Nikon D800 Real World Review - Worth buying in 2022?

[@nickmarksmusic]

It’s amazing seeing not just the review but also just your pure love and enthusiasm for the art of photography. it makes a huge difference, so thank you for that!

[@romiemiller7876]

Mine has well over 100,000 shutter clicks and it works fine. I'd buy a Z9 if I could afford it. I'll have to work on that. I'm in my mid 70s, and I'd like a tilt or tilt/swing screen so I don't have to get down low to shoot low angle. Getting down is easy, it's the getting back up that's a chore.

[@MMB.__]

I own a D850 but owned a D800 for a long time and while there is a difference in resolution and other aspects, the picture quality of the D800 remained somewhat unique. As a high resolution monster it rendered absolutely stunning results in terms of colour depth, dynamic range, etc. I believe no modern full frame camera worths a change if mostly shoot stills or moderately fast moving subjects. Actually I'm thinking on buying a D800 ir a 800e for myself.

[@nickreid5939]

What about a Nikon D810 ???

[@MMB.__]

@@nickreid5939 the D810 is the step in between the 800 and the 850. It's a little better in terms of image clearness and video (yet none of these are really good for video) but its built quality is a little worse ( no more made in Japan). It will essencially depend on the price difference.

[@MMB.__]

@@nickreid5939 size of files are same.

[@rezamahtabi482]

in fact I got a D800E 2 hours ago, its fantastic, I had been to get a D850 but my friend in shop told me try this one and if not satisfied comeback and change it, its unbelievably great camera, never expected such a high quality from old camera. thanks for video.

[@Illuminationsfromtheattic]

Congrats on the new camera! It really is surprising that despite how much technology has advanced, decade old DSLRs can still go toe-to-toe with modern cameras in some respects.

[@musicalala]

I paid full price when it came out. I still have no regrets. It is the most perfect DSLR I've owned. If I shot faster moving subjects and needed a faster buffer I probably wouldn't feel the same. I also love the old D700 so much that I may buy one. Every time I look at my images from the D800 I remember why I hankered over it and sold my soul in a way to get it back then. Sold lots of highly precious belongings to fund it. I'm jealous of those that are practically stealing them now for a fraction of what I paid but also happy for them. They're getting an unbelievable body for next to nothing. If you can't get a good image from the D800 ,it isn't the equipment for sure.

[@stevemuzak8526]

I use it to this day. Still amazing camera. I bought a second one for $500!

[@stanspb763]

The D800 was the first high res, wide DR camera in 35mm and for several years nothing came close in DR and color. Now, modern cameras add features but a brick wall on DR, first met by the D800, is where the best cameras are now. To get that however, both Sony and Canon have resorted to non-defeatable RAW noise reduction that does have impact at higher ISO. When the D800 was first released it was in such demand that wait times before the big on-line shops could fill orders for 6-10 months. When visiting back home to the US and having a narrow window of time before returning to my adopted eastern European cultural capital, I figured getting one from dealers near my home would have been at least a year away. But I lucked out when visiting Best Buy looking for a few minor computer accesories and salesgirl asked if she could find anything else for me, as a weak attempt as humor I replied that she could find a D800 and she looked it up and discovered it was a rare bird and no store within 400 miles had one but she said she was good at finding hard to find items. I was leaving early the moring 3 days later. She called my the same afternoon and said she found two in the system one 3000 miles away and another 1000 and would try to go a stock transfer. She called the next day saying she was close but at the last minute the manager of the distant store cancelled the transfer. I thanked her for effort and started packing.The next morning she called and said she had found another and worked out a trade of in demand stock in her store for the D800 from another store that just got it in. I cut it very tight but I was able to pick it up on my way to the airport. B&H was 9 months backlogged in orders, and I got one in 2.5 days 2 weeks after the initial release. In the airport, I read the thick manual but being a Nikon shooter, nothing was out of place, everything on the menu and button positions was second nature. I have used it for pro photography, in the studio, and location, mostly actor porfolios and ballet, opera and fine art. I am pretty plugged into those fields, working with the main casting directors and staging master classes for stage actors who want to transition to cinema. I have a D850 also and a z6. Most of my work in with the z6 but I still use the D800 a lot, it has been bullet proof, love the depth of the files, and feel in hand with the vertica grip I have had on all my cameras. If someone who is serious about their qualty results I can't think of a better way to get true professional camera performance and reliabilty than a used D800 for bang for the buck, and the $3000-4000 saved could go into lighting and modifiers. The D850, the best DSLR ever made, is only incrementally better such as a little more res, a few more features but a lot more expensive used. I still prefer the Z6 for difficult conditions because of the EVF is a dramatic improvement over optical VF and the S lenses. I have a lot more F mount lenses but the S lenses are better than F mount. The D800 is not a speed master, its frame rate is modest but I do not see many applications where one actually benefits from high frame rates if one is shooting anything but less predictable sports, for those who use the machine gun technique, hoping to get one good image. The D800 is for those who shot intentionally. One point about the video, why not use the lens hood? There is nothing good that results from not protecting the front lens from out of frame light sources that lower contrast of the in-frame content. The hood is supplied because it is important to get the performance from the lens it was purchased for. PS, loved the music bed under the video

