Nikon D810 FX-format Digital SLR Camera Body

CUSTOMER REVIEW



I recently sold my D800 body and replaced it with the D810. I do not typically upgrade cameras this quickly but I hoped that the D810 would be a little more refined in certain respects than the D800. So far this has proven to be the case.



UPDATE 8-11-2014 Spent two weeks shooting landscapes and wildlife in Maine. The new group auto focus setting was amazing for shots of birds. The focus tracking was amazing and I was able to secure the best eagle pictures I have ever taken and all the credit goes to the D810. My D200, D800 and even D4 would have had trouble tracking these subjects. The auto focus improvements are extremely substantial and have immediate real world benefits.



The big headline to me regarding the D810 is the shutter and mirror assembly. The sound of the camera is completely different than the D800 or the D4 for that matter. The D810 sounds like there has been a lot of work done on damping the mechanical vibrations that occur when the shutter is tripped. In my initial testing I found that with the Nikkor 105VR Micro that there was a noticeable reduction in the slight blur that I had always attributed to mirror slap on the D800. Holding the camera when it triggers, one feels less bounce going on inside the body.



UPDATE 7-23-2013 Shooting macro with the 105VR I definitely saw an improvement in focus acuity and it seemed that the combination of improved focus and VR yielded noticeably better results than the D800.



Having had a D800 and going through the experience of having to return several due to the "left focus issue" before I found a good one, it was one of the first things I tested. I am happy to report that I found no evidence of variability in focus across the range of focus points. The new group auto-focus feature descended from the D4s is very nice. There is no focus hunting and the focus system seems quite snappy and sharp.



One of my only quibbles thus far is with live view focusing. There is still more hunting than I would like. I would score live view focusing on par with the D800.



UPDATE 7-23-2014 I have worked a bit more with the live view focusing and it is definitely the most glaring minus so far for the camera. It is no worse than the D800 but compared to the improvements in the rest of the focusing system it is still lagging behind.



Image quality is spectacular. Color, and detail are outstanding. I shoot RAW and have been using the Camera Raw 8.6 Release Candidate from Adobe to process my files. They look near perfect without any adjustment. I do hope that Lightroom is updated for the D810 soon as it would not recognize the files I tried to import. I guess Adobe Bridge isn't dead after all.



The D810 does seem to shoot faster than the D800 as advertised. No one will mistake its speed for a D4s but that isn't really the expectation. It seems fast enough that I would definitely keep it in the bag for wildlife photography even though it might not be the "A" body for that kind of work.



The viewfinder is really clear and I may be mistaken but I think the data in the viewfinder is presented with a slightly different technology than the D800. Whatever is being used is crisp and very readable.



The menu system for Nikon cameras has always seemed very intuitive to me. I own a couple of Sony and Canon cameras as well and the Nikon menus seem just a tad easier to deal with. Sony has come a long way but there is still a noticeable difference.



I find the placement of the controls very intuitive and easy to manipulate. I know some users will prefer Nikon's older system for selecting autofocus modes but I find the current set up quite intuitive.



One miscellaneous item is that the batteries and charger from the D800 work with the D810. I was happy for once that I didn't have to buy all new batteries. SD and CF cards are of course the same but some newer cards like the Lexar 1066X work that would not in the D800 (officially)/



Video quality is excellent as well. This is not a feature that is terribly important to me but I think that many users who value DSLR video will really like it. The spec sheets spell out the specific improvements. I have done a fair amount of production using high-end ENG cameras with external camera control units. Out of the box the D810 compares well but I do wish that there were easier ways to access traditional CCU functions on a DSLR.



I don't know that everyone who owns a D800 or D800E will want to upgrade to the D810. For me it is a decision that I am happy with and feel I have received adequate additional value from the new body. I will be taking the camera out soon for some extended nature photography sessions and will update this review after that. Thus far to me the D810 is a worthwhile upgrade that addresses some of qualities of the D800 that were important to me. If you are looking for an upgrade from a D700 or a DX camera I believe the D810 is very suitable.



UPDATE 7-24-2014 Today I put the D810 on a tripod with the 105VR Micro-Nikkor and the R1-C1 macro flash kit. I shot pictures of some flowers around the house at near 1:1 and the results were amazing. I used the timer to release the shutter snd minimize shake. These are by far the sharpest photos I have ever taken. I am normally not one to pixel peep but the results were truly a quantum step beyond what I had been able to accomplish with any other set up.



Update 8/1/2014 - Shooting landscapes today when light rain started. Even though the D810 and the lens I was using are "weather-sealed" I am never quite sure what that means. I wish all brands of cameras used the widely accepted IPXX system of rating this across product lines. Bottom line is that the D810 shrugged off the shower and continued to function perfectly. My confidence in its ruggedness just took a step up.