Nikon D800 36.3 MP CMOS FX-Format Digital SLR Camera (Body Only) (OLD MODEL)

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Purchased preowned via Amazon fulfillment and could not be happier! Amazing saving to new item, I did homework and found this unit had only 35,000 shutter counts, about 17% of the standard expected. It arrived packaged professionally, no issues what so ever when putting it through its paces. The 36mp camera has 50% more than my d750 and the image quality especially as a landscape photographer is night and day! Yes I took a step back giving up wifi ability, however the amazing picture quality more than makes up for this minor inconvenience. I would encourage you to look at any preowned items that are offered through Amazon fulfillment, this still gives piece of mind if there is an issue, however this is the 3rd camera and/or lens I have purchased this way saving myself literally thousands of dollars, allowing me to expand my lens collection. The files are huge, however it allows for cropping if needed, without loosing detail or the ability to still create larger prints. Do your due diligence and there are amazing deals to be had! It is the perfect way to step up to a camera that otherwise would have been out of my reach financially.

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The unit did not focus when it arrived, but I was out of town till after the 30 day return time, it also had sensor damage, when I sent it into Nikon they said it was not a US model as described in the add, would be $800 to repair all the problems it had! It was not worth fixing and I was just out the money

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The features and performance of the D800 is unsurpassed in my opinion. Very very good camera. Very happy with the resolution. You can virtually crop to the smallest detail ( in RAW format ) without fear of losing detail. Beware of two major points: 1)Get a large memory card when shooting in RAW. Some images for me have exceeded 50MB plus. I have carried at least three cards of 64GB when travelling. On a recent two week trip overseas I shot through three cards without so much as blinking. Came within 20 images of running out of memory at the end of the trip. That was over 1200 plus images for me at the time. Also beware of something more troublesome, however from a maintenance standpoint. You may see this in other reviews as well. Dont know if this is unique to Nikon or not. There appears to be an "over-lubrication" of the shutter mechanism on this camera, maybe other Nikons as well, though my D7000 does not exhibit this issue. You will see the results in your images with small annoying dark grey specks or dots on your images. This is not dirt but oil droplets. The "splatter" of the excess oil shows up due to lodging onto the sensor. These will NOT "blow" off or clean off with the camera self-cleaning feature. They have to be removed with sensor cleaning. Will get worse as time goes on to a certain point of around 10,000 images shot as I read on other websites. I have already cleaned my sensor twice in just 5000 images. They are gone after cleaning but then re-appear again with additional shooting. Frustrating if you are picky about your photography, and who wouldnt be with a camera of this price-point. The cleaning of the sensor can be a daunting task if not approached carefully and with confidence. Many experts say not to do this yourself but really it is not a big deal if done properly with the correct cleaning tools. I will leave that for the experts to delve into on other websites. Anyway, just beware of this is an issue with the Nikon D800 so you will not be surprised when it happens. Really annoying to deal with, but the image specks are removable in Photoshop (clone tool) or in other software applications. Just shouldnt have to deal with this issue and Nikon should address it seriously. If under warranty, you can send back in to Nikon to clean the sensor of the oil specks but you will do this more than once if you dont learn to clean it yourself.

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it attracts way too much dust on the sensor. My D200 was never this bad with dust. Granted, Im changing lenses quite a bit (6 of my 7 lenses are primes), but the sensor cleaner DOES NOT WORK AT ALL! It is completely useless, a feature that should not be included unless they can get to work properly. I was very disappointed about this because it was one main features that I looked forward to. I love the 100% viewfinder and recommend getting the DK-19 Eyecup. This helps in bright conditions and if you wear glasses of any sort. I love the large files, and the movie quality is great! Battery life is OK, I get 500-600 photos and videos on each charge shooting RAW+JPEG. I recommend getting the fastest memory card that you can afford because those massive files take some time to render. Sometimes you might miss a shot if the card is too slow. Also, using the live-view can be a problem when shooting in the highest FPS setting. Ive had the camera lock-up on me multiple times. Not happy about that from a $3,000 camera. For long exposures and mirror lock-up, I use an older MC-20 cable release. You can find used ones on Ebay for $25 or less.

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So far so good. Have owned a a couple of cameras and have progressivley upgraded as my skills have improved. This is defintitely not your grandpas camera and not one to buy if this is going to be your first DSLR. Even after mastering the D610 the D800 still presents a bit of a learning curve, albeit an enjoyable one. The extremely high resolution requires one to be skillful and steady and to master all the technical aspects of the camera, else your picutres will look much worse than even those from an iphone. The build is very solid and has a professional feel to it. Many of the functions for which you would have to burrow through menus are right there on convenient buttons the D800 eg. ISO and bracketing. It is not a speed demon and is average at best for sports and action however and you would defintely need the battery grip as well the CF card for added performance (my next purchases). I am mostly a stills person and therefore I love the dreamy yet sutnningly realistic quality of the photos from the D800 so far and it is going to be my main camera for at least the next two years.

