Advanced Photographer - First Look: Nikon D810

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Do you need to upgrade?

We get hands on to find out FEATURED INSIDE: NIKON D800 NIKON D810 CANON EOS 6D CANON EOS 5D MKII OLYMPUS OM-D E-M1 OLYMPUS E-M10 PANASONIC GH4 PANASONIC GX7 FUJIFILM X-T1 SONY A99

PHOTO KIT NIKON D810

HEAD TO HEAD: D810 VS D800 WORDS & PICTURES KINGSLEY SINGLETON

The full-frame D810 has arrived to sit at the pinnacle of Nikon’s enthusiast range. Fair play, but does that mean it’s curtains for the original D800? We got our hands on one of the first D810s to hit these shores, matched it up with a feisty D800, shouted ‘fight’ and retreated to a safe distance...

WHAT’S NEW? D810 VS D800 SENSOR 36.3-megapixel CMOS, no OLPF 36.3-megapixel CMOS with OLPF PROCESSOR EXPEED 4 EXPEED 3 VIDEO 1080/60p stereo 1080/30p mono ISO RANGE ISO 64-12,800 (3251,200 expanded) 100-6400 (5025,600) AUTOFOCUS MODES Single, continuous (including Group), manual Single, continuous, manual SHOOTING SPEED 5fps (7fps cropped with grip), Quiet Continuous 4fps 4fps (6fps cropped with grip) LCD SCREEN 3.2in, 1229k dots 3.2in 921k dots DIMENSIONS 146x123x82mm 146x123x81.5mm

NIKON D810 £2700

WEIGHT (INC. BATTERY & CARD) 980g 1000g

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NIKON D810 PHOTO KIT

SPOT THE DIFFERENCE NIKON D800 £2000

GRIP The D810 has a much more contoured handgrip than the D800, making it more comfortable in the hand. There’s also a more raised thumb rest at the rear and the card door has a rubberised coating.

CONTROL CLUSTER The Metering button has been moved to the cluster at the top left, with the bracketing button now on the left of the pentaprism above the Flash mode/comp. button.

H

ere’s a simple looking equation for you: camera X+1 > camera X. Aesthetics and blind allegiances aside, this formula has held true throughout camera development. New models are better equipped than old ones. It’s obvious, otherwise no-one would buy them. The thing is, the equation isn’t actually simple: it’s complicated by whether you already own camera X and whether +1 is a big enough plus to have your wallet swinging open; nor does it take into account that camera X+1 is more expensive than camera X; and besides, your spouse is sick of you poring over that glossy brochure, so make a decision already!

Let’s avoid calculus for a while and get down to empirical data. I’ve owned a D800 for nearly a year and it’s been with me on almost every shoot in that time, so I know what makes it tick and where it needs improvements. With that in mind, I suffered the usual mix of intrigue and suspicion when the D810 was announced; that gut-wrenching worry that I was now left with an obsolete horror-story and would be laughed off

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every hillside I’ve stuck my tripod on. Of course this was almost certainly unfounded. The D800 is a damn fine camera and it’s unlikely that the D810 is going to turn it into a paperweight just yet. That said, the new body does feature a wealth of tasty improvements, so we decided to put the two head to head and judge whether an immediate upgrade was required. I had a couple of days with the cameras to find out...

ON-SCREEN SETTINGS Like the Nikon Df, there’s now an ‘i’ button which provides access to your most commonly used settings, to speed up your handling and avoid too many menus.

Round 1: Features The top line news is that the D810 shares the same 36.3MP resolution as its predecessors, but this time there’s no Optical Low Pass Filter (OLPF, also called Anti-Aliasing or AA). This might come as a shock to those who thought the D800E had no such filter, but in fact, it did, albeit a specially

THE D810 SHARES THE 36.3MP RESOLUTION OF ITS PREDECESSORS, BUT THIS TIME THERE’S NO OPTICAL LOW PASS FILTER...

ISSUE 47 ADVANCED PHOTOGRAPHER

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PHOTO KIT NIKON D810

D810 VS D800 IMAGE QUALITY (ISO PERFORMANCE)

D800 ISO 3200

D810 ISO 3200

D800 ISO 6400

D810 ISO 6400

THE D810 SHOOTS FASTER, BUT WE’RE NOT TALKING BY MUCH AND IF 6FPS DOESN’T GET YOU A SHOT, IT’S UNLIKELY THAT 7FPS WILL... engineered version which offered a sharper than normal image. Elsewhere, it borrows features from the flagship Nikon D4s, inheriting that camera’s improved EXPEED 4 processor, and Group Area AF for more accurate subject tracking. The ISO range is extended with a new lower-end ISO 64 (from 100) and a high of 12,800 (from 6400). As before, this is expandable through the Lo and Hi settings to 32 (previously 50) and 51,200 (from 25,600). These are incremental changes, sure, but certainly offer more flexibility and, combined with the new processor, the sensor is said to have been retooled with improved light-gathering microlenses, which should give improved signalto-noise performance.

