New D800 user

throttlemeister

Senior Member
Decided to drop in and say hi. :) I have just made the switch from Canon to Nikon. Like many, I got tired of waiting for Canon to get a grip. For the past 5-6 years I have been shooting with the original 5D, which was a great camera. However, after all this time, I was looking for something with a bit higher resolution to I could crop more when necessary, and better dynamic range. I think the D800 has both padded down pretty well. :)

I have been eyeballing the D800 since it came out and with the 5Dmk3 being so expensive with so little innovation, it was clear I was going to switch. The only question was when. I only had 2 lenses and a flash I would need to get rid of together with the 5D, so I didn't have huge investment in Canon yet.

Well, this week I decided to fire off an email to my local retailer to see if they were interested to trade-in my Canon gear and selling some Nikon. As it so happened, it appeared they were. So today I went over and came home with a D800 + grip + 24-120/f4 + SB910 for a price that was $1000 less than a new 5Dmk3 body would have cost me. I realize the 24-120 isn't the best lens in Nikon's line-up to mate with the D800, but I need/want a general purpose walkaround lens, preferably stabilized so the list is short. :) There will be other lenses, like the 14-24 which is next on my list, but budget didn't allow to get it all at once.

So, now I am busy studying the manual and trying to figure out this vastly different camera. Ergonomics and button placement is GREAT. I love being able to get to often used settings with just a press of a button, where the old 5D required diving into menus. The one thing that is driving me absolutely bananas at the moment though, is that Canon has the focus ring on the front of the lens, and the zoom on the back. Nikon does the opposite, so I am constantly going for the wrong ring! Highly annoying. I guess I will get used to it though. :)

I am not a pro, but once you go full frame it is difficult to go back. I look forward to dragging this D800 along on my trips and making (hopefully) some great shots with it.
 

Ruidoso Bill

Senior Member
Welcome throttlemeister to Nikonites! I am confident you will find information and some on line friends on this forum. Congrats over that new D800. I got mine a few months ago and have already shot over 6,000 pics. It was not my first Nikon (3rd) Nikon DSLR and I am glad I stayed. You will find that D800 an incredible piece of equipment.
 

Geoffc

Senior Member
I recently got the 24-120 and I think you'll be very happy with the results. Many people on forums seem to have traded their 24-70 2.8 for this lens. As the iq is good and it gives flexibility.
 

gqtuazon

Gear Head
Throttlemeister - welcome to the forum and congratulations on your Nikon equipment. You did a great job with your new system since each component will work very well.

Re: Nikon 24-120mm f4 VR, similar to Canon 24-105mm f4, this is a pretty sharp lens wide open throughout the FL. You'll get sharper results corner to corner if you want to pixel peep if you set it at f5.6 to f8.

Mounting your lens will be the opposite as what you have discovered as well as the controls. You'll get the hang of it. You can buy the Mastering your D800 or other books that may help improve your experience with the D800. It will make it much more pleasant and easier. I'm certain that you'll see the more vibrant and higher DR files from the D800.

Enjoy and again, welcome to the forum Mo Gas! ;)
 

throttlemeister

Senior Member
Hehehe... somebody has been visiting my website. :)

Thanks for the welcome all, I'm sure I will love it otherwise I wouldn't have bought it. It's too expensive a hobby for impulse buying. The reverse rings is annoying though. Not just because after 6 years, you have habits that are hard to change, but I leave the hood on in reverse when I am not using it and when you quickly want to take a shot, you can't really operate the zoom ring like this on the Nikon. Oh well, nothing is perfect. :)

I will absolutely love the 3-4 stops extra DR. I tend to pick high contrast scenes and the ole 5D was really starting to show its age here with lots of noise when recovering shadows.
 
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