If you haven't yet seen it, NikonUSA released a D800/D800E Technical Guide today. Based upon some of the early emails I'm getting, it's shook up a few of the faithful. As one reader queried me "does this mean I won't be able to handhold the D800?"
Oh dear.
There's nothing new in Nikon's document. As I've written for some time now, in order to achieve the best image quality these new high-end devices are capable of we as photographers have to get better at capture discipline. If you're sloppy in your camera-handling techniques, you'll get sloppy results. Indeed, if you think that just increasing a number (megapixels) gives you better images, you're naive. More megapixels might give you better images, but it doesn't guarantee it. Just like a Ferrari might allow you to get up the winding road to your hilltop home faster, but it doesn't guarantee it (fortunately cameras won't spin off the road and run into trees ;~).
We've actually gone through this dance twice before: once when the 6mp users finally got around to upgrading to the D7000, and once when everyone starting trying to use the D3x.
Anyone opting for a D800 who wants it to achieve the image quality it's capable of needs to:
- Use good capture discipline.
- Retire the inexpensive lenses they own that aren't up to the job.
- Understand where diffraction begins to steal back acuity.
- Learn how to focus accurately.
Exactly what I've been writing about for years. If you're worried, check out some of the Technique article links in the left column. Or read these two articles along with Nikon's new brochure:
Capture Discipline 1
Capture Discipline 2
Update: A D7000 isn't exactly a D800. Some people think that the pixel density is the primary factor requiring tight discipline and because those cameras are the same, capture discipline needs to be the same. Consider this: a 16mm lens on D7000 puts ~5000 pixels across 74 degrees, while a 24mm lens on a D800 puts ~7000 pixels across the same angle. Put another way, 1° of motion is 68 pixels on the D7000, 94 pixels on the D800. 1° on a D2h was just 33 pixels and 41 pixels on a D70, You've got to handle a D800 cleaner than a D7000 folks. At least if you're going to pixel peep to see how good the results are.
Update 2: A few people objected to my Update; "just raise the shutter speed" they said. But that's my point. If I'm in a situation where I need f/8 for DOF and the correct exposure is 1/125, I might not be able to raise my shutter speed unless I change something else, like ISO. This is what capture discipline is all about: running through all the negative factors that might impact your photograph and pick actions that will remove, mitigate, or compensate those factors.