See that my purchase is verified by Amazon. Below are my observations after one month of ownership.
Pros:
+ Resolution: With the right lenses and on the right settings the detail is astonishing.
+ Dynamic Range: Incredible, when shooting in lower ISO's it is near impossible to ruin a photo. Do an internet search for: "fred miranda d800 review Yosemite" to see real life comparisons.
+ Color: Adobe profiles in LR and ACR are horrible, create custom profiles using a QPCard 203 (Avail directly from manufacture) or use a MacBeth chart with Adobe DNG profiler for great colors.
+ AutoWB: Works well in about 70% of lighting scenarios, much better than the D3/D700. *** See Tip Below ***
+ Low ISO: Having a true 100 ISO is godsend for on-location studio lighting setups.
+ High ISO: The D800 and LR4 do an excellent job in controlling noise. Using PS plugins a properly exposed image can print acceptable 6x9's at 12800 ISO (max for D3/D700's is 6400).
+ LiveView: The live exposure preview is a new and pleasant feature.
+ Build and Weatherproofing: I shot three weddings with this camera and all three had slight to heavy rain. The camera performed excellent in all occasions, as did my D3.
+ Tonality: With a good camera profile in LR4, the tonal range rivals Fujifilm 400H Film. This is incredibly useful on portraits with 3-1 or 4-1 lighting ratios. Posterization in the shadows (the DSLRs Achilles' heel) is only noticeable on highly manipulated images.
+ Handling: The auto ISO is easy to engage and the new position of the ISO button is more intuitive when looking through the viewfinder than on the D700. Like the D700, the D800 is extremely customizable.
+ Autofocus modes: S(ingle) AF point is very good for stationary subjects at close and far distances; 9 point AF: works well with close range subjects that move, but in long distance shots it may select a contrasty pattern on the shoulder and throw the eyes a bit out of focus; 3-D: tries to follow the subject based on color and it works quite well; Auto: looks for what it thinks it the closest face. It comes in handy when taking action photos with the camera overhead.
Neutral:
~ Handling: I prefer the AF switches of the D700. The magnification + - are opposite from the D700, a small irritation.
~ Exposure: Better than D3/D700, but far from perfect. Contrary to Nikon's literature, it struggles with backlit scenes.
~ Frames per second: I rarely shoot in continuous, and when I do, I have my D3/D700 set to CL (continuous low-speed) of 2 FPS.
~ Battery Performance: It can get me through a full day's shoot if I avoid extensive LiveView or WiFi use, otherwise I need to use a backup battery.
~ Autofocus: The AF is very similar to the D3/D700, good but could have been better. The center sensors are quick and reliable, the extreme corners work well, but they are not as quick and require high contrast subjects. For example, when shooting with the razor-thin DOF of the 85mm 1.4, slight rocking back and forth movements will cause plenty of out of focus shots. Set the camera on a tripod and the outer sensor works perfect on subjects with contrast. The center sensors are quicker at micro adjustments and compensates quickly for movements.
Cons:
- Software: Nikon software can produce excellent results, but it is clunky and slow.
- Handling: The mode selector button is awkwardly placed. I prefer the D7000 U1/U2 style custom banks.
- JPEG: Nikon has the worst jpeg engine; competitors like Olympus, Panasonic, and Canon put it to shame. Although I would never shoot JPG, there are those that do, and this camera will be a letdown.
- Autofocus: 1.) All 51 points are still too centrally located 2.) No increase in cross-type sensors over the D3/D700 3.) All the cross-type AF sensors are in the middle. 4.) Like the D3/700, the outer sensors are near useless in low lit, low contrast situations.
- LiveView: There is a well reported bug when using LiveView at 100% viewing, although I am still able to focus, I heard that is a deal-breaker for many landscape shooters. I have no idea how people survived 100 years of film or shoot $20k+ Hasselblad's. <Sarcasm>
D800 resolution on tested lenses:
* Nikon 24-70 2.8 G: Center good f/4-5, excellent from 5.6-9; Corners good from f/5.6-9
* Nikon 35mm 1.4 G: Center good F/1.4-2.0, excellent from F/2.2-11; Corners good at F/2.0-3.5, excellent from F/4-11
* Nikon 50mm 1.8 G: Center excellent from F/1.8-11; Corners good at F/1.8-2.8, excellent from F/3.2-11 >> 1st lens sample fared slightly worse wide open, but still good
* Nikon 85mm 1.4 G: Center excellent from F/1.4-11; Corners good at F/1.4-2.5, excellent from F/2.8-11
* Nikon 85mm 1.8 G: Center excellent from F/1.8-11; Corners good at F/1.8-2.5, excellent from F/2.8-9
* Nikon 70mm-200mm 2.8 G: Center excellent from F/2.8-11; Corners good at F/2.8-4, excellent from F/4.5-9
*** TIP *** Remove the dreaded Nikon green cast by shifting the WB Fine-Tune (pg. 149) 1 or 2 points toward Magenta on each (AutoWB, Custom, Shade, Daylight, etc..) WB settings and get much better results short of using a QP Card 202/203 or X-Rite Passport for every scene change.
Summary:
Using proper technique, the images this camera produces are superior to the D3/D700 in every measurable aspect. Would I jump systems for this camera? If I owned a large collection of top-tier gear, NO! Otherwise, I would consider it if I was not too invested into another system. Does it equal or better Medium Format? There are differences in perspective, defraction limits, DOF, FOV, and CANNOT BE COMPARED.
Having shot Canon (FD, 630, A2, Elan II, 20D, 40D, 5D I &II, 1D's) Nikon (FM, F4, F100, D200, D300s, D7000, D700, D800, D3), Fuji (S3, S5), Mamiya (645, RB67), and Hasselblad (H4D-40), I know that they are excellent tools that are capable of creating amazing images. Pick the one that best fits your needs and enjoy the fine art of photography and avoid online forum squabbles. :)
********* 07/11/12 Update: *********
For some strange reason Adobe does a great job rendering WB with Canon and struggles with Nikon. The WB looks great in Nikon Software; unfortunately the Nikon's workflow is clumsy and substantially slower than Adobe LR, which kills the usefulness of AutoWB for large projects. For Adobe LR, it is best to use a WB target, which kind of stinks when working in fast pace environments. I may consider trying out Phase Ones's Capture ONE to see if it looks closer to Nikon's Capture NX, but I am waiting on QP Card to add support for TIFF files so I can create icc profiles.
Other than a few ergonomics shortfalls (compared to D700) this camera continues to amaze. The best $3k I ever spent.
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