Nikon D800 for wildlife
Posted: Wed Dec 12, 2012 1:55 pm
Okay, so I recently visited the Kgalagadi with a new addition to my bag - the Nikon D800.
My initial thoughts in acquiring this camera were confirmed on this trip.
1. It will be my go-to landscape camera - the resolution is ridiculous and the dynamic range is amazing.
2. It will do nicely as a 2nd body on wildlife-excursions, mostly to be used for static shots and wider animal-scapes.
3. It is slow. 4fps is one thing, the time to write the massive images to the card from the small buffer is another. Don't rely on it for action.
I will post more results as I get round to processing them, but here's the first set of results.
For most of my trip I was using the Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8 VR-II on the D800.
On one day, for kicks I was using it with the Nikkor 500mm f4 VR-II. This African Wild Cat was photographed in the last light of day in a tree by the roadside using this combination.
EXIF for this shot:
f4.0 | 1/800 SS | ISO-6400 | EV +0.3
1st image:
UNCROPPED - 7000px high
BASIC RAW ADJUSTMENTS in LIGHTROOM 4 (NO NOISE REDUCTION)
NO PROCESSING OR NOISE REDUCTION IN PHOTOSHOP
RESIZED TO 800px HIGH, SHARPENED

2nd image:
50% CROP - 3600px high
BASIC RAW ADJUSTMENTS in LIGHTROOM 4 (NO NOISE REDUCTION)
NO PROCESSING OR NOISE REDUCTION IN PHOTOSHOP
RESIZED TO 800px HIGH, SHARPENED

3rd image:
100% CROP - 800px high
BASIC RAW ADJUSTMENTS in LIGHTROOM 4 (NO NOISE REDUCTION)
NO PROCESSING OR NOISE REDUCTION IN PHOTOSHOP
NO RESIZING AND NO SHARPENING APPLIED

So, what do you think??
My initial thoughts in acquiring this camera were confirmed on this trip.
1. It will be my go-to landscape camera - the resolution is ridiculous and the dynamic range is amazing.
2. It will do nicely as a 2nd body on wildlife-excursions, mostly to be used for static shots and wider animal-scapes.
3. It is slow. 4fps is one thing, the time to write the massive images to the card from the small buffer is another. Don't rely on it for action.
I will post more results as I get round to processing them, but here's the first set of results.
For most of my trip I was using the Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8 VR-II on the D800.
On one day, for kicks I was using it with the Nikkor 500mm f4 VR-II. This African Wild Cat was photographed in the last light of day in a tree by the roadside using this combination.
EXIF for this shot:
f4.0 | 1/800 SS | ISO-6400 | EV +0.3
1st image:
UNCROPPED - 7000px high
BASIC RAW ADJUSTMENTS in LIGHTROOM 4 (NO NOISE REDUCTION)
NO PROCESSING OR NOISE REDUCTION IN PHOTOSHOP
RESIZED TO 800px HIGH, SHARPENED

2nd image:
50% CROP - 3600px high
BASIC RAW ADJUSTMENTS in LIGHTROOM 4 (NO NOISE REDUCTION)
NO PROCESSING OR NOISE REDUCTION IN PHOTOSHOP
RESIZED TO 800px HIGH, SHARPENED

3rd image:
100% CROP - 800px high
BASIC RAW ADJUSTMENTS in LIGHTROOM 4 (NO NOISE REDUCTION)
NO PROCESSING OR NOISE REDUCTION IN PHOTOSHOP
NO RESIZING AND NO SHARPENING APPLIED

So, what do you think??
