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Nikon D800 topic
  • 246 Replies sorted by
  • @Aria it seems to me that the DR of the D800 is bigger than GH2's. It just my first impression, I had no time to test it in detail and probably it would need to be tested with several good patches on the GH2. But I am sure there are some good tests meanwhile. Possibly the upcoming Sony FF NEX could use the same sensor as the D800 and hopefully it will be in your budget, though D800 is not expensive for such a camera.

  • Thanks for that cbrandin its just the distance i needed. From what i read here the D800 looks to be a fine camera and from the figures you gave me should fit my panoramic head. Just need to find the cash now...

  • I assume you mean the vertical distance. It looks to be 49.5mm from lens center to base.

  • Thanks cbrandin, the panoguide, Flange focal distance and smugmug links are all very interesting and informative . Do you also happen to know the exact distance from the center of the lens to camera base of the D800. Even knowing the distance from the camera base to the bottom edge of the lens mount would be useful. I can work the rest out for myself as Nikon SLR lens mounts are all the same size.

  • Wish I had the budget for a D800. @Vitaliy_Kiselev, that deal is really good for the D800, THX. It's a great combo cam. The level of Video and Photo that camera is capable of is sick. Especially the photo side. Since I do events where I need both top notch photo and video it's a serious consideration.

    As for the video i'm more of a DR guy than ultimate detail. So long as the detail is high enough to be credible and not at the softness level of the Canons, then I think DR is very much the next most important thing for me. The D800 has really good DR and that's what I think puts it in the same high quality range as the GH line. I also do a lot of posters for clients and the D800 would be a very strong tool for that purpose. D800 just isn't a low budget tool. Bigger Lens investment and for me I think the D800 really shines with an Atomos Ninja, so that also adds to the cost. Man I need some big jobs :)

  • Nikon D800 body will be $2799.95 after $200 instant savings

  • I just looked at my D800 and the center of the tripod mount is right at the sensor. That puts it at 46.5mm from the lens flange - but like I said before, that's not meaningful. Here is a list of the flange distances for various cameras (you'll notice, for example that Nikon FF is 46.5mm and Canon FF is 44mm): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flange_focal_distance

    Here is a tutorial I found about determining the nodal point of a lens - hopefully you'll find it useful: http://dgrin.smugmug.com/gallery/2114189

  • The lens mount distance to tripod mount isn't what you want. Lens mount distance is an arbitrary amount chosen by the camera manufacturer. For example, Canon uses a different flange distance than Nikon for FF cameras. I think the distance from the sensor is a better measurement to start from and then calculate the lens's nodal point from there (and it will vary from lens to lens). Here is a fairly decent and simple explanation of the panorama "parallax" problem: http://www.panoguide.com/howto/panoramas/parallax.jsp

  • Hi,

    Does anyone know the following: the exact distance from the center of the lens to camera base of a D800? the exact distance from the lens mount face to center of tripod screw of a D800? I would love to know if the camera will work with my panoramic head before buying but this vital information is missing from every review.

    Thanks

  • I own a D800 and I'm very happy about the video!! That DR is awesome!!!!

  • I shot a video with GH2 and D800 last month, and I thought they both compared very well to each other. Take a look, and see if you can figure which camera angle is the GH2, and which one is the D800.

  • I used one on Maui and while it wasn't quite up to GH2 spec for video it was very nice, the full frame look, but much sharper than a Canon, no Aliasing that bothered me.

  • You must not forget the clean hdmi 422 output, and the BBC test put it at about 12 stop of DR and very good rolling shutter. The mushiness is most of the time the result of wide DR which makes the image very flat. A 12 stop DR image with a 8 bit depth poses some question. I guess I will have to make some test when I get hyperdeck.

  • @hay
    Do you own D800 yourself? It is definitely not poor for video, please don't belive just every bullshit from the internet. That experts should build better camera themselves. Sorry mate, it's really wrong information.

    For the stills: it is not just good, it is amazing- I almost fall off my chair each time I see new pictures on the big screen and can't find time to finally start more exploring its video functions, which also seem to be very exciting.

  • it is very good for stills, but ok for video. diglloyd has an informative review (pay version). a hacked gh2 is a better option for me for video apps

  • @tetakpatak It's a good solution if you're doing a lot of video work, and can be quickly removed for photography. I don't have it myself, but Philip Bloom reports that it works well.

  • @ahbleza
    interesting, I didn't know about it yet. Thx

  • @tetakpatak Mosaic Engineering is a company that produces filters for various DSLRs (including the 5D Mk II and the D800) that optically correct moire and aliasing.

    See http://mosaicengineering.com/

  • @heradicattor
    What do you mean with "Mosaic"?

  • i want a test D800+Mosaic vs. GH2!!!!!!

  • Here is the web site for a short film (horror genre) shot entirely with Nikon's D800. The DP is Janusz Kamiński, who won academy awards for his work on Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan. Obviously, this is sponsored by Nikon -- I wonder if any of the feedback from the DP will influence future firmware upgrades?

    http://brokennightmovie.com/

    The site is a tease, because it doesn't really show any footage.

  • Ok, so the Mosaic Engineering filter sample vid is up. Pretty impressive - and that's an 18mm lens - earlier 5DM2 filters could not pull off such results on wide angle.

  • @ahbleza Many Thanks. I'll keep this camera in mind as a possible option to m4/3.