Nikon has also squeezed in an extra frame-persecond over the D800, and this increases from 5fps to 7fps when in DX crop and with a battery pack attached. There’s a new electronic first curtain shutter too, which, allied to a redesigned mirror mechanism is designed to reduce the vibrations that can stop you getting the best from all those pixels. Accompanying a new metering mode (Highlight weighted) is a move over to the top-left hub for the Metering controls and while the rear LCD is the same size (3.2in) it’s been increased in resolution thanks to an extra white dot per red, green and blue (RGBW), which is claimed to improve clarity. On the rear there’s also now an ‘i’ button which gives faster access to shooting parameters relevant to the mode you’re in, and the D810’s viewfinder has been given a tweak with coatings on the pentaprism to brighten your view and a new OLED readout that should be easier to read in bright light.

Round 2: Performance The D810 is faster in every regard, but we’re not talking by much, so if you’re a D800 owner, don’t sweat this one, after all, if you can’t catch something at 6fps, 7fps isn’t going to help much.

To test the ISO performance of the D810’s new sensor and EXPEED 4 processor versus its predecessor, we shot like-for-like images throughout both cameras’ sensitivity ranges and compared them. We shot JPEGs and left the NR setting of both cameras at their default ‘Norm’ setting.

Making good on its claims of improved noise handling, the D810 put in a very strong performance, although it really only started to pull away strongly towards the upper end of the scale. At the new ISO 64 setting, pictures are beautifully smooth – I can’t wait to try it out on a decent landscape – and you could happily shoot away at 400 or 800 handheld with only minimal signs of grain – just don’t push the pictures too hard in post production which will accentuate what’s there. At 1600 and onwards the fine details generated by the sensor begin to get muffled by the build up of noise and the processor smoothing it out, but it’s still very usable. Nearing the top of the range, at 3200 and 6400 you’ll see above how images from the D810 break up less that the D800, which by this point is struggling a little. Overall, the D810 gave more lifelike colours with finer grain and more detail retained, especially at the higher sensitivities.

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THE LITTLE THINGS COUNT Many small improvements have been made to the handling of the D810, such as raising the movie record button and allowing it to be customised to other shooting functions. @advancedphotog

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NIKON D810 PHOTO KIT

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PHOTO KIT NIKON D810

NIKON D810 VS D800 IMAGE QUALITY (SHARPNESS & DETAIL) With lots of pixels to play with, the D8xx series is all about highly detailed, crystal clear shots. But there’s a downside: the higher the resolution of a camera’s sensor, the more likely it is to lose sharpness thanks to vibrations or camera shake – and 36.3MP is very high. You might think your technique is up to scratch, but if you’re a D800 user you’ll already know

that shooting locked off with the mirrorup (Mup) Drive mode and Exposure Delay active is the best way to minimise shake and preserve details, because the movement of the mirror mechanism can be transmitted to the rest of the camera as shake. As well as losing its Low Pass filter, the D810 has a mirror mechanism designed to create fewer vibrations as

well as an electronic first-curtain shutter mode. Because the shutter doesn’t need to physically open – just close – it’s even less likely to cause vibrations. We tested sharpness across both cameras using identical shooting settings, and the D810 has a clear advantage thanks both to the reduced vibrations and the lack of a filter in front of the sensor.

D810

D800

RIGHT With mirror lock-up and Exposure Delay used on both cameras, in addition to Electronic first-curtain shutter being enabled on the D810, image sharpness is great from both models, but the D810, with its lack of an OLP filter drags more details from the scene.

THANKS TO ITS REDESIGNED MIRROR MECHANISM, THE D810 IS MUCH QUIETER IN USE...

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ABOVE The D810 has a redesigned mirror mechanism and an electronic first curtain shutter to cut down camera shake.

The D810 does have a bigger buffer though, meaning you can shoot continuous for longer, which definitely comes in handy. The AF performance is also slightly more brisk, though we didn’t have long enough to tackle more tricky moving subjects with it (more on its Group Area AF mode next month). The wider native ISO range is always going to be a bonus, but it’s only one stop more at either end, so while shooting at ISO 64 was useful for exposing wide open in bright light, or for a few more seconds’ shutter speed during long exposures, those are problems easily solved using a good old-fashioned ND. Most useful, day to day, I found was the advantage in noise performance, meaning I could use Auto ISO with more confidence, and shoot at a higher base level (of around 800) without worrying about noise.

Aside from its claimed benefit in controlling vibrations (see above), the redesigned mirror mechanism operates at a much lower pitch, making it far more suitable for times when you don’t want to attract attention, like wildlife shoots or weddings. If you need even more hush, the Quiet (Q) mode is joined by a new continuous version (Qc), though at the loss of frame rate.

