Nikon D800E -in pursuit of sharpness

[swhyge]

I do not haf the afs24-120 nor the zeiss.

My results w the older D lenses convinced me tat there is no need to upgrade.

Maybe our shooting conditions n applications differ vastly.

to potential new owners, do not be put off by the resolving power of the d800e. If applied in the right condition, you will get amazing results.

But the high mp count n huge file size should be a main consideration too.

Yes! agreed!

D800/D800E is not a mysterious beast.

It is just the latest FX camera with high pixel count, which translate to high pixel density. And in terms of pix density, the latest M43 are even higher, and D7000 is about the same...

I do not think Nikon intends to design this cam to be only fully utilised with exotic expansive lens that many dun even know exist...

In time to come, 30+MP cam will be in the beginner category... by then it will mysteriously automatically become a simple camera to operate...

It seems that there is a confusion between between testing the camera and using the camera as the test rig to test lens.

 

[DeepOne]

Yes! agreed!
I do not think Nikon intends to design this cam to be only fully utilised with exotic expansive lens that many dun even know exist...

Nikon design cameras to sell Nikkor lenses, so naturally some of the Nikkors that worked well in the past do not necessarily have to work well in their newer models, no longer do they defy obsolescence ....

 

[Cheesecake]

Nikon design cameras to sell Nikkor lenses, so naturally some of the Nikkors that worked well in the past do not necessarily have to work well in their newer models, no longer do they defy obsolescence ....

Until the user personally tried out the various old lenses himself/herself, one can't be too sure.

I got a nice surprise when i tried out my various D lenses.

But then again, sharpness is subjective.

However i think it isn't entirely true tat only newer lenses or exotic expensive lenses r the holy grail.

True, some old lenses simply do not meet the mark when one uses the d800e.

Yet, There are many gems in older lenses. Do not lose heart n do not be afraid to buy n use the d800e.

You will probably be given a nice surprise with the results.

 

[DeepOne]

Until the user personally tried out the various old lenses himself/herself, one can't be too sure.

I got a nice surprise when i tried out my various D lenses.

But then again, sharpness is subjective.

However i think it isn't entirely true tat only newer lenses or exotic expensive lenses r the holy grail.

True, some old lenses simply do not meet the mark when one uses the d800e.

Yet, There are many gems in older lenses. Do not lose heart n do not be afraid to buy n use the d800e.

You will probably be given a nice surprise with the results.

I won't say some old lenses do not meet the mark when this is just a d800e, I have seen old lenses that work very well on the d3 but not the d800e, does this mean the d800e missed the mark?, I have not the chance to compare the same lenses with both the d4 and d800e, but I know I can expect some differences when I do them later on ....

 

[Cheesecake]

I won't say some old lenses do not meet the mark when this is just a d800e, I have seen old lenses that work very well on the d3 but not the d800e, does not mean the d800e missed the mark?, I have not the chance to compare the same lenses with both the d4 and d800e, but I know I can expect some differences when I do them later on ....

There will be old lenses that do not meet the mark.

Hope you'll haf a gd time with the testing.

 

[Achim Reh]

I did not mean to judge the quality of older lens. If this was the understanding of some people, this was not what I meant. Some old lenses are exceptional good . Lens sharpness on premium products was great shortly after 2nd world war. In fact , if you compare car prices to lens prices,high quality lenses are a lot cheaper today , than they where 50 years ago. However, there are a lot of low quality cheap lenses out there, which are not performing very well on newer high end cameras.
And of course, it all depends on your expectations. Mine are very high, I want to push the camera to the limits ...see the title of my post. And this can only be achived with high end lenses. Zeiss , Rodenstock, and yes, some nikons.

 

[DeepOne]

There will be old lenses that do not meet the mark.

Hope you'll haf a gd time with the testing.

You kept saying old lenses do not meet the mark, so on that basis, the d4 will miss the mark for sure, if new lenses don't work well on d4 them but the d800e .... does this make sense to you ....

 

[GReddyZC76]

Impressive n constructive reviiews.

 

[DeepOne]

I did not mean to judge the quality of older lens. If this was the understanding of some people, this was not what I meant. Some old lenses are exceptional good . Lens sharpness on premium products was great shortly after 2nd world war. In fact , if you compare car prices to lens prices,high quality lenses are a lot cheaper today , than they where 50 years ago. However, there are a lot of low quality cheap lenses out there, which are not performing very well on newer high end cameras.
And of course, it all depends on your expectations. Mine are very high, I want to push the camera to the limits ...see the title of my post. And this can only be achived with high end lenses. Zeiss , Rodenstock, and yes, some nikons.

I can understand what you are trying to say, but perhaps not many users have the chance to sample or use as many different lenses as they would like, so a lens that is sharp on one model cannot be discredited because it is not sharp on the d800e, that would be misleading, because there is still the d4 and there will be newer camera bodies to come and the same lens that worked on the d800e may not work so well on the newer and better model, now that would make the d800e look really really bad ....

for the uninitiated, not all Leica lens will work on a Nikon body and that also mean not all the different releases of the same focal length (Leica) will work on Nikon bodies, I put that down as part of the adventure if you should choose this path ....

 

[JacePhoto]

did u try other aperture?

 

[DeepOne]

did u try other aperture?

see post #29, his reply to mine ....

