D800 vs D800E

frtorres87

Senior Member
I will soon be in the market for a full frame camera. I currently do most of my shooting with my D7100 which does not have an optical low pass filter. I have been debating weather or not to purchase a D800 or a D800e. The main thing I shoot is weddings and my main reason for upgradings is better low light capabilities. I have been highly considering a D800e because image quality is the most important part of the image, to me, besides composition. My only concern is moiré. I have had zero issues with moireing on my D7100 but all the reviews that I have read and sample images I've seen from the D800e showcase moireing. Is the moireing so bad that I should just spend my hard earned money on the D800? Or will the moireing on the D800e be comparable to that of the D7100? Any input will be greatly appreciated.
 

Steve B

Senior Member
I had to make the same decision a couple of months ago and went with the D800 since a lot of the Nikon material said the D800e was designed for studio work or other environments where you could control the lighting. That being said there are quite a few forum members that have the D800e and use them for everything and are very happy with them. To be honest I don't think most people will even be able to see the difference in sharpness.
 

frtorres87

Senior Member
I had to make the same decision a couple of months ago and went with the D800 since a lot of the Nikon material said the D800e was designed for studio work or other environments where you could control the lighting. That being said there are quite a few forum members that have the D800e and use them for everything and are very happy with them. To be honest I don't think most people will even be able to see the difference in sharpness.

I was reading a comparison article last night and it said the same thing, that the D800e was designed for studios where you could control light. I have also heard of people just slightly increasing the sharpness of there images from a d800 and that basically makes it a d800e image. I'm leaning towards the D800 as of now.
 

Deezey

Senior Member
Moire is kinda a thing of the past with the digital age. Most quality post processing software will remove it. And do a great job at it too. If you are debating between these two....I would just go D800e.

A camera is just a tool. No matter who Nikon markets it to. The D800e does in fact take a sharper image. And it is actually very noticeable if you know where to look. You are already throwing down big cash....so why not make each of those dollars count. The D800e is just plain the better camera over the D800.
 

Geoffc

Senior Member
Before you even decide on the E or not, I suggest you try either and see if the low light aspect is a big enough difference. I have an 800 and a 7100 and the 800 is definitely better at higher ISO, probably a stop and smoother grain. Now that's good but not jaw dropping.

I bought my 800 to better the high ISO of my D300 which was a big leap and the 7100 was not around at the time.

If high ISO is your biggest requirement, the D4 or a D3s may be a better option. I suggest you hire some options before buying to make sure you will see enough difference to justify the cost.
 

GameOfMoans

Senior Member
I just opted to go for the D800E as I shoot mainly landscape and weddings. That and I enjoy the post production anyway. I really don't think there will be that significant a difference anyway...that 36mp sensor has great resolving power and from the shots I've taken so far (only a week) the dynamic range seems to be impressive too. I have been astounded at this camera's resolving power and I have 2 lenses 24-70mm and 70-200mm (the Nikon AF-S ones).

I don't think owners of either will be dissapointed.....it's probably the best DSLR on the maket just now and I would stick my neck out and say it competes with medium format !
 

crycocyon

Senior Member
Faced with the same decision and giving that I lean towards portraiture and weddings (although I also like nature photography), the D800 made more sense by virtue of minimizing the moire issue since most of the time I'd be shooting people with clothing on. ;) Now however, I would also like a D800e just to see what it can do and see how far I can push resolution. I think even for studio work people have gotten by with medium format digital cameras without anti-aliasing filters and they shoot clothing a lot. It just takes an awareness to move appropriately if one sees moire in the image.
 

Scott Murray

Senior Member
I have owned both and killed the D800. All I can say is, we really do not know the difference unless we own both. The D800 is razor sharp, what more do you want? I got the E because I killed the 1st and got the E under warranty/insurance.
 

Sambr

Senior Member
If I were you, I would rent a D800 and see if you like it, forget about the D800e it's $400 more & I bet the farm most people wouldn't be able to tell the difference, I have the 800 and my friend bought an 800e comparing them the 800e has very and I mean very slight advantage with detail - very hard to tell you have to blow it up to 150/ 200 % to see it.
 
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