5 reviews for Nikon D800 36.3 MP CMOS FX-Format Digital SLR Camera (Body Only) (OLD MODEL)

1. 

   SGG – August 5, 2025

   Great camera, astonishing details!! …updated
   You all know what the specs of this camera are. I won’t lose your time with that. I have the camera for about 20 days and here are my impressions so far.In the beginning I was very upset by the Mpx number. After just the first shoot, I have to tell you – I don’t want to have a camera with small resolution any more. Period!The level of details is astonishing! The images are excellent even straight from the camera – with no edit at all. The dynamic range is excellent.Also the AF is very good. It literally sees in the dark. I tried to take pictures in dark room at night (no light – all lights turned off) and the AF assistant light was enough to focus, without even hunting. I wasn’t able to see ANYTHING, because it was complete dark, but the camera did. Daytime I never experienced any problems with the AF.I believe the fast AF and details level are also determined by what lens you use (and I have really good optics), but I do compare with D700 and D7000 and there is significant improvement.I like the ergonomics. It’s comfortable to hold, even for quite long time. I like the screen resolution, but it does have that slight greenish tint (if that’s bothering you it can be changed in the settings).The only things I don’t like are:There is a slight noise even in low ISO values – 400 and above, but it is only when you look at 100% and the noise is very fine grade, extremely easy to remove in LR.I would also like to see some more customization options for some of the buttons – like I never use the WB (well almost never) and since I shoot RAW, for me this is quite useless button.I currently own the Sony NEX-7 and I’m impressed with the level of customization of that camera. You can do all your settings just with your thumb – A, S, ISO, etc. I really would enjoy to see at least some of this on D800.Overall, D800 is a dream camera – I highly recommend it to everyone!~~~~~~~~~~ Update 1 ~~~~~~~~~~~ (after 4 months of use):Lowering my score to 2 stars.I do not change my mind on what I’ve written before about this camera. Everything is correct, except with one – the AF.I said I didn’t have problems with my AF, but surely now I do.And it’s the commonly spread left AF points problem.I did not discover it in the beginning, because I rarely use the very left AF points. Few months after the camera was on the market, I started to read reviews, describing this problem, but since I haven’t experienced those, I neglected to test myself. Until one day, when shooting outdoor I saw my images come extremely soft and blurry (with 24mm 1.4G lens). I tested with the 16-35mm – same thing. 50mm 1.4G – same. I had inconsistent problems with my 85mm 1.4G lens while ago, thinking first that it is caused by backfocusing. After I talked with the technical department from Nikon I realized that this could be caused by the fact I was shooting kids, and you never can be sure how fast they move, etc.However – this was something different now.I now remembered what I read about the left AF points and when I got back home, I decided to test myself. I downloaded some charts, put those on the wall and started testing my D800.It clearly had problem with AF when the left points are used. The problem is bigger with wide angle lenses at big apertures(small numbers) – especially with 24mm at f/1.4. It fades away after f/5.6-f/8.And as you switch from wide-angle to tele lenses it also fades, even at big apertures.That’s why it is not very easy to discover the problem, until you don’t fell in a situation like mine, or just decide to test your camera in the beginning.I contacted Nikon, sent them multiple pictures and they requested the camera for check.I’m waiting now (already about 10 days) and meanwhile reading the latest review from Mansurov’s website (how the guy received his camera with fixed left AF, but they screwed up his center AF, which is worse). I hope it will be different with my camera and everything will be ok, but I know Nikon from before – it’s not easy to deal with them when have troubles with your equipment.So wait for my second update, once I receive the camera back.Until then my score is 2 stars….and it could go either way..~~~~~~~~~~ Update 2 ~~~~~~~~~~~ (after 3 weeks in Nikon’s service center):I can say the camera is repaired in general.I did the tests again and it’s fine, but you can still see small difference in sharpness when use left AF points (more top left now, than middle and bottom), but it is acceptable, keeping in mind that this is visible ONLY with my 24mm at f/1.4.At f/1.8, f/2, etc. it is sharp. With the 50mm at f/1.4 is sharp now too.There is another issue though – the pictures taken with LiveView are sharper, than the ones taken using the viewfinder. I’m sending the camera back to be fine tuned.I’m also changing my review to 4 stars – this is otherwise awesome camera, but there are still few issues! Hope Nikon will do a better QC next time.~~~~~~~~~~ Update 3 – The last one ~~~~~~~~~~~ (after many months of use):I’m raising back my score to 5 stars. The camera is so amazing, that one easily forget all bad experience with left AF points (or whatever else) in the past.

2. 

