D800 as Point and Shoot

It dawned on me that I buy new, better cameras for two reasons; 1) to caputure better photographs and to 2) have to fool around with the camera less. I know lots of people here are drawn to photography because they like to fiddle with dials and calculate things and be rewarded for their fiddling by capturing a great photo. I realized that I actually work the other way around, I want to fiddle less. If I could put the D800 on P and leave it there and get the photos I wanted, I would do it. And, I do when I can. But l usually think about where I am going and what I am doing and may end up choosing an Auto ISO level (I shoot in low light levels a lot), I may be forced to shoot aperture priority to get a high enough depth of field, I may take it off multiple focus points because I want to focus on something in the back, etc. But one of the reasons I love my D800, is, an awful lot of the time I can put my 35mm f1.4 prime on it and put it on P and get the shot I want. I want the nuanced light of the forest, or sharp droplets of water off a waterfall, or glimers of light at night in a nightime street shoot. Honestly, I have no interest in doing anything but pressing the shutter release. I guess I am in it for the art... capturing the composition and light... the mood and emotion... I'll do everthing I have to to get it, but no more. Am I unusual? I hear so much talk about manual controls, are the controls for the fun of fiddling or do you want to do the minimum to get the perfect shot? JD

Nothing wrong with using it as the best point and shoot on the market! As long as you have parameters set so you don't get crazy ISO or exposures, you'll probably get great results. I bought a B&S to force me to relax sometimes

I could yell and scream about the premise of your post, but essentially, the way I look at it is, what do you want from a camera, what makes it THE camera for you, and what the hell are you gonna do with the pictures? If you think 36MP JPEGs are exactly what you want, and you have an unlimited amount of funds to get that camera, then damn, a D800 P&S is da bomb. Beyond that, drop me a PM, we'll speak at length, and I'll tell you precisely what to buy for your needs, and all you have to pay me is 75% of what I save you.

I kind of suspected that some folks would find this odd. But a significant amount of cost for something like a D800 goes into auto ISO, Auto Focus, moving focus, VERY sophisticated algorythms to work out the correct exposure automatically, find the right focal point automatically... so what is that for? Not to use it? Maybe, I should explain my thinking on P&S, I am not hanging the camera out the window snapping photos. I get myself into the right position and really work at composing, I don't think anyone considers me anything but a very serious (and good) photographer. But in essence, what I prefer to do is to point the camera (ok, carefully move into the right position, even if it means standing in water up to my knees), and I go through a big checklist to make sure the camera isn't likely to get fooled (I have been into photography for nearly 40 years), if it is going to get fooled, then I compensate, then I press the sutter release. But if there is a D900 to come, and it gets everything right... automatically (OK, I know that isn't possible... but it can more of the time), then I would buy it for that. JD

It just seems a little strange that you take the time and make the effort to get into the correct position but then you let the camera decide how to capture the photo.

I have known a few people that "had to get the D800" going from D90s etc. After a week hated it! The D800 is unforgiving camera - even on "P" I would PM Jake if I were you.

Steve, I thought someone would say that. This is why so many people still buy Leica M. I had thought a lot about it, but realized that not having AutoFocus was like taking a giant step backwards for me. I am really happy when the camera takes the correct exposure and I don't have to think about it. I kind of intuitively know when it will... usually. So, it sounds like a lot of folks take pride in the settings being their own. I have a Leica X2, which I love for street photography, because I can frame at arms lenght and it will focus and get the exposure right most of the tme... then I can get a photo I couldn't possibly get if I was choosing the setting. Also, one of the most inspiring things to me on the D800 is the Focus on the moving object... I have shot a few flying birds with it and have been blown away. Your swinging the camera around following a flying animal and it keeps the focus on it while you are panning... it is an incredible piece of technology. But, once again automatic, point (pan) and shoot. JD

Dude, it's YOUR camera. If you want to use it as a very attractive doorstop or drop kick it into the Atlantic Ocean, thats your business.
I would probably cry, but you would NEVER hear a single word of castigation out of me. We have so few freedoms left, I will fight like hell so you can keep THAT one.
​Put it on "P" and shoot away Bubba. You earned it!

