Nikon D800?

Esox lucius · Expire: 2011-11-18

None of these lenses wide open will give you maximum benefit of the D800 sensor at widest apertures, so this is not interesting to the landscape photographer. Nevertheless, my 85mm lenses ranked on the D800

PORTRAIT DISTANCE ie FOCUSED AT 1.2m, CENTER DETAIL WIDE OPEN
1. Nikkor 85mm f/1.4G AF-S
2. Nikkor 85/1.8mm f/1.8G AF-S
3. Planar T* 85/1.4 ZF
4. Nikkor 85/1.8N
5. Nikkor 85/1.4 Ai-S

PORTRAIT DISTANCE ie FOCUSED AT 1.2m, f/2
1. Nikkor 85mm f/1.4G AF-S
2. Nikkor 85/1.4 Ai-S
3. Nikkor 85/1.8mm f/1.8G AF-S
4. Nikkor 85/1.8N
5. Planar T* 85/1.4 ZF

PORTRAIT DISTANCE ie FOCUSED AT 1.2m, f/2.8
1. Nikkor 85mm f/1.4G AF-S
2. Nikkor 85mm f/1.8G AF-S
3. Planar T* 85/1.4 ZF
4. Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 Ai-S
5. Nikkor 85mm f/1.8N

I used a sturdy Gitzo tripod, self-release timer and 2s exposure delay to rule out mirror slap. I used Live-view 100% to focus and shot 5 re-focused frames at every aperture (to rule out focus shift & human error). Detail is of course not the main factor for portrait shoots, but the D800 will nevertheless be put into portrait use so why not? You are free to disagree and believe what you believe, but I did with sufficient care to know that I can trust what my eyes see. Sample variation can of course be debated until eternity, I did not have double copies of all lenses and I really have no interest in acquiring more lenses as I already have about 200.

Next: The Voigtländer SL family on a D800

Orio · Expire: 2012-12-04

I know for sure that the Planar Z is optimized for infinity focus.
If you use it for short distance only, it may be worth to send it to Oberkochen for optimization to short distance, it is possible to do it
by adjustment of one internal group.

Esox lucius · Expire: 2011-11-18

Yes, Zeiss official webpage confirms Planar T* 1.4/85 ZF is best at medium to infinity. It is my favorite portrait lens as well, I think it draws very delicate fingerprint and bokeh. I never sharpen portraits so close focus detail is not important, as I wrote.

One think which is painstakingly clear, is the need for adequate support. 16mpix is very forgiving, as compared to 36mpix... I've wasted a lot of shots with the D800 just because I underestimated the need for camera support.

Esox lucius · Expire: 2011-11-18

More Sunday lens testing: Voigtländer SL lenses on the D800, my rating is on a scale from 0...5 where

0 paperweight
1 poor
2 useable
3 good
4 very good (quality good enough for professional use)
5 excellent (outrageously good)

SL 40/2 Ultron earns a 4 to 4.5 on the D800, this pancake really is a sleeper

SL 70/2.5 Color-Heliar earns a "3" on the D800, I suspect the loose focusing ring and gap in the focus throw means I need to adjust the lens. Anyway, it was never really a landscape lens, I always felt on the D3 that it wasn't as good as the other SL series lenses.

SL 90/3.5 APO Lanthar I have only shot in the studio, results with the D800 are worthy of 4, possibly 4.2

SL II 58/1.4 Nokton earns a 4.5 on the D800, and no f/1.4 lens is worth a full 5. The Nokton is very very good on the D800.

SL 125/2.5 Macro APO Lanthar is a full 5 on the D800. I showed studio macro results to a few colleagues and we were all blown away by the level of detail.

SL 180/4 APO Lanthar earns a 4.5 both based on studio close-ups and outdoors medium focusing distances. It is however even trickier to handle on the D800, as the slightest focus turn throws subjects out of critical sharpness.

Esox lucius · Expire: 2011-11-18

Nikkor 28/2.8 Ai-S vs. Nikkor 28/2 Ai-S on the D800

Both earn a 4, with the 28/2 having a slight advantage in edge sharpness at f/5.6 and infinity. The 28/2 is also slightly sharper in the center, when shot at f/5.6 (which is sweet spot for both lenses). At night, the 28/2 should have more advantage over the slower lens, and it also showed a little less corner CA than the 28/2.8 Ai-S did. Both lenses give less detail in the corners, unsurprisingly for this fast and wide.

These are very good lenses, but the corners cannot match newer wide-angle designs.

Nikkor 135/2.8Q (Ai-converted) vs. Nikkor 135mm f/3.5 Ai on the D800

The 135/2.8 Nikkor-Q is a real surprise, I doubt you can buy this much resolving power for so little money. The same goes for the Nikkor 135/3.5 Ai, which seems to be ever so slightly less sharp than the faster and older lens. Both lenses safely pass the D800 test with verdict "4".

Nikkor 105/2.5 Ai vs. Nikkor 105/2.5 Ai-S on the D800

This classic lens was a slight disappointment to me, I would have guessed that it would be one of those lenses that will shine also on the D800. The 105/2.5 is not a bad lens, it earns a 3.5 to 4 on the D800, but it just didn't deliver that much more on the D800.

james · Expire: 2011-12-28

Esox lucius · Expire: 2011-11-18

To clarify: I'd shoot a wedding with the D800 just as I would with a D700, which means the D800 is very hand-holdable.

