Product ReviewsNikon D800 36.3 MP Digital SLR Camera - Black (Body Only)

I went from Nikon DX to FX frame cameras

For years I have been using the Nikon DX series cameras and have acquired many lens for them, my last purchase was a D7100, 24 Mega pixel. Everyone said my photos were outstanding from Air Shows, Car Races, Scenery, and living History reenactments. I, my self thought so too, but something just was not at that 100% level for me. I saw this lightly used excellent condition 36 mega pixel D800 full frame (FX), and checked the reviews as it is 5 years old in the technology world. The only real difference from the newer D800E and D810 I could find was they were enhanced for better HD video, which was claimed to lower the still picture quality. I have a Canon Vixia HFG30 HD with view finder I dedicate for video, so I was not concerned about the video capability of the D800. I had a few older Nikon Nikor film lenses (full frame-"FX") from the 80's with auto focus and auto aperture capable. That is what me made go for the D800 as my first FX camera. From the start with a 35 year old 35 to 120 zoom lens I could see a 3 fold difference in quality just in the automatic setting for snap shoot taking. I then tested it in its DX mode, which shots at 24 mega pixel like my D7100 against my D7100 using the same lens on both without moving my tripod, of 100 out of 100 shots, the D800 out preformed the D7100 by at least 50%. The biggest difference in the 2 Cameras is the D800 requires more thought into what setting to use (that is why I said it is not easy to use), like in a film camera, it is a learning curve I am willing to put up with.... Is a full frame FX camera worth the cost when buying at new prices and just starting off? If your main interest is very good family photos and all around vacation photos, I would say stay with the cheaper DX series, as your prints will be out standing and save your dollars for a few lens and maybe a better printer (do not use black market inks, the will fail you and your printer) I do sell some of my photos (for pennies it seems) so the upgrade was right for me. I was lucky to find a great trustworthy seller, and saved more than 50% off the going price of "New left over D800's"Read full review...

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: riklan

Fantastic Camera

I love this camera. It takes fantastic pics with high resolution. This camera will do anything you need it to do and more. In my opinion, you do need some knowledge of photography to unlock all the capabilities. It is a professional level camera that is built to last. It is fairly heavy because of that. It is much heavier than the d5500 or d7200. But it is worth it. The only thing I wish it had was wifi capabilities, but a sd card reader with all the card sizes works perfectly and doesn't reduce the image size. It does also come with a USB cord for easy downloads that way too. It is definitely one of the best cameras out there for the price...especially now that the 810 is out.Read full review...

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: U1iPQPd1TSS@Del...

hands full for an amateur

Absolutely great camera, solid, heavy, loaded with features, 36 very high quality megapixels. But a steep learning curve for a guy that used to shoot film, but, boy oh! boy is it ever so nice to discover all those treasures. If you want a status symbol buy a Leica, if you want to get serious about shooting great pictures, these Nikons are hard to beat.Read full review...

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: 6milpixels

My Review of the D800 and what I love about it

D800 is still a great value even as a pre-owned model. Intended for profetional photograpers, this is not a point and shoot camera.

First off image quality both on stil photos and video. Over 20 buttons to control and adjuts image quality, ISO, and white blance. Camrea menus are organized very well, with a boat load of options to customize the camera to any shooting style. A vast option of lences available, this is an F mount type camera. Works amazing with an AF-S DX 18 to 200mm lens

Video recording takes a little getting use to, but I'ved discovered that the trick to a happy medium between switching to photo mode vs video mode is proper white balance setting using an Expodisc, and controling ISO sensitivity, control these two and all other fucntions completment fine tuning the camera for amazing images.

The bad, none. But I will say:
It's a big heavy camera, when paired with a battery pack and zoom lens.
Steep learning curve for the average photograper, as mentioned before this is intended for the pro user.Read full review...