Sam, I did PM Jake. So, a D800 is harder to operate than a D90? Hmmm, wonder why. If I remember, they have an Automatic Mode, then a Portrait, and landscape orientied setting. But P on a D800 if you choose a reasonable Auto ISO, multipoint autofocus, and multipoint Auto exposure, is pretty Automatic. JD

The problem with letting the camera decide whats best is it often gets it wrong. You still have to tell it certain parameters to get the depth of feild you want. Or tell it the shutter speed you want in order for the photograph to show movement or freeze it. Most times when doing an artistic shot, the camera has no idea what you want to accomplish. Why walk into all you're shoots not knowing what the end result will be.
Especially with a D800. Kinda defeats the purpose of owning one.
And by the way, the D800 has no auto mode.

You imply somehow I am not "getting the point" of the camera or am minimizing it's potential. Fairly well veiled.

I started this post because I was honestly a little surprised at my conclusion that I prefer to let the camera do as much as possible, and that in fact Nikon is building the camera to do as much as possible, but my feeling was that alot of people really enjoy the, well not letting the camera do the work.

FastGlass, Ok sure. But my most recent cameras in order of ownership were the D200, D700, and D800. And I find in each case each auto function are greatly improved. So each generation, I am more able to get the shot on P better. So I am going to guess that I probably get the shot right on the money in P 60% or 70% of the time, if I have thought through Auto ISO in advance (set it to the light I am expecting). The rest I maybe doing close up work, so I use Aperture, I might need to pin the focus so I switch to single focal point and move it around. Sounds, like most folks do more manually settings than I do.

Program mode is essentially "automatic". JD

JDFlood said:

FastGlass, Ok sure. But my most recent cameras in order of ownership were the D600, D700, and D800. And I find in each case each auto function are greatly improved. So each generation, I am more able to get the shot on P better. So I am going to guess that I probably get the shot right on the money in P 60% or 70% of the time, if I have thought through Auto ISO in advance (set it to the light I am expecting). The rest I maybe doing close up work, so I use Aperture, I might need to pin the focus so I switch to single focal point and move it around. Sounds, like most folks do more manually settings than I do.

Program mode is essentially "automatic". JD

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Every photographer has their own preference. Nothing wrong with P mode and auto ISO. It's your camera.

The problem that you "may" encounter in P mode "Professional" , is that it may at times use a very slow shutter speed wherein if you are not carefull especially when hand holding a 36mp camera, you could get blurry pictures especially once you magnify the images at 100% crop which makes the camera "unforgiving" as Sam have mentioned.

I think if you pay for a Nikon, you can enjoy it anyway that works for you! I think what may bother some of us is that we may have different ideas of how to enjoy a Nikon. It's even more so when we are envious of your model of Nikon.lol
I know I envy those that have a Nikon I wish I had! Lol

Just have a blast, and keep shooting!

Nicely put Bill.

No question a wonderful camera can be enjoyed I many ways. Yes, the D800 is picky if you are making that determination at 100% crop. I have a very good steady technique for shooting, and depending on the environment,I will intercede if I think - shorter shutter speed is needed... I shoot a lot in the rain in the forest. I discussed this with my wife, and she suggested lot of folks are not willing to give up all the hard earned knowledge they got as film photographers. Some folks are thinking they are way more valuable in the process than they really are. I'm starting to think that may be true. I tend to back off on things I do until I see a problem. Basically lazy I think. And with the incredible automation of the D800, I can. Have auto ISO set to 125 min... Or if there is fast water, 250th, and the camera does the rest, unless you run out of light gathering,then you are going to have to make the trade off. So, hopefully the next version will have even better light gathering, and I will have to resort to taking over less. The multi point focus is really good at figuring out what to do... It recognizes that typically you want a subject, near focus a third of the way up or in from the sides. If there is such a thing. JD

JDFlood said:

It dawned on me that I buy new, better cameras for two reasons; 1) to caputure [sic] better photographs and to 2) have to fool around with the camera less. I know lots of people here are drawn to photography because they like to fiddle with dials and calculate things and be rewarded for their fiddling by capturing a great photo. I realized that I actually work the other way around, I want to fiddle less. If I could put the D800 on P and leave it there and get the photos I wanted, I would do it. …

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It's been a bit of an adjustment for me, getting used to not having to fiddle with my camera to get good pictures.