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Writing review as a former d200 then d300 and now d800 user. I have been using the d800 for several months now with a variety of lenses in a range of shooting situations. I use the camera for a mix of professional work which includes portraits and product stills, and for fun. Controls: I upgraded from my d300 because I dropped it and the flash was no longer working. The transition has been relatively smooth although I do find that I have had to relearn and remap a few of the controls. The switching of the + and - zoom controls still gets me, and I do miss the old auto focus mode selector that used to be on the back of my d300. I like having the bracketing button in easy access have it set to easily shoot in camera HDRs. Overall I find the control layout an improvement from the d300 especially the one touch live view button, and simple toggle between AF and MF. Using DX lenses: I still use my 17-55 DX lens with the d800 and right now am very happy with the results. I have my custom button set to switch between FX, 1.2x, and DX crop modes which is a lifesaver when using my old 17-55. Past its widest settings I like to use this lens in the 1.2x crop mode to get nice detailed 25mp images without too much vignetting. I have a 27" imac an on this size screen I cannot tell the difference between a 15mp dx cropped image and a 36mp full frame image but for large prints it may make a difference. One thing I do love about shooting the full 36mp resolution however is penalty free cropping. I had to be careful on my 12mp d300 about not cropping to much and loosing image quality but now I will crop out half of a 36mp file still be floored by the amout of detail. Overall I see no problem with using my DX lenses with the new camera and actually enjoy the added flexibility and creative potential they provide. I sometimes enjoy the circular image the 17-55 creates at its widest setting at the FX crop. ISO: Based solely on my observations I would say the d800 gains about 2 2/3 stops in ISO quality. Before, I would shoot my d300 up to ISO 400 and be completely satisfied with noise, dynamic range, and color quality. With the d800 I can now bump up to ISO 2500 and be completely satisfied with image quality. In low light situations I find bumping the d800 to ISO 5000 is about as high as I am willing to go before the image quality starts to degrade significantly. Auto ISO works much better and is easier to setup. RAW vs JPEG: I like to shoot RAW + JPEG and find that most of the time I am happy with the JPEG. Reading reviews I thought that RAW would provide a HUGE headroom in the shadows and while I find there is a good amount of data in the shadows I would say no more than a stop. Files are very detail but you can definitely see the effects of the anti aliasing filter and sometimes I wish I had sprung for the d800E. By default RAW images are not especially sharp and I almost always need to bump up the sharpness in software. On a positive note in the thousands of pictures I have shot I have yet to see moire. Metering: I find that the metering is much better on the d800 than d300. I rarely switch away from multizone metering as it is just very good at figuring out the scene and I dont have to use a lot of exposure compensation either. Live view: Live view is a VAST improvement from the d300 which was almost unusable. Having a button to quickly pull up live veiw is great! Although live view focusing still leaves quite a bit to be desired it will eventually find focus in most lighting situations. Auto focus: About the same as the d300. Fast and dependable as long as you can find a point with good contrast to lock onto. Overall: I am very happy with my d800 purchase. I recently purchased the 50mm 1.8 and have been using this for shallow depth of field and low light shots and think the color quality and sharpness of this combination is just outstanding. If I could think of a complaint I would say the Live View focusing could be better, and the battery life is not quite as good as my old d300 which was just insane. The build quality is also just a tiny notch below the d300 but overall feels very professional. The rear screen on the d800 is great and I have not had any color tint problems. The left focus problems that have plagued so many other users has not been an issue for me. I would say everything about the d800s image quality is a step better than the d300 and the main thing it has been doing for me is allowing me to shoot more freely. I shoot looser crops because I know I can always crop in without losing quality, and I rarely worry about how high I have take my ISO which used to be a constant worry with the d300. I debated for a long time which camera would suit be best as an upgrade for my d300. I went between waiting for a d300 successor, getting a used d700, slimming down with an OMD-E5, buying a d600 or going for the d800. A direct d300 successor would have been nice but the added depth of field with full frame was a big decider for me as I shoot a lot of portraits. The OMD would be great but I am already pretty heavily invested in Nikon glass and was not ready to compromise on low light image quality. For me the d600 was just to plasticy and I was not happy with the control setup. In the end I am very happy with my decision although every once and a while when I am shooting landscapes I wish I had gone for the d800e.