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Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: vinyldazed

Excellent camera for studio work, but requiring more careful manual control

As a film photographer for 30 years, I had been waiting for a Nikon digital studio camera that could replace my 6x6 square format film gear that I typically use with my studio strobes. In the past, I had been using the 12MP Nikon D300 for studio work and reached its limits of resolution where it reaches an acceptable level of detail only at ISO 100. Also, the 36MP EXPEED3 FX sensor would allow me much improved low light performance lacking in my D300 above ISO 1600. I also wanted to occasionally use my Nikkor lenses for natural light video capture without having to purchase a dedicated video camera and lenses. Lastly, I have been looking for a FX camera so that my AF-D and manual AIS prime lenses can be used at their natural focal lengths, rather than cropped to 1.5x. Most other features of the camera are nice-to-haves, duplicating or improving upon the features of the D300, but not critical for what I plan to use the D800 for. Since I shoot manual and incident meter my strobes, I have not tested the AE features nor the metering modes. I also have not tested the video functions except to see that they work easily enough in Live View mode.

Generally, the D800 feels very similar to the D300 menu systems and grip. I have always thought that the complexity of the menu system is unnecessary, except to confuse neophytes and the D800 is no better than the D700 or D300 in that sense. The video features seem to be nicely integrated and Live View modes simplified, compared with the D300, which I have long given up trying to use. Like a medium format film body, the extremely high resolution combined with shallow depth of field makes for amazing clarity in the large RAW files but also requires careful focus control, and requires some taming of the automated features to help slow it down. For example in single-shot mode necessary for strobe work, I find that the shutter trips a second or third image very easily. I also find that the spot focus mode only allows me to use the sweet spot of the viewfinder and lenses for focus determination and requires that I check focus and reposition frequently. In this case, the D300's 51 AF points are better laid out across the entire viewfinder than the D800, where they are all clustered in the center of the frame.

When reviewing some test images in Adobe Lightroom, I was able to zoom into 3:1 before I started to see digitization of the image details without sharpening and noise, making it more than adequate for studio work. However, it is clear that at this magnification that chromatic aberration and flare are more obvious, for example, when trees are backlit by sky.Read full review...

I would buy another in a eart beat. wonder what the new D810 has over this.

This is one Great Camera, you can read all the reviews, I bought it for the still photography but am having a great time with the awesome video. What a way to have both worlds in one body. I have also just started Astrophotography and this camera is turning out some amazing pictures.

If you purchase one of these expect to buy the good lenses so that you can take advantage of the resolution. Having the Dual Card slots is a great plus as you have a backup right on board. I put a 64gb SD card in the one slot and then use 32gb CF cards and then rotate them through so that I have that back up of at least 2 cards on the SD card.Read full review...

A BEAST in physical built and Features. NOT for amateurs. 4 & 3/4 stars.

Definitely NOT for armatures. D800 has tons of good and useful features, difficult to master. I was a photographer in the 1960s and am now just a serious hobbyist, getting back to photography now that I am retired. My comment reflects my personal preferences. What is important to you may not be important to me and vice-verza.

To me, this camera is a BEAST in the sense of physical bulk and features. Few items I wish for this camera. Built-in GPS, different location of DOF preview button and spring-loaded "push" of the Diopter knob instead of the "pull to change". Placement of LV and other bottoms are just matter of preferences. I like the built-in eye curtain which blocks the stray light that affects metering when using remote activation of the shutter.

Picture quality depends on the lens and the various settings. It is obvious that at the highest Pixel setting, this camera could produce images suitable for larger print than the same photograph taken with a camera of lower pixel count, using the same lens, setting, lighting condition. Practical consideration: nobody can tell the difference between the photos I took with my D600 and the D800, both using the prime lenses (50mm f/1.4 and 135mm f/2.0) with both camera set at the individual camera highest image Quality and image size settings.

While Pros may favor CF over SD, I find SD cards more than sufficient for my application. In this regard, I prefer the dual slot for SD cards in the D600 over the D800's one SD and one CD card slots. CF cards are more expensive and requires an external CF card reader to transfer files to computer. I would not tie my camera to the computer with the USB cable. On the other hand, there are CF cards that has Wi-Fi transfer capability.