[@NI_natureimpressions]

Yep you are right 100%. After the D800 they hit a wall. It's shocking that the best modern cameras are not better even at high isos. If youd add a modern glass to this sensor it would still be on the top 5 today.

[@Architekt2]

I still have my D800 and love it! Thanks for the video - nicely done!

[@Illuminationsfromtheattic]

It's a great camera! Glad you enjoyed the video. :)

[@Tap-a-roo]

D800 is still my second body, while I wait for my Z9. I leave it connected to my 200mm F/2 when I'm walking around. Wonderful camera. I do 24"x16" 300 dpi prints with it.

[@Illuminationsfromtheattic]

That sounds like an awesome camera/lens combo.

[@lifebokehphotos]

I bought one very recently after watching this video and love it very much. Haven’t used a DSLR for 10 years after switching to mirrorless. Thank you very much for the info! 🙏🏻

[@Illuminationsfromtheattic]

I'm glad you found the video helpful, and I'm to hear glad you love the camera!

[@matejbednarik8736]

Man, i haave to say you doing much better pictures beside walk, then many photographers on tripod do.You have got a good eye.

[@Illuminationsfromtheattic]

Thanks!

[@ludikonj8927]

Just bumped on one d800 on the ads thats never been used! And it comes with all the goodies, extra grip, extra battery, extra microphone, remote control.. All original even sd cards and backpack and all for 1000 euro

[@copisetic1104]

Had one for years, i regularly make 4x3ft and bigger prints with amazing quality. I will never sell it no mater what other camera I own.

[@HaiTomVlog]

I was originally looking for D850 vids and came across this video. Now I’m really considering a D800! 😅

[@jfwatson8892]

Thanks! Just got one and love it. Amazing what you can get for little money.

[@photosbyjosef]

Great shots great video I am very glad I just found your Channel I'm a professional photographer using the Sony a7r III but I am recently missing my Nikon d700 and the D7100 and the Beautiful D series glass that I love so much

[@Illuminationsfromtheattic]

Thanks! Glad you're enjoying my videos.

[@andredavy1806]

d700 a camera you never sell because of its creamy rendering and d7100 daytime photos is pissing sharp with good glass with no AA filter.

[@charlesradcliffe1398]

I'm definitely going to pick one up!

[@Meredithcreative]

After taking a break from photography I pulled the trigger on a cheap d7000 that came with a 50mm f1.8 and 80-200mm f2.8 which I bought for $300 Aud, I just wanted something cheap as I didn’t need the latest gear as I usually shoot landscapes so fast auto focus etc and video didn’t really matter to me, after using that for a couple weeks I saw a d800 for sale which I ended up getting for $400aud, I bought that and a 16-35mm f4 for $300aud which I’m so keen to use once I get the d800 in the mail, it really gave me the spark in photography that I finally needed and only hear good things about it especially for the price that you can get them for now

[@Illuminationsfromtheattic]

It's an awesome time to be buying used DSLR gear, great cameras at incredibly low prices! :)

[@boostedmaniac]

At 2:40, it does have weather sealing, but I wonder some since my camera started acting up after doing a beach shoot. And no I didn’t get sand or sea water on it other than some mist. The camera kept thinking one of the buttons was pressed so it was impossible to adjust shutter and aperture. It did fix itself after a few hours and hasn’t acted up until 2 years later during a photo shoot at a swim meet. And no it didn’t get wet either. I’m pretty careful. Other than that, the camera has been great and I love the resolution.

