Nikon D800: New Generation DSLR Officially Announced

In 2008, I wrote a blog post about the launch of D700, followed by a hands-on review which I wrote for T3 Singapore.

Three and a half years later, Nikon has officially announced the D800 to replace the D700 and the D3X.

Monstrous specs:

36.3 megapixel full-frame CMOS sensor, or DX-crop of 15.4 megapixel.
ISO 100-6400 (expandable to 50-25600)
4 frames per second for full-frame, 6 fps for DX
±5 EV (common DSLRs have ±3 EV)
Revamped 51-point AF point system, supporting low-light AF up to f/8
91k pixel metering sensor (old-gen Nikon DSLR has 1005-pixel)
Built-in HDR
Better Auto ISO settings
Full manual video recording capability with a myraid of external connections and capabilities for the most demanding movie makers. Like audio and video monitoring output.
CF and SDXC card slots
900 grams with battery (about the weight of D300)
separate D800E model removes anti-aliasing filter for increased sharpness required for professional users.
US$3000

I think the most overwhelming feature about the D800 is its 36.3 megapixel image size. According to DPReview, the raw file size is almost 80MB. Question is: does a freelance photographer like myself require such high resolution? There is a need to balance between need and nice.

Then there is the high definition uncompressed video recording capability that meets the professional user, but I won't need half of it. Perhaps it would be good time to pick up movie making with the D800.

Due to the increase image size, the frame-per-second rate falls to 4fps, so the D800 immediately eliminates the action photographer segment, where the new D4 comfortably caters for.

One thing I am glad is that the weight of the D800 is similar to the D300 that I currently own, so I will be able to handle the weight, as compared to the D700 which is almost 200 grams heavier.

Everything else in the D800 are improvements that we expect of a new generation DSLR - better AF point sensitivity, increased pixels for metering, auto ISO, EV adjustments, auto HDR.

The D800 is tempting, but with this announcement, I might consider the option of getting a D700 instead.