ISO 100 means slow shutter, and I've noticed that I can't achieve critical sharpness on the D800 with shutter speeds as slow as what gives me sharp images on the D3. The same applied to the D3X, I had to use quicker shutter speeds than I had to with my D3.

If you want to see the maximum what a lens can deliver, you want to rule out every single variable that might lessen IQ in your test photo (including using faster shutter). If you don't someone who doesn't like your opinion will play the "photographer to blame" card. I already pissed off half a dozen of 24-120/4G VR owners on Flickr when I pointed out that the 24-120/4G VR is a Holga with vibration reduction when coupled with a D800. I test lenses so that I know what to avoid, and I really don't give a rat's ass if the truth hurts someone.

james · Expire: 2011-12-28

Esox lucius · Expire: 2011-11-18

More samples uploaded original size, I left Flickr Uploadr to complete the upload so it may take some time for all images to show.

Uploaded files are lenstagged for convenient browsing/search, new samples include lenses:

- Nikkor 20mm f/2.8 Ai-S
- Nikkor 28mm f/2.8 Ai-S
- Nikkor 28mm f/2 Ai-S
- Nikkor 50mm f/1.2 Ai-S
- Voigtländer SL 40mm f/2 Ultron
- Voigtländer SL 180mm f/4 APO Lanthar

http://www.flickr.com/photos/vuokrakamera/tags/d800/

james · Expire: 2011-12-28

Vilhelm--

Has your D800 met up with the 28/1.4 yet?

Esox lucius · Expire: 2011-11-18

I would give it a careful and unconfirmed Smile

"approved" for use on the D800. Based on my initial use (no test shots comparing it) it seems to give even better center sharpness than the 24/1.4G or 35/1.4G Nikkors, but corners to me look not as good as with the newer lenses.

It will be a while until I have an opportunity to shoot them side-by-side on a tripod, I will inform immediately when I know.

Esox lucius · Expire: 2011-11-18

Nikkor 28/1.4D AF on D800
Wide open is unsatisfying at all focusing distances except for infinity, which shouldn't come as a surprise as results on a D3/D700 were evident. Center sharpness however is excellent, at f/2.8 to f/5.6 even better than that of the 24/1.4G AF-S. Extreme corners suffer though, they are not up to the quality of the 24/1.4G AF-S and 35/1.4G AF-S. The older AF-D can safely be put up against the newer lenses, as long as wide open is not the comparison factor: the 28/1.4D AF passes the D800 test easily. The 28/1.4D also has a nicer fingerprint than the 24/1.4G, which doesn't look as 3D as the older lens.

The D800 Technical Manual does not recommend the Nikkor 50/1.4G AF-S, but I don't understand why - results are very good and I see no reason why a D800 user would not use this lens even when pixel-peeping at 100%.

I am surprised that the 105/2.8G AF-S Micro VR is not as good as the 60/2.8G AF-S Micro on the D800 - on a D3 the roles were reversed (though the 60/2.8G heavier vignetting is still there of course). Don't get me wrong, they are both good, but I really think Nikon needs to make a macro lens that shines on the D3 - the Voigtländer 125/2.5 simply blows both out of the water when using a D800 sensor. Personally, I'll choose the Voigtländer anytime over the Nikkors, if I'm shooting with a D800.

The 85/1.8G AF-S is very good, slightly behind it's faster version (the 85/1.4G AF-S) which might come as a surprise to some (slower lens should be better - right? Not this time). D800 approved, both, definitely.

Next: I really look forward to using the 200/2G AF-S VR & 400/2.8G AF-S VR on the D800.

james · Expire: 2011-12-28

Interesting results for 28 AFD, Vilhelm. Thanks for sharing your findings. I've debated between the 28 AFD and Leica R 28 Elmarit v.2 because the 28/2 AIS i own probably won't prove sufficient for the D800 (just a guess, no objective evidence for this). It sounds like the Leica might be a better choice; smaller and somewhat less expensive too.

I read some intriguing news; Apparently, Nikon UK confirms that the focusing screens on the D800 are INTERCHANGEABLE.

http://digitaljournalofphotography.blogspot.com/2012/04/nikon-confirm-interchangeable-focusing.html

Esox lucius · Expire: 2011-11-18

I can borrow the Leica 28 Elmarit if it's the R-version and then shoot the 28/1.4D and 28/2 Nikkors in a side-by-side test if you want to. I admit being quite intrigued by the idea myself as well, it'd be very interesting to see how they rank.

james · Expire: 2011-12-28

That would be marvelous if you have the time. Next time I make it to Helsinki, a bottle of Kossu is on me Very Happy

kuuan · Expire: 2014-12-26

maybe of interest to some of you who can afford Wink

a D800 to 5DIII comparison: http://www.fredmiranda.com/5DIII-D800/index.html

poilu · Expire: 2019-08-29

ilguercio · Posted: Thu May 24, 2012 8:25 pm Post subject:

Canon really struggles with noise at low iso in the shadows.
I saw a comparison some time ago between the 7D and the D7000.
Base iso, 3 stops of underexposure and then the picture was brought back to the correct one just via lightroom.
The Nikon file showed almost no noise, the Canon one, well... it had tons of it.
The D800 manages to be sharper and cleaner compared to the 5DII.
And if the sharpness was out of question in favor of the Nikon, the noise part really needs some work because it's unecceptable to have that noise at 100 iso.