[@jb-xc4oh]

Professional gear never simply expires or becomes useless just because its a few years old, it gets the job done and older gear can be bought really cheap.

[@Phuong.Nguyen-]

It’s very nice footage, i watch many ur video but I like this one a lot :)

[@Illuminationsfromtheattic]

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it!

[@dylanhill1640]

A great camera! Nothing but positive results.

[@vs123]

Nikon D 800 perfect

[@cerij4242]

I bought a Samsung Nx11 before Samsung stopped making cameras, never liked it too small didn't like the electronic viewfinder, I have bought a used D800 recently happy again.

[@StartreckTu]

My D700 is still going strong, will buy D850 or mirror less in 2025

[@Cotictimmy]

Surprising to see Sam Bankman-Fried out of prison so soon, but it's nice to see he is spending his time and his money money sensibly now. 😜 ps. A used D850 seems like a good halfway bridge to the Z9.

[@morrisyang4255]

When I hold the D800E will also be the same as you giggle. It has a great metering system.

[@obedbrinkman]

nice camera and review! looking forward to your videos about the z9

[@Illuminationsfromtheattic]

Thanks! I'm really hoping my Z9 will arrive soon so I can start making videos about it.

[@spirg]

I still shoot DSLR, I don’t like the bodies on mirrorless

[@maggyfish]

Cracking camera great video 👏 merry Christmas 🎅

[@Illuminationsfromtheattic]

Thanks! Merry Christmas to you as well!

[@IvanAgram]

Short answer. Yes. And other thing... if you want video but not to shoot pro big aperture shallow DoF footage this offers a answer to that. By yourself d800 for stills and gopro 10 (but even 7 or 8 would do just fine) for your video.

[@RaymondParkerPhoto]

I hope someone finds it worth buying in 2022 ... I'm selling mine to help pay for the Z9! 😀 Edit: Incidentally, I've made plenty of videos with mine over the 9 years I've owned it and even recently used it for overhead, uprezing to 4K. Of course my Z6s have supplanted it for the most part over the last 3 years, but the actual image quality at 1080p is quite nice.

[@Illuminationsfromtheattic]

Yes, it's not bad looking by any means - the video looks quite good in fact. I was just looking at it from a current day perspective where the camera holds up much better in terms of still photography than it does video.

[@anders1621]

Thank you for the great video. I enjoyed alot I also had to go on tidal to add the music you used.. :D

[@joshuathomas4934]

Good camera. My cousin uses it. Works great and hold up well. If you are just getting into photography. I’d suggest a Sony apsc camera. As it is more user friendly and has better autofocus features for a lower price.

[@mart872uk]

It’s more like a studio camera I think . So a tripod or monopod at least are a cunning idea as 38mp are unforgiving to any wobble . With an adaptor you can use 645A manual Pentax lenses to provide an analogue look to images and at bargain prices and older Nikon manual lenses .

[@garethwilliams976]

Great video and fair to the camera. A great stills camera - forget video as this was still a work in progress when this camera came out. Just one advantage over the z series, this camera allows full autofocus on AF and AFD lenses which are now relatively cheap and good enough for most purposes. If you think the camera is heavy just try adding the grip!

[@Illuminationsfromtheattic]

Thank you, glad you enjoyed the video! Interesting, I didn't know there was an autofocus advantage to using this camera with some lenses vs more modern cameras, thanks for the tip!