Many years ago, when I was obsessively into photography, I got an F2. It takes spectacularly good pictures, but you have to fiddle with it, and you have to know how to fiddle with it, to get good pictures. As film gave way to digital, I've had a series of much-lesser cheap point&shoot digital cameras and camera-equipped cell phones, and I've never really been satisfied with them. Aside from no longer having to deal with film and processing, they just seemed like too big a step down from my F2.

Just a few months ago, I finally got a D3200. Now, I can fiddle with it, as much as I could with my F2, but it's been very difficult to get into the mindset of accepting that I do not need to fiddle with it that way to get good pictures. The vast majority of the time, simply setting it to the “Auto (No Flash)” mode will get me a much better picture than any of the lesser cameras could ever hope to take, and easily in the same league as what I'd get with my F2 were I to still ever use it. Some part of me just doesn't want to trust the idea that a camera can take a good pictures without my having to fiddle with it as with my F2.

I suppose it depends on how much control you want to have personally over the creative process. An artist will know the type of brush he needs for a particular purpose. He will also be familiar with the types of paint, canvas and how all the tools come together to best bring to life his personal vision. Photography is no different. There is an awareness of the tool and what it can do to help the photographer get as close as possible to what he hoped to see in the photo when the scene was in front of him. And it isn't just the tool. It is light, composition, choice of lens, etc.. All of these elements of the photographic process come together. Sure, there will be times when point and shoot is the only goal. But for the times when serious photography or pursuit of art is the goal, then I think a photographer should be aware of all aspects of the creative process.

That being said, I'm sure you know all about the use of the camera in manual mode, or aperture or shutter priority, exposure compensation, etc. as well as the principles behind them. That's the main thing. If after that you still prefer program mode, and that is the quickest and most unobtrusive path to the kind of photographs you enjoy, then that is the main thing. But I would, sometimes, try another mode and you may just see just how much better your thinking can be than even the meter on the D800.

I never got into film cameras, and I've never taken any classes. So for me it isn't the need to make use of valuable knowledge. But I admit I feel more thrilled with my photos the more I do to help make them. I rarely shoot off manual mode, and I'm so happy when I can take a shot I'm happy with. Pretty much all my friends here are more knowledgeable about photography than I am, but even as little as I know I can be creative and I feel like I did good.

With point and shoot cameras like my wife has, I feel like I don't have hardly any of me in the shots I take. Even if the point and shoot method always took technically better shots than I can, I would still want to do it my way. But I take photos for pure pleasure, and the only one I "have to please" is myself.

But like I posted before, you should use your Nikon in the way the you enjoy most, because I sure will with mine! Lol

Thinking about the way I have changed taking photos with the newest technology I realize I think strategically most of the time now, and less tactically. If I am going out in the early evening I make the choices before I get there... Single ISO or Auto ISO, whatMax ISO, and what min ISO ( this takes care of the blurring). Is there reason to turn on moving multi point focus. So then, when I start shooting, usually I don't have to worry about it. I have blinkies turned on, so I can tell if I lost highlights. Take exposures on a typical trip... Unless I hit some extreme conditions. The camera will perfectly nail the exposure... 99 times out of a hundred. I don't understand the comment on take control and I might be able to expose better? It nails it, perfectly. I almost never have to adjust the exposure in Lightroom. I do have to adjust the light and dark sliders.... Usually exactly the same amount... Proving the exposure is perfect. Focus I think is perfect 19 out of 20 times. I agree that to can control each aspect can be key, but very seldom is it necessary. If you doing macro work, weddings... You just have to. But for general architecture, street, nature, landscape, you can adjust setting for the session and then mostly forget about it. Then you can concentrate on getting the shot, instead of fiddling with the camera. The better the camera gets the more you can back off.


Great, I got what I wanted from this thread... I thought through how I use contemporary cameras compared to earlier and film cameras and confirmed what I suspected, a lot of folks like to fiddle more than I do. JD