   C. Garrard – August 5, 2025

   Nikon’s D800 Is The New Legend
   Nikon’s D800 will go down in history as one of their best dslrs ever made. The D700 used to be go to classic. It was the first affordable FF DSLR from Nikon to incorporate a full frame digital sensor (a year after the D3), but it’s title as a classic will fall to the D800.In almost every single aspect the D800 is a better camera than the D700 ever was. The D810 did little to improve the overall experience of the D800. When you use both cameras as I have you see the disparity between marketing claims in real life performance. All of the claims for a more balanced shutter and less vibration of the D810 did little to mitigate or improve the outcome.When you add in the fact that the D810 is a camera that doesn’t quite handle as well as the D800 nor sound as good, for example by removing the rotating metering dial around the AEL lock button, and quieting the shutter sound, the D810 is no longer really much better at all. The slightly faster frame rate does not bring it into the category of being a good sports or action camera therefore the specification itself is a bit useless. The D800 will shoot up to 6FPS with an attached grip using the 1.2x and DX crop modes, 5fps without the grip.In order to really jump up in any performance overall you have to purchase the D850. That camera right now is about four times as expensive as the D800 used. The resolution advantage if you want to call it that, is very much minimal at best, at least for most practical circumstances. Nikon’s D850 has also turned out to not be that good of a sole performer for action and sports (D series are MUCH better) again making you question what you’re really getting for all that extra money. In the real world not much, although admittedly the D850 looks like a much better camera on paper and you’re never going to convince a D850 owner to the contrary. Understandable, of course.Working photographers such as myself know that we do not live by marketing claims or by paper specifications. We live by judging a camera’s performance in real time in real life circumstances. I’ve owned or used extensively all three of the 800 series cameras from Nikon, and I can tell you that the D850 is really not much of an upgrade from previous iterations practically speaking.I own several bodies in multiple camera formats because I like to use a camera that works best for a particular type of photography. The 800 series cameras work best for everything except action work. There are other cameras such as the D series pro level cameras and the D500 that are better suited to this type of work.I see many photographers trying to buy one camera body to do everything well, in the end they only end up disappointed because their camera will not live up to all the unrealistic expectations that a marketing department or specifications of the camera would have you believe they could fulfill. Real life is everything, unless you just want to collect cameras that collect dust and compare their mathematical specifications in la la land.From a working photographer’s perspective though, the D800 is a fantastic classic legendary camera, and may go down as Nikon’s best full frame camera for the dollar of all time. That is why I think it will dethrone the legendary D700 here in the near future. The bang for the buck is amazing.This is not to say that other cameras cannot perform better in certain aspects of performance, that is not my claim at all. The claim I make is that there is a loss on your return of investment when you purchase its successor cameras. The value proposition of the D800 is much higher and the performance is at least 90 to 95% as good as its successors.Marketing departments and shills dominate most of the airwaves online and in writing, this unfortunately is bolstered by forum “heroes” that defend their brands and purchases. That is not the world that a professional photographer lives in. Not at all. Therefore my opinion is going to be soundly different than the majority you may read out there. I’m perfectly happy with this fact because I know in the end most people will end up coming to the same conclusion eventually, if and when they become working photographers.The newer mirrorless cameras still do not focus as well as dslrs in critical circumstances for action sequences, and they probably won’t ever surpass, but may catch up, to DSLR performance in this respect. Camera companies want you to buy their latest cameras so they do not go out of business. Of course that is very understandable but that doesn’t mean that their promises through their marketing departments will live up to your expectations as a photographer. If you would rather listen to wisdom and save a lot of money, then this review is for you.The D800 is a reliable tank of a camera that is pleasurable to use, consistent, durable enough for generations of ownership, and priced in the used market for an extraordinarily great deal. It’s image quality is some of the best that has ever been.Take some advice from a working photographer who has used nearly every DSLR or high-end mirrorless camera offered by almost every manufacturer.

3. 

   DR.P.MAGESHBABU – August 5, 2025

   Wonderful

4. 

   Anabanana – August 5, 2025

   It’s great camera – the image quality is superb. However, and you’ll find this in other reviews also – the LCD screen has a weird yellowish-green tint to it and the shutter is super loud. That said, the images come out fine (no tint). It’s a good pro-level camera.

5. 

   Paul Millage – August 5, 2025

   I purchased this camera and loved the quality however it has a common problem amongst D800s. It makes a ratchet sound continuously when initiating the zoom on the lens. This is a camera issue known to Nikon. Amazon was fantastic in dealing with my issue as they always are…..however the seller probably knew about this, which makes me very angry as I purchased an expensive lens to accompany the camera.