[@marcusrobertson1923]

@@Illuminationsfromtheattic Yep. The D800 has the screw drive so it can autofocus the older lenses. The z series will never be able to autofocus them

[@JUDE909]

Sir I bought recently from Malaysia 1.5k shutter used. .great cam

[@haroldjohnson1451]

Great job thanks 😊

[@MikeNoble]

I don’t know much about GoPro but is the video from that better than the D800? I would think the D800 has got to be better than a GoPro.

[@Illuminationsfromtheattic]

I wouldn't say one is better than the other, since they're very different cameras. I'm shooting with a Z9 now, but I still use a GoPro frequently. The D800 can achieve better looking video thanks to the bigger sensor and lenses, but GoPro will win every time you need to film without a tripod, or in adverse conditions.

[@elvism6140]

great video thanks dude

[@JerryTremaine]

Top review..I recently got one...4500 clicks! £400..cheap as..what a bargain! An excellent piece of kit..does everthing it say's on the tin and more!! You prob have arms like Arnie by now! lol..As for video...completely disagree..30/25fps 1080 raw 4k..Have you checked the menu?..Hopefully you have since you made this vid..Unless you're filming the next Tarantino movie with it?! Even if you were..it would b enough! lol...I've heard many say the opp..more a video camera than stills...personally i'm more than happy with both aspects 😉😉

[@marca9955]

Thanks!

[@kristiyan95]

Why is this even a question, is it worth buying, I have been using D5200 for years onw and trying to upgrade to d800 one day when I have money. its 36mp cam full frame.

[@chevy2die]

Bro my copy has 3/4 of a mil shutter fires and Nikon says they have no record of it ever being in for service, and she's still going. Kinda want to ride it till the wheels fall off.

[@Illuminationsfromtheattic]

Their DSLRs are incredibly durable and reliable! D800 is definitely an awesome camera.

[@sidvicious3129]

Are you serious, 750,000 shutter clicks, 👌, wow just wow. I just ordered one from a camera store on line in very good condition with the battery and grip with 210,000 shutter clicks for $250.00, with delivery and tax 278.00. I can't wait to get it and you are giving me hope there with your shutter count, Andrew !!!

[@chevy2die]

@@sidvicious3129 I’m not sure if I’m interpreting this right, but it seems like maybe it’s over counting. Who knows, but at least it’s working fine for me.

[@chevy2die]

@@sidvicious3129 what I mean is I’ll take a picture and use it for a shutter count, then take another one and it skips a few numbers. Not sure why it would do that but it’s still probably got quite a few actuations.

[@sidvicious3129]

@@chevy2die hey Andrew if you don’t mind and if you have time, would you find out what your shutter count is, you really got me curious. Even if you are over 350-500 thousand shutter clicks you are doing well. Thanks if you can in advance.

[@huyhoang1967]

Sir, i'm going to upgrade to a fx camera. Should i go from the D7200 to the D800e or I could save a bit money for dx glass.

[@Illuminationsfromtheattic]

That's a tricky question, and I've been mulling it over for the past few days. It really depends on what subjects you prefer to take photos of and what lenses you currently have. Generally speaking, lenses are a better investment than cameras, and make a bigger difference in your photography. However, I will say that moving to full frame was a big deal for me, and I was shocked by the improvement I saw in my image quality. Similarly, when I got a high resolution camera (the D800), the extra resolution made a huge difference. Let me know what you like to take pictures of and what lenses you have, and I may be able to offer some better advice.

[@huyhoang1967]

@@Illuminationsfromtheattic So currently, i'm using a combination of 4 different lenses for my shooting purpose: The Sigma 18-35 Art/ Nikon 70-200 VR2/ Nikon 85G and Nikon 200-500 F/5.6 VR. For this combo, i use it to shoot wedding and sport and quite pleased with them but in the nearby future, i'm going to switch to landscape shooting so huge mpx is important for me then. But from what i've seen, D800/E is currently more expensive than the D7200 ( extra 200$-300$) and somes say that it is obsolete. My lenses canbe used on both DX/FX so not a big deal if i got a FX camera. But is it worth it to upgrade from D7200 and extra 200$ to D800/E because I know i will lose 6-7fps shooting, wifi,other stuffs,...Thanks in advance.

