressive HDTV signal format with 720 horizontal lines/1280 columns and an aspect ratio (AR) of 16:9, normally known as widescreen HDTV (1.78:1). All major HDTV broadcast ...
at 24/25/30/50/60 fps,
HDMI
High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) is a proprietary audio/video interface for transmitting uncompressed video data and compressed or uncompressed digital audio data from an HDMI-compliant source device, such as a display controller, ...
HD video
High-definition video (HD video) is video of higher resolution and quality than standard-definition. While there is no standardized meaning for ''high-definition'', generally any video image with considerably more than 480 vertical scan lines (N ...
out with support of
uncompressed video
Uncompressed video is digital video that either has never been compressed or was generated by decompressing previously compressed digital video. It is commonly used by video cameras, video monitors, video recording devices (including general-pur ...
output, stereo monitor headphone out, and
stereo
Stereophonic sound, or more commonly stereo, is a method of sound reproduction that recreates a multi-directional, 3-dimensional audible perspective. This is usually achieved by using two independent audio channels through a configuration ...
input (3.5-mm diameter) with manual sound level control.
*4
frames per second
A frame is often a structural system that supports other components of a physical construction and/or steel frame that limits the construction's extent.
Frame and FRAME may also refer to:
Physical objects
In building construction
*Framing (con ...
in continuous FX mode or 5:4 crop mode. 5 frames per second in continuous 1.2× crop mode or DX (APS-C) mode. With the optional MB-D12 battery grip, fitted with either the EN-EL18 battery pack of the
D4 or AA batteries, continuous shooting at 6 frames per second in DX mode is supported.
*Buffer size for 17 RAW or 56 JPEG with maximum quality.
*Built-in
High dynamic range imaging
In photography and videography, multi-exposure HDR capture is a technique that creates extended or high dynamic range (HDR) images by taking and combining multiple exposures of the same subject matter at different exposure levels. Combining mu ...
(HDR) mode (2 frames up to 3EV apart)
*'Active D-Lighting' with 6 settings and bracketing (adjusts metering and D-Lighting curve)
*Customizable 'Picture Control' settings affecting exposure, white balance, sharpness, brightness, saturation, hue; allowing
custom curves to be created, edited, saved, exported and imported
*Pop-up flash that doubles as a wireless flash controller
*
USB 3.0
USB 3.0, released in November 2008, is the third major version of the Universal Serial Bus (USB) standard for interfacing computers and electronic devices. Among other improvements, USB 3.0 adds the new transfer rate referred to as '' ...
connectivity
*Image sensor cleaning
*Shutter rated at 200,000 actuations
*Live View with either phase detect or improved contrast detect Auto Focus
*Dual card slots, one
CompactFlash
CompactFlash (CF) is a flash memory mass storage device used mainly in portable electronic devices. The format was specified and the devices were first manufactured by SanDisk in 1994.
CompactFlash became one of the most successful of the e ...
UDMA and one
SD,
SDHC
Secure Digital, officially abbreviated as SD, is a proprietary non-volatile flash memory card format developed by the SD Association (SDA) for use in portable devices.
The standard was introduced in August 1999 by joint efforts between SanD ...
,
SDXC
Secure Digital, officially abbreviated as SD, is a proprietary non-volatile flash memory card format developed by the SD Association (SDA) for use in portable devices.
The standard was introduced in August 1999 by joint efforts between SanDis ...
,
UHS-I
Secure Digital, officially abbreviated as SD, is a proprietary non-volatile flash memory card format developed by the SD Association (SDA) for use in portable devices.
The standard was introduced in August 1999 by joint efforts between SanDis ...
and
Eye-Fi
Eye-Fi was a company based in Mountain View, California, that produced SD memory cards with Wi-Fi capabilities. Using an Eye-Fi card inside a digital camera, one could wirelessly and automatically upload digital photos to a local computer or a ...
(
WLAN
A wireless LAN (WLAN) is a wireless computer network that links two or more devices using wireless communication to form a local area network (LAN) within a limited area such as a home, school, computer laboratory, campus, or office building ...
) compatible card slot (mirror, overflow, back-up, RAW on 1/JPEG on 2, Stills on 1/Movies on 2, copy)
*Magnesium alloy weather-sealed body comparable to
D700, but considered less robust than D4
* GPS interface for direct geotagging supported by
Nikon GP-1
The Nikon GP-1 is a Global Positioning System (GPS) accessory receiver manufactured by Nikon that collects geographic coordinate data and places it into the Exif data of a picture. It connects to the camera via a proprietary cable and can be mount ...
Image quality
At the time of its release, the Nikon D800 became the
Dxomark
DxOMark, currently stylized as DXOMARK, is a commercial website described as "an independent benchmark that scientifically assesses smartphones, lenses and cameras". Founded in 2008, DxOMark was originally owned by DxO Labs, a French engineeri ...
image sensor leader, replacing the Nikon D4 in the top position.
D800E
The D800E is a specialized version which uses a new optical
anti-aliasing filter
An anti-aliasing filter (AAF) is a filter used before a signal sampler to restrict the bandwidth of a signal to satisfy the Nyquist–Shannon sampling theorem over the band of interest. Since the theorem states that unambiguous reconstruction ...
with no
low-pass filter
A low-pass filter is a filter that passes signals with a frequency lower than a selected cutoff frequency and attenuates signals with frequencies higher than the cutoff frequency. The exact frequency response of the filter depends on the filter des ...
effect (no blurring) to obtain the sharpest images possible. Nikon claims that possible
aliasing
In signal processing and related disciplines, aliasing is an effect that causes different signals to become indistinguishable (or ''aliases'' of one another) when sampled. It also often refers to the distortion or artifact that results when a ...
effects (
moiré) can be lessened by software-processing in camera or external programs like Nikon's Capture NX2.
Reviewers have pointed out that although increased moiré is difficult to remove in post-processing, it is relatively easy to combat while photo-taking (such as by changing the angle, aperture or position). Furthermore, moire is rarely found in photos (besides man-made, repeated patterns such as in architecture). The lack of low-pass filter brings about a small improvement in optical resolution in the 800E, especially in portraits with larger apertures, where diffraction is not an issue. Even minimal diffraction, negates the advantage of the 800E
Mislabelled D800 as D800E fraud
Nikon has advised that there are mislabelled Nikon D800E in circulation that are actually the D800 model with the front cover replaced so as to appear like a D800E. A D800 modified to appear to be a D800E is not covered under Nikon warranty.
Nikon advises users to "please take all necessary precautions to ensure the authenticity of a camera before purchasing one".
To detect fake models the user has to display an image captured with the camera in the camera's monitor. The name of the camera used to capture the image will be displayed at the top right corner of the display when the ''overview'' display option is enabled in full-frame playback mode. If the correct model number is displayed, it is authentic.
References
External links
Nikon D800 — Nikon global websiteNikon D800/D800E ManualGoogle Image: Nikon D800 and D800E sample, review and user images, >20MPixNikon D800 Review at Camera Labs
{{Full-frame DSLR cameras
D800
D800
Live-preview digital cameras
Cameras introduced in 2012
Full-frame DSLR cameras