Round 3: Image quality It’s no surprise that the D810 produces richly detailed images – so did its predecessors. Take a look at the image quality test results panel on this and the previous pages – you’ll see that, like

so many of the modifications, the changes are incremental rather than sweeping, but none-theless effective.

Round 4: Build & handling The D810 is fractionally lighter than the D800/E, but not so much as you’d notice. In any case, the body weight is always less of a concern than the glass you’re carrying, so there’s not much to see here. It still feels like a sturdy piece of kit in the hand and the extensive weather sealing provides a decent level of protection against dust and showers.

As before, the only area it feels less robust is around the pop-up flash.

The ergonomics are largely similar, too, with the main changes being a slightly redesigned handgrip with added depth and more contoured shape. In the hand the difference is minimal, but those with longer fingers will notice less pressure as their digits wrap around and press against the body. In fact, this was one of my concerns with the D800 and the D600/610 – they’re not uncomfortable, but feel fatter in the body with a sense that you’re ‘stubbing’ your fingers. It’s a subtle but effective evolution, matched by a fractionally prouder thumb rest on the rear.

Other outward changes include the removal of the meter pattern mode dial that used to sit around the AE-L/AF-L button. Metering functions have been moved to the cluster at the top left, bringing it in line with the D4/s, and this comes at the expense

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NIKON D810 PHOTO KIT

INITIAL VERDICT

BETTER ALL-ROUNDER The D810 is a better camera than the D800 all round and with the cameras in a head-to-head comparison, differences are obvious, but if you weren’t disappointed with the D800’s image quality, focusing and handling before, upgrading shouldn’t be a priority. of the BKT button, which is now on the camera’s front left above the flash mode/compensation button. Moving the meter pattern button doesn’t feel like a problem, though some longtime users might miss the three-notched dial, which has lived roughly in the same place on Nikon’s upper level of enthusiast DSLRs for ages. That said, the D800’s grooved dial was never as easy to turn as the levered version on D3, so overall it has a positive effect. The move of the bracketing button feels fine, too – and it’s in a similar place to that on the Nikon Df, but smaller. Incidentally, the whole top-left hub has also been tilted back slightly which makes reaching it slightly less of a stretch for your thumb and also easier to see when on a tripod.

The AF mode selector on the lower front left has received some raised dimples, making it quicker and easier to locate, and similarly, the movie record

button sits higher, making it easier to distinguish from the mode and exposure compensation buttons with your eye to the finder.

The memory card flap is now covered with the same rubberised coating as the rest of the body and while this isn’t going to blow up any skirts on its own, when comparing the two bodies this does provide a more assured grip than the D800. The viewfinder is indeed brighter, but wasn’t exactly tunnel-like on the D800, so benefit here is minimal.

The new OLED readout beneath it, however, is noticeably brighter. As for the uprated screen, it too is a little clearer, but I didn’t notice a huge advantage when shooting. Finally a mention for the ‘i’ button, which provides quick and customisable access to features normally hidden within the main menus. I certainly found it shaved a few important seconds when changing setups.

As a D800 owner I’m tempted by the D810. Any potential upgrade should be made to address something you feel the D800 isn’t doing for you.

But if you’re happy with your camera’s performance you can comfortably wait for the next generation. Personally, I spent time worrying whether I should have got the ‘E’ with its extra sharpness, so with the other improvements I can feel the purse strings loosening.

I can’t deny the changes are in the ‘evolution’ rather than ‘revolution’ vein, but that just shows what a solid camera the D800 already was. What is certain is that the D810 represents an even more compelling full-frame option than the cameras that came before it and if you’re thinking of upgrading from a Nikon D600/610 or a DX camera like the D7000, it’s the one to aim for. Nikon currently has no plans to remove the D800/E from its product line, so don’t expect prices of those cameras to fall through the floor any time soon in the face of the new arrival. A D800 will still set you back £2000, while early street prices for the D810 suggest you’ll be looking at around £700 more. At this stage, it seems an acceptable amount for the changes, because Nikon has taken two great cameras, applied sensible upgrades and come out with a single body that’s genuinely superior.

NIKON D810 VIDEO It’s time to take your fingers out of your ears and acknowledge that DSLR video is here to stay. If you’ve shot that way you’ll know it’s a great thing, too, and the D810 has several ways of making it even better. There’s no 4K option (arguably a bit ahead of the game for most users), but there is however, smooth 60p available in the 1080 HD mode and a built-in stereo input (compared to 1080/30p with monaural audio). You can also now change aperture settings while recording to SD/CF, which was previously only available when outputting through the HDMI interface.

Finally, there are ‘zebra’ clipping warnings to show overexposure in the highlights and a new Flat picture mode which provides more dynamic range and helps match footage from different cameras.

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VIDEO CAPABILITIES With 1080/60p shooting and stereo sound, the D810 is up there with most other top end DSLRs when it comes to movie capture.

NEXT MONTH We’ll have a full in-depth test of the D810’s capabilities ISSUE 47 ADVANCED PHOTOGRAPHER

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