[@Illuminationsfromtheattic]

@@huyhoang1967 That's a great collection of lenses - personally, I would get the D800 to use alongside the D7200, since then you don't have to give up the things you like about the D7200 vs the D800, and having two bodies drastically reduces the need to swap lenses while you're out shooting. However, if you can't afford to buy the D800 and keep the D7200 as well, keep in mind that the Sigma 18-35 Art is designed for DX cameras. I've actually used it on full frame (adapted to my Z6), but on an FX camera you've got to expect really heavy vignetting with that lens. Unfortunately that means your only wide angle lens wouldn't actually work too well on the D800 for landscape photography. However, if you can swing it and have have both camera bodies, you could for example go out with a telephoto on the D800 and the Sigma 18-35 on your D7200.

[@huyhoang1967]

@@Illuminationsfromtheattic So I just can afford to just buy 1 of them, so should I keep the D7200 and for the extra money of 300$ I buy the Tokina 11-16 for landscape or should I upgrade to the D800, sell the Sigma 18-35 Art and buy a used Nikon 24-120 N. Because i'm quite impessed with the raw files come out of the D800 however D800's jpeg files are quite worse compare to D7200, and the fps decrease by 2-3 fps and so on. So which option do you recommend for my case?

[@Illuminationsfromtheattic]

@@huyhoang1967 I haven't personally used the Tokina 11-16, but that is a nice wide angle range and would complement your current lenses well. I personally absolutely love the Sigma 18-35. That is a fantastic lens and I would hesitate to recommend trading it for a 24-120, though that is a much more flexible focal range. I guess a big question is how much do you use high framerates when shooting with the D7200? Considering your budget, I'm leaning towards recommending that you stick with the D7200 for now, and get the wide angle lens you're considering instead. However, keep in mind that it's very hard for me to judge what the best course of action is for you. I can see a lot of pros and cons each way.

[@jacomir1234]

I have an important question. Actually my D800 has A 1.01/B1.02 firmware. I'm thinking about update the firmware and I've just read that the newest firmware (A1.11/B1.11) has some problems with sigma lens. Is that true? Should I update to A1.10/B1.10 than? Please help :)

[@Illuminationsfromtheattic]

Sorry, but I haven't ever tried to update the firmware, and I don't have a Nikon compatible Sigma lens.

[@eddiegee2940]

I'm doing fine taking nice pictures ( imo ) with DSLR.

[@JReuland]

Keep it!

[@carterfilms3.047]

Would a d800 be a good upgrade for my d3300

[@Illuminationsfromtheattic]

Yeah, I think so.

[@carterfilms3.047]

@@Illuminationsfromtheattic do you think it will be good for Airshow and plane spotting?

[@Illuminationsfromtheattic]

@@carterfilms3.047 Sure, just as long as you don't plan to shoot a lot of video.

[@carterfilms3.047]

@@Illuminationsfromtheattic ok thx for the info 👍

[@justinriley3096]

Stuff is Great man

[@BenjaminKanarek]

I own 2 x D800's a D800e and a D810... 23,000 clicks is NEW!

[@againstbulshit2895]

Can you see big diff in image qulity? How would you rank them?

[@BenjaminKanarek]

@@againstbulshit2895 Not really...I actually prefer the look of the D800's over the D810. The files seem to have a bit more dynamic range.

[@againstbulshit2895]

@@BenjaminKanarek Thank you for your answer

[@sidvicious3129]

@@BenjaminKanarek do you know if the image from the d800 is compatible to or better than the older d700, which were spectacular.

[@BenjaminKanarek]

@@sidvicious3129 I have no idea. Never owned one.

[@carloscipriani2438]

Incluso en 2024

[@Illuminationsfromtheattic]

Yep, it's still perfectly relevant for a lot of applications!

[@yougondie9993]

If you're not going to keep it, ill take it... 😅🤣

[@marshalldaniels9836]

☹️ P-R-O-M-O-S-M!!

[@royjohnson6623]

Macchina con problemi di vibrazione allo specchio Af molto lento File Jpg pesanti e poco nitidi una macchina da compare solo per pochi soldi

[@Thiagojigsaw]

Qual bc recomenda então das nikon?