D800 for Weddings?

​Hello All,

I am very new to the forums. This is my first post. I am thinking about purchasing a D800 for wedding photography. My big question is...are the RAW file sizes to big. I know they are about 75MB each. Thats only 400 photos or so with a 32GB card. Sad.


How do the photos look using the other RAW options? I could shoot JPEG, but that limits the editing.


Thank you.


I can't wait to get started.

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Thanks

What camera are you shooting now?

For me, the files will be too big for wedding photography. Not because you'll need more memory or computer power, but because the output ( picture size) does not justify such a camera. The D700 is one of the great wedding cameras that are used by wedding photographers. It gives you wonderful low light IQ and the files are not that big. I would doubt that many wedding photographers sell larger than 24-36 inches prints. The D800 is the most precise DSLR there is for now, but it's best used for landscapes or studio work IMHO.

​Welcome to Nikonites.

smiles,, ok,, I have D800 and a D700,, and well,, for a wedding in 2 weeks,,, taking the D800. remember the D800 has dual slots, so,, can have lots of space.

And can always keep an extra set of cards if needed.

The D800 has USB 3, so,, the computer can upload the D800 almost as fast as my D700.

Now,,, not everytime,, will I be in the exact place for some of the shots, and being able to have some crop margin can be really handy, when you see Grandmother weeping in the ceremony, and you squeeze off a shot, and have pixel margin to crop to the right form factor.. priceless.

and I upgrade my notebook (my old one was 4 years old anyway), and it has no problems handling the file size of the
D800. And, hard drive space is so cheap now. so file sizes are not an issue.

So,, will a D700 be fine, sure, but I would not discount the D800 either.

The D800 is hard to beat but the D700 would be my second choice and my next purchase (just sold my D300). I plan to use the D700 for the typical wedding shots and the D800 for special portraits bride etc. That's if I ever accept a wedding again, not my favorite thing to do anymore.

I was also planning to use the D800 for portraits and the D7000 for general shots. I would probably not shoot a whole wedding with the D800 just because of the magnitude of having to touch-up very large files. My dream camera for the general shots would be a D4. Had you considered that?

Ed Steichen once said: "No photographer is as good as the simplest camera."

Even an ambitious man with a D40 and a couple of lenses can make great wedding photography...

I bet it has been done many more times then you could imagine...

I think the fear of the large files generated by the D800 exists only with people who do not have a D800. Those of us who own a D800 don't have a problem with it. Moreover, I believe most D800 users would say the large files are more than compensated by the incredible image quality and dynamic range that the D800 delivers.

I have both a D700 and a D800, overall the D800 is a better camera and functions better under all circumstances. Get the D800. If you can afford the D800 you can afford 3 or 4 32gb cards. I can't imagine someone shooting a wedding in JPG... you loose such PP capability, you had better be good and know your camera inside and out. This year display devices are being released that will display a whole D700 photo at full resolution... think out a few years more and the D800 will be natively displayed, the D700 it's more than you need now, but less than you'll want sooner than you think. I work for a company that does displays, companies are asking us for 13" - 30" 4K screens right now... and around the corner is 5K and larger displays. JD

​Thank you all for the quick response.

I guess I should give you some background. I use a 5D MkII for our short movies and I currently use Pentax for my photography. I've always had a soft spot for Pentax. I have an iMac with an SSD and a spinner HD.


Really, I'm just worried about running out of space (quickly) on the cards. Will the D800 record RAW files on the SD card?


I know this is a Nikon site, but what do you all think of the 5D III compared to the D800?


Thank you again.

Yes, you can record on An SD. I think everyone agrees the D800 has bested Canon by a good margin with the D800. It usually doesn't go on forever as Nikon and Canon try and best each other, but for now Nikon has no close competitor. JD

Also, the D800 can be switched into DX mode so you have a 15 megapixel file instead of 36. I just photographed about 1000 candids at an event last week and the 32GB card holds over 800 in DX mode. Plus, you have the extra oomph if you are doing a nice bridal portrait, then switch back to DX for the rest of the wedding.