D800 for holiday trip (total newbie)

S

seppi

New member
Hi everyone,

please don't blacklist me right away :)

Till now I only use cheap beginner dslr's and played a litte (really just a little!) with aperture and focus.

Now I have the chance to borrow a D800 with 28-120 VR lens for a trip to San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego Zoo, Mexico and New York.

I now the D800 only performs best with manual settings and much experience. But it has some automatic features, right?

Would you think a beginner can get decent results with most settings in automatic? Or will I get poor results (not sharp, wrong focus etc.)

If you look at the images of the camera shot here, do you think I'll get the best result (f/8) by using automatic mode?http://www.dpreview.com/articles/1690347434/first-impressions-using-the-nikon-d800/2

(I want to use jpeg most of the time, now and then rar files, and mostly shoot without a tripod)

Thank you very much!
 
Last edited:
D

Dave_W

The Dude
A D800 would not be my first choice for someone new to complex camera systems but if you're careful and you put adjust the settings properly (auto-ISO, quality, etc.,) you should be okay. I will say a better camera would be a D3200, still has very high resolution but also has easy to understand scene settings and unlike the D800, it is much more forgiving.
 
P

Phillydog1958

Senior Member
seppi said:
Hi everyone,

please don't blacklist me right away :)

Till now I only use cheap beginner dslr's and played a litte (really just a little!) with aperture and focus.

Now I have the chance to borrow a D800 with 28-120 VR lens for a trip to San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego Zoo, Mexico and New York.

I now the D800 only performs best with manual settings and much experience. But it has some automatic features, right?

Would you think a beginner can get decent results with most settings in automatic? Or will I get poor results (not sharp, wrong focus etc.)

If you look at the images of the camera shot here, do you think I'll get the best result (f/8) by using automatic mode?First Impressions: Using the Nikon D800: Digital Photography Review

(I want to use jpeg most of the time, now and then rar files, and mostly shoot without a tripod)

Thank you very much!
Click to expand...

Hi and welcome to the forum. You used the word "Cheap" to describe the beginner DSLR's that you've previously used. I recently bought my wife a D3100 as an anniversary gift. Relatively speaking, I wouldn't call any beginner DSLR cheap. The D3100 is Nikon's beginner DSLR. It set me back $550. When you compare that price to any point-and-shoot camera, I'd say that DSLR's are all pretty expensive, even the beginner models. The average person buys a point-and shoot. With your beginner DSLR, you're ahead of the game. Don't sell yourself cheap. :)
 
M

Mark E

Senior Member
The D800 has a P Program mode, read that automatic. This camera is no more difficult to use than any other Nikon.
 
Top