Tag Archives: Nikon D800

Busting Nikon D800 Myths: Is Abject Fear Stifling Your Creativity?

Sweeping skies over Badlands National Park, South Dakota. Nikon D800e with 16-35mm Nikkor lens, 74s@ f/22, ISO 100.
Sweeping skies over Badlands National Park, South Dakota. Nikon D800e with 16-35mm Nikkor lens and Singh-Ray 10-stop solid ND filter; 74s@ f/22, ISO 100. According to the Internet, I should not have used these settings with this camera (Click for a larger view).

I have a Nikon D800e. It’s an amazing camera and I love using it. Maybe you have one, too. But if you handle the camera based on some of the sage advice offered up around the interwebs, you might be missing out. While the advice, from a pure technical standpoint, might be valid, it might also be causing you unnecessary stress. Let’s take a look at three common technical warnings for D800 users.

Continue reading Busting Nikon D800 Myths: Is Abject Fear Stifling Your Creativity?

Photo of the Day: Look to the East (with free Color Efex Pro Preset)

Sunrise at Conata Basin, Badlands National Park, SD.  HDR image captured with a Nikon D800e and processed with the Nik Collection.
Sunrise at Conata Basin, Badlands National Park, SD. HDR image captured with a Nikon D800e and processed with the Nik Collection.

This is a sunrise image from my recent trip to the South Dakota Badlands. It’s a typical scenario at sunrise: pretty clouds and a back-lit foreground. I captured a standard ±2EV bracketed exposure series with the Nikon D800e (5-shots), and then processed the image in the Nik Collection (discount here). Continue reading Photo of the Day: Look to the East (with free Color Efex Pro Preset)

The Bigger Reason Why Megapixels Matter for Photo Enthusiasts

Bull Elk, Rocky Mountain National Park, CO. Nikon D800e at ISO 3200.
Bull Elk, Rocky Mountain National Park, CO.
Captured with a Nikon D800e DSLR at ISO 3200. 

A few years ago, just about every Nikon DSLR captured images at around 12 megapixel resolution. The main differences between camera models, then, involved features (speed, AF) and sensor size (FX vs. DX). The biggest advantage of the FX sensor cameras at that time was sheer low-light performance. For the most part, my colleagues and I agreed, the megapixel race seemed over, or at least, diminished as an important feature.

Over the last year, Nikon has been steadily upgrading their entire camera line to 24+ megapixels. Even the low-end Nikon D3200 has a 24MP sensor. In fact, there are only three cameras in Nikon’s current line-up that don’t offer at least 24MP: the D300s (12MP), D7000 (16MP) and D4 (16MP). This had me scratching my head a little, as I certainly know from experience that a 12-16MP camera easily delivers the goods in most situations. Continue reading The Bigger Reason Why Megapixels Matter for Photo Enthusiasts

Holiday Podcast With The Image Doctors

Happy Holidays from The Image Doctors!

I had the chance to sit down with my good friend, Rick Walker, and we were able to catch up on what we’ve been up to in 2012 and what we’re looking forward to doing in 2013. While the Image Doctors won’t be coming back as a regular podcast, we still enjoy discussing photography and hope you enjoy this special segment.

Sit back and relax (or fall asleep) as we discuss our experiences shooting the new Nikon D4 and D800 cameras, hear Rick’s thoughts on the new 70-200 f/4 VR Nikkor, and get some ideas on how you can make your photography fundamentally better overall.

Luminescence of Nature Press
eBooks and videos by Jason P. Odell

D800 Sharpness: Focus Accuracy

If you are using a Nikon D800, chances are that you want to make big prints or crop aggressively. To get the kind of sharp images that can stand up to these stresses, you need a tack-sharp image. Focus is a big part of getting sharp images.

As I mentioned yesterday, camera shake is a critical factor in determining image sharpness. For best results, you want to use either a very fast shutter speed or a tripod to eliminate camera shake from softening your images. Today, I’ll take a quick look at focus accuracy and how you can maximize it with your Nikon DSLRs. Continue reading D800 Sharpness: Focus Accuracy