A few weeks ago we were introduced to Nikon’s incredible new flagship, the D4. The $6000 DSLR has a huge ISO range, a 16.2MP sensor, a new processing engine, loads of pro-level features, and then some cool perks, like a silent mode. If you are a Nikon-using pro that needs one camera that can do it all the D4 is the one, but there is no getting around that fact that it’s large, expensive, and has features you just might not need, like built in ethernet. Enthusiasts, meet the D800.
Perhaps Nikon’s worst kept secret of the past year, the D800 is the company’s $3000 D700 replacement. It turns out that the camera is like the D4, with a smaller set of features and some notable changes, but not as much as the D700 was like the D3. The D800 is very much its own camera and will stand apart from the D4 in some key areas.
The first thing to note is that the full-frame (FX) sensor shoots at a 36.3 megapixels (7360 x 4912). That’s a massive amount of information to take in, enough to overwhelm the camera’s SD and CF slots (sorry no XQD this time) and almost any user’s off-camera storage. There is a 15.4MP DX crop mode though, so you can take quality shots with a bit more range. ISO runs from 100 to 6400 in standard mode and up to 25,600 in the extended mode, putting it well behind the D4′s night vision-like ISO 204,800. The D800 is not as quick as the D4 either — it shoots at 4 fps in FX mode and 5 fps in DX.
Other back-of-the-box features include a 3.2-inch LCD, in-camera two-shot HDR, a 10-pin accessory port for video pros, uncompressed HDMI output, a headphone jack, and stereo mic input. Sadly, It doesn’t have the D4′s super cool silent mode.
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