Nikon D800E 36.3 MP CMOS FX-Format Digital SLR Camera (Body Only) (OLD MODEL)

I probably own this about 2 years now. Im going to be subjective for now as most likely the web has all the details you need. I am difficult Tom Lease, usually finding all the faults no one else does, yet 2 years in, I still like the camera. I wish it has an articulating LCD, I wish it had built in WiFi, a more intuitive intervalometer that I still havent figured out, more than 30 second shutter timer, a better battery door (The camera is weather sealed weather resistant after all yet this seems a bit cheesy and weak), but the camera is overall rather intuitive to use and takes phenomenal photos. Battery life is adequate for me too, though I know its not rated on the top tier. Compared to many other expensive purchases that have become obsolete well before their value has been worthwhile, this is so far holding up in enjoyment factor.

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This camera has changed the way that I see the world. I love this camera more than I loved my dog Rex, my first wife, and possibly even my second grade teacher (possibly). The 800e is an extraordinary piece of engineering and is an image making machine. It is ok with my film-era Nikon glass. But it is out of control wonderful with the 85 1.4 (also purchased through Amazon). This camera has made me shoot more carefully and be less willing to spend time in trying to correct images for clients. In fact the last few jobs I have been able to pass images over to the client for their retouchers to work on. Is this better than my old Canon gear? Yes (But so is my iPhone). Is the D800e better than whatever? Possibly. I dont really know. I do know that until I can afford a Mamiya with an 80MP back, this is going to be a money making machine for me. Funny thing.. just now I dont even want something that precious to work with. My companion camera might be a D4. The 800e allows me to get exactly the results I expect to get when acquiring visual data in a way which was never possible when shooting 4x5 or 8x10. There is no going back after using this precision machine.

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I cannot say enough about the merits of this machine! In the late 80s and 90s I owned several Nikon bodies and kit-level lenses. My film photos at the time were decent and frankly maybe about 1 in 3 photos I considered good, and perhaps 1 in a couple hundred (landscape pics) was truly exceptional. What I am getting to here is that with that type of success rate, my interest in photography was bound to decline; and it did. So aside from taking pics of family on special occasions and some vacation shots, my gear stayed on the shelf. Since I have always had an attraction to Nikon cameras and wanted to try the FX format, I sold an old Rolex watch that had been sitting in a drawer for over 15 years and used the proceeds to buy an 800E and a 24-70 2.8 lens as I wanted glass commensurate to accompany this much acclaimed camera. I simply dont have the ability to tell you just how much I love this camera and lens combination! From the moment I picked it up (heavy) and took the first few shots, I knew I had latched onto something special. The camera is solid, precise, and just exudes craftsmanship, intelligence and professional capability. I suppose it imparts the feeling that with the right lens and some basic knowledge about light and composition, you can do anything! That sense of capability and pride in just holding the damn thing was the reason I titled this review as I did. The sensor capability and dynamic range of this camera puts to shame anything I ever took on film years ago, and it has opened my eyes again to seeing pictures in most everything I do, and once again to enjoy the magic of capturing slivers of time and vision. This past Christmas and just after getting the camera/lens combo, my wife asked me to do some obligatory photos of family and friends around the tree. In the past I have used either an Olympus point and shoot or my D90. Anyway, I broke out the D800E and the 24-70 and did my best to please her. (I am not one who usually enjoys taking photos of a bunch of staged smiles--you know what I mean.) I framed up a shot of our daughter and 4 friends near the tree and bounced flash from an SB-700. The playback photo looked good in terms of person capture and lighting, so I didnt think more about it. Later, upon looking at the pic in LR4, and even when I took the shot to a silly degree of magnification, my daughters face among that head-to-toe group shot of 5 persons, was still useable and printable at 8.5" X 11". Just crazy, crazy sharp; so sharp that I framed that head shot and have received repeated compliments of its technical quality and much praise from my very picky wife. Little do people know that that pic was only about 5% of the original frame!! So if you have ever held a love for finely crafted and capable technology, buy this camera. Yes it eats up a battery charge faster than expected, so be sure to get at least a second battery. For sure it will re-ignite your artistic vision and youll find yourself watching a little less TV and more time daydreaming about what you can do rather than what you have already done. The only downside for me is that I rarely pick up my D90--a shame. Thank You Nikon for such a great camera and this new inner smile.

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Before this, I owned the D600. I thought the D600 was one of the best cameras ever created, and that it was even better than the D800s. Boy, was I wrong. This camera has taken my landscape photography to the next level. This camera, combined with the 14-24mm lens, brings an unprecedented level of sophistication to my photos. The amount of detail and color captured on top of what the D600 has to offer is just stunning. I highly recommend this camera. If you can afford it, dont hesitate, and dont settle for anything less.

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So I jumped at the opportunity to buy this amazing camera with the sale that just came out. First one that was sent was amazing but after only 100 pictures the camera malfunction with an err message. Tried a new battery, taking off the lens, new memory cards, reset, everything you could image and could not get it to work. Finally I contacted amazon and had a new one in a day. (Great response time Amazon.) so now the new one works great so far no issues. The camera distributes quality like no other camera. I own the D800 as well and it truly is a better camera. You can just tell the images are that much sharper using Nikon prime lens shows the best quality especially with a 85 1.4g. I absolutely love this camera and would not rate it any different because of the one flawed one that was sent.

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This is a really fantastic camera! Go to DxOMark dot com and read more about it: they say the D810 is not really much of an improvement as far as picture quality and sharpness goes. The photos are fantastic. Read all the other reviews.

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The cameras quality is amazing, resolution is remarkable. Make sure you get great glass to go with this awesome camera - yes it will be expensive but lenses are a great investment whereas camera bodies are not. I bought this camera going from a D200 to this D800E and it was well worth the upgrade. Im going to keep the D200 and use it with my new lenses as well, everything fits great and if I go shooting with a friend I can give them my D200 to use. Looking forward to putting the D800E through its paces.

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Great camera but rating it a 4 due to the fact that you will need to purchase a focus calibration tool alignment kit, to fine tune your lens with the camera. I have three different lens I use and found the camera was back focusing with each lens. Of course I did not realize this until after a number of shots. Close ups no problems. The problem arises when you are taking a picture of a distant object/ scene. It is when you print your photos that you notice that the focus is off, after the fact! Apparently this is a problem with other camera makers also. Had the same problem with the Nikon D7100. My D80 luckily did not have this problem. Good thing because it did not have fine tuning. Save yourself some lost once in a life time pics and get a calibration tool alignment kit to fine tune the camera to your lens.

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Awesome

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My main reason to buy this camera was the video capability. I actually own a D3 but it doesn t do video. I really like the D800E size and weight and the pictures are also very good. Need to be careful if you select fine resolution because the picture MB could be on the large size.

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