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I am a pro photographer and purchased this camera with great enthusiasm! Initially, I was very impressed with the image quality, exceptional low light performance, and pro feature set. The ergonomics are terrific (typical of Nikon DSLRs), and it has full manual control - with live previewing, of aperture, shutter speed, and exposure compensation during Live View video mode. This is a GREAT camera for video enthusiasts or pros. Keep in mind that some reviews mention the moire patterns that occasionally occur during video or still capture, which I havent noticed yet but do not anticipate to be a deal breaker based on what Ive seen. The D800 focuses easily in very low light and the high ISO noise levels and color rendition are among the best of any camera - from any maker, at any price. It has a top shutter speed of 1/8000, flash sync up to 1/250, and an exceptional level of customization via menus and function buttons that is a step up from the D600, which is nearly equivalent in image quality. The only real downside of the D800 are the massive files. The resolution is really too high for most users needs. A single RAW file is about 50MB! There are good solutions to dealing with these large files, however, and I posted a full review of the D600 vs. the D800, with sample images and a workflow solution for the large D800 files on my blog if you want more information. KevinKubotaBlog dotcom. After working out a good post-processing solution, I am very happy with this camera and the stellar image quality and pro feature set. Nikon D800 36.3 MP CMOS FX-Format Digital SLR Camera (Body Only)

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We bought the camera 2 months ago, it worked once properly, and the second one was blocked and it could be unlocked, this happened repeatedly and randomly. today we take it to review and the mechanism of the closure of the diaphragm is damaged and blocked. The cost of the piece is equal to what was paid for the camera.

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Update - 2/25. At last...long last I believe that I have a copy of the D800 that is defect free! I love this camera and did not want to give up on it...it just feels right and takes amazing pictures. I went through 8 copies - starting with my first purchase back in June from BB stores.....it had the left focus point issue. I returned it and purchased from Amazon...proceeding to exchange twice and all three from Amazon had the left focus point issue much to my dismay! I decided to give up on the D800 and ultimately ended up trying the D600 out. Compared to the D800, the D600 felt cheap and not nearly as intuative - I hated the dials and missed the layout of the D800...not to mention the focus area was limited and also mine had the dreaded oil spots on the sensor. It went back and I gave the D800 another try from Amazon....on my 6th exchange from Amazon (which arrived in early February) I finally got a body that rocks! (Serial number is 3056XXX). Admittedly I was a little jaded and after a quick test assumed it had the LF issue. I even went so far as to purchase a refurb from BH (at a $300 savings) assuming that the refurb would have been corrected. Well I did an in depth compare between my 2 Amazon bodies (that were purchased new serial 304 and 305xxxx) and the refurb and I realized a couple of things: The refurbished body had not been refurbished at all...it was the worst performer of the three...and with a shutter count of only 7 when I received it, it was clear not a lot of diagnostics were done by Nikon...if any at all! The 304xxxx that was my original (2nd time) purchased D800 from Amazon did in fact have the left forcus issue. The 305xxxx body from Amazon did not! For sure the left side focused noticeably sharper in live view than in using the left autofocus point, but so did the right side....they were equally better in live view than they were in standard autofocus....AND THAT IS TO BE EXPECTED!! Live view (especially when using the outer focus points) is always more acurate than standard AF! (it is also far slower). Needless to say, I am happy I stuck it out and I truly believe I have a defect free body. I am happy with the results and am really enjoying shooting with this camera. It is an amazing camera with INCREDIBLE dynamic range! I wont give it five stars just due to the extreme hassle I had with so many of these bodies, but I am bumping my review to 4 stars and I absolutely think that if you get one of these cameras today and if it is in the 305xxxx, it would be a five star for you too! Enjoy! This is an amazing AMAZING camera, with (for me) very intuitive controls and a dynamic range beyond belief. Although some from both sides of the AF issue might argue "why three stars", I am in the middle of the arguement....my thoughts are even with the AF issue, there are so many other great things about the camera, that it still ranks 3 stars. This is partially why I have not given up on getting a good copy. This was number 5 for me...it was an exchange for defective copy number 4. The fourth one was better than the 5th, so I kept number 4, and am waiting until the end of my return period to hopefully get a 305xxxx camera that is error free.

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This camera is great for low light and with a 36.3 mega pixel was ideal for me since I print 2 out 5 images on hard copy at poster size. The majority of my photography is shot when I travel, night time city scenes. Nikon has the power house cameras. You can not cheat when it comes to photography, people will claim DSLRs are a dying breed but these people never learned how to operate a "real" camera. The sensor cell in FX cameras are about as big a 35 mm film slide. Trying to jam 24 mega pixels in a tiny phone camera or point and shoot camera and you get a horrible image quality.

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