 

[Achim Reh]

I can understand what you are trying to say, but perhaps not many users have the chance to sample or use as many different lenses as they would like, so a lens that is sharp on one model cannot be discredited because it is not sharp on the d800e, that would be misleading, because there is still the d4 and there will be newer camera bodies to come and the same lens that worked on the d800e may not work so well on the newer and better model, now that would make the d800e look really really bad ....

for the uninitiated, not all Leica lens will work on a Nikon body and that also mean not all the different releases of the same focal length (Leica) will work on Nikon bodies, I put that down as part of the adventure if you should choose this path ....

Well, yes, thats how it is , most lenses will not work well on the D800E, IF YOU WANT TO USE THE CAMERA TO ITS FULL POTENTIAL.
The reason of my test was purely , to see which lenses can fully deliver a sharp image to the maximum performance of the D800E sensor.
The reason for me, to buy this camera , was clearly , to get razor sharp image with maximum sharpness, for fine art printing.
I stand to my previous statement, the D800E is not designed for the average user, it is indeed a very special camera , designed for fine are photography , studio work , landscape .And it has to be used with ultra-sharp high end lenses to unleash its full potential. But thats just my opinion

 

[Achim Reh]

did u try other aperture?

for me, I do not see the need to try other aperture, if the lens date sheet shows me that this aperture I am using gives my the maximal resolution. So, other aperture will be worse.

 

[JacePhoto]

for me, I do not see the need to try other aperture, if the lens date sheet shows me that this aperture I am using gives my the maximal resolution. So, other aperture will be worse.

Thanks. I prefer your answer on link #29. haha...

And yes, i am throwing away my lenses too.

 

[khock520]

the latest nikon lens; 28mm f1.8 is supposedly designed to resolve high resolution images and is recommmended by dpreview for use with d800.
link for further reading: Nikon announces AF-S Nikkor 28mm F1.8 G full-frame wideangle prime: Digital Photography Review

 

[Cheesecake]

You kept saying old lenses do not meet the mark, so on that basis, the d4 will miss the mark for sure, if new lenses don't work well on d4 them but the d800e .... does this make sense to you ....

there is a slight misunderstanding here.


what i'm trying to say is...


there will be old lenses that will not be up to the mark if one uses a D800E. that is probably one of the reasons why Nikon is pushing out newer lenses with fanciful coatings and wonderful motors.

but, it does not mean that all old lenses (non-AFS, non-G, non ED coating etc) are not good and need an upgrade.
refer to my earlier posts whereby i said that several old lenses are still up to the mark and are able to perform.

you might have to try it out urself to see which is the lens that is able to perform on the D800/E.



on the other hand, to achieve good results on the D800/E, one need not own all the exotic lenses such as the leicas, the hasseys, the zeiss etc.
there are still many Nikkor gems out there that is good, if not just as good as these exotic lenses.

thus, do not feel overwhelmed or disappointed that only expensive, exotic lenses will give you the required performance on the D800/E.

you might be pleasantly surprised with the result when you plug in that old AIS or E or D lens in.



hope it clears up the confusion.

 

[DeepOne]

there is a slight misunderstanding here.


what i'm trying to say is...


there will be old lenses that will not be up to the mark if one uses a D800E. that is probably one of the reasons why Nikon is pushing out newer lenses with fanciful coatings and wonderful motors.

but, it does not mean that all old lenses (non-AFS, non-G, non ED coating etc) are not good and need an upgrade.
refer to my earlier posts whereby i said that several old lenses are still up to the mark and are able to perform.

you might have to try it out urself to see which is the lens that is able to perform on the D800/E.

allow me to explain what you are trying to say with this example .... :bsmilie:

I use my friend's D800 to see how my 24 AIS perform with it, the images were sharp, but not as sharp as on the D3, so I said to my friend, "hey your D800 got something wrong I think, so lousy one, cannot produce an image as sharp as this D3, you see I put the same lens back on the D3, ah see sharp right, how come your D800 like that" .... but of course I was joking, I did not say his D800 was lousy nor did I say the D800 was not up to the mark .... instead I said this lens don't paired too well with the D800, he said not surprising, just have to look around and find a lens that will work well with it .... I said what a hassle and waste of money, but Nikon will be in trouble if customers stop buying new lenses and stick with their old ones, hence they must be forced to upgrade ....

bear in mind that in this computer era, a 2 year old lens or even a 1 year old one can be considered an old lens if it is superseded by a newer release, I called this bug fixing ....

 

[Zenten]

Well to me...buying and using a camera should be an enjoyable thing. If it is going to be as tedious as what we are shown here then we may as well just say : Nikon D800E - a pain in the ass.

 

[Cheesecake]

allow me to explain what you are trying to say with this example .... :bsmilie:

I use my friend's D800 to see how my 24 AIS perform with it, the images were sharp, but not as sharp as on the D3, so I said to my friend, "hey your D800 got something wrong I think, so lousy one, cannot produce an image as sharp as this D3, you see I put the same lens back on the D3, ah see sharp right, how come your D800 like that" .... but of course I was joking, I did not say his D800 was lousy nor did I say the D800 was not up to the mark .... instead I said this lens don't paired too well with the D800, he said not surprising, just have to look around and find a lens that will work well with it .... I said what a hassle and waste of money, but Nikon will be in trouble if customers stop buying new lenses and stick with their old ones, hence they must be forced to upgrade ....

bear in mind that in this computer era, a 2 year old lens or even a 1 year old one can be considered an old lens if it is superseded by a newer release, I called this bug fixing ....

true.

 

[UncleFai]

Well to me...buying and using a camera should be an enjoyable thing. If it is going to be as tedious as what we are shown here then we may as well just say : Nikon D800E - a pain in the ass.

Which is why Ken Rockwell prefers the 5DIII.