Not unique to D800 is the drive blade for Nikkor D lenses Autofocus. While Others may prefer the silent drive of Nikkor G lenses, I do not like to spend money for G lenses. Thom Hogan wrote article on this subject. Here is a link to Nikon body - Nikkor lens compatibility by another author: http://www.nikonians.org/reviews?alias=nikon-slr-camera-and-lens-compatibility

More likely than not, the Nikon D610 (an update of the D600) would be more than sufficient for serious hobbyist but non-professional photographers.

Caveat: Since this camera is built like a Main Battle Tank, it should last and function flawlessly for years. However, avoid buying a "gray market" version IN CASE the camera needs repair for any reason. Remember, the term "gray market" applies to region where you live, not just in Canada and USA.Read full review...

Best camera if you don't have money for D850 or D4.

If you're switching from Pentax, controls will be unusual. But it's a matter of a day or two to adjust your habits. A bit heavy, i'm using it with Tamron 24-70/2.8, but image quality is outstanding. Especially EV metering and white balance. Remember, though - you'll need lenses with OIS, as camera itself does not have sensor stabilizer. Not a problem, really. I'm planning to use primarily OIS lenses. Also, viewfinder is very big and bright, way better than on APS-C cameras.

This one i bought was almost new. Very minor signs of normal wearing. Nice price. I'm happy, i dreamed about camera with this high level of quality.Read full review...

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Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: uniq56

D800: Can You Handle It? Find or make a way to afford this camera

Okay, I know, another 5 Stars across the Board Review. First and foremost I am a photographer and then a Nikon acquisition addict or NAA. The D800E was a no-brainer. It was a made for me camera. Martha my dear, you are going to need to buy some new things.

This is a major step up the Nikon Food Chain if you are just coming into FX. If you are already shooting Full Frame it's still a step up and you may still need/want to upgrade some things.

First the transfer cable is a USB UEC-14 cable. You will probably need a spare or two. Secondly, you will need a Extreme Pro CF card and a Extreme Pro SD card. (I recommend Sandisk 32 G/B each card.) There is a great Eye Fi card that will upload the images straight to your laptop or Desktop with appropiate app installed. Also, you will need some spare batteries: EN-EL15 And then make sure you have enough hard drive space dedicated for images.
Again, I recommend between 1 to 2 terabyte external drive or an Ultra Book Laptop with 500 M/B for images.

Are you going to buy this camera? The most likely answer is yes. The only variable is the MTA, er Mean Time to Acquisition. (not poor ole Charley on the Mass. Transit Authority). The in camera High Dynamic Range customizable capability is astounding on initial contact. It's video potential is "professional" level quality.

If you are coming to D800 from FX, an adventure in serendipity awaits you. Those upgrading from the underworld of DX, expect and appreciate the learning curve. Depending on your passion and shooting schedule, give yourself 3 to 8 months. You get alot for your money.

Don't give a poohbah for all the Nikon fancy schmancy hoopla about the D800? Go get a D600. It's cheaper and it's FX so how bad is that? But, ask yourself, Martha, can I handle the Big Bad, He-Man Nikon D800?

Nothing, bar none, in the FX world eclipses D800. A few wannabees come close for more or less money but no cigar. In closing, I only have two words for the D800: Absolutely Stunning!

Do not worry about cost. Just put together your acquisition plan and then boogey on down and getcha one when you save up or earn up the do, ray, me.Read full review...

Nikon D800

The D800 is a superb camera. With proper technique and lens, it can deliver outstanding results. Furthermore, it is a pleasure to hold and use. I am used to NIkon pro-line cameras: D2x, D3s and now a D4. Once I used them, I was spoiled. I tried a variety of other Nikon DSLRs: D600, D750, D5000, but none of them satisfied...until the D800. In addition to its superb image quality, it also "feels" like a Nikon pro camera...and thus is an ideal complement to my D4. I have used Nikon gear since the early '70s, starting with a F, and continuing with many models since. The D800 is surely one of the greatest Nikons ever made. It is easy to recommend.Read full review...

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: tungtruongiit